Lost Foam Finned Engine Cylinder Casting
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- Опубліковано 30 лип 2024
- Process for casting thin finned aluminum engine castings using the lost foam method. Visit The Home Foundry at the link below for the whole story.
forums.thehomefoundry.org/inde...
Thanks for watching, K
Update: It's a bit surprising to me that this video is by far the most viewed of my videos. The parts are just examples I made one afternoon while messing around in my shop to demonstrate the capabilities of lost foam. The same is true of my "Saucer Cup and Spoon" series. But IMO, the parts in some of my other videos represent much higher casting accomplishments. Best, K
I spent a fortune on Petrobond to turn out mediocre castings. You make magic with an 8 dollar bag of sand from the Home Depot. Respect.
First time I ever saw a foundry that neat and clean. The neatness is also reflected in the quality of the work.
I did sand casting once about 40 years ago. Amazed you can sand cast such thin fins and gaps without the molten metal disturbing the sand.. I'll have to go look at your other vids to see what magic you are working.
The refractory paint helps! It forms a hard shell. I've done some very intricate platinum and stainless castings that occur almost entirely in a refractory dip and the sand is just there for extra support and mass so you can have some control over thermals
@@grinchyface Ah that makes sense.
@@grinchyface What type of refractory paint, and where can I get some? 😁
It sounds really useful!
@@RC-fp1tl ua-cam.com/video/LdgGkqvk5mc/v-deo.html
I didnt believe it's just lost foam in dry sand as well. He coats the foam in something similair to ceramic shell casting
The foundry I worked in never had sunshine, fresh air, birds singing, clean work surfaces or snow! Beautiful castings and clever technique, well done!
Man that sounds like a drag, how did you cope with it? 😉
@@TheDandyMann Family business! I used to help out when they were busy or short on staff. Usually 1-4 weeks at a time. It was primitive, dark with smoke and fumes. Just like the Industrial Revolution times but I learned basic foundry technique.
Just as they say in medicine, that is art and science. I marvel at your abilities, sir. Nice work.
I'm a machinist, but am working with pattern makers. Seeing how others do this stuff makes a lot of this coherent when they give me instructions.
Thank you and Merry Christmas
That is the neatest little furnace I've seen yet!
I am so glad to be sharing this country with people like you! Thanks so much for all you do!
Magnificent! So fortunate to discover your great content. The kind of man I think we'd all be proud to call a friend. Genuine, intelligent, resourceful, motivated, intrigued by the man wonders in life, an explorer, a gifted talent and a friendly, humble person all around. Maker-builder friends are the best! Keep up the great, exploratory works!!
ive been smelting and casting the last year and a half, and i thought i had seen it all on youtube, but i got so many good ideas on just this one video! your set up and the results are stunning. i absolutely cant wait to watch some more!
Dangerously inspirational! I may give this method a go at some point, your results are great 👍 The surface finish on the large piece looks really good in the video. Thanks for sharing
I come from the lost wax casting process where I have worked all my life and never thought one could cast any metal in loose sand ,let alone do it and get such wonderfull results.Amazing !!!!! thank you for the experience .
Mr. Coffield, when it comes to this work you are a true artist. The video content and your results are a benchmark. Thank you for sharing your expertise.
That's very kind of you to say. Glad you enjoyed the video. Best, K
This is my favorite method of casting, less messy and easier to get right. Nice dry loose sand, done.
This is incredibly precise! I’m just getting into casting (beginning to make my own furnace) and although I’m veering towards lost wax, I’m finding all of your videos to be fascinating and very informative. Thank you for sharing your work 👍😊
Incredible methods and results. And finally, someone talking about head pressure in casting molds. Alot of guys don't understand the importance of this.
Wow ! This is Totally Amazing! 1. That you are doing it in a Home Shop & 2. That you can do such Perfect Patterns & Casts! Great work & thanks for showing us your process!!
Well, that was an understated masterclass. Great work!
Those turned out beautiful, Mr. Coffield.
I just discovered this channel and i instantly subscribed, amazing work. I'd love to see a "working" one cylinder engine made with that big cylinder.
