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This material gives you an overview of the casting process and the concepts you encounter at a foundry. Use it as reference while you learn the trade in practice.
Sand moulds are pressed around a model and are suitable for complex pieces; they are broken to get the piece out. Permanent moulds are reusable and suitable for many identical pieces. Pressure casting presses the mass in under high pressure for uniform results.
You work with iron, steel and other metals. The choice depends on what the workpiece needs to do: strength, weight or resistance to specific loads.
Start by understanding each step individually, then build up the whole. Be careful with pattern-making, because errors here cannot be corrected once the metal is poured. Take quality control seriously from the start.
“The foundry trade rewards planning. It is what you do before the melt that determines what you get out of the mould.”