NovaCast Limited

NovaCast has continued to demonstrate its commitment to environmental transparency by once again disclosing its environmental impact through CDP, the global non-profit that runs the world’s environmental disclosure system. Now with the world’s largest, most comprehensive dataset on environmental action, the insights that CDP holds empowers investors, companies, cities, and national and regional governments to make the right choices today to build a thriving economy that works for people and planet in the long term.

Bit of an unusual image. This is a sand casting core with a carbon steel insert positioned precisely and coated with a refractory graphite-based compound to preheat the insert before casting. This protects against any reaction between dissimilar materials used for the insert and the main casting - in this case an aluminium.

This was a fairly hefty casting! It is a 200kg pump body that was sand cast and shot blasted. Shown here ready to go for final machining, the casting was done in Leaded Gunmetal LG2 (BS1400 – 1985 alloy LG2). The substantial lead content in LG2 gives it excellent machining qualities. It has medium strength, good pressure tightness and is not subject to dezincification. Its excellent resistance to superheated steam combined with reasonable corrosion resistance to seawater and brine, makes it suitable for pressure-tight pump and valve components.

Hardness testing a drive shaft machined from AISI 431 (BS431S29) stainless steel billet. This high chromium, low carbon martensitic stainless steel has high hardenability, strength and corrosion resistance, and has been heat treated by case hardening. Our semi-automatic digital Brinell hardness tester sets the testing force and dwell time via a control panel. A digital Brinell microscope with adjustable LED illuminator automatically reads the indentation and instantly displays test results, making it both fast and extremely accurate.

One of several OEM Norton Motorcycle components being manufactured by NovaCast. These Norton Commando 850 cylinder barrels are cast in BS1452 Grade 17 cast iron using the shell mould casting process then powder coated, machined and honed to original specifications.

These elbows are part of a ship-to-ship refuelling assembly. They are sand cast in leaded gunmetal LG4 (BS1400– 1985 alloy LG4) which is an alloy of Copper, Tin, and Zinc. Chosen here for its combination of pressure tightness, high strength in tension and compression, hardness, ductility, and high resistance to impact. This image shows the castings immediately after being broken out of the sand moulds with gating system (pouring cup, sprue, runner, and risers) still in place.

The lost foam casting process uses expanded polystyrene patterns in the shape of the finished casting with gating system included. These patterns are for the structural framework of CNC machining centres and show how complex internal shapes can be created with multiple elements glued together to form the finished shape. You can find out more about the lost foam casting process here: https://lnkd.in/dqf3yXpD

We are often asked to explain the differences between casting processes, particularly when they appear to be closely related. In this case, the comparison is between Sand Casting, which uses green sand or resin sand to create a mould, and Shell Mould Casting, which uses phenolic resin to create a sand shell mould. If you are interested to find out more about these processes, please have a look at the following article just posted on our website: Casting Process Comparison: Sand Casting vs Shell Mould Casting Casting https://lnkd.in/dP2b5H_R

Small but perfectly formed. Our new resin-sand mixing machine will improve both flexibility and efficiency at our Melksham foundry. The 1-Tonne per hour capacity may be small but it is the perfect solution for sand-core and small mould production, complementing the existing larger scale equipment on site.