Sand casting, melting points and shrinkage rates

[Topher]

What type of sand is used to cast bronze, brass, steel and aluminium? also what are their shrinkage rates and melting points?

[Newbies_Kid]

What melting points? the sand or the metals?

[Topher]

The metals, I'm more having difficulty with finding the sand compositions.

[Enthalpy]

You already read this, I suppose?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_casting

they give an example of sand composition.

 

From a friend's experience, an important condition is to dry completely the sand mould before pouring the liquid metal.

 

After few seconds on Google, I've seen many pages giving such information.

[Hal.]

Aluminium melts at approximately 660 degrees Celsius , Brass has many compositions some of which melt between 900 - 940 degrees Celsius , Bronze likewise has it's different varieties and one of them melts at 950 degrees Celsius approximately , Steel is a term for many Iron alloys and a Cast Iron alloy for reference melts at approximately 1260 degrees Celsius .

 

Do you want to melt some metal and pour a casting ?

 

Edit : A capital C for Celsius .

Edited September 21, 2011 by Hal.

[John Cuthber]

I know that Ethalpy said this, but I'm repeating it.

Dry sand can be used as a mould for any of those metals.

Slightly dap sand can be used to spray molten metal about the place and give you a nasty, or even fatal set of burns.

[Topher]

This is for an assignment, I have all the information I need now except for shrinkage rates, thank you everyone who's replied.