TrickFlow intakes. Not what guys want to see

[Jarlaxle]

No one does production lost-foam. It's a backyard hack way of casting.
Investment casting is the way production parts are mostly made, and it starts with wax patterns that get melted/burned out of the refractory molds prior to pouring.
3D printing molds is a niche process that is pointless. V-process casting can do it just as rapidly with tooling made from wood, and has been around for decades. The only people that 3d print molds are dorks making satellite parts at a University and know as much about manufacturing as they do about getting laid (not much).
Permanent molds, and die-casting are different tech and don't typically play well with high-strength aluminum alloys.
Sand casting is still common with aluminum, but surface finish tends to suck. The things that better surface finishes cost labor, or materials.
Tooling from one process won't work in another. Tooling for the same process may not work in another foundry, somtimes it does, often it does not. "Moving tools" is fraught with issues.

Aluminum prices are going through the roof, and will go even higher before things change. I expect most foundries will only be focusing on their highest demand items for the foreseeable future. Even then, expect costs to double vs 2 years ago...

Uhh...didn't GM use lost foam casting for aluminum blocks?

 

[Jarlaxle]

You have to account for it with the heads and block, not the intake. I'm sure there are plenty of people in the LSX world that have messed with their engines but still retain a plastic intake of one type or another.

On a big block, I think a full plastic intake is probably pretty easy. For a small block, maybe you make an aluminum lower to mate to the heads and have the water crossover and plastic uppers. Then you could have swaps between different length runner intakes, etc, etc with the same lower.

I do remember seeing a SBC AFR composite intake some years back but I don't know anything more about them.

You would think plastic would do a lot better with being able to make a thinner wall mold (and therefore big runners if needed) and also not conducting heat into the air fuel mix. Also a better surface finish. Should also be lighter.

I suddenly want to run a plastic intake, composite valve covers, and a ThermoQuad...

 

[MOPAROFFICIAL]

What happens to the o-ring grooves in your plastic intake manifold after you’ve milled the manifold .060” to fit on your race motor that’s had the heads and block milled a bunch?

I wonder how nice a job those 50 year old broach style head resurfacers(of which there are still many in service) will do on a plastic manifold?

Maybe you make it small to begin with and sell spacers.

 

[Phreakish]

Uhh...didn't GM use lost foam casting for aluminum blocks?

GM calls it that, but they used foam patterns (to save cycle time) to make investment castings. Minor distinction, but a significant difference. It's much more sophisticated than the DIY 'lost foam' process.

The foam patterns use a low-density bead foam which is shot into permanent molds. It's not the type of foam or process which lends itself to small runs (permanent molds aren't cheap). It's not the type of process where one can whittle a part out of an old beer cooler and then make a casting.

One could make the proper tooling for sand or v-process castings out of wood, plastic, or bondo though, and get comparable surface finishes and fewer questions about final quality. The overhead cost is the lowest with these processes.

 

[Ironracer]

I got me a block of maple, I'm carving a T ram and a couple tops.
I wonder if pine would be better.

Maybe Southern Yellow... I'd go with Red Oak, myself