Casting

Casting, production of a desired form by pouring the raw material (alloys, fiberglass, plastics, steel) in liquid form into a suitably shaped mold. In die casting, molten metal is forced under pressure into a die; in centrifugal casting, used primarily for pipes, molten material is poured into a rapidly rotating mold; in continuous casting, material is poured into water-cooled, open-ended molds; in sand casting fine sand is packed tightly around each half of a permanent pattern, which is removed, after which the 2 halves of the mold are placed together.