Evolution of Metal Casting Technologies—A Historical Perspective

Manufacturing of many engineering applications substantially rely on metalcasting technologies. These technologies are playing a vital role in producing simple as well as intricate cast parts using different methods. It is essential to communicate the recent efforts towards developments in metalcasting, however, it is also equally important to analyze these technologies by looking into their evolution in past, trends at present, and prospects in future. This book is an attempt to provide an overview of metal casting technologies starting from its historical evolution to casting design strategies that are being followed today in foundries and other metalcasting industries. Historical evolution reveals the tremendous growth of materials and processes in metal castings industries. The details of most of the casting processes and their applications are also included for completeness. Foundry practices such as mold materials and molding techniques, pattern making and cores, furnaces, pouring, cleaning and heat treatment etc. are discussed in detail. The defects often appear due to a host of parameters involved in the process are introduced briefly together with their possible causes and remedies. Finally, current practices in casting design are demonstrated. It is concluded that metalcasting can be considered as one of the mature manufacturing technologies, however, further developments are expected through computational methods and virtual reality.