I’m amazed the loose sand maintains the pattern as the foam vaporizes. Great, great video. Mad skills.
it does have a thin shell around the part to help maintain surface finish and form.
6:50 "dipped in refractory slurry" so basically a plaster coating.
They came out really well, excellent work !
Thank you Andreas. Best, K
I'm very impressed at how well that came out.
as a former worker in this field in Foundries and Forges, I helped develope, mix, sell, casting binders whith materials, and tooling. "I can see"how new printing tech would take the abilities of Casting Modeling to an Un Known Level!
looked CLEAN To ME!
WOW I was just scanning trough my channels and this came up? I have so many questions but will go back and watch some of your old posts.
If you are really interested in casting at home you should join www.TheHomeFoundry.org.
Absolutely facinating work! Your foundry is one hell of a machine also. Subbed!
Brilliant work....thanks for putting this up..Such a nice way to go before full pattern making and split line madness..
That's an AMAZING result man! Excellent job--and a great video. Thanks for making it!
Glad you liked it!
That's really awesome man! The results are amazing. Thanks for posting this.
This is the information I have been looking for. Thanks for sharing. If you read this I am a welder and knife maker as well as just learning how to build all sorts of stuff myself. I might be open to some labor swapping down the road if you have any interest.
I am really impressed with your foundry setup. You did a great job on the castings. I just subscribed.
Thanks Bruce. I built the furnace first and then added equipment for additional capability, ease of use, and process refinement over time. 5 years on now. I just built a gantry and hoist for larger pours that can be seen in my automotive intake manifold vid. I'm going to have to stop building equipment....running out of space! Best,
Kelly
Amazing work, having been involved with green sand casting since the mid 80s, and giving it away about five years ago, this has rekindled my interest, I still have the furnace and all of the foundry gear, but not the proper stuff for foam casting. Looks like a nice Autumn/winter project coming up.
If you are already versed in handling molten metal and conventional sand casting, you will only be limited by the quality of foam pattern you can fabricate. Lot's of info on that at www.TheHomeFoundry.org Best, Kelly
I've done a bit of casting here and there, jewelry mostly, with soft and hard cast lead for bullets getting some time. For intricate parts, I've used the lost wax process with plaster of Paris and greensand or clay for two part molds with durable, removeable plugs. This is the first time I've ever seen someone use dry sand, and without sprues or risers. Since the pour was a complete success, I was thinking I might try it your way. I'll likely have to indulge myself with a few new tools (poor me, lol), but this will add to my enjoyment of life. Thank you.
You should consider joining www.TheHomeFoundry.org and pwruse the lost foam sub forum. I have many informational and project threads there. Best, Kelly
Wow your work and set up are incredible! I am a craftsmen as well and you have impressive skills and your process. Very very well done.
Fantastic video. I’m going to have to watch many of your other videos now.
Thanks for putting up this one, very interesting. This is a little information that I hope you will find helpful. In order for cooling fins to operate effectively they need to have a taper from the base to the tip and the shape of the tip and base (and the angle of taper to a lesser extent) are quite critical. There are a number of excellent research papers available online which describe the dynamics of heat risers / dams in cooling fins. In short - heat will not travel up the fin and dissipate at the tip in a flow (not dissimilar to a stream flowing ) and transfer to the air stream without the appropriate taper. The second issue is that of harmonic vibration. Everything vibrates and more especially in an internal combustion engine in operation there is considerable vibration. Parallel fins without taper will break off sooner or later. I found this out the hard way and before I became aware of the complexity of cooling fins. Keep at it, I've subscribed to your channel and look forward to more of your foam casting videos.
awesome video. please don't stop making videos and sharing your knowledge
very nice castings. best foam oi have seen to date. super clean as well
( surprising to me that this video is by far the most viewed of my videos) not realy it has the word casting cylinder thats why i came over this video alot of people work on old 2 stroke engines and think of an updated cylinder/head Kelly great work by the way 🙂 you make it look so easy
Thank you for sharing,very nice parts and great foundry tech! Congratulations!!
The first engines to be mass produced using lost foam were Saturn blocks & cylinder heads. You could actually see the foam patterns in the castings.
