Casting

Whether sand, die, or investment casting—choosing the right process impacts both quality and cost. In this Lexicon section, buyers will find essential information on casting methods, materials, and tolerances. Designed for informed supplier evaluations.

• Manufacturing process

  All processes for the production of geometrically determined bodies with predetermined technical properties and dimensions are referred to as manufacturing processes. In addition, material-changing methods such as hardening or soft annealing also belong to the manufacturing processes. Under the preamble of manufacturing methods, the individual methods are divided into six main groups according to their common features. These are described in more detail in DIN 8580 and categorized in subgroups and process variants. Manufacturing processes serve both for the production of semifinished products for further processing and for the production of final products.

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• Grey iron casting

  The cast iron is an iron material which has a high graphite carbon content and thus assumes its characteristic gray color. The material is hard and brittle but has good thermal conductivity, advantageous damping properties and excellent compressive strength. Grey casting is usually produced as cast iron with lamellar graphite and has excellent casting properties as well as a high cost efficiency. The material is used across the industry to produce components with high wear resistance requirements.

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• Gravity casting moulds

  A mold is a metallic mold used for the production of precise workpieces with good surface quality. Moulds often consist of cast iron or copper plates and are widely used in metalworking industry. The mold is the technical basis of the mold casting process and has proved successful in the production of large forging blanks, slabs for sheet metal products, billets for wire, rod and profile products and other components. In the mold casting process, the metallic melt is poured into the mold via the above-lying injection and cures there. Depending on the casting process, a mold can be used up to 100,000 times, resulting in a high cost.

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• Con rod

  A connecting rod is also referred to as a connecting rod or push rod and connects the crankshaft to the piston in a crank drive. The connecting rod converts the linear movement of the piston into a linear oscillating axial movement and thereby allows the force transmission in the vehicle train. As a rule, connecting rods are made from C70 steel or from microalloy steels. In addition, compensation steels or titanium are also used in the sports motor sector. Connecting rods in large series are frequently forged, sintered or cast, whereas in productions with small numbers a cutting production of metal pieces is preferably used.

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