Valves are an important part of a plumbing system. Valves are used to regulate and control water and air flow. The quality control in manufacturing is critical because the entire system often depends on their functionality. This is why finding a good valve castings manufacturer India is so critical.
Casting Vs Forging
This includes the manufacturing of components, like bodies, caps and bonnets. Valves are manufactured through the process of forging or casting. The common perception is that forging is a superior method, but modern day manufacturers are getting equally brilliant results with casting.
Forging gives us homogeneous results, which is often the prime requirement in high-integrity applications that need specialised products. The only flip side is that forging can be an expensive process, especially for larger pieces. This is why casting is often the preferred option. It often comes down to the economics — casting is simply cheaper. An expert manufacturer will also ensure that production values are high.
Price issues are not the only consideration. Forged products are also likely to show non-uniformity in their mechanical properties. This is because the grains have different elongations. Castings, on the other hand, shows more uniform properties. This difference in process can affect certain critical properties like impact strength.
Casting also allows a valve castings manufacturer India to work with more complex designs. It allows for greater control over the flow when compared with forging. For instance, globe valves are made only through the casting process. Whenever we have design that needs intricate control and complexity, we need casting to achieve the purpose. It will also make a stronger piece.
Metals used in casting
Any metal can be used in casting valve components. Common metals used in casting are aluminium, bronze, iron, steel, magnesium and brass are used more commonly because these are easy to cast and offer certain advantages. Bronze and brass valves are common in plumbing. Iron valves are often found in waterworks projects. Iron is used to make large valves.
Methods used
Casting is one of the oldest methods of working with metal. It was used to make jewellery, sculpture tools and weapons. Methods used in casting include Traditional techniques include lost-wax casting, sand casting, and plaster mould casting. Of these the two methods more commonly used are sand casting and lost-wax process.
Sand casting: In sand casting molten metal is poured into a sand mould. The mould is held together with binding compounds. It is the oldest and simplest method in casting, used for centuries by people around the world. Some techniques and tools may have changed, but it is still one fo the most popular methods. One of the reasons is that it can be used to cast variable sizes in one casting — from small pieces to large components. This gives us better economy in production.
Lost-wax casting
This is also one of the oldest methods of casting, using wax for moulds. In the ancient times it was beeswax that was common used to make the mould. Today valve castings manufacturer India refractory materials, high tech wax and specially made alloys. The lost wax casting method provides us with multiple advantages. It is highly flexible, accurate and produces parts with high integrity.
Another advantage in terms of economy is that the wax can be reused.
Although it is more expensive than sand casting, lost-wax casting is preferred for a number of reasons:
Complex designs: Wax is more easily shaped into complex designs. It can be set into moulds in any shape we want without any danger of breakage or any extra effort. consequently, it also allows us to build parts with complexity in its counters.
Less wastage: The parts cast through the lost-wax method are highly accurate. We can get extremely close net shapes, which means that there is less wastage. Parts do not have to be cast again and again. This also reduces the time taken.
Economic: In sand casting the mould has to be discarded. Wax may be more expensive, but the mould does not have to be discarded and can be reused. In many cases it actually allows us to bring economy. Since we don’t have to create new moulds.
Efficiency: For many valve castings manufacturer India lost-wax method is simply more efficient. There is less wastage and the mould can be reused. This means that there are fewer errors and the process can be smooth and efficient.
