Additive manufacturing and foundry innovation

Additive manufacturing is expected to transform and upgrade the traditional foundry industry to realize the integrated manufacturing and rapid and low-cost development of high-performance components with complex shapes. The additive manufacturing technology commonly applied in casting mold preparation (fusible molds, sand molds/cores and ceramic cores) mainly includes selective laser sintering (SLS) and binder injection three-dimensional printing (3DP). In this work, the research status of SLS/3DP-casting processes on material preparation, equipment development, process optimization, simulation and application cases in aerospace, automotive and other fields were elaborated. Finally, the developing trends of the additive manufacturing technology in the future of foundry field are introduced, including multi-material sand molds (metal core included), ceramic core-shell integration and die-casting dies with conformal cooling runners.

Automated summary

Additive manufacturing technology is expected to revolutionize the traditional foundry industry by enabling integrated manufacturing and rapid, low-cost development of high-performance components with complex shapes, particularly in the production of casting molds. Current research shows advancements in SLS/3DP-casting processes in material preparation, equipment development, process optimization, simulation, and applications in various industries. The future trends of additive manufacturing in the foundry field include multi-material sand molds, ceramic core-shell integration, and die-casting dies with conformal cooling runners.