Casting resources
 

I've been considering casting as one option for my intake project. Obviously, there are benefits and drawbacks to casting versus the more traditional sheet metal intake.

This is one (among several :lol:) type of processes that I know very little about.

Does anyone have any experience with any casting companies that would serve a "hobbyist"?

Anyone have a ball park pricing on how much a company would charge for a cast aluminum 20B intake made from just a ProE ort Solidworks drawing?

The little bit of research I did, indicated that several companies would offer such services, but I couldn't get a response.

Any help is always appreciated.
Thank you kindly.

I've looked into casting as well. http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com was the best resource I have found.

eMachineShop (.com) will do casting in low quantities but the set-up fees are extraordinary (as one would expect).

I havent done it myself, but i know i can go to small founderys localy with my own plug for a mold and they will do a small run.

Now we havnt bought anything though work thats like a 20b intake manifold, but we have had fairly complex round pieces done that were 6" round 4" deep aluminium that were made with what i understand is a mult piece mold and its aruond 45per for the run of 10 we purchased.

Your best bet will be to make a foam version and take it somewhere that can/will do loast foam casting.

The bugger in this is the coring.

I work in manufacturing. Molds to be exact, and I've seen how they make modern aluminum intake manifolds, heads, and engine blocks at Bodine Aluminum here in Troy, MO for Toyota. We make/fix molds for them.

They use a modern twist on the old cope and drag sand casting called "Permanent Mold". It's basically a steel mold that can be reused, BUT, uses sand cores to produce the internal passages.

A quick rundown on the how they make the coring that can be used in either a traditional sand or permanent mold:


They blow sand mixed with a binding agent into a "core box" with considerable pressure that packs it in very tightly. Basically a mold for the shape of the core to produce an internal void in the casting. Yes, it is a solid a representation of the air space in the finished product. Then they bake the core box and sand/binder mix to activate the binder, cool, open the core box, and trim the now solid and relatively durable core. They are fragile but not incredibly so. The engineers design in ways (tabs and such) on the cores that fit into areas on the mold to position the core correctly so material flows evenly around them and the wall sections are relatively even. After the mold is poured and cooled the casting is removed and they use vibration to disintegrate the coring. It then runs out like loose sand, because that is what it is again. Then they reuse it.

The Mazda web site section "how to make a rotary engine" shows a worker hand trimming a core, made for a rotor, made just as I described above.

Casting the intake by an experienced caster, if you have a pattern and coring, will not be that expensive. The issues are, foremost, the internal coring and the accurate pattern. The issue with the pattern and subsequent casting will be the radically steep, stepped parting line that will have to follow the curve of the intake (side view). The steeper the steps, the more difficult. You just cant cast an intake with a simple (flat) parting line.

I hope this helps. It is still not undoable, but you need to have the key ingredients. Workable coring and pattern.