Consider the casting process at 645 B.C, the first traces of the Sand Molding was found. Now consider the state-of-the-art Electromagnetic casting process. Truly, the Casting process has traversed a long path and impacted human civilization for nearly five millennia. With technological advances, metal casting is playing a greater role in our everyday lives and is more essential than it has ever been.

Selecting the Right Metal Casting Process

1.For any Metal Casting Process, selection of right alloy, size, shape, thickness, tolerance, texture, and weight, is very vital.

2.Special requirements such as, magnetism, corrosion, stress distribution also influence the choice of the Metal Casting Process.

3.Views of the Tooling Designer; Foundry / Machine House needs, customer's exact product requirements, and secondary operations like painting, must be taken care of before selecting the appropriate Metal Casting Process.

4.Tool cost.

5.Economics of machining versus process costs.

6.Adequate protection / packaging, shipping constraints, regulations of the final components, weights and shelf life of protective coatings also play their part in the Metal Casting process.

The Metal Casting or just Casting process may be divided into two groups:

Hot Forming Process
Examples are Centrifugal casting, Extrusion, Forging, Full mold casting, Investment casting, Permanent or Gravity Die casting, Plaster mold casting, Sand Casting, Shell Mold casting. The method to be used depends upon the nature of the products to be cast.

Cold Forming Process
Examples are Squeeze casting, Pressure die casting, Gravity die casting, Burnishing, Coining, Cold forging, Hubbing, Impact Extrusion, Peening, Sizing, Thread rolling.