Metal Casting Zone Info Blog

Archive for the ‘Metal Casting’ Category

Ohio State 2nd-year Materials Science and Engineering students participate in metal casting lab (MSE 281), and create aluminum OSU stadia pieces.

Continuous casting for Brass and copper rod, pipes,profiles ,sections.

Bangladesh Village Metal Casting

Preparing the scrap metal, the furnace and crucibles for casting and explaining a bit about the mould making process. The firing process and casting takes several hours and unfortunately we couldn’t stay. Rice husk is mixed with the clay to make it more refactory. Old crucibles are used to cap the new ones. A combination of brass, copper and zinc is used to make a ‘bell metal’. Both mould and crucible are placed in the furnace, when the metal is molten, both are removed from the furnace, a hole is pierced in the side of the crucible and the metal is poured.
Thanks to Riaz and Britto.

Dhamrai Metal Casting

Breaking the layers of clay away from a lost wax casting in brass at Dhamrai metal casting.

First Cast Iron Pour Event to launch Metal Monkeys on Sunday 31st May 2009 at The Kiln,Badshot Lea Village Hall, St Georges Rd, Badshot Lea, Farnham.

Metal Monkeys involved the community in their first public iron pour and launched the group with a grant from the Lottery distributer Awards for All. Metal Monkeys worked with two local schools and arts organisation Creative Response, who work with vulnerable people.

As well as enabling people to see the spectacle of an iron pour there was a storytelling workshop, facepainting and Hog roast/BBQ to celebrate newly created art works and collaboration!

Iron Monkeys a professional development workshop for the group also took place from 18th to 24th May 2009, funded by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. This enabled Metal Monkeys to learn about a continous pour cupola furnace under the instruction of Professor Daniel Hunt from Kansas State University, USA. Metal Monkeys have built one of only a handfull of continuous pour furnaces in the UK, the exciting advantage of this type of furnace being the production of multiple art works and artist collaboration.

Iron Monkeys has enabled the production of new art which was on show as part of Surrey Artists Open Studio Event in June 2009.

Metal Monkeys also hosted a workshop for 12 artists from 25th to 30th May.

What is Metal Casting?

A wide variety of materials can be used to make molds for metal casting, depending on the metal being worked. The material needs to be strong and durable enough to withstand the hot metal, while being workable enough to be to be carved or worked into a mold. Wood, limestone, plaster of Paris, and ceramic have all been used for molds, and crude metal casting has been performed by pouring molten metal into forms made by hollowing out sand or clay. Re-usable molds for metal casting click together, holding the metal while it sets and then pulling apart.

Some molds are made by carving a form from wax, including a high level of detail so that the piece will be as finished as possible. The wax can be inserted into a wet ceramic or plaster of Paris block and then fired, leaving the shape of the mold behind while the wax flows out. This technique is known as “lost wax casting,” and it is simple enough to be taught in elementary school art classes.

To do metal casting, people usually need access to a foundry, a facility which has been specially outfitted for work with hot metals. Foundries include a very hot furnace or fireplace known as a forge which can be used to work metal directly for blacksmithing, or to melt metals for metal casting. Once metal is molten, it can also be alloyed with other metals to bring out desired properties, and then carefully poured into molds for casting.

Different metals require unique levels of skill to work with, as indicated by the terms “Bronze Age,” “Iron Age,” and so forth for different periods in human history. Some foundries are equipped to handle a range of metals, including metals which need a very high temperature for working, while others are more crude, and designed to be used with softer metals which are easier to work. Metal casting can also be accomplished with fine metals like silver and gold to make cast jewelry.

Foundry: Metal Casting

Metal casting is what the name suggests. Basically metal casting is the process of melting down metal into a liquid state. The liquid metal is then poured into a cast; this cast allows the metal to cool creating the desired result of the intended mould or specific item they wish to make out of metal. The finished product is then sent off to be polished up and ready to be distributed.

Metal casting is used for more “tailor-made” areas of manufacturing metal products which would generally cost a whole lot more if they had to be machined welded. A great aspect of Metal casting is that it also allows the ability to re-create the same product with great ease and they products are identical of one another.

The most important and integral part of metal casting is the mould. The mould is essentially what the product is going to be. These moulds are manufactured in a foundry. Manufacturers take their dimensions, sketches and ideas for the mould to the foundry where the moulds are produced. These moulds then get sent off to the casters. Casters put the completed mould into a back up frame that contains cooling apparatus. The melting down of the metal happens in a very particular place in the foundry. When the mould is done and is ready to be cast, casters move the liquefied metal over large machines and equipment above the mould, this equipment helps the liquefied metal flow down into the cast. This equipment also monitors the rate at which the liquid metal flows into the cast. The cooling equipment then cools the metal down allowing the metal to harden and become a solid state. The castings are now removed and the product is now ready to be cleaned.

