Foundry

This article is about the factory that makes castings of metal. For the use in the electronics industry see foundry (electronics). For other uses see foundry (disambiguation).

A foundry is a factory which produces castings of metal, both ferrous and non-ferrous. Ferrous metals are iron-based. The element iron is the most common base element poured in foundries. Non-Ferrous metals are all other cast alloys.

In foundries, molten metal is poured into molds. Such molds may be made of sand, metal (permanent molding) or other ceramic or refractory materials. The pouring can be accomplished with gravity, or may be assisted with vacuum or pressurized gasses. When the metal freezes (changing from liquid to solid) the result is a casting.

Most foundries specialize in particular metals, and have furnaces dedicated to these. For example an iron foundry (for cast iron) may use a cupola, similar to a small blast furnace, while a steel, bronze, brass or aluminum foundry will normally use an electrical induction furnace or in some cases a gas heated crucible furnace.

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