metaledcast

Metalcasting has endured through the ages since the time of Ancient Egypt, possiblylonger. Since then small foundries have developed to meet the needs of the individualcaster. There are several reasons that people choose to create their own homegrown foundries. A top reason is the need to create parts and pieces that areno longer available on the market or that are just too expensive to purchase.Those who get into metal casting for this reason are usually interested inrestoration projects, home improvement projects, or hobby building like modelplanes and trains. Artists are the other group that see metal casting as acheap and easy way to create sculptures from small to large. Jewelers even usemetal casting to create complex pieces that would just otherwise be impossibleto create.Given the wide scope of metal casting there are several methods and techniquesthat have developed.

For those new to metal casting or for those wanting to trysome of these other methods may find it difficult to find information on yourown. Luckily, there are several metal casting associations and groups that aremore then willing to share information and exchange ideas, projects, andpictures of the goings on in the their home foundries.On the internet, metal casting associations and groups are either messageboards full of casters where they can ask questions, post ideas, and picturesor are websites that are maintained by a set group of people offering generalinformation and educational resources.Both of these types of websites are incredibly helpful to metal casters who canbenefit from the educational purposes of some of the sites tempered with thereal life applications and experiences of the message boards.

There will be more industrial foundry and metal casting information than sitesdirected at the small home foundries. Industrial metal casting sites can bewonderful sources of information so do not skip by these. Use both small metalcasting sites and industrial sites to your advantage.One of the most popular message board type sites for information is the CastingHobby Group found through Yahoo Groups. This casting group was developed andmaintained by experienced metal casters and enjoys a high amount of activity.This is a great place to go to for quick information and ideas not to mentionphotos and even furnace building injection mould plans. The Casting Hobby Group can be found at groups.yahoo/group/castinghobby/The Association of Backyard Metal Casters is located at abymc/. This online metal casting association has an extensive membership complete withinformative articles, forums, and even live chat. Of course, pictures areposted on the site to give visitors ideas about what other furnaces andfoundries look like.

Don't worry if you're foundry isn't pretty, there actuallydoesn't seem to be very many of them that are.Now, The American Foundry Society is mainly for the industrial metal castersand companies but they also promote information and education to consumers. Theinformation provided on the site is great for anyone wishing to followadvancements in metal casting technology. There is even an online store. afsinc.org/ isthe online home for the American Foundry Society.For the most part metal casting associations and groups exist on the locallevel more than a unifying force on the web. What does exist on the web is agreat source of information, ideas, and insight. It is a great idea to join anyof the groups you can in order to share and find knowledge.

There are various casting processes being implemented nowdays. The oldest amongst them is sand casting. Spin casting is also widelyused. They can be described as follows:

Sand Casting: Sandcasting involves formation of mold from a mixture of sand and to pour a castingliquid, most probably, a molten metal into mold. The metal is then allowed tosolidify and the removal of mold, takes place. Sand molding consists of twotypes: green sand method and air set method. The first one consists of mixtureof clay, moisture, silica, and many other additives. The second one consists ofmixture of dry sand and other materials, not moist clay. They are mixed withthe help of a quick curing adhesive. The collective use of these materials iscalled ‘air set’.

At times, there is temporary plug placed to pour the fluidwhich is to be molded. Air-set molds usually form molds consisting of twoparts-the bottom and the top. The mixture of sand gets tamped down after itsaddition. It does not generate any by-product. After the solidification andcooling of metal, the mold gets usually destroyed. This is because its removalinvolves a lot of breaking and cracking. The casting accuracy depends a greatdeal on the sand and the process of molding used. Castings composed of greensand result into formation of rough texture on casting surface, and thischaracteristic makes them easily recognizable. Air-set molds produce smoothercastings.

Many a times, the casting process results in losing ofcomponents of sand mixture. It is possible to reuse green sand by the way ofadjusting the composition to get the lost additives and moisture replenished.The entire pattern itself is eligible to be reused for producing novel sandmolds. The method of reuse can be continued for machinery parts an indefinite period. In 1950,casting process got automated partially. They have been in great demand fordeveloping production lines since then.

Spin Casting: SpinCasting is better known as Centrifugal Rubber Mold Casting (CRMC). It impliesutilization of centrifugal force for producing castings out of rubber mold. Asa customary practice, a mold having shape of a disc gets spun through its‘central axis’ at a pre-decided speed. The material used for casting is usuallythermoset plastic in the liquid form or a molten metal. It gets poured into themold through the opening at its centre. Corresponding to the solidification ofmetal, or the setting of thermoset plastic, the spinning of the filled moldtakes place.

Normally, organic rubber or vulcanized silicone is used as amold-making substrate in spin casting. Vulcanization takes place in the middleof process of mold-making. After the successful completion of vulcanizationprocess, venting and gating must be undergone by the mold. This implies carvingof channels for ensuring proper material flow and air during the course ofcasting. A scalpel or knife is used to carry out the above two processes. Themold complexity is directly proportional to the time required in implementationof venting and gating.