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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 { | t + 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

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