The Milwaukee Makerspace Casting area, at our Norwich location, is set up to cast non-ferrous metals such as Aluminum and Bronze for small-scale projects. Iron Casting has a limit of #100 and limited scheduling for when iron will be cast.
Training is required for safe operation and use of the equipment.

David M. Arnold - Area-Champion
Rich Stewart - Ceramic Shell Trainer

To be trained on furnace operation or to learn how to make a mold for casting, stop by the Norwich site on Wednesday nights from 5-7PM to learn more. Updates and changes will be posted to the members google group and on the Google calendar.

• Proper PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) MUST be donned to participate in pouring operations
• Do not get hurt
• Do not burn the building down
• Clean up after use
• If any tool is not working STOP and seek assistance
• Make awesome stuff

Note: For post-casting Aluminum metal work, please provide your own consumables (Sanding Disks, grinding wheels, etc.) or consult with the metal shop champion for direction.

Approved Users List

See rates for materials for purchase

• Crucible Furnace
• Crucible - Used as a “pot” to melt the metal in the furnace * See list of Crucibles available for use.

• Tongs - Used to handle the crucible in and out of the furnace * See list of Tongs available for use.

• Shank - used for pouring the metal * See list of Shanks available for use.

• Ladles - used for pouring the Cast Iron * See list of Ladles available for use.

• Centrifugal Spin Caster - Mostly for jewelry applications
• Cement Mixer - Used to mix resin bonded sand, petrobond and greensand for casting applications

• Burnout Kiln Burnout Kiln used for vitrifying Ceramic Shell, reclaiming wax and evacuating Investment molds.
• Cupola Furnace R2V2 - Iron Casting Furnace

• Easy Bake Oven - Easy bake oven

• Sand Mixer - Sand Mixer

• Ceramic Shell Dip Tank - Ceramic Shell Dip Tank

Recipes

• Recipes Recipes

Record Sheets

• Records List of Iron Pour time sheets

Projects

• Rooster - 2 part resin bonded sand mold

* Casting Ingots - Casting Ingots for Maker Faire 2016

• Packing Peanuts - An alternative to the ceramic shell process

Howtos

• Mixing Sil-bond (Sodium Silicate) Resin bonded Sand
• Mixing Alphathane Resin Bonded Sand
• Ceramic shell dipping process for lost wax

Resources
Some additional resources to learn about the process
Hot Metal: A Complete Guide to the Metal Casting of Sculpture

Chuck Kraus's Foundry Manual: foundry_handbook_final-chuck_s_manual.restored.opt.pdf