Metal Casting and Extrusion
- HABITAT: CEB Press - Sawmill - Living Machines - Modular Housing Units
- AGROECOLOGY: LifeTrac Multi Purpose Tractor - MicroTrac - Power Cube - Agricultural Spader - Agricultural Microcombine - Hammer Mill - Well Drilling Rig - Organoponic Raised Bed Gardening - Orchard and Nursery - Modular Greenhouse Units - Bakery - Dairy - Energy Food Bars - Freeze Dried Fruit Powders
- ENERGY: Pyrolysis Oil - Babington Burner - Solar Combined Heat Power System - Steam Engine Construction Set - Solar Turbine - Electric Motors/Generators - Inverters & Grid Intertie - Batteries
- FLEXIBLE INDUSTRY: Lathe - Torch Table - Multimachine & Flex Fab - Plastic Extrusion & Molding - Metal Casting and Extrusion
- TRANSPORT: Open Source Car
- MATERIALS: Bioplastics
Metal Casting and Extrusion (MCE)- metals from the waste stream, and eventually aluminum from clay - may be turned into valuable forms or extruded profiles. Engine blocks, structural metals, wire, and many other uses abound. This is doable with local compressed gas sources as the source of heat.
Contents
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Casting Furnaces
- 3 Collaboration
- 4 Product Definition
- 5 Technical Design
- 6 Deployment and Results
- 7 Documentation and Education
- 8 Resource Development
- 8.1 Identifying Stakeholders
- 8.2 Grantwriting
- 8.3 Collaborative Stakeholder Funding
- 8.4 Tool and Material Donations
- 8.5 Charitable Contributions
- 8.6 related projects
Introduction
Project Specification
The open source foundry must be able to melt aluminum and cast iron.
- Melting point of aluminum
- ~1,220 °F (660 °C)
- Melting point of cast iron
- 2,192 °F (1,200 °C)
Babington Burner Research
Warning: if you coil your supply fuel line around your combustion tube for preheating, then if your fuel supply runs out or the pump stops, the fuel in your fuel line will heat up to the temperature of the burner (about 1200 degrees F), which is above the flashpoint for most fuels. If your fuel flow stops for more than a few seconds, is it safest to wait 10-15 minutes until everything cools, then try restart the burner. I once didn't wait, and had superheated oil flow into my sump and start it on fire - not good![1]
Babington burners on Green-Trust.org.
Foundry Research
- www.backyardmetalcasting.com
- www.budgetcastingsupply.com
- www.backyardmetalcasting.com/harriette01.html
- www.lindsaybks.com/bks7/chas1/index.html
Casting Furnaces
There are several types of casting furnaces which include Electric Arc furnaces, Blast furnaces, Cornwall Iron Furnace, etc. The electric arc furnace can be described as a furnace heating charged materials by the way of an electric arc. The Blast Furnace can be referred to as a kind of metallurgical furnace, through which the process of smelting takes place.
Blast Furnaces produce metals, normally iron. These furnaces trace their origin to China (around 500 BC). Electric Arc furnaces exist in all the sizes, from the smallest one having a capacity of around one ton to the largest one having a capacity of 400 tons. The former is used in foundries to produce cast iron products, whereas the latter one is used for secondary steel making.[2]
Collaboration
Review of Project Status
Current Work
Developments Needed
General
Specific
Background Debriefing
Information Work
Hardware Work
Sign-in
Product Definition
A method of home smelting to turn aluminum cans, nails, other waste metals into reusable blocks/prefabbed forms.
