{"id":7655,"date":"2026-10-16T07:52:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T07:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lyafs.com\/?page_id=7655"},"modified":"2026-10-16T10:08:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T10:08:18","slug":"bronze-casting","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.lyafs.com\/tr\/services\/bronze-casting\/","title":{"rendered":"Bronze Casting"},"content":{"rendered":"<main id='oxy-main'><section class=\"oxy-container-7655-516 oxy-container lyafs-hero lyafs-hero--stack\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-515 oxy-container lyafs-inner lyafs-hero-grid\"><span class=\"oxy-text-7655-492 oxy-text lyafs-kicker\">\nBronze &amp; brass casting service\n<\/span><h1 class=\"oxy-text-7655-493 oxy-text lyafs-h1\">\nBronze and brass castings, from a 2.5\u00a0m propeller to a wear bushing\n<\/h1><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-512 oxy-container lyafs-hero-text\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-498 oxy-container\"><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-494 oxy-text lyafs-lede\">\nWe cast the whole copper family by gravity into printed sand moulds, or by investment from a printed wax pattern. No pattern is made either way, which is what makes a one-off bronze part economic \u2014 and what makes a 2.5\u00a0m marine propeller a single printed casting rather than weeks of hand moulding.\n<\/p><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-497 oxy-container lyafs-cta-row\"><a class=\"oxy-text-link-7655-495 oxy-text-link lyafs-btn\" href=\"\/tr\/get-a-quote\/\" target=\"_self\">\nSend your drawing for a quote\n<\/a><a class=\"oxy-text-link-7655-496 oxy-text-link lyafs-btn lyafs-btn--ghost\" href=\"#alloys\" target=\"_self\">\nSee the copper alloys we pour\n<\/a><\/div><\/div><aside class=\"oxy-container-7655-511 oxy-container lyafs-panel\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-499 oxy-text top0\">\nCopper capability at a glance\n<\/h3><ul class=\"oxy-container-7655-510 oxy-container lyafs-deflist\"><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-501 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-500 oxy-text\">\n<b>2 t<\/b> \u2014 largest single copper alloy pour\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-503 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-502 oxy-text\">\n<b>3 m<\/b> \u2014 maximum casting envelope\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-505 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-504 oxy-text\">\n<b>2,000 t<\/b> \u2014 copper capacity a year\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-507 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-506 oxy-text\">\n<b>6 families<\/b> \u2014 tin, aluminium, silicon and manganese bronze, brass, wear parts\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-509 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-508 oxy-text\">\n<b>500 t<\/b> \u2014 bronze sculpture capacity at the art foundry\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/aside><\/div><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-514 oxy-container lyafs-hero-media\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"oxy-image-7655-513 oxy-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lyafs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bz-propeller.jpg\" alt=\"Large marine cast bronze propeller, 2.5 m class, made in a printed sand mould\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"oxy-container-7655-135 oxy-container lyafs-sec\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-134 oxy-container lyafs-inner\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-113 oxy-container lyafs-head\"><span class=\"oxy-text-7655-111 oxy-text lyafs-rail\">\n01\n<\/span><h2 class=\"oxy-text-7655-112 oxy-text lyafs-h2\">\nWhich copper alloy your part needs\n<\/h2><\/div><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-133 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-117 oxy-container\"><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-114 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\n\"Bronze\" is a family, not a material. Tin bronze is the bearing alloy, aluminium bronze is the one that survives seawater, silicon bronze is the one that pours and welds well, and manganese bronze and the brasses are the high-strength, lower-cost end of the same family. Choosing between them is a duty decision, and the wrong choice shows up as wear, corrosion or a casting defect rather than as a price difference.\n<\/p><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-115 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nTwo things are worth knowing before you specify. First, <strong>copper alloys are the easiest of the structural metals on the mould<\/strong> \u2014 they pour around 1,200\u00a0\u00b0C, four hundred degrees below steel, so the sand, the binder and the mould coating are all working well inside their limits. Second, that is exactly why a printed mould suits them: the process window is wide, so a one-off part comes out as a sound part.\n<\/p><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-116 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nSend us the drawing and the duty \u2014 what it touches, what wears on it, what temperature it sees \u2014 and our application engineers will name the alloy. If you already have a callout, we will pour to it.