A wide variety of molding mixtures are extensively used in the process of the sand casting of metal components today. The sector is continuously developing in production volume; moreover, the expectations of customers are increasing on a monthly basis (also from a quality point of view). Even though mold and core manufacturing are well-organized routines in most foundries, technological problems still appear that can lead to technological problems and casting defects. These trends are forcing metal casters to come up with fitting strategies to solve their daily production challenges, while their suppliers are expected to keep up the continuous development of their existing foundry products and to find innovative solutions as well as new material combinations. Research on molding materials and their properties must, therefore, take a step forward accordingly to generate the necessary new knowledge to understand the behavior of mold and core mixtures during casting.

This paper summarizes the latest results of a novel measurement method suitable for studying the degradation characteristics of different molding materials from a new perspective. The fundamentals of the method are based on a thermal analysis, focusing on the heat-absorption behavior of greensand and two types of chemically bonded sands regardless of the binder type and amount or the manufacturing process.