Foundry tools:
The commonly used foundry tools are
Shovel– It is used for conditioning and mixing of the foundry sand. It consists of an iron pan fitted with a wooden handle.
Hand riddle– It is made up of wooden frame and wire mesh. It is used to remove foreign material from sand by riddling.
Rammers– It is used to strike the sand in the molding box to pack it properly around the pattern. The commonly used rammers are
(a) Peen rammer (b) Hand rammer (c) Floor rammer
Strike off bar– It is flat bar having smooth surface which is used to remove the excess sand after ramming.
Vent wire– It is a steel wire or rod having a pointed edge. It is used to make holes or vents in the sand mould so that hot gases can escape during casting.
Trowel– It is made of iron fitted with a wooden handle. It is used to finish the flat surface.
Lifters– It is used to finish the sand mould surface after removal of pattern.
Slicks– It is used to repair and finish the mould surfaces and edges after the removal of pattern.
Draw spike– It is a steel rod having sharp edge at one end and a ring on another side. It is used for rapping and drawing pattern from the mould.
Draw screws– They have a loop at one end and screws at another end. They are used to draw pattern from sand.
Rapping plate– It is used in conjugation with draw screws. Rapping holes are provided to accommodate draw screws.
Smoothers and corner slicks– These are finishing tools used to repair and finish flat and round surfaces, corners and edges.
Mallet– It is a wooden hammer which is used to drive the draw spike into the pattern.
Bellow– It is used to blow away the unwanted sand from mould surface and cavity.
Swab– This fiber brush is used for moistening of edges of sand mould before withdrawing the pattern.
Sprue pin– It is mainly made of iron or wood which is used to produce a hole, called ‘runner’. It is embedded in sand and removed later on.
Gate cutter– It is used to cut the gate which connects the runner hole with the mould cavity. It is made of sheet metal.
Clamps– These are used to clamp the molding boxes firmly.