Iron foundries produce iron castings and stamped items through a multi-step process of melting iron in furnaces, pouring it into molds, removing the casting, cleaning it, and removing imperfections. They can produce small to large products using various types of iron. Foundries use different types of furnaces and molds, including sand molds. Once cooled, the casting is cleaned and machined to ensure the correct dimensions and surface finish. Different types of raw iron stock and alloys are used to produce iron foundry products.
An iron foundry is an industrial facility that produces iron castings or stamped items. These installations or factories feature a multi-step process of melting the iron material in furnaces, then pouring the molten metal into molds. Once the metal has cooled, the casting is removed from the mold, cleaned, and any imperfections in the casting are removed. Iron foundries are usually capable of producing small products weighing a couple of ounces to large castings weighing several tons. Various types of iron are used to make foundry parts, including ductile and gray cast iron or cast iron.
Iron foundries are one of the oldest types of metal smelting operations and produce millions of tons of product each year. Common iron foundry castings include machine and automobile parts, pots, plumbing fittings, and pipes. The iron smelting process is suitable for producing iron and iron alloy parts of great simplicity or complexity and in a wide range of sizes and weights, depending on demand. The process is relatively simple and consists of three basic steps: casting the iron, casting and finishing.
The raw materials used in iron foundry operations are smelted in various types of furnaces depending on the desired type of iron used and production quantities. The simplest of these and the oldest type of furnace is the crucible type. These furnaces consist of a large bowl-shaped crucible lined with refractory material into which the charge or raw material is placed. Heat is transferred to the charge through the walls of the crucible from a coke, gas or electric heat source. Other types of iron foundry furnaces include dome, induction, and electric arc furnaces.
When the iron is melted, it is poured into molds to complete the smelting stage of the process. One of the most common types of foundry molds is the sand mold. To produce sand molds, a pattern or model of the finished article is used to create a negative image impression in special molding sand. Molten iron is poured into the impression and allowed to cool and solidify. Other types of molds include ceramic, ceramic-sand combination, and metal molds.
Once the casting has cooled, it is removed from the mold and all mold references are removed. The piece is then sandblasted to remove all mold grit and to clean the surface. It is then machined or ground to ensure the part is dimensionally correct with the desired surface finish. Several types of raw iron stock and its alloys are used to produce iron foundry products, including ductile iron, cast iron or gray iron, and malleable iron. These variants are produced through the addition of alloy materials or chemicals, various casting processes, and post-cast heat treatments. Most iron foundry plants are capable of producing a wide variety of casting sizes, ranging from small machine parts to turbine impellers.
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