Lost foam casting never ceases to amaze me :) Thanks for the video

As always Kelly- Bravo and thank you- great information and good post-pour analysis too... your content is appreciated!

Super cool. I am going to build a bench top milling machine with lost foam. I may video it and put it on my channel.

Belo trabalho mais videos assim de montagem de modelos de espuma complexos

good job, I'm working on my setup, picked up a pottery kiln i'm going to try and turn into a propane foundry, have an old battery charger i installed a rheostat on for my hot wire, a few more pieces and i'm casting, thanks for taking the time to make a video.

@kellycoffield533

7 ай бұрын

That should get you down the road a bit. Best, Kelly

Great info on your hot wire - just wish you had shown the internal of your control box - great idea mounting it on the support arm - very handy!

@kellycoffield533

8 ай бұрын

If you go to the the video description there is a link to my hot wire build at the casting forum. You may need to join to see full size pictures, which I highly recommending that you do if you are interested in casting. Best, Kelly

@jimruddy6083

8 ай бұрын

@@kellycoffield533I had already looked through the pictures but perhaps I missed what you are using to control the current through the wire to be able to control the temperature of the wire. Very impressed by the design, Jim

@kellycoffield533

8 ай бұрын

@@jimruddy6083 At the bottom of post #1at that link, it says "For the power supply, I just used a dimmer switch in front of the transformer and get 0-9vac. I fused the 120vac input ahead of the dimmer at 5amps. The wire is 20” of 26ga NiCr. At 9vac it produces about 600f according to the Jacobs calculator." Then in post #16 there are links to the specific transformer and the source (Jacobs Online) for it, the wire, and or kits to build hotwire cutters. Looking at the pictures works in nudy magazines but not so much on technical forums 😁. Obviously I post here on YT but technical forums are a much better source for technical knowledge exchange. I can't teach everything I've learned and know about casting and foundry equipment in a 20 minute video but you might be surprised what you could learn with just a keyword search on such a forum. Best, Kelly

@jimruddy6083

8 ай бұрын

@@kellycoffield533 Thanks - I had missed that.

@shaileshjalavadia6685

5 ай бұрын

Great demonstration

Beautiful casting. #thumbsup

Kelly, LOVE your video's, super informative. But I've probably missed somethings somewhere, a few questions for you, hope you can fill in the blanks. What shrink factor are you using for your casting patterns? Based on what alloy? Do you find vacuum assist for burnoff helpful? Have not seen it employed by you. What's your typical melt temp range for your chosen alloy? Is there a way to reach you for some possible work to be done or advice? Thought I was going to sand casting but my quantities are limited so CNC-ing foam patterns not an issue in house plus it gives me the ability to make changes from part to part. Presently I need to cast a swing arm for a BeSpoke motorcycle build. Been driving solidworks for 22 years and running a CNC and composite fab shop most my adult life. Big thanks for sharing your process here on your channel john h

@kellycoffield533

4 ай бұрын

Shrink is 1.3%. Although I have vacuum assist capability built into my flasks and molding rig, I never use it for aluminum casting. Not sure what you mean by burn off. There is no burn out of the pattern like in block investment and shell casting.....the molten metal evaporates the pattern during the pour. Vacuum will accelerate the rate at which pattern gas is evacuated and the rate at which the metal front consumes the pattern because of the additional head pressure. 1375F for A356 alloy is typical pour temp fo me. Best, Kelly

Kelly can you show us your furnace? The site where you posted, doesn't load.

Excellent demonstration and beautiful casting -- as usual for you. How do you heat the wax fillet without melting the foam? How do you heat the fillet tool?

@kellycoffield533

8 ай бұрын

I use a hot air gun. I briefly hold the wax fillet in the hot air stream which makes it very pliable and then warm the fillet tools with same. The wax fillet is specially formulated for lost foam casting. Further discussed in this video: kzread.info/dash/bejne/hmZ8mreBY7fLkbA.htmlsi=UM9uuqn4IIMk_njq Best, Kelly

@lewisnapper4059

8 ай бұрын

Thank you!@@kellycoffield533

Wow!

