Metal Casting Zone Info Blog

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Information about various Castings Process and Types

Casting history is older than 6000 years. A casting is also known is molding process in which any metal is poured in to the mold. It is one type of manufacturing process in which every metal poured in mold. Generally, casting is uses for creating desired an most intricate of shapes..

Casting can remove other operational processes like machining, forging, and welding. There are different types of casting method or process available today. Generally casting process is divided in to 2 types expendable casting and non-expendable mold casting.Temporary and non-reusable molds are used in expendable casting process. Sand casting, Plaster Casting, Shell Molding, and Investment Castings process are one of the expendable casting processes.

This is oldest metal forming or casting process. Lost wax casting used for to manufacturing of huge parts like turbocharger wheels, golf club heads, elect huge variety of parts ranging from turbocharger wheels to golf club heads, from electronic boxes to hip replacement implants. Lost wax casting used for investment castings. Today investment castings are used for aircraft engine and airframe parts. Lost wax casting is similar to the Lost Foam Casting in which expendable foam patterns are uses for casting productions. Foam pattern is remaining in mold during metal pouring and it’s replaced by molten metal

Die Casting Die casting is one of the non expandable casting process. It’s one type of process in which molten metal is forced under high pressure into mold cavities. In die casting mold dies is used again and again for producing variety of casting size, shape and thickness. Parts, which are manufacturing by die casting are heat resistance and maintaining close tolerances. Die casting produces parts with thinner walls, closer dimensional limits, and smoother surfaces

Sand Casting Sand casting used for make large parts. In sand casting sand used with mold. In sand casting cavity is formed by wood or metal pattern. Using sand casting method, you can cast large iron bell, and alos small automotive parts. In sand casting, two types of sand used like green sand, which is mixture of silica, and olivine sand. Sand casting is uses for high volume production

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Iron Metal Casting can be referred to as products made out of melted iron molecules. These molecules are, first, poured into mold and allowed to cool. They are then extracted. The casting properties depend a great deal on the foundry practice. They also depend on the cooling rate. Iron contains huge carbon concentrations. This content facilitates melting, simplicity of casting, and machining. Iron casting designs have a great variation owing to the property of iron to resist shrinkage during the process of cooling. The end product attains a great reputation for its strength and durability. Tensile strength ranges between 20,000 psi and over 60,000 psi. The values of hardness (without heat treatment) range between 100 and 300 BHN.

Some factors need to be considered while buying iron Casting . The first thing on the agenda should be, checking the quality of foundry used in products and procedures. This should be done because foundry practices determine the casting properties. The consumer might have a tough time in finding the apt one. Secondly, the concentration of carbon should be looked into. The percentage of carbon commonly ranges between 2.5 and 4%. An addition of even 0.Decreasing the tensile strengh by around 2700 psi is caused by just 1%. Every foundry has different ways of doing things which means their casting procedures will be different from each other.

Green sand molding is the most commonly used type of Metal Casting . Normally, small and medium sized products are produced using this type of casting. Shell molding is preferred for bigger applications. Shell molding facilitates cooling of the mold containing heated metal. This process gives a better finishing to the final product as compared to all the other processes. Centrifugal casting is used for producing big cylinders and pipes. Both, producer and consumer would get highly satisfied if a proper blend of correct casting process and reputed foundry is made.

Iron castings are utilized extensively in machinery, automotive, and agricultural industry. Parts such as turbine and pump housings, dynamometer bases, compressors are made out of iron castings. Majority of manufacturers have the caliber to go for high and low production outputs. They are also entitled to go for short order runs. There are standard prototypes ensuring customer satisfaction and accuracy. Some manufacturers provide finishing services like galvanizing, painting, and machining as well. In general, iron castings include alloy casting, ductile castings, and malleable castings. There are some terms relating to iron castings. They need to be known in order to get a fair idea of iron.

Brinell Hardness Number (BHN): It can be defined as the method used for measuring the hardness of iron. For iron castings, a metal ball of 3000Kg is put on a flat iron piece. After the removal of ball, indentation observed is recorded. This measurement indicates the value of hardness.

Tensile Strength: Tensile strength can be defined as the quantity of bending and stretching undergone by a material before tearing or breaking. Here the metal is iron.

Modulus of Elasticity: It can be defined as the ratio of stress to strain. This value determines the elasticity as well as the stiffness of the concerned material.

Casting process started about 6000 years ago. The oldest surviving casting figure is of a copper frog from 3200 BC. Casting may be used to form most intricate of shapes, both internal and external. With the use of casting, we can minimize or eliminate several operations like machining, forging and welding.

With the advancement in technology, casting is now playing a greater role in our lives than before. Even in construction, objects are now casted in a single piece which would otherwise require assembly of several pieces if made by other methods. The example is flyover construction, where material like cement, concrete, iron are casted In a required shape and then fixed.

There are several other advantages of metal casting process including meeting the requirements of mass production. In automobile industry, thousands of cast engine blocks and transmission cases are produced every year. Through casting, heavy metal objects can be casted which would otherwise be difficult to produce. Hydroelectric plant parts, pump housing, valves are examples of the advantages of metal casting.

The casting process is further divided into expendable casting and non-expendable mold casting. Expendable casting includes Sand Casting, Plaster Casting, Shell Molding and Investment Casting This type of casting involves the use of temporary and non-reusable molds.

Non-expendable mold casting includes at least four different methods including permanent mold casting, die casting, centrifugal casting and continuous casting.

I will give you definitions of major casting processes that are used to make metals for different industries.

Die Casting

Die casting is a process for producing engineered metal parts by forcing molten metal under high pressure into reusable molds often called as dies. These dies can be designed to produce complex shapes with a high degree of accuracy and repeatability. Most die castings are made from nonferrous metals, specifically zinc, copper, and aluminum based alloys, but ferrous metal die castings are possible.

Aluminum Casting Process

Aluminum is one of the few metals that can be cast by all of the processes used in casting metals. There are factors like cost, quality and feasibility that affects production of aluminum parts. If you are interested in contacting suppliers of aluminum, ferrous and non-ferrous casting.

Investment Casting

Investment Casting is one of the oldest methods for metal forming. It is also called as lost-wax casting. Investment casting process is generally used for small castings but the process has also produced aircraft doors, heavy steel casting and aluminum casting. This process is more expensive than die casting or sand casting. Investment casting process is generally used for aerospace and power industries.

In the end, I would like to say that casting are helping the industries grow. They are shaping the future. They play an important role in our lives and made life much easier for us.