Cast Iron

[Zumba]

Curious as to what it costs to have a domestic foundry make custom iron castings. Assuming the mold was already made (low complexity), and the quantity is something like 500lbs each x 100 pieces, what would be a typical price per pound of final product?

Thanks.

[acondit]

Originally Posted by Zumba Curious as to what it costs to have a domestic foundry make custom iron castings. Assuming the mold was already made (low complexity), and the quantity is something like 500lbs each x 100 pieces, what would be a typical price per pound of final product? Thanks.

Do you really mean the mold is already made? Or do you mean the pattern is made? It typically takes one mold per piece.

One foundry that I know used to charge $1.00 a pound for material plus $100/hr for molding time. So your cost depends on how big the pattern is and how complex. However, 500 lbs. may be larger than their pour capacity. I know we had to send a pattern that was going to require a 1500 lb. pour to a larger foundry.

A simple pattern mounted four up on a 14x16 pattern board cost me about $72 to have four boards made (16 pieces that weighed about 1 lb. each).

Alan

[Zumba]

Oops, lost track of this thread.

Thanks Alan for the info. $1.00/lb is quite reasonable. And yes, I meant that the patterns are made. What constitutes a complex pattern? Lots of inside crevices and webbing? While on that topic, know of any good literature that describes proper casting design from an engineering standpoint?

Which foundry did you get your stuff cast at? Seems like the hardest part of all this is finding the right one.

[acondit]

Originally Posted by Zumba Oops, lost track of this thread. Thanks Alan for the info. $1.00/lb is quite reasonable. And yes, I meant that the patterns are made. What constitutes a complex pattern? Lots of inside crevices and webbing? While on that topic, know of any good literature that describes proper casting design from an engineering standpoint? Which foundry did you get your stuff cast at? Seems like the hardest part of all this is finding the right one.

Zumba,

Most of the books that I have are from the foundryman's point of view. What is doable and how to do it.

The foundry that I was talking about is in Silverton, OR. There used to be a lot more around but over the last few years several have gone away.

Alan

[metalcaster4jc]

Originally Posted by Zumba Oops, lost track of this thread. Thanks Alan for the info. $1.00/lb is quite reasonable. And yes, I meant that the patterns are made. What constitutes a complex pattern? Lots of inside crevices and webbing? While on that topic, know of any good literature that describes proper casting design from an engineering standpoint? Which foundry did you get your stuff cast at? Seems like the hardest part of all this is finding the right one.

As with anything complexity equates to labor; time both in molding and in finishing the casting. I take into account how much in material and labor it will cost me and factor in whether it will be a 1 time job or a repeater prior to submitting a quote. I do have parts that are 200 # that I can do ok on for $1.00/ lb, but don't expect that I can make 1 - 1# casting and only charge you $1.00.

[acondit]

Originally Posted by metalcaster4jc As with anything complexity equates to labor; time both in molding and in finishing the casting. I take into account how much in material and labor it will cost me and factor in whether it will be a 1 time job or a repeater prior to submitting a quote. I do have parts that are 200 # that I can do ok on for $1.00/ lb, but don't expect that I can make 1 - 1# casting and only charge you $1.00.

Andrew,

Don't forget, it was $1/pound plus $100/hr molding time. On small parts most of the charge is based on molding time.

Also the last time I had parts cast was 3 or 4 years ago, they may well be charging more even for the iron now.

Alan

[maquiza]

ZumBa,
I know this is an old tread, but if you are still interested in manufacturing this part, we can cast this and make any CNC machining on it. We ship from Laredo, TX 78041.

Thanks,

Jorge Martinez
Maquiza