A review on the progress and challenges of binder jet 3D printing of sand moulds for advanced casting

3D sand mould printing through binder jetting can solve many technical issues in casting including part consolidation, design of parts to optimise the consumption of materials and hazardous chemicals, and on-demand and any size part manufacturing near the customer. Incorporating artificial intelligence in optimising the design of moulds, printing process parameters, and solidification processes may help automate a production facility and reduce labour time. Elimination of hazardous chemicals from industrial use may be a challenge. Therefore, an alternative technology to fuse the sand particles during printing or an environmentally friendlier alternative option for the binders and other consumables should be utilised with the 3D sand printing process. Properties of parts produced using 3D printed sand moulds are better than the properties of parts produced using traditional casting due to this technology's benefits mentioned above. Though this technology is a supportive enabling technology for the traditional casting processes rather than a competing technology. This technology is causing a paradigm shift in casting design because of the mould geometries achievable using the sand moulds' additive manufacturing. This paper reviews the first twenty years of research and challenges in developing 3D sand printing as an innovation for sustainable manufacturing.