You can still see them in some newer engines. Styrofoam pattern on the inside of the valve covers ect.
I was going to say the same thing. I worked for Saturn and it was cool to watch a casting being poured by a robot. :)
Really appreciate your methodical approach. Subscribed!
Id love to see you build a motor for a bicycle like the old boardtrackers! I love this kind of stuff!
That is amazing quality you managed to achieve.
I love it! I want to make some serious Corvair heads with heart shaped chamber and boss style ports. This looks like the solution to me. Green sand appears to rough. I've seen people use vacuum on lost wax castings leaving the top wide open. The vacuum can't pull the metal through the sand or plaster so it just sucks the flue down initially and stays there. It removes gas pockets almost instantly as soon as the vacuum hits. You see the dross forming in the flue instantly retract enough to wrinkle the surface and that's it.
Great Idea !
Many months of hard work may result in a set of heads producing 250hp na from factory short blocks, the objective.
Along with all the others into aircooled opposed flat fours and sixes, for the last 60 years, lol.
Like my world domination plans, yours includes the canted valve arrangement of the Boss Fords, or semi-hemi, the ports sized for the swept volume of the +2.7L Corvair short blocks.
A unique solution to the pushrod angle problems is the secondary pushrod design of the 60's hemi prototypes by GM, so very viable in the Corvair application, and neatly done, allowing 3 and 4 valve variants, heh heh.
>
A cored watercooling jacket or exhaust valve ' HD loop ' could allow modern turbocharging levels and requisite cooling. A great deal of thought and engineering would have to be exercised for the culmination of 4.2L Corvair Turbo heads, cast, and machined. The lost foam methods demonstrated here is likely the simplest, the cast and coated bigbore cylinders too.
Imagination, opportunity and ambition may be sufficient to achieve the necessary desire.
' Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties. '
~ Chopin
' One thing we do know, that we dare not forget, is that better solutions than ours have at times been made by people with much less information than we have. '
~ Wendell Berry
' Vision without execution is just hallucination. '
' Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right. '
~ Henry Ford
There is a guy in town who said he'd sell his corvair part's pile. And 4 or 5 car's, and 8 to 10 engine's in total for 8500.00 if your interested..from Wyoming USA 🇺🇸 🤠
Very nice work. You take casting to another level.
Super impressive casting skills,thanks for sharing!👌 cheers,from Scotland!🏴
Thank you! Cheers!
I didn't know that lost foam could work that well. That looks alot easier than traditional green sand impresstion or lost wax. I've done only a little casting, but hope to do alot more some day and this video has made me see that lost foam has alot more potentional than I had thought after seeing others do it in the past.
It's def the easiest way to cast for the DIY'er in my opinion. I made some lost foam back in the day and it "just works"
what a superb work and technique, thank you for sharing !
I’ve never seen anyone get this nice a casting from list foam in unbound sand. Wow.
That's some fine work you did there.
That is so cool. You seem to make it look so easy. Subbed.
I wish I had a neighbor like you around. I always had an interest in casting metal and I finally found the time to start building an at home metal foundry. I'm just going to 3d print designs and use those to cast.. I like your method better though. I'm interested in making a little RC engine to learn that's why I thought fins.. It would be cool to have a small motor I made from scratch. I regained my interest because I need to make some small BLDC motor parts for a project and I have my own design I want to build and try.
For very small finely detailed stuffed you may be better of with printed patterns and investment casting. Though those materials are pricier, the molds and patterns are small so not much material or cost involved. For larger machine parts that's a different story and lost foam certainly has advantages. Best, Kelly
Wow. Mr. Fancypants here, I've never even seen a heating solution like that. My foundry is home made from an old air compressor tank with 300 lbs of refractory cement, fired by propane. It works, but .. I have a bit of envy.
300lbs? Wow, I bet that takes some fuel and time to come to temp on the first heat! Best, Kelly
@@kellycoffield533 Yeah, I use that one for bigger melts, or for ingots. I use a **NEVER DO THIS or the Internet safety police come** ceramics kiln for small stuff. Works fine if you're not an idiot about it.
