How does horizontal 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).
The DISA FLEX system incorporates the unique DISA high pressure, double blow and FLEXIPAD hydraulic squeeze technique. Combining a double blow (that compacts the sand closest to the pattern the most) with a mechanical squeeze (that has the opposite effect) ensures uniform sand compaction throughout the mould.
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).
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
Advantages of the horizontal 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 easily changed between runs.
This flexibility and accessibility makes it attractive for manufacturing a wide variety of castings in the short series and low volumes typical of jobbing foundries.
Applications
Horizontal green sand casting is well suited to grey and nodular iron castings as well as steel, aluminium 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.
Discover our horizontal moulding solution, DISA FLEX :
Moulding:
101 - 150 moulds per hour
DISA FLEX
The DISA FLEX is a horizontal flask turn-style moulding machine, designed for foundries wanting a flexible solution for production of high quality, medium and heavy near net shape castings.