ExOne, a global leader in industrial sand and metal 3D printers using binder jetting technology, has announced an agreement to optimise its sand 3D printers for use with premium Naigai Cerabeads from ITOCHU Ceratech Corporation, a leading Japanese ceramic product manufacturer.

Cerabeads are a premium ceramic foundry sand used to create moulds and cores for metal casting high-value products in the automotive, oil and gas, mining and construction industries. That includes cylinder blocks and hydraulic valves, as well as pumps, impellers and tools.

Compared to natural sand and other foundry media, Cerabeads deliver mould and core packages with a range of benefits: According to ExOne these include higher-strength sandcasting packages, high heat resistance, with low thermal expansion, improved final part resolution and surface finish and reduced waste and dust with high reclamation value

In use at more than 100 foundries worldwide, Cerabeads deliver outstanding results with a range of metals, including steels (low-alloy, carbon, and stainless), iron (grey, ductile), aluminium and other metals where tight control and surface finish is desired.

As part of its agreement ExOne will develop and optimise the process settings of its S-Print, S-Max, and S-Max Pro sand 3D printers for use with Naigai Cerabeads.