Thanks for posting. I used to work in high pressure die casting. I've only ever heard about this but never seen it.
awesome - I just learned about how this lost foam process works - I got the TB engine - Trailblazer Vortec 4200
Very good, I'm following in your footsteps, I'm making a pair of Shirts alerted for two Chevrolet jugs 98.48 mm that I'll put in a 1/2 VW with a reinforced case.
Beautiful work and I love you Furnace...
Thank you Preston. Best, K
Hi Kelly, a very interesting video and a very impressive foundry set-up. Good to see you use PPE and a well laid out work area. About the only thing that concerned me was the dumping of the sand on your driveway. I realise that the sand would be warm to hot but it has the potential to pick up some moisture from the cold concrete and judging by the snow bank it was cold. Can I suggest that you pour out your sand in future onto a clean drip tray or similar. It will keep your sand clean and dry and free from any debris that might be on the driveway. That will save having to dry and filter your sand. Apart from that, excellent work and you have got yourself a new subscriber.
Mark from Melbourne Australia
Hi Mark, for the short story, it's such low value media I've found it better to replace it than renew/recycle it. The long story, it's true, the single most important thing other than refractory for LF sand is that it moves under vibration and dryness is important to that. Their byproducts of decomposed polystyrene degrades the sand with repeated use. You can heat the sand to remove these organics but the energy cost to do so is more than the value of the sand ($20/ton in bulk for $5/5 gal bucket retail). I used my first 300lbs of sand for almost 5 years before I replaced it, and I treated it with disregard, except dryness, and the driveway contact didn't seem to be a problem as long as it was not visibly wet. Any fines or organics I may pick up arent a problem for aluminum. I only perform gross filtering through .090" perfortaed plate to remove clumps. That 5yr old sand saw a lot of use was sufficient for all but the most challenging vibratory packing and fresh ne sand does perform better. Also, since the foundry was allowed to dispose of thir sand in landfills, I assume the same for mine. Now if it was higher value media like the commercial ferrous LF operations, they have fluidizing furnaces to recondition/reclaim the high value media. Best, Kelly
That’s “talent”. Great work. Wish you were my neighbor. Thanks for the video
Awesome, I had no idea you could cast with loose sand!!!
Great video! I have been looking for a method to make parts for my ice fishing product. I have been using steel and welding and grinding takes a lot of time. I had some aluminum parts made that were welded together.
Sorry about that I pushed the wrong button I didn’t finish. I think making the fan blades pictured in my profile would be the best method.
Восхитительно, работал на художественном литье - алюминий, латунь, работали страмбованными опоками, с моделями из под ЧПУ, из МДФ. И с выплавляемыми восковыми моделями, вы наверное льете , что то типа пенопластовых (полистироловых) моделей?
Чудесно организовано, и произведено!
Hi Kelly, many thanks for your tutorials! I think those two videos you mention are most visited because they depict a summary of best practices to achieve a goal in quality , rather than focusing on a specific result.
On the other hand, please mention the material of pouring cup ; I couldn't understand quite well. Good luck!
Thanks Mihai. The pouring cup is made from moldable ceramic fiber. There is a video about them on my channel. Best, Kelly ua-cam.com/video/MIydO69CNao/v-deo.html
@@kellycoffield533 Thanks, I owe you a lot in learning how to do things properly and with reasonable costs!
This is an inrtersting channel,i think i can learn a lot here, thank u sir,thank u for ur great work, sincerely from China
Channel gold right here!
Subbed ☺
Awesome, thank you!
Just found your channel and subscribed. Very nice work
Wow, amazing results with out having to buy expensive refectory ceramic casting!!
I think I'm going to try this with 3D printing and pla
you could make the ceramic refractory mix last a lot longer by using it as a thin shell coating like he did. not sure he used the ceramic variant though.
6:50
Nice work, man!!
Fantastic!! I would love to build a clone of a Harley flatty. Wow you are set up for some big work.
super clean job sir, well done :)
wow superb result! i'd love to see how you make your lovely foam patterns! I;d love to cast a large flat heatsink. thanks and subcribed
We did sand box casting at school and used inlet and outlet sprues. I wondered if that would improve your experience?