Metal casting isn’t the easiest process on the planet and problems can occur during the casting process. Pollution is a major problem worldwide, but in terms of metal casting, this can also have an effect on the metal. If the metal, in its liquid state is exposed to forms of pollution this will cause imperfections within the metal itself, thus when the metal is solidified it can cause weak spots and thus when the cast is removed from the mould, the cast can break. Not only can the casting become affected but the mould too. Gas bubbles can also form after the cooling process which will also cause the metal to become brittle and could possibly even show signs of bubbles on the metal itself. If there is malfunction or something goes wrong in the cooling process the cast could harden before all the metal fills the mould which will lead to deformations within the cast.

Some metal casting processes can be easily carried out by hobbyists and enthusiasts within their own chambers of work and don’t necessarily need to take place within a foundry.

Find More Metal Casting Articles

Metal Casting Industry

<!– @page { size: 21cm 29.7cm; margin: 2cm } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } –>

The method of pouring “hot metal” (in industry parlance) into castes or molds and change it into a definite shape after cooling is the basic idea behind metal casting. Metal casting is an age old technique, went through many improvisation, and transformed into a revolutionary process of industrial casting. Metal customization needs, economical viability and artistic needs have given a new dimension to the metal casting industry.

With the advent of new alloys and metals, the industrial revolution arrived at a new heights, and industrial hope of metal customization has also reached at its best optimism. Seeing the demand and opportunity to make fortune, many mid level manufacturers sprung and later became a big names in the industry. The fast industrialization of metal castingpaved way to new ideas of implementation at commercial level. With the advance research, the casting procedures in the metal casting industry results a high volume of units, which are also of better quality. The metal casting has also become an accessible industry because of its low cost set up and implementation. The process of metal casting is simple and require minimum skill to perform. The basic requirement is a furnace to heat the raw solid metal or alloy to molten level at high temperature and molds or casts this metal to give the desired shape.

The metal casting industry uses a procedure that is classified as non-disposable and involves processes that retain the cast or mold for various applications. The molds that are made up of sand, plaster or plastics, which are once used and unfit for application in the metal casting industry. Due to several applications of metal casting, it is a preferred choice because of cost effectiveness and continuous metal casting process.

Recent Trends In Metal Casting Industry

In the recent years, despite increased foreign competition, the metal casting industry expects a good amount of growth. The sales are expected to grow 14% in years to come and light metals will replace iron and steel castings, especially in transportation applications.

Particularly in the US metalcasting industry that has gone a dramatic transformation in last 2 decades because of advance technology, and government mandated regulations.

In other countries, notably China has grown much in metal casting as its estimated to be 12,000 foundries are presently working in the country. The distribution of foundries has spread in the eastern part of China such as Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangxi, Fujian. Other parts like Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guandong, Guangxi, Hainan and Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Neimenggu have 22% and 17% spread of metal casting industry respectively.

The motor vehicle and mechanical engineering industries use 40-80% of iron castings and ductile iron castings, the percentage rises to 90% or more. Germany, France and the Netherland uses gray iron castings where it is more than 50%. The ductile iron castings, the share is highest in Portugal and Hungary of 68% and 73% respectively.

The European foundry is the third largest producer of ferrous castings worldwide.

The major share of metal casting industry is claimed by the mechanical engineering industry.

In terms of ferrous casting, the gray iron casting dominates the industry with 50% share. In recent years, according to Urbat, competition among ferrous casting materials give a marked increase in the market share of ductile iron castings.

Find More Metal Casting Articles

Basic Knowledge of Metal Casting

Metal casting has been widely used in our residential and industrial fields. Casting is the foundation of modern machinery manufacturing industry.

Casting process is to pour the melted metal into the mold, after the solidification by cooling, to get the curtain shape, size and performance of metal castings.

In 513 BC, we found the world’s oldest iron casting – Cast Jin Ding, weighing about 270 kg. Europe began the production of cast iron around the eighth century AD. The emergence of cast iron expanded the application range of metal castings. For example, in the 15th to 17th Century, Germany, France and other countries have laid cast iron pipes to the residents drinking water. After the industrial revolution in 18th century, steam engines, textile machines, railways and other industries have developed very fast, so iron casting developed into a new period of industrial services for large industries. The casting technology began to have great development.

In 20th century, the development of casting is very fast, one important factor is the product of new technology, requires better casting with a variety of mechanical and physical properties, while still have good machining properties; Another reason is the mechanical industry itself and other industries such as chemicals, instruments and other development, all these factors created a favorable material conditions for the foundry industry. Such as the detection devices, to ensure the casting quality improvement and stability, and to provide the condition to the casting theory development. The invention of electronic microscope helped people to deep into the metal of the microscopic world, exploration of metal crystal mystery.

