Continous Casting vs. Ingot Casting
Continuous Casting is a process used to manufacture high volume, large component metal products. In this technique, molten metal is poured directly into a die and slowly drawn through it in the form of a continuous ribbon. The process is a cleaner, more efficient, and more cost-efficient method of making high-volume and large component products than is traditional ingot casting.
Ingot casting is the oldest form of metal casting. In this method molten metal is poured into a mold and allowed to cool. The result is a solid block of metal, sometimes known as a chunk. This process is simple to set up and because of its popularity, many foundries have ingot casting capability. However, because of the inefficient nature of this process, these same foundries are now investing in continuous casting to remain competitive.
Continuous Casting offers many advantages over ingot casting. Firstly, the process is much cleaner and more refined, resulting in a finish with far fewer defects and thus requiring minimal finishing work. Additionally, the lack of heavy machinery means that it can cast components of unlimited length, which can help minimize costs by reducing the number of components needed.
The continuous casting process also reduces the amount of energy required to produce metal parts. When metal is melted in an ingot-casting system, a great deal of energy is lost through radiation and convection. By melting the metal directly into a die instead of casting into molds, much of this energy is conserved. This is especially beneficial for those companies utilizing renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power.
The process of continuous casting has steadily increased in popularity over time, and with good reason. It is a more cost-efficient and more efficient way to produce metal components. Additionally, it is a cleaner and more refined process that results in quality metal-component finishes with fewer defects. Many foundries have either already converted or are in the process of converting their ingot-casting systems to continuous-casting systems for these reasons. However, there are a few drawbacks to the continuous-casting process. It requires larger amounts of setup and maintenance and is only suitable for volume production, so it may not be ideal for producing smaller, intricate components.
