Rapid Sand Casting for High-Tech Application: A Review

Prototyping is an application of additive manufacturing technique that has emerged as one of the leading techniques in parts manufacturing because of its high importance in fabricating cast products. One typical process in prototyping that has gained some prominence in the last few decades is the rapid sand casting (RSC) technique. RSC is a patternless method for creating sand molds and cores for casting. It has the advantages of producing different iterations of designs, inducing part consolidation, minimizing waste, promoting integrity and functionality, and reducing weight. All these consequently enhance lead times and minimize costs. Despite this importance, RSC has inconsistent properties, such as hardness, fracture toughness, tensile strength, surface finish, and dimensional accuracy in serially manufactured parts, these challenges have limited RSC uses and prominence in specific high-tech applications, such as aerospace, biomedical, automotive, etc. This review addresses solutions to the challenges of property inconsistencies, thereby making RSC suitable for high-tech applications. Furthermore, we explore the innovative approaches required for the RSC technique.