Horizontal Flaske Moulding

How does horizontal flaske moulding work?

In horizontal moulding, the two mould halves (“cope” is the top mould half and “drag” is the bottom one) are made separately inside flasks (a frame with no top or bottom enclosing each mould half).

Benefits of utilizing the horizontal flaske moulding process

  • Horizontal moulding equipment can produce metal casting moulds suitable for most ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Pattern tooling is simple to make and can be easily changed between runs
  • The flexibility and accessibility make it attractive for manufacturing a wide variety of castings in the short series and low volumes typical of jobbing foundries
  • Horizontal green sand casting is well suited to grey and nodular iron castings, as well as steel, aluminum, and other non-ferrous metals. Patterns made of plastic, wood, and metal can be used
  • It is widely applied for automotive castings like engine blocks, suspension parts, and brake discs. Other common applications include gearboxes, stator housings, compressor housings, and pumps

These are the four main operations in the DISA FLEX horizontal moulding process. They are carried out twice: once to form the top (cope) mould half and then repeated to form the bottom mould half (drag).

 
The cope pattern plate and flask are placed under the chamber and filled with sand.  The pressure impulse is divided into two phases. The first has a lower air pressure (0.5 bar) which
pre-compacts the sand. 

 
A second wave of higher pressure air (5 bar) further compacts the sand,
giving perfect mould filling in critical pattern areas. 		 The final, highest-pressure squeeze is carried out by the hydraulic
FLEXIPAD (10 bar). The squeeze pad compensates for any irregularities
due to the pattern geometry, ensuring uniform compaction all over the
mould. Once both moulds are complete, the drag mould is turned over
and any cores are inserted. The cope is  placed on top of the drag and
the mould is closed, ready for metal pouring.