The metal casting process can create anything from tiny fasteners to large industrial components, all through a five-step procedure. It happens by creating a pattern and making a mold, melting and transferring the metal and finishing, cleaning, polish and inspecting the casting. While metal casting is a straightforward practice, it requires specialized skills and techniques to perfect.
At Hengchang Foundry, we have the mastery and technology to form objects of various sizes for different industries like heavy equipment and transportation. No matter the complexity of the parts you require, our professional team can produce tailored castings to deliver unique parts for your application.
What is the metal casting process? Continue reading to learn what to know about metal casting and how our metal casting services work.
When talking about a pattern, we aren’t referencing one you trace on a piece of paper. Instead, metal casting foundries refer to patterns as a replica of the object they’re casting. This pattern helps form the mold cavity, which can be made of wood, plastic, aluminum and many other suitable materials. Making a pattern is a crucial first step because the accuracy of the mold determines the accuracy of the final product.
The four steps in producing a precise pattern include:
Depending on the type of material being poured into each mold, the final, solid product will distort to a certain degree. For example, it may shrink compared to the original size of the mold. This is why each pattern has allowances for slight alterations. Additionally, patterns require a draft, or a vertical tapered wall, where professionals can extract the pattern without tampering with the molded product.
It’s now time to create the mold, which is a hollow shape that will form the metal later on in the process. While some molds are expendable, others are nonexpendable.
An expendable mold means you can’t use it again. In that case, materials like sand, plaster foam or plastic make up the mold, and they’re destroyed during the casting process. Alternatively, you can use nonexpendable molds indefinitely, as they’re often made of aluminium.
Both expendable and nonexpendable molds can support different pattern complexities and materials.
While we use a multitude of materials for metal casting, they all fall under one of two categories — ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The metals used in metal casting can include iron, zinc, aluminum, tin, copper, lead alloys and others. While a ferrous metal contains malleable iron or steel, a non-ferrous metal contains nonmalleable metal, such as copper, nickel or aluminum.
After selecting the appropriate metal type, we load it into the furnace where temperatures rise until it reaches the material’s melting point. At Warner Brothers Foundry Company, we use gas furnaces during the metal casting process, though there are two other common types of furnaces for metal casting — electric arc and induction.
Using electric furnaces is our preferred method for metal casting because it burns cleanly and efficiently. Electric furnaces also allow us to heat the metal to the necessary temperatures without using high amounts of electricity. Electric furnaces are more efficient for our process, which keeps costs lower on our end and allows us to offer lower prices on your end.
Once the material melts down, it’s transferred to a large ladle before it reaches the mold. Through gates and risers, or openings in the mold, workers or machines pour the liquid material into the mold. Once it takes shape, solidifies and cools, we eject the casting from the mold, removing excess metal from the gate and rider system before moving to the next step in the process.
Understanding how long metal casting takes depends on the material — some may cool within minutes, and others take several days.
This stage involves making the final touches and cleaning each individual part. At Hengchang Foundry Company, we go in and remove excess metal parts and begin the cleaning process, using different tools to clear away particles and dirt. The final product is the same proportion and shape as the original pattern used during step one.
Additionally, some products may require a heat treatment, such as rail clamp, hydraulic cylinder, buffer. This process alters the properties of the material through a heating and cooling technique where the metal becomes more resilient. These treatments are ideal for applications that may endure extreme weight, wet environments or freezing temperatures.
The metal casting process ends with an inspection to ensure everything is complete and up to our standards. During the final stage, we check the part’s physical structure and integrity to ensure it’ll hold up and perform the expected job.
There are destructive and nondestructive testing methods, which are put in place depending on the casting’s specifications. In particular, visual inspections include looking for cracks, accuracy and surface finishes, and more in-depth testing checks tensile strength, hardness and ductility, among other components.
No matter the industry, we inspect everything from trailer hitches and industrial equipment to small automotive parts. In the end, you’ll have a durable component that’s suited to your unique needs and operations.
大约 4,000 年前，当青铜时代开始时，人类已经将石器时代抛在了身后，出现了金属冶炼铸造行业。 Cast Technologies 的团队非常自豪，他们来自一大批可以追溯到古代世界的熟练工匠。今天，我们使用的流程与我们远古祖先所使用的原理相同，以彻底改变世界并使世界现代化。虽然人们可能会认为电力、印刷机和计算机等东西是当代世界的基石，但事实是我们的生活方式在很大程度上取决于铸造厂的工作：汽车、航空旅行和能源生产等行业都要依赖铸件行业。
虽然现代铸造厂与人类早期发明的用简单的青铜合金制造武器和工具的原始技术几乎没有相似之处，但想法大致相同：将金属混合物熔化在一起，然后将液体倒入某种模具中。制造青铜矛头使用的技术与制造发电机零件的技术大致相同。
古人制造了武器和犁之类的东西，让他们可以放下更原始的石器。今天，铸造厂制造了我们在现代生活中所依赖的几乎无限数量的物品，包括汽车发动机、管道、链轮、飞机零件、工具和许多其他金属部件。当然，今天的铸造厂不仅限于青铜，还可以根据成品所需的特性铸造无数适合不同环境要求的金属合金零部件。
由于技术和冶金科学的进步，铸造厂有了长足的发展。最初，木炭火被用来驱动小熔炉，其温度足以熔化金属，但现在燃气或电热被用于驱动更先进的熔炉。
早期的铸造厂是一个危险的工作环境，但现代化和机械化使它们的危险性大大降低。例如，通过机器人或其他自动化设备将熔融金属倒入模具中，比使用钢包手动浇注要安全得多。
铸造厂的另一个变化涉及将熔融金属放入模具的方法。仍然使用传统的重力浇注，但现在还有其他方法可用，包括真空或加压气体浇注。
想象一下你生活在几千年前，你想用金属铸造一个简单的物品，比如一个扁平的圆盘。最简单的方法是所谓的砂模铸造.
你可以从用木头雕刻一种叫做图案的东西开始。一旦你有了你想要的形状，你就可以把它沉入沙坑，然后……非常小心！ â 你会从沙子上取下你的木制模型。做得对，这将为您在沙地上的木制模型留下完美的印象。
接下来，您将根据您希望成品具有的特性准备金属。也许你会遵循一份锡到九份铜的古老配方。你需要一个小熔炉、一个粘土熔炉，当然还有一个用于熔化的热木炭火。是的，虽然在现代铸造厂中达到必要的温度要容易得多，但原始的木炭熔炉确实可以加热到足以将铜和锡熔化在一起。
一旦你的金属熔化在一起，你就可以小心地将混合物倒入沙腔中，让金属冷却。最后，你要从沙子中取出凝固的金属盘。如果一切顺利，您将拥有一张完美的木盘金属副本。
现在让我们假设您想要制作更复杂的演员表。您可能希望将您的项目分为两个不同的部分，一个顶部和一个底部。这称为分割模式，上部称为上部，下部称为阻力部。
甚至更复杂的设计可以使用称为核心的东西进行。将型芯插入模具中以形成中空区域。
现在想象一下，您需要您的物品具有更光滑的表面。您可以通过打磨或打磨将其弄平。今天，您可以对表面进行喷砂、打磨或用研磨机将其加工光滑。从最简单的小物件（如珠宝）到最复杂且重达数百磅的大型部件（如风力涡轮机叶片），都采用了同样的通用工艺。
在物品从模具中出来后，如有必要，可以使用进一步的工艺。投掷Technologies 拥有一个现场机加工车间，可为任何组件添加最后的润色。
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