Humans have cast metal parts in basically the same way for thousands of years: by pouring molten metal into a mold, often made of compacted sand and c

Magnus Metal wants to revamp the 4,000-year-old way metal parts are made

submited by

Style Pass

2024-04-18 16:30:05

Humans have cast metal parts in basically the same way for thousands of years: by pouring molten metal into a mold, often made of compacted sand and clay.

There’s a reason this ancient method is used today: sand casting is inexpensive and works well with both ferrous, or iron-based, and nonferrous metals. But there is a wasteful downside. The technique requires more metal than the finished part needs, and while scraps are usually recycled, melting excess metal over and over wastes energy. 3D printing has emerged as a pricey alternative generally reserved for prototypes and low-volume parts.

One startup, Magnus Metals, is working on a metal casting technology it claims is as fast and energy efficient as 3D printing at a cost that can compete with sand casting.

“Over time, as our reliability and utilization of the machine will rise, I think we are going to be competitive for parts that are not very simple,” Magnus Metals co-founder and CEO Boaz Vinogradov told TechCrunch.