What is the difference between a solid part such as a sheet metal part and a casting?

Do you know the difference between physical parts such as sheet metal parts and castings? When you choose the right part for the product you are about to manufacture, you need to know which one is more suitable for your needs. The following will give you a brief introduction.

List：

What is a sheet metal part?

What is a casting?

The difference between sheet metal parts and castings

What is a sheet metal part?

Sheet metal, a processing technology, has not yet had a relatively complete definition of sheet metal. According to a definition in a foreign professional journal, it can be defined as: sheet metal is a comprehensive cold working process for metal sheets (usually below 6mm), including shearing, punching/cutting/compositing, folding, riveting, splicing, Forming (such as car body). Its remarkable feature is the same thickness of the same part. Products processed through the sheet metal process are called sheet metal parts.It referred to by different industries are generally different, and are often used for the name of the assembly.

What is a casting?

The casting is a metal molded object obtained by various casting methods, that is, the smelted liquid metal is poured into a pre-prepared mold by pouring, injecting, inhaling or other casting method, and after cooling, after grinding and other subsequent processing means. The resulting object with a certain shape, size and performance.

There are many classification methods for castings: according to the different metal materials used, they are divided into steel castings, cast iron parts, cast copper parts, cast aluminum parts, cast magnesium parts, cast zinc parts, and cast titanium parts. Each type of casting can be further divided into different types according to its chemical composition or metallographic structure. For example, cast iron parts can be divided into gray iron castings, ductile iron castings, vermicular graphite iron castings, malleable iron castings, alloy cast iron fittings, etc.; according to different molding methods, castings can be divided into ordinary sand castings, metal castings, and die castings. , centrifugal castings, continuous castings, investment castings, ceramic castings, electroslag remelting castings, bimetal castings, etc. Among them, ordinary sand castings are the most widely used, accounting for about 80% of all castings. Non-ferrous metal castings such as aluminum, magnesium and zinc are mostly die-casting parts.

The difference between sheet metal parts and castings

Characteristics

l Sheet metal parts are characterized by light weight, high strength, electrical conductivity (can be used for electromagnetic shielding), low cost, and large-scale mass production performance. They are widely used in electronics, communications, automotive, medical equipment, etc., for example. They are an integral part of computer cases, mobile phones, and MP3s. With the increasing use of sheet metal parts, the design of sheet metal parts has become an important part of the product development process. Mechanical engineers must be proficient in the design skills of sheet metal parts, so that the design of sheet metal parts is satisfied. The function and appearance of the product can make the stamping die simple to manufacture and low in cost.

l  Various parts such as castings can be used to produce blanks with complicated internal cavities. Such as various cabinets, machine bed, cylinder block, cylinder head and so on. And the process flexibility is large and the adaptability is wide. The size of the liquid molded part is almost unlimited, and the weight thereof may be several grams to several hundred tons, and the wall thickness may be from about 0.5 mm to about 1 m. Any metal material that can be dissolved into a liquid state in the industry can be used for liquid molding. For cast iron with poor plasticity, liquid forming is the only way to produce its blanks or parts. Liquid molded parts are less expensive. Liquid forming allows direct use of waste parts and chips, resulting in lower equipment costs. At the same time, the liquid molded parts have a small processing margin and save metal.

Use

l Sheet metal parts are widely used in the electrical and electronic industry, including: ordinary cold-rolled sheet SPCC; galvanized steel sheet SECC; hot-dip galvanized steel sheet SGCC; stainless steel SUS301; stainless steel SUS304.

l  Castings are used in a wide range of applications, including hardware and the entire machinery and electronics industry, and their use is expanding. Specifically used in construction, hardware, equipment, engineering machinery and other large machinery, machine tools, ships, aerospace, automotive, locomotives, electronics, computers, electrical appliances, lamps and other industries, many are ordinary people all day contact, but do not understand Metal objects.

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