Nantong Bainuo Adds A 3D-Printed Sand Mould Line For Prototype Aluminium Castings

Press release, April 2026 — Rugao, Jiangsu

Nantong Bainuo Mould Co., Ltd. (https://www.bainuomoulds.com/) has commissioned a third production line dedicated to 3D-printed sand moulds and short-run aluminium castings. The line sits inside the existing 3,500 m² plant in Rugao City, Jiangsu, and brings the company's prototyping capacity to roughly 80 pattern sets per month.

The new line uses a binder-jetting printer with a build envelope of 1,600 × 1,000 × 700 mm and a layer thickness of 0.3 mm, paired with a 200 kg medium-frequency induction furnace. Typical lead time is 3 working days from STL to poured casting, and the surface finish on a resin-coated silica sand mould is Ra 6.3 µm as-printed, which falls to Ra 3.2 µm after a single hand-polish pass. Tolerance on a 300 mm reference dimension is ±0.4 mm straight off the printer, ±0.2 mm after a light CNC skim on critical faces.

The line is aimed at three jobs that traditionally hurt small-series casting buyers: prototype aluminium housings for EV power electronics, low-volume production runs of 20 to 200 pieces where a permanent mould is not yet justified, and replacement parts for legacy tooling that is no longer economical to re-cut. Existing customers in the home appliance, battery, and 5G filter industries have already booked the first 30 pattern sets.

"A permanent aluminium mould still wins above 500 pieces, but below that number, a printed sand mould saves the customer roughly 60% on tooling cost and about 4 weeks on lead time," said Mr. Wu, sales engineer at the company. "It is not a replacement for our EPP and EPS work — it is a way to get the customer into production sooner and let the foam business follow."

Pattern slots for May and June 2026 are still open. Send an STL file and a 2D drawing to bainuo@bainuomould.com, or message on WhatsApp +86 199 4201 0686; for a quick call first, dial +86 153 7171 3697, and ask for a written quotation that includes the post-print machining and inspection report.