As centuries passed, many different techniques were created in metal working to meet the demand of the industrial time. These processes ultimately came under one roof.
A particular method that has been employed from the past times to now is metal casting. Adept metalworkers pour metal in molten form into a mold cavity. The cavity, or the inside of the mold, contains the metal that will harden on cooling. To get the preferred shape of an end component, also known as casting, the cavity contains a pattern of it. As the molten metal cools, it hardens into the predetermined shape preferred by the client of a foundry. The component is then ejected from the mold.
Over time, different metal combinations were used to conform to a casting’s desired metallurgical features. Alloys have different non-metal and metal content, mixed to enhance their strength, toughness, surface hardness, and durability. Industrial castings of the today are usually iron or steel ones with varying ratios of extra elements.
In parallel to the alloy discoveries, new methods emerged in metal casting. Two classes of metal casting processes came to be non-expendable and expendable mold casting. They differ on the basis of molds: the former uses non-expendable molds and the latter uses expendable ones. Both non-expendable and expendable mold casting refers to general classifications, which comprises of many other methods.
The former includes sand casting, shell molding, plaster mold casting, waste plaster casting, evaporative-pattern and investment casting. Likewise, the latter category includes centrifugal casting, permanent mold casting, continuous casting, and permanent die casting. There are different benefits to using each process depending on the end part’s dimensional requirements, physical properties, and production repeatability.
The non-expendable casting varies to expendable methods in that its mold does not have to reformed following each production cycle. It also results in enhanced repeatability in components produced as well as brings Near Net Shape outputs. In other words, uniform components can be produced using non-expendable mold casting, so it is favored for such parts.
People confuse the term “casting” to the metal casting process. However, it refers to the output made through metal casting, even as it is used to refer to the process itself. On the other hand, a “foundry” means a factory housing any combination of the processes mentioned above. Similar to the production line of a factory, the metal casting chain (that is, processes linked to one another) is composed of multiple primary sections that do things, including metal melting, degassing, and so on.