The Difference Between Casting and Forging

That's a simple enough title for a webpage - the difference between casting and forging - but it's a terrifically important topic, so I greatly appreciate that ATC group (which provides both cast and forged parts, so would seem to be willing to provide neutral and positive spins on both processes) has put together a great summary on the two topics.

I'll give just a taste of the simplicity by showing their casting information...

We use castings for a wide range of wearparts and components that are too large, complicated, intricate or otherwise unsuitable for the forging process. We can forge parts up to 50kgs but the sheer energy required to forge larger items make casting a much more viable alternative.

We currently cast mining and earthmoving components to 580 kg. We can cast up to 3000 kg if required. Manganese work hardening screens are one of our specialities. We have found that by carefully choosing alloys and applying proven methods of heat treatment, we can produce castings of high quality, strength and wearability. The casting process better lends itself to making parts where internal cavities are required.
The advantages of casting include:

• No real upper size limit in casting weight
• Large range of alloy choices
• As forgings remain solid, custom alloys are far more difficult to get into production whereas with casting, alloys including Chrome, Nickel and Moly can be added at the molten stage.
• Tooling is often less expensive than forge dies
• Smaller production “runs” required
• Complicated/complex parts are no problem

For general GET as well as large and complex components - casting is a fantastic method of manufacture.

You'll have to visit the webpage to see why you should forge parts.