Forging and Casting Process - They Are Different

I think you may have heard of the forging and casting process. Both of them are widely used now. A few people may feel confused. They have something in common. Meanwhile, they are different in the manufacturing process, types, equipments, application range, quality of forming workpieces as well as production cost. Manufacturing process Doubtlessly, their purpose is to shape the workpieces. Metal forging technology is a process that solid metal is shaped by virtue of deformation. On

the contrary, casting process requires the molds to get a desired shape. Moreover, metal has been melted. Molds used in casting technology can be made of various materials, such as sand, ceramic, wood, etc. Types Forging technology can be divided into free forging during which solid metal will be shaped through the impact or the press as well as die forging, which refers to two types of die forging: open-die forging and no-flash dies forging. In terms of materials of molds, there are also all sorts of casting technology in use now, including ceramic casting, iron casting, die casting, permanent mold casting, as well as sand casting. Equipments applied in casting are hot chamber and cold chamber machine. Cold chamber casting machine - with the help of hydraulic piston at high pressure, molten metal is forced into the die. Hot chamber casting machine – it needs oil or gas powered piston to force the molten metal into the die. Likewise, forging technology requires several machines to finish every task, such as press forging, upset forging, automatic hot forging, roll forging machine, etc. Application range In contrast to forging process, the casting process is more suitable for creating complex or large parts. For instance, aluminum sand casting parts often are applied in art, jewelry, automobile components, and other facets. Quality of forming workpieces By means of different technologies, features of workpieces are not the same. Generally speaking, workpieces produced by forging technology are usually stronger, lighter and more reliable than casting process, because of tight grain structure. Production cost As a rule of thumb, casting technology costs less than forging technique. Production cost usually refers to the equipments, demand of metal, maintenance, etc. Casting workpieces like