Conclusion

Today, sand casting (as well as lost-wax and plaster casting) is still confined in France to its traditional small-scale applications, covering the whole spectrum of requirements, from parts with high mechanical characteristics and sometimes highly sophisticated shapes, to street furniture. In other European and American countries, however, large-scale production for the automotive industry on high-productivity sites has been successfully developed.

Lost foam seems to have found a lasting niche in cylinder heads, thanks to the freedom of internal shapes it allows. If a practical means of accelerating cooling of critical areas (combustion chambers) were invented, at least locally, its use could be extended to more highly stressed engines.

On the other hand, it's still too early to say what the future holds for the ablation process, a technology...