FOSECO

S I V E X* F C
MACHINEABLE FOAM FILTERS

THE SAFE DECISION FOR THE PERFECT ALUMINIUM CASTING

 SIVEX FC-FILTERS FOR ALUMINIUM CASTING
MACHINEABLE FILTERS WITH A FOAM STRUCTURE PROVIDED IN DIFFERENT POROSITIES FOR ADVANCED ALUMINIUM CASTINGS

In recent years SIVEX FC filters have proven to The performance of the SIVEX FC foam filter is In particular the last aspect must be emphasised
be successful in producing high quality sand outstanding as it is specifically designed to be since inclusions of ceramic filters in machined
and die castings. compatible for aluminium casting: areas can cause major problems.
This applies especially for aluminium castings Faulty application can effect the machining line
1. SIVEX FC can be safely remelted in the
employed in automotive engineering where causing downtime due to tool damage.
return material as no contaminating elements
weight reduction is of growing importance. (for instance iron or phosphor) go into solution. In comparison to other known ceramic materials
Safety relevant elements, such as aluminium SIVEX FC can be machined without problems.
2. SIVEX FC can be removed from the melt
alloy wheels and chassis components, demand This fact was shown by the following
surface easily due to its comparable low density.
a close adherence to high quality standards in investigation undertaken by the IPT Fraunhofer
terms of mechanical properties. 3. SIVEX FC is machineable. Institut for Production Technology.
In this application open pored SIVEX FC filters
have proven themselves as very effective.
The smoothing and restraining of the metal flow
Wear indication width (VB): Criteria for the wear of a cutting blade by the ceramic
is an important property of the foam structure
Determination of VB
filter. In addition to this exogenous and/or VB
endogenous inclusions are removed effectively
from the metal stream before entering the mould - Double edged milling cutter as trial tool
cavity. - Measurement of the wear indication width
at the free area

Wear indication width after several cycles

BMW suspension arm and Filter print
SIVEX FC after 150 cycles CERAMIC FILTER after 14 cycles

Blow hole before the filter Blow hole close to the casting
surface caused by turbulent flow

For this purpose SIVEX FC filters are placed as

close as possible to the casting. The running
VB= 0.022 mm VB = 0.184 mm
system should be designed as non-pressurised
and the choke set before the filter to avoid any
additional increase of flow rate. Wear of cutting tool: A comparison of SIVEX FC and a ceramic filter
The application example on the right hand side mm CERAMIC FILTER
shows a suspension arm of the BMW 5-series, 0.040

just being ejected from the die. The filter print is 0.035
Wear indication width (VB)

clearly visible. Here the task of SIVEX FC is to 0.030

restrain the falling speed of the metal preventing
the formation of blow holes and oxide inclusions
0.025
SIVEX FC
caused by turbulent flow. Due to this practice it 0.020

is possible to guarantee the required mechanical 0.015

properties. 0.010

0.005
Number of cycles
Pictures of BMW suspension arm and filter print with kind support of Thyssen
Umformtechnik + Guss, Aluminium-Technik, Kloth-Senking Metallgießerei GmbH,
VW manifold - poured on a DISAMATIC 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Hildesheim With kind support by Volkswagen Gießerei, Hannover
 SIVEX FC-FOAM ST R U C T U R E F I L T E R S
SIVEX FC - FOR HIGH QUALITY ALUMINIUM CASTING: EFFECTIVE FLOW CONTROL, MINIMISATION OF BLOW HOLES, REGULAR MOULD FILLING

The smooth and regular flow of an aluminium melt is the main assumption to guarantee a good casting result. However, within a
vertical gating system a metal melt reaches, in free fall, a speed much in excess of the critical value of 0.5 m/s even when a low
pouring height is used. In co-operation with the University of Birmingham a test programme of insitu x-ray investigations was
carried out examining the flow characteristics of a flowing aluminium melt.
Figure 1 shows the flow characteristics in the running system of a simple mould. A pouring height of only 220 mm already causes
a significant turbulent flow. In figure 2 a glass cloth sieve was employed, building up no back pressure and almost spreading the
metal. Figure 3 shows the flow through an extruded ceramic filter. A totally different situation results when a SIVEX FC, for
instance with a porosity of 20 ppi (pores per inch), is utilised as displayed in Figure 4. An efficient back pressure builds up and
the mould fills in a quick and regular manner.
Knowledge from such investigations can be transferred consequently to the benefit of the SIVEX FC user. When it comes to the
point of restraining the metal stream from a relative high speed, supplying the mould efficiently and filling the cavity as evenly as
possible, SIVEX FC foam filters have proven themselves as very effective. The positions of the SIVEX FC filters are marked on the
displayed casting by circles.
..
The displayed Citroen V6 engine block is cast with two SIVEX FC filters, meeting the demanding quality criteria. The
consequences from the relative large pouring height on the streaming speed are minimised.
In addition to this SIVEX FC filters are also widely used in producing aluminium casting with both reduced wall thickness and
extreme operational wear requirements. A regular but still sufficient large filling speed can be achieved. The additional figures
show castings used for the tuned engines of the M-series BMW.