Excellent video! Thanks!!
Such great content!👍🏻
That is bloody impressive with loose sand.
hi, I have no experience with casting but I find these videos incredibly interesting, so excuse my perhaps ridiculous question: how come the sand didn't collapse as the aluminum melted through the foam? for instance the "tube" on top seems like it would melt and the surrounding sand collapse into the hole. The only thing I can think of is that because the sand is cold any aluminum that touches it instantly solidifies, or maybe that the sand becomes rigid with the high heat, or you could just be a wizard haha. So how come it works?
When the sand is vibrated, it becomes loosely bound by the mechanical contact of the granular media. It's not bound as tightly as green clay or chemically bound sand, but more so than non-vibrated/compacted sand. As the metal evaporates and replaces the foam it creates pressure on the mold wall which also helps hold the sand in place until it solidifies. Best, Kelly
There's also a refractory slurry dip @7:00 ish that plays a pretty big part. Effectively a ceramic coating that keeps the sand from sticking to the metal and keeps the foam holding the shape even as it melt/burns off. The part isn't metal to sand, it's metal to ceramic.
@@mad1337nes Your right in this case but many people do it without the slurry.
A company I bought a melting pot from specialized in making machine gun parts for the military. They used wax patterns (lost wax casting) but dipped the wax in a slurry first and when it was partly dry they dipped them in fine sand and then let the slurry fully dry. They would come back later and repeat the process to build up a heavy coating on the outside. After fully drying they went into a burn out oven to completely remove the wax and turn the slurry coating to glass. While still red hot they then poured the metal. After cooling they dipped into cold water to shock the glass casing and most of it would fall away. The parts came out perfect.
@@tenlittleindians sure, but the original question was "how do you do sand casting with no defects from sand particles?" and the answer is, and always will be, don't have sand be the final barrier. The OP guessed correctly.
Myfordboy does plenty of green sand casting bare/directly to sand...and you can always see some minor imperfections (which is fine when it's getting milled to final anyways).
@@mad1337nes Myfordboy also does a lot of investment casting these days and uses his 3D printed parts instead of foam patterns. All methods mentioned work it's just a matter of how much detail you need in your final product.
A company I worked for still gets their split mold petrobond sand castings from India and then finish machines them into industrial hydraulic valves. I've got a centrifugal caster in my basement for objects I investment cast. If all I needed was a sledge hammer head I'm sure the sand alone would get the job done provided it's vibration packed.
Another old video here shows the vibration process. ua-cam.com/video/nxcG7MF0KIE/v-deo.html
When 3D metal printers become common none of us will be casting.
very tidy shop, this shows that the performance from top to bottom will be very good, in fact the resulting work is excellent. I am going to go through your video list to see if you have info on what alloy you would recommend for petrol powered cylinder head and heat treatment
I use A356 for most everything because it's a good all around casting alloy but can and needs post heat treatment for best strength. You might look into AlMag 35 (aluminum alloy 535) as it has good as cast strength and machining properties.
@@kellycoffield533 Would a high percentage copper alloy (like 25% 30% Cu) need heat treatment?
@@tomassosaoconnor IDK. I don't think I've ever seen an aluminum alloy with that high of Cu content. I suspect it would be very brittle.
Very great Job !
VERY GOOD!
Ten out of TEN.
Top of the class!
😊
10:30 Its a good thing those casters have no ball bearings, they would be destroyed between the powdery sand and the vibration induced denting of the races. Also don't breathe that silica dust, keep a vacuum on when pouring it. Reminds me of the poofing that garlic powder does sometimes. To avoid that dust, commercial casting to near net shape often uses a specific ceramic slurry and coarser sand.
The casters have bearings. Still going strong after years. The sand is washed and dried 45-55 mesh. -Very coarse by foundry standards. You'd get more exposure on a walk at the beach. Best, Kelly
Looks great!!! perfect work!!!
Thank you very much!
gorgeous castings
do you think maybe cutting a pac-man shaped piece of material to set ontop of the sand opened toward the ceramic cup. to compress the sand some while vibrating
I've used plaster and wax to make jewelry castings. This is very interesting though I had no idea this was actually a thing. Model makers and prop makers should pay particular attention.
