Some clients wanted us to introduce the main metal casting processes in China, then herein, we make a brief introduction to their characters, differences and applications.

1. Sand Casting Process

Sand casting processes mainly include green sand, resin sand casting, and shell molding process. The green sand casting processes include manual green sand molding, molding machine, and automatic molding line.

Sand casting processes are very common in China, most of metal foundries are mainly using sand casting processes to produce metal castings. These processes have low production costs, simple technical requirements, and high production rate. So, sand casting foundries are the most common process in China.

2. Metal Mold Casting Process

Metal mold casting process is not common in China, only few metal foundries are using this process. Although the metal patterns are heat resisting metals, they can not bear too high temperature, so only can produce some metal castings with lower melting temperature, such as aluminum, zinc or bronze castings.

The shortage of metal mold casting process is low production rate, but advantage is good surface quality, and less casting defects, especially no sand holes.

3. Lost wax investment casting process.

Lost wax investment casting process mainly includes two types of materials, one uses water glass, another uses silica solution as the bonding material. All these two casting processes will need to use the yellow wax.

Investment casting process normally has been used to produce steel castings, especially small steel castings. They are not suitable to produce large castings because of the strength of bonding materials. The advantages for this process are the good surface quality, accurate dimensions and less casting defects, but the disadvantages are their high production costs and pollution of production.

In China, the investment casting foundry is reducing, especially in South of China, some foundries are trying to replace this casting process by shell molding process.

3. Lost Foam Casting Process

This process need to use metal pattern to make foam molds, then during pouring hot iron, the foam will be melted, then the iron will become the same shape as the foam.

This process is suitable to produce large iron castings, they could reach better surface quality and demand few workers. However, its technical problems are not few, so there are few foundries who could use this process very well.

4. Die Casting Process

Die casting process is press the hot liquid metals into a metal mold, then after cooling, the metal castings will be made.

This process normally produces high precision aluminum and zinc castings. The size and weight normally are small and light. Most of them will be used for automotive industries.

5. centrifugal casting process

This process normally produces cylindrical castings, and not common in China. There are only few foundries using this process.

The advantages of this process are less casting defects, but disadvantages are shape limitation and high pattern costs.

6. continuous casting process

This process mainly produces long tubes, plates and rods. It is not very common in China, so only few iron foundries could use this process.

This article was from Dandong Foundry. For the whole article, please check Dandong Foundry Blog.