Centrifugal casting in

silversmithing A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary great ...

is a

casting Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a ''casting'', which is ejected ...

technique where a small mould is poured, then spun on the end of an arm. The

centrifugal force In Newtonian mechanics, the centrifugal force is an inertial force (also called a "fictitious" or "pseudo" force) that appears to act on all objects when viewed in a rotating frame of reference. It is directed away from an axis which is paralle ...

thus generated encourages a successful pour.

Processes

Centrifugal casting, or ''centrifuging'',Efunda site page with centrifugal casting fundamentals
is used as a means of casting small, detailed parts or jewelry. An articulated arm is free to spin around a vertical axle, which is driven by an electric motor or a spring. The entire mechanism is enclosed in a tub or drum to contain hot metal should the mold break or an excess of metal be used. Single use molds are prepared using the

lost wax Lost-wax casting (also called "investment casting", "precision casting", or ''cire perdue'' which has been adopted into English from the French, ) is the process by which a duplicate metal sculpture (often silver, gold, brass, or bronze) is ...

method. A small amount of metal in a crucible (a sort of ceramic pan) next to the mold is heated with a torch. When the metal is molten the arm is released, forcing (by centrifugal force) the metal into the mold. The high forces imposed on the metal overcome the viscosity, resulting in a finely detailed workpiece. A similar advantage may be obtained by vacuum casting or pressure casting. For casting of small parts using hot metal, a disk shaped mold is contained within a rotating drum, and molten metal is poured into the center.

Machinery

Many machines are available which can perform centrifugal casting, and they are relatively simple to construct. All that is required is an arm which rotates with an adequate amount of centrifugal force, a container on the end of said arm to hold both a mold and the material to be cast into the mold.

References

{{Jewellery Casting (manufacturing) Jewellery making

Processes

Machinery

See also

References