The Casting Finishing Process

Casting finishing is the process of taking cooled, molded cast assemblies and preparing them for use. Depending on the process used, (nobake, green sand, investment, etc.) the castings will require various levels of finishing. The type of metal cast also plays a part in the finishing process.

In general, the castings must first be removed from the tree assembly they were cast with. Cut-off saws are usually used for this task. Castings sometime require additional areas of metal to be added to balance the metal flow during pouring. These areas are called risers. Risers must be removed by either cutting them off or knocking them off by force, such as using a sledge hammer or Impactor®.

Once the castings are separated from the trees or risers, all flash and parting line metal must be removed. Each of these is a result of casting through the use of compacted molds. Depending on the casting finish quality, finishing may involve several steps of grinding from coarse to fine.

After finishing, castings are inspected for surface quality. Inspection can be performed manually by visual checking, manually by template comparison or by an automated inspection station.

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