| An iron foundry is an industrial installation that produces iron castings or molded items. These installations or factories feature a multi-step process that involves the melting of iron stock in furnaces, then pouring the molten metal into molds. Once the metal has cooled, the casting is removed from the mold, cleaned and all casting imperfections removed. Iron foundries are generally capable of producing small products weighing a couple of ounces to large castings weighing several tonnes. Various grades of iron are used to produce foundry pieces, including ductile and gray or cast iron.
Iron foundries are one of the oldest types of metal smelting operations and produce millions of tonnes of product each year. Common iron foundry cast pieces include machine and automobile parts, cookware, plumbing fittings and pipes. The iron casting process is suitable for producing iron and iron alloy pieces of great simplicity or complexity and in a wide range of sizes and weights, depending on demand. The process is relatively simple and consists of three basic steps: melting the iron, casting and finishing |
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