The Die Is Cast!
We all know the basics of how metal casting works, a metal is heated up to melting point and the resulting liquid metal is poured into a mold. When the …read more Continue reading The Die Is Cast!
Category Archives: metal casting
Smelting Solar Style
If you attended the 2022 Supercon, you might have heard the story about the SMD soldering challenge table nearly catching on fire. A magnifying lamp caught the sun just right …read more Continue reading Smelting Solar Style
3D Printed Molds for Casting Rose’s Metal
Have you ever played with Rose’s metal? It’s a fusible alloy of bismuth, lead, and tin with a low melting point of around 100 °C. Historically, it’s been used as …read more Continue reading 3D Printed Molds for Casting Rose’s Metal
Flip-Top Foundry Helps Manage the Danger of Metal Casting
Melting aluminum is actually pretty easy to do, which is why it’s such a popular metal for beginners at metal casting. Building a foundry that can melt aluminum safely is …read more Continue reading Flip-Top Foundry Helps Manage the Danger of Metal Casting
Making A Bronze Cannon From Scratch
Casting metal at home is somewhat tricky, but there’s no denying the results can be quite rewarding. [FarmCraft101] put his incredible craftsmanship on display, and learned a few new things in the process, by scratch building a scale replica bronze cannon and carriage.
Starting with a sufficient quantity of scrap …read more
Casting Metal Parts and Silicone Molds from 3D Prints
The invention of the relatively affordable 3D printer for home use has helped bring methods used to produce parts for prototypes, samples, and even manufacturing, closer to designers. This tutorial on how to cast metal parts from 3D printed silicone molds is a perfect example of how useful a 3D printer can be when you are looking to make a custom and durable metal part at home.
After 3D printing a mold design using an Ultimaker 2 [M. Borgatti] casts the mold using Smooth-On Mold Star 15 that can withstand heat up to 450 °F (232 °C), which he points …read more
Continue reading Casting Metal Parts and Silicone Molds from 3D Prints
Gateway to Metal Casting
Casting is an exciting and very useful pastime, but it’s not exactly common these days. That’s a problem whether you’re just getting started or have been doing it for years: everyone can use the advice of another. Fear not! The US Department of Energy is here to help with the Industrial Metal’s Program’s Metal Casting cornucopia.
Although not strictly a hack, this is certainly a facilitator of hacks and any experienced user would do themselves some good by perusing the site. Click on the maps to find complex issues presented remarkably well for papers at this level of rigor. Seriously, …read more
Fail Of The Week: Machining Bismuth
[David Cook]’s summary below the write-up of his experiences working with a bismuth ingot is succinct.
“I wasted a weekend learning why elemental bismuth is not commonly used for metal parts.“
It’s a fair assessment of his time spent growing unspectacular bismuth crystals, casting a bismuth cylinder that cracked, and machining bismuth only to be left with a very rough finish. But even though he admits the exercise was unsuccessful, he does provide us with a fascinating look at the physical properties of the element.
Bismuth is one of those elements you pass by in your school chemistry …read more
