Casting & Moldmaking Solutions

Overview

Why Is Blasting Used in the Casting & Moldmaking Industry? After casting parts are removed from the mold, their surface carries sand residue, an oxide layer, and flash; cleaning these away with blasting prepares the part for its next processing steps (machining, coating, assembly). In investment casting, breaking the ceramic shell/mold and separating it from the part's surface requires a separate blasting/mechanical cleaning step. On the mold-maker's side, roughening or polishing the mold surface by blasting is a preparation step that directly affects casting quality and mold life.

A Solution Matched to Volume and Part Type: For small and medium-sized casting parts (e.g. automotive/industrial castings), drum-type or rotary-table automatic systems deliver repeatable results suited to serial production; for large or irregularly shaped parts, portable/out-of-cabin blasting equipment provides on-site flexibility.

Periodic Cleaning of the Mold Itself: Molds are usually made of steel alloys; molds left idle for long periods without being pressed can be exposed to corrosion. Likewise, rubber residue that sticks to the surface after pressing in rubber molds, and leftover residues from the production process in plastic injection molds and aluminum injection molds, are cleaned by blasting the mold itself. For this process, delicate consumables such as glass beads are generally preferred so as not to alter the mold's tolerances and geometry; a manual or automatic rotary-table blasting cabinet sized to fit inside the mold is ideal for this job. For molds where a bright/uniform surface is desired, such as aluminum extrusion dies and rubber molds, wet blasting technique is preferred.