Muhammad Azhar Ali Khan - Evolution of Metal Casting Technologies: A Historical Perspective

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Metalcasting has been serving the manufacturing industry for years. It is used for manufacturing a range of products from being simple to exceptionally intricate. The challenges associated with the process have led to many advancements in metal casting technologies over time. During this period, different cast materials and casting processes have been evolved making it possible to design and manufacture almost any product with high quality. It is important to analyze the progress of metalcasting in past, trends in the field at present, and envisage the future of these technologies for continuous improvement. This book provides a comprehensive knowledge of metalcasting technologies by reviewing its historical evolution at first. A number of processes have emerged using innovative techniques for handling molten metals making it crucial to select the appropriate process for uninterruptable production. Therefore, a detailed description of metalcasting processes under different categories is presented next. A thorough discussion on foundry practices such as mold materials and molding techniques, pattern making and cores, cast alloys, furnaces, pouring, cleaning and heat treatment operations etc. is also included. Since, a host of process parameters are involved, castings are often produced with defects which needs to be minimized or eliminated. This issue is addressed here by explaining various types of casting defects along with their possible causes and remedies. As a final point, key considerations in casting design are elaborated. The underlying idea behind this study is to let the readers ingrain the fundamental knowledge of metalcasting technologies in all above mentioned areas so that the integrity and quality of castings can be enhanced.

Metalcasting is one of the primitive manufacturing processes which was developed based on fire-using technologies (or pyrotechnologies). Initially, pyrotechnologies have been used to improve workability of stone, make plaster by burning lime, and produce ceramics by firing the clay. Metalworking, however, started 10,000 years ago when the earliest metal objects are found to be wrought rather than cast [].