Possibilities of utilizing 3DP technology for foundry mould making

Sumary of application of three-dimensional printing (3DP) technology for making casting prototypes are discussed. Threedimensional printing enables making of foundry moulds for elements of complex shapes. The mould presented in the paper was printed with the use of Z510 Spectrum unit in the Car Technology Sp. z o.o. (Ltd. Co.) in Krakow. The basic material for printing foundry moulds is the ZCast 501 powder. This powder is a mixture of traditional molding sand, gypsum and supplementary ingredients. The mould is made in ZCast technology, and it enables casting of zinc, magnesium and aluminum alloys at max. pouring temperature of 1100°C. The paper describes research on the possibility to utilize a standard ZP14 powder for building a rotor blade casting moulds. The research has showed that the ZP14 powder may serve for printing foundry moulds, which should then be subjected to thermo-chemical treatment. Application of the basic ZPrint system powder permits a reduction in mould manufacturing costs.