Perbedaan Penggunaan Pasir Zircon dan Silika dalam Pasir Cetak

Metal casting or founding is one of the most important technologies used throughout the world in
the engineering industries on which the growth of any national economy largely depends [3]. It is
also well known that the manufacture of very heavy castings requires service conditions which
call for materials with exceptional refractoriness, volume stability and me-chanical strength. The
zircon sand is produced as a bye- product during tin mining. It is from the natural zircon sand
that the pure oxide zirconia (ZrO2) is obtained. Zirconia may further be processed with addition
of alumina to a toughened zirconia which represents the high performance engineering material.
Although silica sand is the most univer-sally available material suitable for foundry mould, other
refractory materials are known to be better suited to extreme conditions [x].

Silica (SiO​2​) sand is the sand found on a beach and is also the most commonly used sand. It is
made by either crushing ​sandstone or taken from natural occurring locations, such as beaches
and river beds. The ​fusion point of pure silica is 1,760 °C (3,200 °F), however the sands used
have a lower melting point due to impurities. For high melting point casting, such as steels, a
minimum of 98% pure silica sand must be used; however for lower melting point metals, such as
cast iron​ and ​non-ferrous​ metals, a lower purity sand can be used (between 94 and 98% pure).​[14]

Silica sand is the most commonly used sand because of its great abundance, and, thus, low cost
(therein being its greatest advantage). Its disadvantages are high ​thermal expansion​, which can
cause casting defects with high melting point metals, and low ​thermal conductivity​, which can
lead to unsound casting. It also cannot be used with certain ​basic metals because it will
chemically interact with the metal, forming surface defects. Finally, it releases silica particulates
during the pour, risking ​silicosis​ in foundry workers.​[17]

Zircon sand is a compound of approximately two-thirds ​zircon oxide (Zr​2​O) and one-third silica.
It has the highest fusion point of all the base sands at 2,600 °C (4,710 °F), a very low thermal
expansion, and a high thermal conductivity. Because of these good properties it is commonly
used when casting alloy steels and other expensive alloys. It is also used as a ​mold wash (a
coating applied to the molding cavity) to improve surface finish. However, it is expensive and
not readily available.​[17]

3. Khan, R.H. (1994). “Needs and Strategies for Steel Foundry De-velopment in Nigerian.”
Proceedings of the Nigerian Metallurgical Society,12, PP 44-48.
X. Asuquo, L.O. Bassey, L.N. Ihom A.P. . “Characteristics of Zircon Sand and the Effect on
Foundry Casting” JMIR 2013, 1(1):27-32
14. ​Rao, T. V. (2003), ​Metal Casting: Principles and Practice​, New Age International, ​ISBN
978-81-224-0843-0​.
17. ​Rao, T. V. (2003), ​Metal Casting: Principles and Practice​, New Age International, ​ISBN
978-81-224-0843-0​.