Month: June 2018

Casting or metal working is a very popular manufacturing method that has been used for ages to create more durable, versatile products to bring more convenience to human life. With the evolution of time, processes have become extremely technical, with machines and computers controlling the entire process. For those industries ERP systems (Syte Consulting Group provides a similar tech) prove extremely essential to organize the workflow and improve the speed of the entire process. Although there are many traditional casting professionals who have been carrying on the same for generations in their family, it has essentially been replaced by modern technology and machinery. Some traditional casting techniques include lost-wax casting, sand casting and plaster mold casting. In this article, we’ll cover only those techniques that are widely used nowadays.

The casting of metal is a process that is incredibly versatile and flexible and can be used for a huge variety of applications. In general, aluminum castings are used in the ‘as cast’ condition. However, there are certain applications for which higher mechanical properties are needed or even different properties that the ‘as cast’ material cannot provide.
Casting requirements vary by industry and casting type. These special characteristics can include ductility, toughness, and resistance to abrasion, as well as the composition of the metal.
Most of these properties can be added to metal by heat-treating the casting (with the help of heat treatment companies) –a series of extreme temperatures and fluctuations that improve the materials’ mechanical properties.

A little introduction to casting

Casting is a manufacturing process that has been used for mass production for thousands of years. In casting process, molten metal is poured into a specific mould to create a new object. The most common casting products include but are not limited to water hydrants, decorative hardware, gears, precision machinery, value parts, plumbing parts, firefighting equipment, bronze plague, electrical hardware, and other industries. After casting has been used to create the main body of these objects, they are often refined on machines like these metalworking lathes. This adds details to the pieces so that they can be used for their specific purposes.

Different casting processes

The following casting methods are quite common. Let’s take a look at them:

Sand casting – Sand casting is appropriate for the production of large, bulky parts. In this process, mould is made from synthetic or natural sand, which is why it’s known as sand casting. Sand castings surface is usually rough or coarse with surface impurities.

Die casting – Die casting is suitable when you want to have an increased dimensional accuracy and a better surface finish. In this process, metal or any other material is forced into a mould at higher pressure. Some die casting products require no machining after casting to achieve desired dimensions. However, light machining can provide you with better results.

Centrifugal casting – It is the best option when you’re after durability. This technique has a wide collection of industrial applications such as spherical glass objects, television picture tubes, boilers, pipes, and flywheels are also shaped by centrifugal casting. Due to centrifugal force, the molten metal is moved towards the mould walls, producing a very fine part.