DZanetech has announced that the company has reached the milestone of 10 years since it launched its own ceramic foundry sand with a proprietary elemental make-up, developed exclusively for DZanetech.

“ISOCAST 50 is a spherically shaped, electro fused bauxite moulding media, with a proprietary elemental make-up, exclusive to DZanetech. Its core attributes of consistency, productivity and efficiency in the core and mould making fields, is what sets us apart from other ceramic sands,” explains Jacques Swanepoel, National Sales Manager at DZanetech.

“Traditionally foundry sands consist primarily of clean, uniformly sized, high-quality silica sand used in the production of moulds for both ferrous (iron and steel) and non-ferrous (copper, aluminium, brass) metal casting industries.”

“Moulding sands are obtained by adding binding agents to virgin silica sands. Silica sand is mainly used because of its thermal conductivity. It can absorb and transmit heat while allowing the gases generated during the thermal degradation of binders to pass through the grains. In general, moulding sand is extensively used because it is easy to use, economical, has high-temperature resistance and, due to its ability to bind with other binders and organic materials, outperforming natural sand. According to their composition, foundry sands are classified into two types: green sands and chemical foundry sands.”

ISOCAST 50 is versatile enough to accommodate a wide range of casting processes and alloys, from sand casting to investment casting. This is a hydraulic valve core courtesy of Premac Hydraulics and Engineering Solutions

“However, as a ‘new’ artificial sand, ceramic sand has been rapidly extended in foundry use. Ceramic sand has excellent properties, including spherical shape, high refractoriness, good crush resistance, inert chemical characteristics and high reclamation yields. Ceramic sand has a distinguished performance record in the foundry in comparison with silica sand and other popularly used special sands.”

Key highlights of ISOCAST 50
“Additionally, ISOCAST 50 is durable, consistent and reduces binder consumption compared to other foundry sands. Its spherical shape facilitates easier separation from cast parts and enhances collapsibility, thus reducing scrap and improves casting tolerances.”

“ISOCAST 50 also offers a significant cost saving when compared to zircon, chromite and black ceramic sand and Naigai Cerabeads sand.”

“It is also environmentally friendly as compared to silica sand which, often has silicosis associated with it. It has a lower thermal expansion and thermal conductivity, requires 30 to 50% less resin and can be used as a single sand and offers lower true specific gravity and surface area. Because there is less burn-on, in some cases no coating is necessary. This all adds up to reduced production costs.”

“More importantly the casting dimensions are more accurate and the lower conductivity provides better mould performance. The optimal grain size distribution provides the ideal foundation for creating detailed and intricate moulds. And the excellent flowability properties allows you to fill complex mould cavities to ensure every detail is captured with precision, thus resulting in a smoother surface, sharper edges and minimal defects.”

“It is widely used in the manufacture of speciality cores and for a closed loop moulding system. More recently ceramic sand is being used, for example, in the production of 3D printing moulds.”

“It is an artificial foundry sand that is regarded as the right substitute for chromite, zircon and fused silica sand. It is well regarded as a revolutionary new foundry sand.”

Applications
“ISOCAST 50 ceramic sand is a neutral and inert material, so it can be used in acid and alkali binder systems and also adapted to various alloys. It can be widely used in all kinds of sand moulding, such as resin-coated sand, self-setting resin sand, core box, green sand, precision casting and lost foam casting.”

“ISOCAST 50’s versatile applications are of such that whether you are casting aluminium, brass, bronze or other metals. ISOCAST 50 is versatile enough to accommodate a wide range of casting processes and alloys, from sand casting to investment casting, it is the perfect choice for all your metalworking needs.”

For further details contact DZanetech for Johannesburg 083 274 1657 (Koketso Mamogale) or for Johannesburg/KwaZulu-Natal 066 010 0999 (Zaid Syed) or 082 809 7380 (Paul Malone) or Cape Town on 082 562 8779 (Dean Horne) or 083 454 5465 (Johan Jooste) or visit www.dzanetech.co.za