PROJECTS
Art casting is casting of works of art from metals, polymers (vulcanized or chemically hardened). Among the metals are gold, silver, bronze, tin, copper, cast iron, aluminum alloy. Among the polymers is rubber, silicone, PVC plastisol.
The history of art casting
It is documented that art casting was developed many thousands of years ago. In Egypt there were founded bronze sculptures dated back to the third century B.C., in China – the second century B.C. The art casting was also widely used in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. The peak of bronze art casting fell on the 17th-18th century in the Western Europe, when each more or less rich man wished to immortalize himself in statues and epic compositions.
In Russia art casting has been developed from the 11th century, when bell casting became an art. In Russia in the 16th-17th centuries famous masters-molders appeared (Chohov, Dubinin, Motorins), who specialized not only in bells but also in guns casting.
Production methods
At volumetric casting compound forms (molding boxes) from clay, metal are used. A prototype of a future article is a squeezed (hollow) model or a cut / plastic melted (destroyable) prototype, e. g, from special green jewelry wax (the so-called «waxwork»).
Simple casting moulds from soft metals and indurated polymers, applied for bas-reliefs, interior elements, simulating carved sculptures from marble and limestone, advertising compositions and souvenirs, are also used.
Art casting demands manufacturing accuracy of prototypes or forms (depending on working methods). Recently in the course of working out of art casting articles prototypes, as a rule, machine designing (SADW) is applied. More often robotic systems are engaged in the manufacturing process of forms processing (milling-engraving machines with PNC, multifunctional machining centers with PNC).
The main differences of art casting from the mass casting production:
- limited duplicating or uniqueness of work;
- high detailed elaboration of work elements.
