Joel Lewis, YSU
The ExOne SMax has a 1800x1000x700mm 709x304x276in build area LxWxH with a build speed of 212300 ft3hour

Humtown Adds Large-Scale 3DP for Sand Molds, Cores

Feb. 1, 2017
Humtown Products subsidiary Agile Casting Solutions in Leetonia, OH, cut the ribbon on its new ExOne S-Max printer, one of the largest in the U.S. producing sand molds, cores, and patterns.

Humtown Products is a specialty sand core and mold supplier to foundries, but that market segment is changing, and the one-time pattern shop is playing an important role in those developments. Last week, Humtown subsidiary Agile Casting Solutions in Leetonia, OH, cut the ribbon on its new ExOne S-Max printer, one of the largest in the U.S. producing sand molds, cores, and patterns.

Agile Casting Solutions is a 2,800-sq.ft. operation that houses the S-Max, and developed by Humtown together with Youngstown State University and America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, with development funding from the Ohio Third Frontier, a technology-focused economic development initiative.

The S-Max has a 1,800x1,000x700-mm build area (LxWxH), with a build speed of 2.12-3.00 ft3/hour.

Agile Casting Solutions’ estimated $1-million ExOne machine is the only 3D sand printer in Ohio, and like other such systems (e.g., the printer in place at the University of Northern Iowa’s Metal Casting Center) it will be used to advance the development of complex molds and cores.

Such systems use bonded sand as a printing medium to form complex shapes according to patterns derived from CAD programs. Agile Casting Solutions will work with foundry customers, as well as other manufacturers needing 3D structures formed in sand.

In addition, the new workspace will offer classroom and laboratory opportunities for engineering students at YSU and other universities and community colleges in Northeastern Ohio working on designs and production techniques.

“Ahead of technology comes three-dimensional thinking and leadership,” according to Humtown Products president and CEO Mark Lamoncha. “That’s the kind of thinking and leadership we are seeing with YSU and America Makes. As a team, including the expertise of YSU faculty and students, we look forward to refining this new technology, making the metalcasting industry even stronger.”


This article was originally published on Foundry Management & Technology, a companion site of IndustryWeek and part of Penton's Manufacturing & Supply Chain group.

About the Author

Robert Brooks | Content Director

Robert Brooks has been a business-to-business reporter, writer, editor, and columnist for more than 20 years, specializing in the primary metal and basic manufacturing industries. His work has covered a wide range of topics, including process technology, resource development, material selection, product design, workforce development, and industrial market strategies, among others. Currently, he specializes in subjects related to metal component and product design, development, and manufacturing — including castings, forgings, machined parts, and fabrications.

Brooks is a graduate of Kenyon College (B.A. English, Political Science) and Emory University (M.A. English.)

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