Huntsman Advanced Materials RenCast casting system is being used in the casting and tooling of housing parts for wind turbines by one of China's leading manufacturers.
A leading foundry in the Jiangsu Province in China manufactures components for wind turbines for customers in China, Japan, the United States, India and Europe. The foundry makes approximately 120,000 tons of casting metal components every year, so manufacturing productivity is a key issue.
In order to maximise the number of parts that can be produced from a single mould, the foundry are using the RenCast CW 2418 /HY 5162 epoxy casting system for the production of the wind turbine housing core box. The RenCast system has also helped to halve overall production costs of the mould.
Using a 2D diagram from the customer, a master model (or core mandrel) for the final sand core is made from wood first. Again, based on the same diagram, the relative metal backing structure of the core box is designed and prepared as well. Then, the master model is pre-treated with a mould release agent and the welding structure is placed and sealed on top of the wooden master model.
A 10mm-20mm layer of RenCast CW 2418 / HY 5162 resin casting system is then poured in to make a face casting of the structure.
After a 16-20 hour cure at room temperature, the core box is demoulded from the wooden master and is ready for use, with a negligible shrinkage from the original master model. It is also extremely durable, able to withstand the tough working life of a core box for at least six years.
This is much quicker than traditional moulding methods; and delivering more durable moulds that are able to produce far greater numbers of parts. This makes the whole casting system much more time- and cost-effective compared to other materials.
RenCast CW 2418 / HY 5162 is particularly suitable for foundry applications as it has good abrasive resistance, so it is able to withstand frequent exposure to sand and chemical binders. It also has excellent dimensional stability over prolonged use.