..
1) Stream in a running system 2) Stream through a sieve CITROEN V6 engine block BMW rocker cover Criteria: 2.5 mm wall thickness

3) Stream through an extruded ceramic filter 4) Stream through a SIVEX FC filter BMW water pump housing Criteria: Pressure-tightness BMW rear axle transmission cover
.. ..
CITROEN V6 engine block: With kind support by Citroen Aluminiumgießerei, Charleville (France)
 S I V E X F C - LARGE SCALE PRODUCTION
SIVEX FC - PRODUCTION ACCORDING TO THE QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM DIN ISO 9001

SIVEX FC foam filters are produced according to

modern manufacturing criteria in large scale
production series on the basis of the quality
management system DIN ISO 9001.
In the molten metal laboratory random samples
of SIVEX FC foam filters are tested by the so
called direct impingement test for their thermal
stability.
In addition to this dimensional accuracy, pore Old design of the manifold
size distribution and weight control is tested on
finished filters.
As part of extensive application consulting, at
the customer, computer simulations of the
mould filling and solidification are carried out, in
the case of complicated castings manufactured
in high volume production. On the basis of this
an optimum design for running systems can be
recommended and transferred to the production
tooling without the need for extensive trials in
the manufacturing process.
The example on the right hand side shows a
running system which has been optimised based
upon mould filling and solidification simulation.
Mould filling and solidification simulation

SIVEX FC filters are not only widely used for the

filtration of standard aluminium alloys but also
for extremely oxidation sensitive magnesium
alloys. Again the task is to preventing turbulent
flow. At Ruote Marchesini (Italy) SIVEX FC filters
are incorporated in the production of magnesium
alloy wheels for motor sport. The very even
mould filling provides material properties of a SIVEX FC weight checking equipment Foseco Impingement test New design of the manifold. The recommended
very high level. design has been verified by a simulation study.
 K A L P U R* A L
FILTER AND SLEEVE COMBINED FOR THE POURING OF ALUMINIUM CASTINGS

The task of most running and gating systems, in

aluminium sand and die casting, is to secure a
turbulence free filling of the mould cavity with
liquid aluminium alloy. Quite often this can only
be achieved by large running systems. However,
this contradicts the requirements of controlled
solidification.

Many aluminium castings

can be manufactured by
the application of
KALPUR AL sleeves.
1. A V8 intake manifold, successfully cast
This system, developed
with KALPUR AL in USA.
by FOSECO, consists of
a combination of a highly The benefits of the KALPUR AL application:
insulating feeder material Increased yield based on a very compact
an a SIVEX FC foam filter. casting system providing the convincing
The application is simple. economical advantage.

The metal is poured directly into the mould

through the KALPUR AL, where this "gating"
also performs as a feeder. The SIVEX FC filter
smoothes the metal stream and the insulating
feeder material of the KALPUR AL helps to
increase the feeding efficiency.
The following advantages can be achieved:
- Improved yield
- Reduction in fettling
- Increasing productivity
- More compact mould dimensions
2. An engine support produced on an
The following application examples illustrate automatic moulding plant.
these benefits: The KALPUR AL sleeve is made in a reverse
conical shape and is introduced into the mould
via the joint face and fitted into the cope. A ram
up support, which is placed upright on to the
1. V8 intake manifold: The castings were made available by CMI International pattern facilitates the application of KALPUR AL.
Inc. (USA) and Industrias Fontierizas CMI SA de CV (Mexico). FOSECO likes to
thank their companies for their kind support. The increase of the yield by 30% and the
2. Engine support: With kind support by Wutal Aluminium Guss GmbH,
reduction of required cleaning and milling by
Stühlingen 40% can be measured as achieved benefits.

Foseco Foundry International, PO Box 5516, Tamworth, Staffordshire, England B78 3XQ
Phone: (0990) 34 55 43, Fax: (0990) 67 30 16 Please contact your local Foseco company.
*FOSECO, the logo, SIVEX, KALPUR are Trade Marks of the Foseco Group of Companies, used under licence.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system of any nature or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, without the written permission of the copyright
holder. All statements, information and data contained herein are published as a guide and although believed to be accurate and reliable (having regard to the manufacturer's practical experience) neither the manufacturer, licensor, seller nor
publisher represents nor warrants, expressly or impliedly: (1) their accuracy/reliability, (2) that the use of the product(s) will not infringe third party rights, (3) that no further safety measures are required to meet local legislation. The seller is not
authorised to make representations nor contract on behalf of the manufacturer/licensor. All sales by the manufacturer/seller are based on their respective conditions of sale available on request. © Foseco International Limited 05/1999

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