What is the Definition of Foundry?

Find answers to some of our popular questions on foundry equipment and processes here, and get in touch today.

Generally, sand foundries are categorised as one of two types: ferrous (dealing with iron or iron-based metals like steel), and non-ferrous (other types of metals like aluminium).  This is the primary category as it has the most impact on the equipment and methods used in the casting process.

Foundry equipment covers all types of machinery, tools, and materials that are needed for the metal casting process. Omega Sinto offers a range of high-quality equipment that is specifically suited for chemically boned or ‘air set’ mould production. This equipment includes sand mixers, sand reclamation plants, mould handling, core making, coating plants, and our own cloud-based support service for online monitoring and maintenance of the equipment.

In chemically bonded sand foundries, sand mixers are used to uniformly mix sand with a binder to produce an accurate sand mould and one that will stand up to the metal casting process.

Waste Foundry Sand is sand that has been used in the casting process and contaminated with other items such as; residual binder, coatings, ceramic, metal, etc. This sand can then be cleaned graded, and classified sing various sand reclamation processes.

Sand reclamation is the process used to clean ‘contaminated’ sand and prepare it for reuse in the foundry by removing binding agents and metal remnants. This helps to reduce the raw materials that the factory uses, positively impacting cost, waste, and the environment.

Thermal reclamation takes foundry sand that has already gone through mechanical reclamation, and passes it through a furnace where any residual binding agents are safely burned. This process aims to clean as close to 100% of the sand as possible, preparing it for reuse in the foundry.

Foundry cores create internal shapes and cavities. The core making process can be automated by use of a core machine or ‘blower’. In this case, the sand can be pre-coated with a binder and heat cured or gas cured.

For almost 40 years, Omega Sinto has been a world-class manufacturer of chemically bonded sand equipment. Our wide range of products includes sand mixers, mould handling equipment, core making machines and more. Omega Sinto can also help you design your foundry from scratch or upgrade your existing site. Contact the team today via the online contact form to see how we can help you.