Sand Casting: Uses sand packed around a pattern to form a mold.
Plaster Casting: Similar to sand casting but uses plaster for finer detail.
Investment Casting (Lost-Wax): Involves creating a wax replica, coating it in
ceramic, and then melting out the wax to pour molten metal.
Shell Molding: Uses a thin shell of sand held together by a resin to form the mold,
offering better surface finish than traditional sand casting.
Lost-Foam Casting: Uses a foam pattern that is vaporized by the molten metal,
leaving a mold cavity.
Full Mold (or Evaporative-Pattern Casting): Similar to lost-foam, it uses a
disposable pattern.
Ceramic Casting: Uses ceramic slurry to create the mold, similar to investment
casting but often with higher temperature metals.
Die Casting ( Expendable Mold Variation): A subset where a mold is used repeatedly
for a certain number of parts, but the mold material might be consumed over time,
or a variant uses a disposable mold.
Permanent Mold Casting:
Permanent Mold Casting: Employs reusable metal molds to create a variety of parts.
Gravity Die Casting: A form of permanent mold casting where gravity is used to fill
the mold.
Low-Pressure Die Casting: Uses a controlled low pressure to force metal into the
mold cavity.
Vacuum Die Casting: A specialized die casting process that draws the molten metal
into the mold using vacuum.
Pressure Casting: A broad term encompassing die casting methods that use pressure,
like high-pressure or low-pressure die casting.
Squeeze Casting: Combines the solidification of a casting with the application of
high pressure, often using a permanent mold.
Slush Casting: Metal is poured into a permanent mold, and after a portion
solidifies, the remaining liquid metal is poured out, leaving a hollow casting.
Other Specialized Methods:
Continuous Casting: A process for mass-producing long products, such as slabs and
billets, by pouring metal into an open-ended, water-cooled mold.
Centrifugal Casting: Uses centrifugal force to distribute the molten metal in a
rotating mold, useful for producing hollow, cylindrical parts.
Vacuum Casting (Other Types): Beyond vacuum die casting, this can refer to other
processes where vacuum is used to remove air or degas the molten metal or mold.
Thin Roll Casting: A method for producing thin metal sheets directly from molten
metal.
Ductile Iron Casting: While not a casting method itself, it refers to casting a
specific material—ductile iron—which is often produced using methods like sand
casting or permanent mold casting.
DEFECTS
Sand Casting -Sand inclusion, blowholes, rough surface finish
Plaster Casting -Cracking, porosity, limited size
Investment Casting -Misruns, shrinkage defects, ceramic shell cracking
Shell Molding -Gas porosity, shell cracking, inclusions
Lost-Foam Casting -Gas defects (from foam), misruns, mold erosion
Full Mold Casting -Carbon residue, porosity, incomplete filling
Ceramic Casting -Mold cracking, inclusions, hot tearing
Permanent Mold Casting - Cold shuts, misruns, shrinkage cavities
Gravity Die Casting -Misruns, shrinkage porosity, oxide inclusions
Low-Pressure Die Casting -Gas porosity, shrinkage, incomplete filling
Vacuum Die Casting -Incomplete filling, surface defects, mold wear
High-Pressure Die Casting -Porosity, flash, cold shuts
Squeeze Casting -Die sticking, shrinkage, hot tearing
Slush Casting -Uneven wall thickness, surface roughness, incomplete solidification
Continuous Casting -Cracks, segregation, surface defects
Centrifugal Casting -Blowholes, segregation, inclusions
Vacuum Casting (Other) -Misruns, mold collapse, shrinkage
Thin Roll Casting -Cracks, segregation, surface roughness
Ductile Iron Casting -Shrinkage porosity, graphite flotation, inclusions
