Lost Foam Casting

Lost foam sand casting uses an expendable foam pattern. It is used with parts that would otherwise require a complicated and expensive core.

An aluminum tool or mold is used to create the foam pattern, the final pattern can be created from multiple pieces of foam that are then glued together. This aspect of the process allows flexibility with undercuts and coring that may not be easy or inexpensive to achieve with other casting methods.

Lost foam castings are characterized by a good surface finish, good dimensional control and high tooling cost, when compared to other sand cast processes. Cast irons are readily available using the lost foam process, ductile and gray iron are very common.