DIY press flask ramming setup

One thing about using a pneumatic rammer and air consumption: You really do not have the rammer running continuously. If your not so huge compressor has a decent size accumulator tank, yyou will p[robably be just fine. This afternoon I rammed up a couple of molds each of which holds 200 pounds of sand in a cope, cheek, and drag configuration. Though I spent 4 hours molding, I probably ran the rammer only 5 to 10 minutes accumulated total time. The rest of the time is spent arranging pattern, sprue and runners, shoveling sand into the flask and pre-packing it and edge ramming it with a hand rammer, carving pouring basins, flipping molds,, blow out randomm sand bits, etc etc etc. So, you compressor will have plenty of time between actual on times of the rammer to catch up. It is far different than spray painting a car where the air is consumed constantly.

Here was this afternoon's work: two molds for the new 26" straight edge/prism casting. You can see the copes are set aside with filters in place waiting for me to put the cores in the cheeks tomorrow for a casitng session planned for tomorrow afternoon. I don't like to leave the silicate cores in the moist sand for more than a few hours. Ramming those molds would have been tedious if done purely by hand.



Denis

 

random junk i sell on etsy. its more to prevent the wear and tear on my body than anything. I have a local foundry all lined up to do production but turnaround time is unreasonably long

I figured it wouldn't be too difficult to set up a simple press (it doesn't need to be a full-on commercial industrial jolt squeeze, just a press to squish the mold.)

the hand rammer is a better solution i just didnt think of that

 

you'll need a $2000 air compressor to run that $100 rammer :-(

 

I just talked with my local foundry supplier and they recommended against JET. there are no replacement parts for them and they are considered a disposable tool. there is an american made rammer that is in the 4-600 range that is completely serviceable. will let everyone know if i can figure out what and where to get them. it might be a bit big for home foundry setups though. its a bummer everything is made for industrial sized operations.

 

I had no problem at all locating Jet rammer replacement parts with a simple internet search. from multiple sources https://www.ereplacementparts.com/jet-jet0t-556632-sand-rammer-parts-c-32652_32664_32667.html

Ingersoll Rand also makes a bench sand rammer, I will warn you against it, it is very large compared to the Jet (twice as heavy 12 Lbs )

Chicago Pneumatic makes what appears to be a nice small rammer

I've used Jet and IR back in the 80's , they appeared to be identical tools if you hade the same size (i dont think IR makes the smallest size )

as far as Maintenance, in the 4 years I worked on the USS Prairie, we never did anything to a rammer save put a drop of oil in it. I would not be too concerned about repair parts


V/r HT1

 

That's the story line of my life. Spend a buck to make a dime!
You can never go wrong with owning a $2000 air compressor. I say when buying one, find the most expensive one you can afford and buy the next bigger one. You can never have too much compressed air!

 

It's pretty easy to shop around and pick up a big used air compressor for reasonable if you are patient. In fact, I just saw a single-phase IR t-30 listed for $800 (24cfm). I've got a great big 3 phase compressor in the shop that needs some minor TLC before I hook it up - the price was free. If you can't find a big compressor, perhaps you can find a big tank.... that will go a long ways in masking lack of air for occasional use, but it will take FOREVER to come back up to pressure once you lose it.

 

Air tool oil, correct? As in, "put a dose (of oil) in the connector before using the rammer"?

 

You know, for all those people that are claiming that you would have to use a $2000 compressor to run a Jet rammer, I think that is not founded in practice. I, just for the sake of interest, tried running my jet rammer off a pancake compressor. And with a full tank of air it ran for 30 seconds full tilt. For most applications that would be an adequate runtime until the pattern need to be rearranged or something else done. In other words that would not be ideal but would also not be a show stopper in most circumstances. And certainly, if one were using a standard 3 hp Home Depot compressor with a much larger tank, much much longer run times would be obtained and would be completely satisfactory in all but industrial circumstances.

Denis

 

Thought so. If the good ones weren't so expensive, I'd think about one myself. Chronic exhaustion (largely due to untreated gluten sensitivity) taught me to 1) not count too much on my energy level (being up to a given task), and 2) use what energy I do have as efficiently as I can manage.

 

it was the Navy we did not have air tool oil, 2190 TEP, one drop before use , if it changed hands it got another drop, so one drop every 4-8 hours, of use

my point is that sand rammers, hold up really well compared to alot of other air tools , they are kind of bullet proof

V/r HT1

 

you have a better pancake and/or a better rammer then mine , I have a Pancake with a additional 10 gallon tank, I could get 30 seconds of half posterior performance out of mine before the compressor kicked in and the Rammer stalled ,

BUT i agree with your concept if you have a SERIOUS 60-100 gallon tank hooked up to a P!ss Poor compressor you could get a rammer working, especially a better Rammer, which has me thinking about upgrades

Thanks

V/r HT1

 

Yes...I built a pneumatic vertical molding machine. Pneumatics are not strong enough to do what we need. hydraulics are the only way to go. I will be building a hydraulic version soon. You must support both halves of the pattern as you squeeze or it will break. Either squeeze from both sides simultaneously or support one side while squeezing the other.

 

Also...I am using a 139$ harbor freight hydraulic press on a six inch vertical mold line right now and love it! It is still work to get the sand in the mold... which I am about to make it an overhead sand system that dumps straight into the flask.... but makes the molds hard as brick and perfect for stacking a in a line for clamping and pouring. I think I spend way more time messing with and designing equipment than I do molding. No worries though...I dont have a large backorder of parts that I need to fill.LOL

 

This was made with pneumatic vertical molding machine.

 

This was made with the pneumatic molding machine.

 

I am interested in your setup. Can you show some pictures of your designs and processes?
I am trying to design and build an automatic overhead riddle/ sifter. Any suggestions would be terrific.

 

I concidering getting a pneumatic sand rammer. My air compressor is obviously to small based on what I have read. What are your recommendations for a small rammer and compressor setup for a small production shop? Thanking you in advance

 

I would suggest getting your rammer. Try it with the compressor you have. Based on how much you use the rammer in your shop for your molds you will be better able to decide how big a compressor you need. I am betting there is a good chance you will be able to run your rammer with a not very impressive compressor. I could use a pancake compressor in my shop on my molds and it would keep up. I don't actually do that due to noise and the fact that there is a big old school thumper in the shop I use.

Similarly, when I day-dream about the hydraulic pressure needed to adequately compress greensand, I figure it will vary a lot depending on whether you are molding plaques vs very 3-dimensional molds with deep narrow recessses. 3-D patterns with deep recesses will be a bear. On the other hand, if you are using Airset sand, just getting sand into all the recesses will result more likely in a usable mold. And plaque-like paaterns won't take much. On some of my patterns I have to use a small ramming tool that is just a piece of fir 5/16 x 1.25" to work aroound sprue patterns and risers where there may only be a 1/2" of sand between the main pattern and the sprue pattern for a couple inches. Otherwise the sand is soft there and will occasionally blowout---uggh!

Denis

 

Great. Thanks I will purchase a rammer and go from there. I appreciate your time.