Casting is a metal mastery earlier metal thermal processing technology, about 6,000 years of history. From about 700 BC to 000 BC, China has entered the heyday of bronze castings, and the process has reached a fairly high level. China's dynasty, weighing 875 kilograms of the Secretary Founder Fang Ding, Zeng Hou Zhan Warring States Period plate, the Western Han Dynasty through the mirror, are the representatives of the ancient casting products.

 

Most of the early castings are tools or utensils for agricultural production, religion, life and other aspects, with strong artistic colors. At that time, the foundry process was developed in parallel with the pottery process, influenced greatly by the pottery. China in 53 BC, cast the world's earliest recorded in the cast iron pieces of Jin Zhuo Ding, weighing about 270 kg. Europe also started producing cast iron before and after the eighth century AD. The emergence of cast iron, expanding the scope of application of castings. For example, in the 5th to 7th centuries, Germany, France and other countries laid a lot of cast iron pipelines that supply drinking water to residents. After the industrial revolution in the 8th century, the steam engine, textile machine and railway industry emerged. As casting entered the new period of service for large industries, the casting technology started to develop greatly. Into the 20th century, the rapid development of casting, one of the important factors is the progress of product technology, require castings of various mechanical and physical properties better, while still having good machinability; another reason is the machinery industry itself and other The development of industries such as chemical industry and instrumentation has created favorable material conditions for the foundry industry. Such as the development of detection means to ensure the quality of castings improve and stability, and to casting theory provides the conditions for the development; electron microscopy and other inventions to help people deep into the microscopic world of metals to explore the mystery of metal crystallization, metal solidification theory , Guide casting production. During this period, a large number of new cast metal materials with superior properties and rich variety were developed, such as ductile iron, malleable castable iron, ultra-low carbon stainless steel, aluminum copper, aluminum silicon, aluminum-magnesium alloy, titanium base and nickel base alloy , And invented a new process of gray iron inoculation, so that the adaptability of castings more widely. Since the 950s, new technologies such as wet sand high pressure molding, chemically hardened sand molding and core making, negative pressure molding and other special casting and shot blasting processes have emerged, enabling the casting to have high shape, dimensional precision and good surface finish, The working conditions and sanitation in the foundry have also been greatly improved. In the great progress of the foundry industry since the 20th century, the two new processes of gray iron preparation and chemical hardening sand molding are of special significance. These two inventions, breaking through the traditional methods that have lasted for thousands of years, have opened up new fields for the foundry process and have had a significant impact on enhancing the competitiveness of the castings.