The Effect of Varying Pouring Temperatures on Fluidity and Microstructure in The Re-Melting of Used Motorcycle Wheels Through Sand Casting

Reutilization of renewable components, such as motorcycle wheels, helps reduce environmental impact and production costs. Used alloy wheels can be recycled by remelting through metal casting. However, problems arise when the castings to be made are relatively thin. This requires a liquid met-al with good castability to minimize production defects, especially in thin and complex products. Factors affecting product quality include fluidity and microstructure, which are influenced by variations in casting temperature. This study aims to determine the fluidity value and microstructure of the specimens. The method used is experimental. The material used consists of used motorcycle wheels. The casting method employed is sand casting, using a spiral-shaped mold with a thickness of 4 mm. The pouring tempera-ture variations used were 730°C, 750°C, and 770°C. The results showed that a pouring temperature of 730°C resulted in a fluidity value of 514 mm, while a pouring temperature of 750°C resulted in a fluidity value of 663 mm. At a pouring temperature of 770°C, the fluidity value increased to 714 mm. Increasing the casting temperature causes an increase in fluidity value. At low temperatures, the microstructure exhibits larger dendrites, whereas at high temperatures, the dendrite structure becomes finer. The silicon eu-tectic between the Dendrite Arm Spacing (DAS) becomes narrower at lower temperatures and wider at higher temperatures.