The Flooring Expert

Metal casting is a modern process with ancient roots. In the metal casting process, metal shapes are formed by pouring molten metal into a mold cavity, where it is cooled and later extracted from the mold. Metal casting is arguably the earliest and most influential industrial process in history. It used to make many of the metal objects used in our daily lives: automotive parts, train wheels, lamp posts, school bus pedals, and much more. Plus, metal casting foundries rely on metal recycling as a cost-efficient source of raw material, significantly reducing wasted scrap metal that might end up in landfills.

The History of Metal Casting

The oldest known metal casting is that of a copper frog, believed to have been produced in 3200 BCE in Mesopotamia when copper was a popularly used material. Later, around 2000 BCE, iron was discovered. But it was not until around 700 BCE that the first production of cast iron was developed in China. Interestingly enough, the sand molding process of casting metals was also invented in China in 645 BCE.

The crucible process, a technique used for producing fine or tool steel, appeared and disappeared in various locations around the globe since the early 1st millennium CE. The technique popped up in India and central Asia first, until it appeared in northern Europe around 800 CE, where it was used to make Viking swords. The technique didn’t resurface until 1750 when Benjamin Huntsman reinvented it in England. Huntsman heated small pieces of carbon steel in a closed crucible, which is a ceramic pot with refractory properties that can withstand a high degree of heat. Huntsman achieved a temperature high enough to melt steel for the first time.

Over the past thousands of years, the casting of metals into usable objects has evolved to become more exact and automated, but the process at its core has essentially remained the same. Innovations in automation of foundry processes like the General Kinematics Sand Casting Conditioner have made processing large quantities of castings easier as well as improved the quality of the castings. The machine is revolutionary in its high volume mold and sand handling for foundry applications.