Sand Casting and Investment Casting for Mining and Industrial Components
Mine Components, as a business unit of Sino Machinery Industries (SMI), sources and manages casting production across a network of specialist manufacturing facilities in China — covering sand casting and investment casting through dedicated affiliated and partner operations located across multiple manufacturing regions. This integrated sourcing and management capability allows each component type to be matched to the most appropriate production resource by process route, alloy type, and component size, without the constraints of a single-facility operation. The contracting entity for each order is determined by product line and destination country, and confirmed at the quotation stage.
Material specifications are accepted in ASTM, DIN, EN, GB, or equivalent standards. Where a specified material is not directly available in the Chinese market, a chemically and mechanically equivalent grade is proposed, with composition and mechanical property data submitted to the client’s engineering team for confirmation before production begins.
Sand Casting
Process and Scope
Green sand and chemically bonded resin-sand moulding for components from under 10 kg to over 5,000 kg per piece. Resin-sand moulding is used where casting geometry, dimensional accuracy requirements, or surface finish specifications exceed the capability of green sand. Mould design — including riser sizing and placement, chilling, parting line selection, and draft angles — is specified per component to manage solidification sequence and minimise internal defects.
Pattern equipment for recurring components is maintained in-house. For new components, pattern development is completed and verified before first-article production is released.
Alloys — Sand Casting
| Alloy Family | Typical Specifications | Primary Applications |
|---|---|---|
| Austenitic manganese steel | ASTM A128 Gr B-2 / B-3 / B-4 / E-1; DIN 1.3401 and variants; GB/T 5680 ZGMn13, ZGMn18 and alloyed grades | Crusher jaw plates, mantles, concaves, hammers, impact plates, secondary liners |
| High-chromium white iron | ASTM A532 Class II / Class III; EN 12513 GX260Cr27, GX300CrMo27-1; equivalent GB grades | Crusher hammers, impact plates, wear rings, chute liners, pump components |
| Chromium-molybdenum alloy steel | ASTM A148 Gr 105-85 / 120-95; EN 10293 equivalents; GB ZG30CrMo, ZG35CrMnSi and similar | Crusher hammers, track shoes, structural wear components |
| Structural cast steel | ASTM A27 / A148; EN 10293 GE200, GE300; GB ZG230-450 through ZG42CrMo | Connecting housings, pan sides, scraper frames, industrial housings, structural brackets |
Quality Control — Sand Casting
Melt chemistry is verified by optical emission spectrometry (OES) on every heat before pouring. Castings are dimensionally inspected after shakeout before heat treatment or machining begins. For thick-section castings and load-bearing structural components, ultrasonic testing (UT) is applied to verify internal soundness. Hardness is verified after heat treatment on every batch.
Investment Casting
Process and Scope
Investment casting (lost-wax process) for components where dimensional accuracy, surface finish, and geometric complexity exceed the practical capability of sand casting. Standard production range is 0.5 kg to 120 kg per piece; components up to 600 kg are achievable for specific applications. Dimensional tolerances to CT5–CT7 (ISO 8062) as standard for most alloys; tighter tolerances achievable on specific features.
Investment casting is the preferred route for precision transmission components — gears, sprockets, couplings, and similar parts — where post-cast machining requirements must be minimised, and for complex near-net-shape components where sand casting would require excessive machining stock or produce insufficient surface quality.
Alloys — Investment Casting
| Alloy Family | Typical Specifications | Primary Applications |
|---|---|---|
| Low-alloy and medium-alloy steel | ASTM A148 Gr 80-50 through 150-125; 4130 / 4140 / 4340 equivalent; DIN 1.7225, 1.6582; GB 42CrMo, 34CrNiMo6 | Gears, sprockets, couplings, structural brackets, load-bearing housings |
| Carbon steel | ASTM A27 Gr 65-35 / 70-40; EN GE200 / GE240; GB ZG230-450, ZG270-500 | General structural castings, valve bodies, manifolds, conveyor components |
| Stainless steel | ASTM A743 / A744 CF8, CF8M, CA6NM; EN 1.4308, 1.4408, 1.4317; GB equivalents | Corrosion-resistant components, pump parts, fluid handling equipment |
| High-alloy and tool steel | H13, D2 equivalent and similar grades; application-specific | Wear inserts, tooling components, high-temperature applications |
Heat Treatment — Investment Cast Components
Alloy steel investment castings for transmission and structural applications are typically supplied in a heat-treated condition: normalised and tempered, or quenched and tempered, to the mechanical property requirements specified by the client. Hardness and mechanical properties are verified after heat treatment and documented per batch. Where through-hardness profile is critical — as in gears and sprockets subject to contact fatigue — hardness is verified at the surface and, where section geometry allows, at the core.
Quality Control — Investment Casting
Wax pattern dimensional verification before shell building. Melt chemistry by OES on every heat. Dimensional inspection to drawing tolerances after casting and any post-cast operations. Hardness verification after heat treatment. Magnetic particle inspection (MPI) for surface crack detection on ferromagnetic components. Coordinate measuring machine (CMM) verification for precision features — bore positions, gear datum faces, critical mating surfaces — where drawing tolerances require it.
Material Standard Equivalence
We accept material specifications in ASTM, DIN, EN, ISO, GB, and JIS standards. For clients specifying ASTM or DIN grades: where the exact grade is available in the Chinese domestic market, it is used directly. Where it is not directly available, a chemically and mechanically equivalent GB or domestic grade is identified. Before production begins, the proposed equivalent’s chemical composition range and mechanical property guarantees are submitted in writing to the client’s engineering or quality team for review and written confirmation. Production does not proceed until the equivalent has been confirmed. This process is documented and retained as part of the order record.
This approach has been applied consistently across our long-term supply relationships with equipment manufacturers in North America, Europe, and Australia, and satisfies the material traceability requirements of ISO 9001:2015-compliant procurement processes.
For casting enquiries — including new component development, first-article requirements, material equivalence questions, or NDA-based production from client drawings — contact our engineering team.