red font.
PS - forgot to mention each blue header or link takes you their much more detailed discussions on their website.
What is a Foundry?
https://www.reliance-foundry.com/blog/what-is-a-foundry
The Metal Casting Process: Take a Foundry Tour - A trip through a foundry from pattern to product
https://www.reliance-foundry.com/blog/metal-casting-process-introduction
Introduction to Cast Iron: History, Types, Properties, and Uses
https://www.reliance-foundry.com/blog/cast-iron
Metal Casting Design
During the design phase, engineers select both the metal and molding method to produce the necessary physical properties and appearance of the final product.
Rapid Prototyping
Advances in 3D printing have changed the way products are prototyped and produced.
Metal Casting Methods
Methods for metal casting are divided into two broad categories of reusable or non-reusable molds. I never saw a reusable mold for cast iron parts. I suppose they may exist today?
Sand Casting
Sand casting into non-reusable green sand molds is the oldest form of metal casting, and is still the most common form used today.
Patternmaking
Patterns are the prototype objects used to create molds. They must be designed to be removed from the mold without disturbing it, as well as with the behavior of the metal while pouring and cooling in mind.
Foundry Sand
Green sand is the most common type of sand used in sand casting, but additions to foundry sand change the final casting appearance.
CoremakingJust like the foundry sand, Cores also had parting compounds blended into them to volatilize making surfaces smoother and allowing better cleaning after the part was extracted from the mold. Some of those chemicals (amines, isocyanates, etc.) had occupational health hazards and some were horrendously stinky (amines can smell like rotting fish
)
Melting and PouringCupola melting furnaces were used for automotive casting operations I saw. They were very primitive, dirty devices, so I suppose more modern foundries use electric melt or other cleaner ways of melting their required metals.
Shakeout and Cleaning
Shakeout is the process of removing sand from castings. This can be done manually or mechanized with tumblers, tables, or blast cleaning units.
Heat Treatment
Heat treatment changes metal on a molecular level, affecting its mechanical properties. It is often used to make metal less brittle.
Inspection
In a variety of ways, the metals used in a set of castings, and the castings themselves can be quality assured. Materials analysis studies the properties and composition of the metal, while both destructive and non-destructive testing looks for shrinkage or casting defects.
Secondary Processing
Machining removes some of the flashing necessary for the mold, and can provide both smooth finishing and fine details. For items that need precision shapes, machining is often the final step. Not much machining beyond de-burring, sprue removal, de-gating, etc. took place in the foundries I was in. The majority of castings were engine-related, so they were machined in Engine Plants.
PS - forgot to mention each blue header or link takes you their much more detailed discussions on their website.
What is a Foundry?
https://www.reliance-foundry.com/blog/what-is-a-foundry
The Metal Casting Process: Take a Foundry Tour - A trip through a foundry from pattern to product
https://www.reliance-foundry.com/blog/metal-casting-process-introduction
Introduction to Cast Iron: History, Types, Properties, and Uses
https://www.reliance-foundry.com/blog/cast-iron
Metal Casting Design
During the design phase, engineers select both the metal and molding method to produce the necessary physical properties and appearance of the final product.
Rapid Prototyping
Advances in 3D printing have changed the way products are prototyped and produced.
Metal Casting Methods
Methods for metal casting are divided into two broad categories of reusable or non-reusable molds. I never saw a reusable mold for cast iron parts. I suppose they may exist today?
Sand Casting
Sand casting into non-reusable green sand molds is the oldest form of metal casting, and is still the most common form used today.
Patternmaking
Patterns are the prototype objects used to create molds. They must be designed to be removed from the mold without disturbing it, as well as with the behavior of the metal while pouring and cooling in mind.
Foundry Sand
Green sand is the most common type of sand used in sand casting, but additions to foundry sand change the final casting appearance.
CoremakingJust like the foundry sand, Cores also had parting compounds blended into them to volatilize making surfaces smoother and allowing better cleaning after the part was extracted from the mold. Some of those chemicals (amines, isocyanates, etc.) had occupational health hazards and some were horrendously stinky (amines can smell like rotting fish
)Melting and PouringCupola melting furnaces were used for automotive casting operations I saw. They were very primitive, dirty devices, so I suppose more modern foundries use electric melt or other cleaner ways of melting their required metals.
Shakeout and Cleaning
Shakeout is the process of removing sand from castings. This can be done manually or mechanized with tumblers, tables, or blast cleaning units.
Heat Treatment
Heat treatment changes metal on a molecular level, affecting its mechanical properties. It is often used to make metal less brittle.
Inspection
In a variety of ways, the metals used in a set of castings, and the castings themselves can be quality assured. Materials analysis studies the properties and composition of the metal, while both destructive and non-destructive testing looks for shrinkage or casting defects.
Secondary Processing
Machining removes some of the flashing necessary for the mold, and can provide both smooth finishing and fine details. For items that need precision shapes, machining is often the final step. Not much machining beyond de-burring, sprue removal, de-gating, etc. took place in the foundries I was in. The majority of castings were engine-related, so they were machined in Engine Plants.