What is Metal Casting?

Casting is the process of pouring liquid metal into a specially shaped container called a mold, then allowing it to solidify inside. When the part is removed, it will be a solid piece of metal with the same shape as the inside of the mold. This shape is called a casting. No matter what the size or shape of your part, chances are it can be made with some type of casting process. Casting is one of the most economical ways to shape metal, since most of the material it uses ends up in the part and the rest can usually be melted down and reused. Complex shapes are ideal for casting, since the shape of the part only has to be produced once in the form of a mold or a master pattern, which can then be copied many times at a much lower cost. Parts can also be cast from exotic metals that are difficult to form by any other method. Because liquid metal changes size and shape as it cools, many types of casting cannot produce a perfect copy of the original part, but if an accurate shape is needed, ...

Metal casting is a metalworking technique in which molten metal is poured into a mold and allowed to set before being removed to reveal a metal piece which can be finished with grinding, sanding, and polishing before being sold. This is one of the oldest metalworking techniques in the world, with evidence of cast metal pieces being found at archaeological sites all over the world, sometimes demonstrating a very high level of skill. This technique continues to be utilized today in a broad range of industries. A wide variety of materials can be used to make molds for metal casting, depending on the metal being worked. The material needs to be strong and durable enough to withstand the hot metal, while being workable enough to be to be carved or worked into a mold. Wood, limestone, plaster of Paris, and ceramic have all been used for molds, and crude metal casting has been performed by pouring molten metal into forms made by hollowing out sand or clay. Re-usable molds for metal casting ...  more

Like heavy metal music, it involves some smashing and pyrotechnics. To prepare for Sunday s iron pour, artists swung by Denver to pick up 1,000 pounds of iron. Friends of the artists had collected old iron bathtubs and radiators from defunct housing developments. Artists then smashed those appliances with a sledge hammer to get them ready for melting. Once artists reach Vail, they ll heat the iron to nearly 3,000 degrees inside a special furnace. Finally, they ll pour the liquid metal into molds local students designed last month during workshops with Guilbeau. It kind of looks very chaotic, Guilbeau said. Once you watch it for a while, you start to see it is very choreographed. The result is metal sculptures. Saturday night will focus on bronze. Artists picked up 200 pounds of bronze bars at a Denver metal shop. They ll heat the bronze to 2,000 degrees in a furnace made from a dryer drum. Finally, they ll use a device called a crucible to pour the bronze into sand molds and make ...  more