Steel foundry. Casting of large steel parts

There are many different steel casting processes. Generally speaking, they differ in :

• the nature of the moulding and core materials used;

• the manual or mechanical means used for their implementation;

• the use of permanent or non-permanent (lost) models;

• the use of molds with or without frames (clod molding), or even the use of pits dug into the workshop floor, where the mold is built, in the case of very large parts (pit molding).

However, this dossier deals only with the main sand casting processes generally used to manufacture large or very large steel parts, and the means and techniques used to implement them. It also explains their limitations in terms of feasibility. It also discusses a particular process for manufacturing large steel parts: the centrifugal process in metal molds.

For a given part, the choice of molding process depends on a number of parameters, but above all on the part's overall dimensions and weight, and the number of parts to be produced (series concept).