Information Sheet:
Ceramic Foam Filters for
SMELKO
Aluminum castings
alee Why use Ceramic Foam Filters?
mi The use of ceramic foam filters has three main advantages:
cree
Steadying of the turbulent flow of metal:
or smelk -homogeneous filling of the mould
-less erosion
-lower formation of oxides inside the mould
Removal of inclusions, therefore:
-better surface quality
-better mechanical properties
-lower rejection rate
Furthermore, a simplified down sprue-runner gating system can be adapted be-
cause no more slag trap or change of runner between cope and drag is needed to
get clean metal with a calm, laminar flow.
Filter sizes as porosities
Drache offers SiC filters in all common sizes starting from 1.5x1.5x0.5" up to
26x26x2" and 28x24x2". Filters sized 6x6" and larger are recommended to be used
in thickness 1.25” or 2”instead of the common thickness of 7/8”. 1.25” thick filters
have the advantage that the bending strength is significantly higher than that of 7/8”
thick filters. Therefore the filters can also be used for larger castings or longer cast-
ing times. Custom tailored solutions (e.g. conical shaped filters) are available on re-
quest.
Drache offers its Al203 ceramic foam filters in the porosities PPI 10, 20 and 30, finer
porosities up to PPI 60 are available on request.
The choice of porosity depends on the grade of cleanness, which should be
achieved. Commonly, PPI 10 or PPI 20 is used in a daily production, as these po-
rosities offer a good relation between filtration capacity and filtration efficiency. For
casting with very high demands on mechanical strength and/or surface appear-
ance (e.g. for automotive applications), the use of PPI 30 filters may be recom-
mended,Information Sheet:
Ceramic Foam Filters for
SMELKO
Aluminum castings
Sch
i)
e ne z Choosing the right size of a Ceramic foam Filter
ce
The following two basic rules are valid for ceramic foam filter in aluminum casting
applications:
Filter capacity: approx. 14.2-28.4 Ib/in2
Casting speed: approx. 0.7- 1.42 Ib/in2*s
It is recommended designing the runner-gating system as shown in Picture 1
1.75
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Picture 1: Design of the downsprue-runner-gating system
While adding the filter print to the mould plate, the filter seat has to be sized correct-
ly to prevent filter breakage while casting. Itis recommended to have a filter size of
approx.. 1/5” for filters up to 3x2", filters up to 4x4” need 1/3" of filter seat while filters
larger than 4x4” need approx. 1 filter seat.
Filters up to 4x4” can be positioned vertically or horizontally inside of the
mould/runner, larger filters should be positioned horizontally only. It is not recom-
mended to position the filter at the bottom of the downsprue, as the risk of filter
breakage is significantly increased
When ceramic foam filters are used, it is recommended to use a “pressure-free”
casting system, to prevent re-oxidation of the molten Aluminum while casting
Please note: All the information above should be considered as a guideline, not as
guaranteed