Tag Archives: aluminum

Angelica Sandoval’s Awesome Sculpture Class Metal CASTING

Casting via the Ceramic Shell process

Photo credits: Barbara Sullivan

One of the truly exciting experiences for JCCC students in Sculpture is the casting process.

This intricate, multifold process starts with an idea, which then the student makes a “positive” of using microcrystalline wax. Once made, a wax “sprue” (channel for the metal) is attached. The entire solid piece of wax is then dipped multiple times into a silica slurry, which builds up a “ceramic shell” around the wax. After the shell has dried, it is fired and the wax is steamed/ melted out, leaving a void in which a metal is then poured, such as aluminum or bronze. The shell is then chipped away, leaving the “positive” metal piece, whereby the sprue is removed and the sculpture is cleaned.

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Angelica stands with her Sculpture students donning all the necessary safety gear in preparation for a “pour”.
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Before removing the crucible from the furnace, Angelica skims a mucky “slag” or waste from the top. Leaving dirty slag can cause ugly pitting in castings.
(Above) Angelica Sandoval and a student lift a crucible full of molten aluminum out of the furnace prior to casting.

 

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(Above) Molten aluminum is carefully poured into the ceramic shells, which are packed in sand to prevent cracking.

 

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The crucible is attached to a hoist/ crane which makes lifting the heavy crucible more manageable.