CASTINGS

At SANDMARK, we appreciate challenging casting jobs. Whether it is gray iron, ductile iron, steel, stainless, aluminum, brass, ceramics, or even bi-metal, we can offer you castings at world-class quality, price competitiveness and lead-times.

Unlike machining or fabrication, casting is a complex operation that requires tight process control, knowledge of chemistry, and complicated metrology infrastructures. Most importantly, the product designer needs to have intrinsic understanding of each vendor’s casting capability and processes. Nowhere else is ‘Design for Manufacturing’ more meaningful. With our deep knowledgebase, our experts can establish a close partnership with your design team, allowing you to produce highly reliable castings for the least possible cost.

SANDMARK imposes our own quality initiative into the processes of all foundries that we source from, and our own personnel actively participate in production and quality management.  For example, does a part needs second stress-relieving after proof-machining, what thermal recipes should be used, what measurements need to be performed and captured – SANDMARK personnel define and analyze all aspects of processes and procedures, and bring together responsible parties to successfully implement them.

We maintain strategic relationship with a number of world-class foundries in China, India, and Mexico, allowing us to supply castings of a variety of materials, sizes, complexity and finishes. We offer the full range of casting processes, including:

Sand Castings

Shell Castings

Permanent Mold Castings

Gravity and Pressure Die Castings

Investment (Lost Wax) Castings

Spin Castings (Metal Centrifugal Castings)

Bi Metal Castings

Each method above will determine the characteristics of the resulting products: strength, surface finish, dimensional tolerance (as cast), size range, draft angles, minimum wall thickness and radii. Our castings experts will work with you determine the appropriate methods that will deliver the most appropriate product quality for the lowest possible cost.

PATTERN MAKING

We can take your 3D IGS or most native CAD model files directly and use them to develop our patterns.  This ensures that your design intent is reflected exactly in the castings that are produced.  In fact, we prefer to work with your 3D CAD models because of the greater confidence they provide in producing products that precisely match your requirements.

In developing patterns for complex castings, we follow a methodical process where a wood pattern is first developed and a series of evaluation sample castings are poured, until we are satisfied that the resulting geometry matches the design.  Only then is a metal pattern produced, using which, the production castings are run.

POST-CASTING OPERATIONS

Producing raw casting is usually the first step in getting the finished product.  In most cases, machining operations are necessary.  Machining castings is an exacting process, and needs to be systematic to obtain desired results.  Generally, castings need to be stress-relieved prior to machining.  In some cases, machining is done in two steps: proof machining, and final machining, with another stress-relieving step in between to remove machining stresses. 

TESTING

From material composition tests, physical tests, to a variety of nondestructive tests,  we have the full range of testing capabilities, which we will deploy for you so that the castings you receive are of the highest quality.