Dissemination of IT for the Promotion of Materials Science (DoITPoMS)

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Introduction

Casting processes are essential in forming solid ingots or billets of metals for further processing, but moreover, a wide variety of casting processes are used in the production of finished or semi-finished components. Casting allows the production of complex shapes, without the need to introduce weaknesses when joining separate pieces, and is conservative of material compared with machining or cutting a shape from a large piece of metal. The methods available can achieve various standards of surface finish, microstructure, start-up cost, unit cost, and production volume, in order to suit many applications.