high quality custom iron casting foundry companies

Some foundry workers, working with silica sand, can inhale the RCS dust and this can lead to a serious health condition called silicosis. The dust produced when processing casting sand contains silica and when dry, it produces respirable crystalline silica or RCS. To ensure a tightly controlled finish, many castings are machined in milling centres, creating better dimensional capabilities. This is the last stage in the casting process and it often involves grinding or sanding the component to achieve the desired final shape and finish. Sand is an essential raw material for many manufacturing processes but the most demanding ones are by far foundry applications. Later in the process, the silica sand is removed from the casting where it is recycled in the foundry or used in the production of concrete or asphalt. For cast iron, copper and other alloys, which have a lower melting point, lower-grade sand can be used. These moulds are used to produce a wide variety of metal castings and for metal such as steel, which has a very high melting point, high-grade pure silica sand needs to be used. The smaller-scale ones often make individual and custom pieces to meet their customer’s needs.Ĭlean, high-quality silica sand has been used to produce moulds for many years in the Foundry industry. UK foundries are variable in size with some producing high quality and specialist parts for automotive and aerospace industries. Usually, moulds are made using silica sand, but they can be created using different materials depending on the type of metal being cast. Moulds are carefully shaped with a pattern, which is a wood or metal replica of the object to be cast so that the final shape corresponds fully with the mould used. There are several stages involved in the casting process which include making the pattern, melting the metal, pouring the molten liquid, the cooling process, removing the metal, cleaning the parts and the inspection process. The most common metals processed are iron, aluminium, steel and copper-based alloys but other metals such as bronze, brass, magnesium and zinc can also be used to produce castings so that parts of any desired shape and size can be formed. The shaped metal, or casting, can now be used to produce more difficult and uniquely shaped products or parts.Īll major metals can be cast. The metal is then allowed to cool and the liquid solidifies. Nowadays, around 90% of all manufactured consumer products use metal castings for their module parts – the automotive industry is probably one of the largest industries which depend on the foundry sector.Ī foundry or metal factory casts metals into shapes by melting them down and pouring the molten liquid into a sand, ceramic or metal mould to form geometrically complex parts. Foundry is more than just making metal parts for engine, rail and pipe components. The foundry process is centuries old, and nowadays over 110 tonnes of castings are produced every year, according to the European Foundry Association.

High quality custom iron casting foundry companies