Looks like some good work
Thanks for sharing so many details in this video! Can you also tell us what alloy of aluminum you are using, pour temperature, and what heat treatment you would use? Really fascinating!
A356 Aluminum, 1425F, T5. Best, Kelly
Très intéressant reportage ! Bravo au Fondeur !
beautiful work
That turned out nice!
I want to cast antique boat deck vents. Simple sand cast, however I'd like to use this lost foam process. How would you suggest I make the foam patterns without CNC milling out of foam block. I have an original vent as the pattern. How do I make the foam copy?
Really impressed.
amazing result
I'd like to cast a couple cylinders for a Scooter, a big bore for a 50cc that allows the use of 150 cc pistons with 57.4mm bore, the largest big bore available isid 52.4 . While it will require case modification, for oil passages ( most likely) id like to also either cast a head that uses the 150cc valves, or modify the case to have the 150 stud pattern so a 150head fits . Cast a cylinder that is shorter than the 150, because of the shorter stroke. Also make the fins longer by about 25% and try to fit another fin or two to both, the head seems to not have much cooling. Or possibly cast a head and cylinder that gets a water jacket welded over it after casting. A piston with smaller wrist pins is also required. If water cooling, cast a new cover to fit over the flywheel to hold water pump that runs on the crank. And a small reservoir tank with 1/2" water hoses, use a heater core for radiator, cast a thermostat housing and water crossover from cylinder to head. Maybe the water pump and impeller also. Use a 6mm stainless rod. With a 17mm docket like coupling to adapt the shaft to the crank by the flywheels nut. The tiny impeller being roughly 3" diameter and 1" thick or less, the engine spinning at or above 10,000 rpm, it should move enough water, since it doesn't operate below 4500. Cast the thermostat housing with a 5/16 bypass. With spring and flap to operate vas a pressure valve, if the pump pushes hard enough it. Opens to prevent cavitation..
Anther thing would be a two cylinder cylinder snd head to make the motor a two cylinder. Instead of welding two together . Use a 50mm or 52.4 mm bore. Using the125cc valves. And mill a camshaft blank from a steel shaft with key ways, and make the lobes from tool steel, and have custom lobes ground after being keyed in place. And silver soldered with a spacer sleeve to hold the bearings and sprocket. Possibly do it differently thatthe welded versions put the timing chain between cylinders and make the right side of the head a mirrored copy of the left side . To prevent interesting sparkplug installation.. sorry to ramble, have a awesome day!🎉✌️
very interesting process, with great results!!! Like others, I have a couple questions if you dont mind....
How much material do you leave for machining? I.E. How much undersize is the bore so that you can machine the proper diameter?
How much extra thickness do you leave for machining the flanges, where the heads and block would mount?
On the large cylinder .063" would probably be enough but I'd allow .125" machine stock on all surfaces just in case there were some surface imprefectins in the casting. Half that on the small castings. Best, Kelly
Kelly that is awesome.
I’ve been in the foundry biz for 36 years, your furnace is over kill! But nice😅
Is there is a video on how did you make does pink and Blue Engine Finney?
Nice work! Where you source you material for the pouring cups you made? What brand is the moldable ceramic fiber? Thanks.
Inswoool. I bought the moldable and pumpable ceramic fiber from my local refractory supply distributor. Inswool is a Harbison Walker brand but there are many, like Kawool, Fiberfrax, and others. They are all air setting moldable alumina silicate mixes, usually available in a caulking tube, 1 gal, 5 gal sizes. Moldable is putty like, and pumpable is like pudding. Moldable works best for forming shapes, pumpable as glue, filling cracks and patching. It can be bought online. Search "moldable ceramic fiber". You'll occasionally find it on eBay and Amazon. Shop price.....it can vary significantly but is all the same stuff. Also, search my channel for a video entitled "Reusable Pouring Basin" for more info. Best, Kelly
Can you tell me where you purchase your SLURRY from and would it work with iron? Also I am sorry I missed the materials used 11:49 for the pouring cup?