Casting

Casting is a process that involves mixing a base resin with a catalyst and pouring the mixture into the mold. These materials can be thermoplastic or thermoses and the process may or may not require adding heat to the mold. This process is used to make sheet, rod, tube and finished or semi-finished parts. The process requires considerable process control to obtain high quality parts. Tubes, rods, sheets and slabs are often made this way. Several examples of plastics that are cast include acrylic, nylon, epoxy and urethane.

Molds can be made from steel, aluminum, urethane, epoxy, silicone, cardboard and other materials. Much of this depends on how many parts are desired off the tooling and if the part is completed to size and finish out of the mold or if post finishing is planned.

Advantages

  • simpler and less costly mold
  • free of residual stress
  • suited or low production quantity