During this period, there was large development for various metal castings with superior performance, such as ductile iron, malleable welded cast iron, low carbon stainless steel, aluminum, copper, aluminum, aluminum-magnesium alloy, titanium-based, nickel-based alloys , and the invention of the gray cast iron inoculation of new technology, so that metal casting has a wider adaptability.

After middle of 20th century, there was high pressure molding with wet sand, chemical hardening sand molding and core making, molding and other special vacuum casting, shot blasting and other new technology to make castings with high shape, dimensional accuracy and good surface finish, foundry working conditions and environmental health is also greatly improved.

Since the 20th century, for foundry industry, gray iron inoculation treatment and chemical hardening sand molding process have two new special significance. These two inventions has broken the traditional methods for thousands of years, and has opened up new areas to improve the competitiveness of the casting.

Casting generally is divided into ordinary and special castings. Ordinary sand casting, including wet sand, dry sand, chemical hardening sand categories. Special casting material according to the different shapes can be divided into two categories: natural sand and gravel as the main form of mineral materials, such as investment casting, shell casting, vacuum casting, clay-type casting, solid casting, ceramics casting, etc.; a class of metal as the main mold material, such as metal casting, centrifugal casting, continuous casting, pressure casting, low pressure casting.

Casting process can be divided into three basic parts, namely, preparation of metal casting, mold preparation and casting processing. Metal casting is the production of metal castings for the cast, which is a metallic element as the main ingredient, and adding other metals or non-metallic elements and the composition of the alloy, traditionally known as the casting alloy, there are cast iron, Steel and cast non-ferrous alloys.

After the cooling, the castings have to be removed for the gate, riser and metal burrs, so the clean-up process is necessary. Equipments for such work are shot blasting machines, gate riser cutting machines. Some castings for special requirements have to be treated by post-casting processing, such as heat treatment, plastic surgery, anti-rust treatment, rough machining and so on.

Casting is an economical method of rough shape, complex shape parts for more demonstrated its economy. Such as automotive engine block and cylinder head, ship propellers and exquisite works of art. Somewhat difficult to cut the parts, such as nickel-based alloy gas turbine parts can not be formed without casting method.

In addition, the casting of the part size and weight to adapt to a wide range of metal species is almost unlimited; parts in the mechanical properties in general also has the wear and corrosion resistance, shock-absorbing and comprehensive performance. Sometimes, you can not get those characters by other metal forming methods such as forging, rolling, welding and punching, etc. So casting methods used in the machine manufacturing industry produced rough parts, in the number and tonnage thus far is the greatest.

Casting product development trend is to ask the cast a better overall performance, higher accuracy, less margin and more smooth surface. In addition, energy requirements and restore the natural environment of the community are increasingly vocal. To meet these requirements, the new cast alloy will be developed, refining new processes and new equipment will accordingly appear.

With the continuous improvement of the electronics and test methods, foundry workers will have deeper research for the metal crystals and in-depth exploration, to improve casting performance and internal quality. Robotics and computer will also become very popular in the field of casting production and management applications. Metal castings will have a better development and wider applications in the future.

This article was from Dandong Foundry Blog.

Information about Metal Casting and its Benefits

Metal casting is the process in which various metals like aluminum, steel, stainless steel, copper-base alloys and iron are poured in to mold for making desired shape and solidify. This solid part is known as casting and it is ejected when molding process is completed. In metal casting wide variety of material use as molds but condition is this material is to be durable, and strong and also it’s easily withstand with hot metals. Means it is not burning during molding process. Materials like Wood, limestone, plaster of Paris, and ceramic are widely used in metal casting.

These molding materials are re-usable means its use in molding process for more and more time. In India, various casting foundries uses hot furnace or forge for directly metal blacksmithing, or melts for metal casting india. Once when metal is molten it can be alloyed with other metal like aluminum, steel and this mixture is carefully poured in molds for metal casting. In India, leading casting foundries uses various metals casting process like sand casting, investment casting, steel casting, ferrous casting etc.

Advantages of Metal Casting

Metal casting us used for manufacturing engineering parts or objects
Automotive parts, pipe, and metal castings manufacture fittings, constructions, mining, oil field equipment, and internal combustions engines part.
For government sector, metal casting is uses military vehicles parts like tank, truck, jet engine and other vital components.
Metal casting is uses as designed mechanical products for parts with variety of strength.
Also used in various steps like machining, forging, and welding.
Enables to mold the products into one single unit than manufacturing different parts and assembling those means you do not need to separate manufacture of different parts
Through metal casting, you can exhibit the same properties regardless of which direction is select.
Metal casting is uses for Wide range of alloy compositions and properties are produced in cast form.

More Metal Casting Articles

Metal casting.