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[M439]Metal Casting At Home

by Kent Klein, Ken

Lost Foam Casting is a form of Investment Casting much like Lost Wax Casting. The key material of Lost Foam Casting is of course foam which is not used in other metal casting methods. The use of foam has many benefits to the artisan like ease of use and shaping and the relative inexpensive cost of the material. Each casting is going to be one of a kind since the original casting of foam is lost during the process.

The foam original will be replaced by the molten metal unlike the Lost Wax Casting where a wax mold is made of the original and then coated with a ceramic shell in preparation for the molten metal. Luckily, most foam is pretty inexpensive so the loss of the original shouldn't pose a significant financial loss, just an annoying creative loss.

Foam is easily shaped by hand held tools but even still some practice may be needed to prefect the sculpting of the material. You will need to place a sprue into the foam which will allow the molten alloy to spread into the foam and adopt the shape of the item. Packing the foam and sprue in sand is a good way to insure that the mold will retain its shape through the pouring process. The metal will replace the foam by vaporizing it, and it is really quite a sight to behold.

Though there are many who prefer to adopt the procedures used in Lost Wax Casting for the Foam casting. After spruing the foam original you are going to dip it into a solution to create a shell and then pour the metal. The goal of this is to create a cleaner surface.

Whichever method you choose is really up to you. Many use Lost Foam Casting a quick and easy way to create something when visual appearance isn't all that important. Many refer to Lost Foam as the "quick and dirty method".

As for the type of foam to use you are going to want to steer clear of anything that will give off toxic fumes when heated. Urethane foam is toxic. The popular foams to use are the polystyrene kind which is used to pack electronics and the polystyrene foam used for insulation. These foams can be found at many home improvement stores and even a few all purpose retail stores.

Lost Foam Casting is kind of like alchemy, transforming something inexpensive into something invaluable. Whenever you cast, make sure to take all proper safety precautions and wear safety gear. Always wear a long sleeve shirt, jeans, and the proper shoes. Don't forget eye and face wear and of course gloves. Never forget that you are dealing with material that can very easily harm and disfigure or worse if not handled properly.

Many first time casters begin with Lost Foam Casting since it doesn't involve mold making but if you are experienced and never attempted this method you will still want to be careful.

Casting molds are an essential part of the metal casting process as it will be used to shape the final result. Nearly all metal casting methods will use some type of mold. The standard mold will consist of a cope and drag that when together is called a flask. The mold itself can be constructed of several materials depending upon the casting method.

Most molds will be made from latex, fiberglass, sand, and even metal. Sand molds are the most popular since Sand Casting is commonly used in small home foundries. In Permanent Mold Casting, the mold is created from metal. Most molds can be used over and over again, but not all of them. Certainly the metal molds can be used multiple times without loosing any quality from the finished product. However, molds created using sand or other materials will not have a very long shelf life. This is not generally seen as a huge problem just a minor annoyance since mold making is relatively cheap and easy.

No matter what material the mold is made from, the basic construction is pretty much the same. The molding box is called the flask which has a cope, the top, and drag, the bottom. You will then fill the flask with the molding material and then place the original into the mold. So, if you want to cast a tiny metal elephant, you will place an original of the elephant usually made from clay, wax, wood, or even metal into the drag of the flask. If this is done in sand you will ram the flask until the sand is packed tightly around the original. The top of the flask, the cope is then placed on and more molding material poured in. The entire flask is then rammed or vibrated making sure everything is packed in nice and tight.

When the molding material is dry, you will remove the flask and carefully split the mold to retrieve the original, in this case the tiny elephant. Now, if you want to make sure that there are some empty spaces in the cast to be finished then you will place cores into the mold. The cores are made of sand or wax.

The type of mold used depends heavily on the type of casting, alloy, and complexity of the pattern to be cast. Metal molds have little use in small foundries unless you plan on casting a lot of tiny metal elephants.

In some cases, pre-made molds can be found in hobby shops or through company casting companies. Usually, pre-made molds are used in miniature castings. Many individual metal casters prefer to make their own molds since it is inexpensive and allows them greater control over the finished casting.

Metal casting involves several sets of skills and mold making is one of these skills. Mold making is an invaluable skill for metal casters as it is so very important to the casting process. Not only are molds used in metal casting but in other casting types as well. Resin casting and other plastic casting requires a mold as well. The flask can be made of wood, metal, and in some cases those toy building blocks, we all know the type. As long as the flask can hold the mold material until it dries it can be used.

Every metal caster should learn how to make a mold instead of relying on others. It's not only about independence but about saving money as well. Making your own mold is just cheaper.

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Kent Klein has sinced written about articles on various topics from Room Furniture, Computers and The Internet and Computers and The Internet. Go to Metal Casting Zone to get your free ebook on Metal Casting at . Metal Casting Zone also has. Kent Klein's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.