During the casting mold production process, different molds are made from various materials, each with its unique properties. As it stands, cast iron molds, which are typically used for mass production casting, are widely utilized due to their high strength, hardness, excellent wear resistance, good machinability, low cost, and long service life.
In light of the current situation, we must be mindful that with the enhancement of casting mold's casting level, there is an increasing use of spheroidal iron or low rare earth alloy gray cast iron, which boasts higher strength and wear resistance, for patterns, mold bases, and mold frames. However, cast iron with better heat-resistant fatigue properties is also being utilized as core box material.
During the casting process, for steel, the primary applications in the past have been for standard parts on mold casting, wear-resistant inserts, or liners, rather than for the actual casting mold itself. In this regard, the service life of carbon steel is not superior to gray iron or low-alloy gray iron, but the price of alloy steel is quite expensive.
However, with the advancement of mold processing technology and the increased demand for dimensional stability in casting molds, mold steel or high-speed steel is inevitably used for manufacturing casting molds. Moreover, due to their lightweight and high dimensional accuracy, aluminum alloy molds have a wide range of applications. Lately, however, there has been a trend of reduced usage, with some applications being replaced by plastic molds (for smaller casting batches) or cast iron molds (for larger casting batches).
In addition, based on years of experience in casting molds, professional molds are introduced, which will lead to an increasing use of steel in the production of mold bases, core box frames, and other workpieces.
The materials used in these casting molds now predominantly feature cast iron. With the gradual phase-out of manual molding, the use of molding machines, core shooter machines, and shell core machines for molding is an inevitable trend.
