Metal casting

Metal casting is the process of filling a mold with a liquid metal (making a workpiece or product from liquid metal by filling it with a cavity of a given shape and size with subsequent hardening).

In the most common sense, metal casting is a typical process for obtaining products, which consists in filling a special container (mold) that forms the surface or part of the surface of the manufactured product with liquid metal with a further thermo-temporary transition of the liquid material to a solid state of aggregation and obtaining, as a result, a solid billet close in configuration, size and properties to the final product.

Metal castings are also called foundry products obtained by metal casting process.

Metal casting (or foundry) is a production method used to shape castings by pouring molten metal into a previously prepared casting mold, and the mold cavity has the design of the final product. After metal solidification and cooling in the mold, a casting-blank of the part is obtained.

The main objective of the foundry is the manufacture of metal castings that having a diverse design with the maximum approximation of their shape and dimensions to the shape and dimensions of the finished part (when metal casting method it is impossible to obtain a casting whose shape and dimensions exactly correspond to the shape and dimensions of the part).

• Casting material:
  ferrous metals (cast iron and steel alloys) and non-ferrous metals (non-ferrous and precious metals – copper, aluminum, magnesium, tin, bismuth, lead, silver, gold) and alloys.
  non-metallic – from plastics, polymers, minerals, concrete, gypsum, organic substances, ceramics, glass, salt, slag and other materials.
• Purpose of castings: industrial, technical, domestic, medical, decorative, artistic, etc.
• Dimensional accuracy, degree of surface roughness, machining allowance: rough, accurate, precision.
• Special requirements for castings.
• Technology (type, method) of castings production: Expendable mold casting is a generic classification that includes sand, plastic, shell, plaster, and investment (lost-wax technique) moldings. This method of mold casting involves the use of temporary, non-reusable molds. Non-expendable mold casting differs from expendable processes in that the mold need not be reformed after each production cycle. This technique includes at least four different methods: permanent, die, centrifugal, and continuous casting. This form of casting also results in improved repeatability in parts produced.