Could you tell me where you purchase your 356 or of a good source?

@kellycoffield533

8 ай бұрын

I buy from a commerical supplier because a foundry friend had a close relationship and introduced me. Even with that I pay in advance and unless you are prepared to buy 1000-2000lbs per purchase and set up an account with them, I suggest you look elsewhere. Even so, most metal suppliers won't mess with an individual for such small purchases and if they are not near you, shipping cost will significantly increase the cost. If you have an aluminum foundry in your area, befriend them and ask if you can buy some ingot or gating/returns from them. Best, Kelly

Top

Hi Very impressive your foundry process. Do you do work for other people? Regards Rob

@kellycoffield533

4 ай бұрын

I make intake manifolds for Inline Carb systems and occassionally other Ford intake manifolds but other than that, in general I don't do contract work. Best, Kelly

@robpreston3705

4 ай бұрын

Hi Kelly Thanks for the reply Brilliant work Best regards Rob@@kellycoffield533

First, nice job, it looks good. There is quite a difference from the original to your part. Understandable considering yours was lost foam. The original probably a sand or permanent mold. Lost foam is great if you get a casting the first time. But you add hours every bad casting. A wood pattern and corebox would take longer to build. But you can cast as many as you want. And overall the casting would be lighter. I do like your casting though, been subscribed for a while.

@kellycoffield533

8 ай бұрын

The purpose was to make 1pc. Having worked in a foundry briefly when I was young, and having had lifelong friends that owned foundries and pattern shops, I had/have no desire whatsoever to do production work. -Much respect for them but no thanks, I went to school. If I wanted 100pcs or more, I'd hire it.....maybe I'd do the pattern work to defray those costs if I could get any commercial foundry to give me the time of day for 100pcs of a 1-2lb casting. I literally had less than 90 minutes into the whole shebang. Without much more effort, it could have been 1/2 dozen peices. My first pass success is very high, but I've been at it a while. The two flat plates are

@roscoepatternworks3471

8 ай бұрын

@@kellycoffield533 the type of lost foam casting im used to is quite different. I built patterns for the foam molds. The molds were cast in aluminum, polished and machined. Used to make 100s of parts. I like what you're doing, just fives me more ideas. Thanks

@kellycoffield533

8 ай бұрын

@@roscoepatternworks3471 LF is a very interesting process. As much as the process fascinates me, I'm more interested in the parts I can make with it. For me, it enables complex castings that would be totally impractical for a hobby caster....but I try to limit it to non-critically stressed parts. Every process has it's place, but if I had to go to the trouble of molding LF patterns, I'd just make the masters and core boxes for conventional sand casting and call it a day. Even though it can be more economical to make the soft tooling for LF patterns for certain features and production levels, controlling the materials and processes to used to make consistent and usable patterns, is less so......but,.... Things like complex parting lines, core prints, core boxes, draft, undercuts, mold binder, mold and pattern material costs, are things that dont even enter my thought process, and I really like that design freedom. I get a lot of people that say why dont you lost wax/PLA/lost-whatever that thing and use shell or investment methods. My automotive intake manifolds require 450lbs molds and my pattern and mold costs are essentially zero. My burn out happens when I pour and I demold by dumping it on the pavement and picking the part out of the dry unbound sand, not chipping off a hard mold. -Try that with shell or investment! 😀Best, Kelly .

The only bit missing is the actual casting work. Beautiful results tho.

@kellycoffield533

8 ай бұрын

The primary focus of this video was to demonstrate how a good quality lost foam pattern could be made with simple methods that are available to anyone. As much as I'd like to include all aspects of casting in every video, that would make them impracticaly long and repetitous, but it is coverered in many of the other videos on my channel. Best, Kelly