What is a No-Bake Molding
No-bake molding is a sand molding process where synthetic liquid resin is mixed with the sand, and the mixture hardens and cools at room temperature*. In addition to the sand and resin, the molding mixture contains bentonite, water, inert sludge, anthracite, and a small amount of various other minerals. The casting is formed by pouring liquid metal into the resulting mold cavity after the sand mixture is fully cured and the mold halves are assembled together. This process takes place in a normal atmosphere without adding heat to the mold prior to the pour,which is why No-bake molding is also called cold-set or air-set molding.
This method differs from greensand molding by using the resin to harden the sand rather than compaction. Just like greensand molding, a steel flask is used to hold the sand while the mold is closed and the casting is poured.
Willman No-Bake Foundry Facilities
The no-bake molding facilities in our foundry consist of two different molding bays providing flexible and high capacity production. Our Center Bay molding floor is used to produce medium weight castings from 100 to 3,000 pounds. This molding bay handles typical mold sizes: 36-square, 42-square, 48-square, 54-square, and 64-square. Our North Bay molding floor is used to produce large heavy-weight castings from 3,000 to 36,000 pounds. This molding bay handles typical mold sizes: 72-square, 76-round, 84-square, 96-square, and 120-square.
Each no-bake molding bay is equipped with its own continuous mixer, each mixing up to 1500 pounds of sand per minute. In addition to standard flask sizes, Willman Industries utilizes a variety of other rectangular flasks and mold boxes. Our no-bake molding bays are our most versatile production molding area. We can produce castings of all size ranges in our no-bake foundry. We can produce new tooling in our pattern shop, or we can use your existing tooling of any configuration.
What You Can Expect from No-Bake Molding
The Willman Industries no-bake foundry offers advantages in casting quality and is able to produce difficult and complex castings. Castings made using no-bake molding will have a better surface finish compared to castings made using greensand molds. This type of molding produces castings with a high degree of metallurgical soundness and high dimensional consistency. Because of these characteristics, no-bake molding is an excellent choice for large or complex castings with strict quality requirements. Willman Industries produces a wide range of components at our Wisconsin Foundry using this method, including large air inlets, pump volutes, compressor volutes, flywheel housings, large bushings, housings, suction covers, spacers, compressor cylinders, trunnion supports, wheel hubs, machine tool frames and bases, gearboxes, manifolds for large engines, and cable drums.
No-bake molding is recommended for most castings greater than 1,000 pounds and is most suitable for single-piece orders up to approximately 500 pieces per year. Because no-bake molding is a manual process where a relatively small amount of molds are produced per shift, castings made by this method are much more expensive than those made using greensand. Therefore, no-bake molding is the primary choice for large castings, low-volume production castings, and challenging castings that cannot be made in greensand.
The Best Choice For No-Bake Castings
At Willman Industries, we have decades of experience using the no-bake molding process to make high-quality engineered castings. Call us today for a free consultation! Our production No-Bake Facilities have the open capacity to meet your demand for castings!
*https://www.amazon.com/Manufacturing-Processes-Engineering-Materials-5th/dp/0132272717
