The ancient art of casting on the Great Silk Road

Modern life cannot be imagined without the use of machines and metal products manufactured by casting. Machines perform many work operations facilitate human labour and are means of conquering the forces of nature. Metal products surround us everywhere: at home at work on the street. These include water taps heating radiators parts of gas stoves sewing machines refrigerators vacuum cleaners radios tape recorders televisions chandeliers door handles and figurines. On the streets squares in parks and in the underground we see cast bronze and cast iron monuments: various grates bas-reliefs vases etc. Over the past 100 years many of the processes involved in the formation of castings have been well studied and a number of methods have been developed to control them in a given direction using modern methods of computing cybernetics electronics etc. Foundry production is a multifaceted industry where the scope for research and improvement is much greater for engineers than in other branches of mechanical engineering.