Steel casting involves pouring molten steel into a mold. The castings are shaped to meet the specific design needs of the product being manufactured. Unlike iron, steel can be difficult to melt. Today, steel casting is used to improve a diverse set of industries—including the agriculture, construction, automobile, aviation, gas and oil, mining, and marine industries.
What Is Steel Casting Used For?
Casting steel allows foundries to form complex shapes in fewer steps. The castings created are used in a variety of products, but especially in heavy-duty components. The castings are used in construction and mining equipment, railroad cars, pumps and valves, heavy trucks, and more.
What Materials Are Used in Steel Casting?
While most metals can theoretically be used in the casting process, the most common are steel and iron. Bronze, copper, tin, zinc, and magnesium, to name but a few, are also used. Often, steel foundries play a significant role in the recycling process, forging a new future for metal that would otherwise remain waste. As a global company, we recycle over 50,000 tons of scrap steel every year and constantly fine-tune our manufacturing processes to reduce our environmental footprint.
What Are the Different Types of Steel Casting?
Did you know casting is one of the oldest manufacturing techniques? While advances in casting technology allow foundries to create unique and specialized casting methods today, the origin of this process can be traced back more than 7,000 years. Sand casting, plaster casting, die-casting, and investment casting can each be used to meet the manufacturing specifications for a wide range of products.
- Sand casting
- plaster casting
- die-casting
- investment casting
What Is the Difference Between Steel Casting and Cast Iron?
Without talking too much about chemical composition and sounding like your high school chemistry teacher, there are several noticeable differences between steel casting and cast iron. Iron has better corrosion resistance than steel, for one, and is often cheaper than cast steel. Because it pours easily and doesn’t shrink as much as steel, cast iron can be easier to work with, as well.
Why Is Steel Casting Used?
The chemical composition of steel can allow for a greater flexibility in design. When coupled with steel’s larger weight range—some products can weigh hundreds of tons—casting steel allows for increased structural strength and dependability, making steel casting the ideal choice for a variety of larger projects.
What Is It Like Working with Steel Casting?
The casting process requires a wide-ranging set of skills as our team moves each project from concept to completion. We need the deepest thinkers and the toughest workers who can deliver the best products to our customers while keeping everyone safe. If you take pride in a job well done and aren’t afraid of a challenge, you might be a good fit here. We are a hardworking, dedicated family that produces and delivers high-quality products. Harrison Steel is a place to sharpen and develop lifelong skills, and we offer competitive wages, ongoing training, and excellent benefits.