Several different methods are used to produce metal parts and products used in everyday life, including casting and welding. While most items can be made with various methods, it is often cheaper and easier to go with a casting, particularly for large or complex pieces.

Make the Pattern and Mold

Your first step is to make the pattern for the part and then build a mold to fit that pattern. For smaller-scale projects, such as jewelry or hobby casting, you can imprint a part in a sand bed, but more extensive projects such as manufacturing consumer goods will use permanent molds made of metal. Many bead blasting Milan MI services will help you design and build a mold for your custom parts needs and offer different finishings and batch sizes.

Choose, Melt and Pour the Alloy

The alloys used in your cast metal projects can either be ferrous, containing iron, or non-ferrous alloys. Common household goods, such as cooking containers, may be made out of cast steel, ferrous, or aluminum, which is not. Once you have chosen your alloy, you will place the material into a crucible and bring it to the needed temperature for melting. This molten metal is then poured into the mold and left to carefully cool.

Remove and Finish the Casting

Removing your cast items means using the ejector pins in reusable molds or breaking away temporary molds such as plaster or sand. You can then remove surface imperfections such as burrs or discoloration with bead or sandblasting, clipping off unneeded supports or using a grinding wheel. These techniques prepare the surface for paint or other sealants.

Metal casting is a complex process performed every day by industrial manufacturers and home hobbyists. This process involves designing a part or product, making a pattern and a mold from that design and then pouring a molten metal alloy into the mold. Once solidified, you can finish these pieces in many different ways.