CO2 Molding Process

CO2 Molding Process

• The Mold for Co2 Casting is made of a mixture
of sand and liquid silicate binder
• Which is hardened by passing Co2 gas over
the mold.
• Carbon dioxide molding deliver great accuracy
in production.
 CO2-Sodium Silicate Casting
• Kind of Sand casting process
– Dimensionally accurate castings with fine surface finish
– Process is not economical than green sand casting process
– Its rapid mold hardening
– Moisture is completely eliminated from the molding sand
– Good surface finish
– Thin section casting
– Hard mold
– Less machining
– High production run
 Mold
• The material for making the mold
– Clean dry silica sand
• The binder used is sodium silicate liquid (Na2SiO3)
about 3 to 4%.
• That mold receive its strength from the addition of
sodium silicate,
• A liquid inorganic binder that is also known as water
glass and become harder by flow of carbon die oxide
gas.
• CO2 is blown into the mold or core at a pressure of
around 20 psi, which hardens the mold.
 Applications
• The modification of CO2 process can be used
• Where speed and flexibility is the prime
requirement.
• When certain portions of a mold require high
strength, better accuracy, thinner sections or
deep draws.
• Molds and cores of a varied sizes and shapes
can be molded by this process.
 CO2-Sodium Silicate Casting
• Cylinder
• Impellers: a rotating device used to force a fluid in a desired
direction under pressure
• Agricultural machines; lifting machines; grinding machines;
medical machines, automobile cars, etc
CO2-Sodium Silicate Casting
 CO2-Sodium Silicate Casting
• Some sodium silicate bonding agent permit
self-setting action without CO2.

• Special carbonaceous sands or sea coal

improves shakeout (The act of removing
castings from the sand mold ).

• It also reduces pollution.

 CO2-Sodium Silicate Casting
• Silicate bonded sands can be shaken out
relatively easily by mixing additives in them to
enhance the collapsibility of sodium silicate
mold.
• Sugar is used up to 12% as a breakdown agent
so the core deteriorates fully after
solidification of mold.
• The molding sand can be reused by adding
30% new sand.
 CO2-Sodium Silicate Casting
Procedure:
• The mold is prepared from this mixture by
– Standard molding machines
– Core blowers
– By hand
• After the mold has been prepared with the required
cavity.
• Before removing the molding jacket
– CO2 gasket is fitted on top of the flask or a hood is placed
on top of larger molds
– CO2 is blown into the mold.
 CO2-Sodium Silicate Casting
• Sodium Silicate binder reacts with the CO2 to form
silica gel, which gives it a strong and smooth surface.
• The reaction is as follow:

Na2SiO3 + CO2  SiO2 + Na2CO3

• This silica gel acts as cement to bond sand grains

together.
• In some case, CO2 molding has been used together
with zircon sand to give superior finish and to make
permenent molds or patterns.
 CO2-Sodium Silicate Casting
• CO2 must be blown uniformly through the sand body
with pattern to harden the contact area.
• Small tubes and vented pattern facilitate this
process.
• The time of CO2 blowing is 15 to 30s.
• Sand mixed with sodium silicate is packed around a
metal pattern to a depth of about 1 in followed by
regular molding sand.
 Disadvantages
• The hardened sand has poor collapsibility, so
creates shakeout and core removal difficulty
and the additives are generally to enhance the
collapsibility.
• Care must be taken to prevent the carbon
dioxide in air from hardening the sand before
the mold making process is complete.
• It is more expensive than the other sand
methods, and harder to shake out from
internal passages in the castings