\n<\/p><\/div><aside class=\"oxy-container-7655-132 oxy-container\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-118 oxy-text\">\nWhat drives the choice\n<\/h3><ul class=\"oxy-container-7655-131 oxy-container lyafs-deflist\"><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-120 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-119 oxy-text\">\n<b>Seawater or chloride<\/b> \u2014 aluminium bronze, or a nickel-aluminium bronze for the hardest duty\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-122 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-121 oxy-text\">\n<b>Sliding wear on a shaft<\/b> \u2014 tin bronze or a leaded tin bronze bearing grade\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-124 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-123 oxy-text\">\n<b>Valve and pump bodies<\/b> \u2014 tin bronze or silicon bronze, or brass where the medium allows\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-126 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-125 oxy-text\">\n<b>Best castability and weldability<\/b> \u2014 silicon bronze\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-128 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-127 oxy-text\">\n<b>Strength with lower cost<\/b> \u2014 manganese bronze or a high-tensile brass\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-130 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-129 oxy-text\">\n<b>Decorative and architectural<\/b> \u2014 tin bronze or a silicon bronze, patinated after casting\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/aside><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"oxy-container-7655-166 oxy-container lyafs-sec lyafs-sec--alt\" id=\"alloys\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-165 oxy-container lyafs-inner\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-138 oxy-container lyafs-head\"><span class=\"oxy-text-7655-136 oxy-text lyafs-rail\">\n02\n<\/span><h2 class=\"oxy-text-7655-137 oxy-text lyafs-h2\">\nThe copper alloys we pour\n<\/h2><\/div><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-139 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nSix families cover almost every enquiry we see. The exact grade callout follows your drawing; where you have no callout we will propose one and tell you why.\n<\/p><ul class=\"oxy-container-7655-164 oxy-container lyafs-grid lyafs-grid--3\"><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-143 oxy-container lyafs-card\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-140 oxy-text lyafs-h3\">\nTin bronze\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-141 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nThe classic bearing and worm-wheel alloy. Good load capacity, low friction against a steel shaft, and it retains its properties at moderate temperature.\n<\/p><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-142 oxy-text lyafs-card-foot\">\n<b>Reach for it when<\/b> the part slides or rotates against steel.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-147 oxy-container lyafs-card\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-144 oxy-text lyafs-h3\">\nAluminium bronze\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-145 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nThe strongest of the family and the one that resists seawater and most acids. Harder to machine than tin bronze, but it holds up where nothing else does.\n<\/p><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-146 oxy-text lyafs-card-foot\">\n<b>Reach for it when<\/b> the duty is marine, offshore or chemical.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-151 oxy-container lyafs-card\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-148 oxy-text lyafs-h3\">\nSilicon bronze\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-149 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nThe best-behaved copper alloy in the foundry and in fabrication. Pours cleanly, welds well, and gives a good as-cast surface on intricate geometry.\n<\/p><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-150 oxy-text lyafs-card-foot\">\n<b>Reach for it when<\/b> the shape is complex or the part will be welded.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-155 oxy-container lyafs-card\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-152 oxy-text lyafs-h3\">\nManganese bronze\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-153 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nA high-strength, high-tensile member of the family, used where load matters more than corrosion resistance.\n<\/p><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-154 oxy-text lyafs-card-foot\">\n<b>Reach for it when<\/b> you need strength and the medium is benign.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-159 oxy-container lyafs-card\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-156 oxy-text lyafs-h3\">\nBrass\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-157 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nCopper and zinc. Cheaper than bronze and very machinable, and the right answer for a great many fittings, housings and decorative parts.\n<\/p><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-158 oxy-text lyafs-card-foot\">\n<b>Reach for it when<\/b> cost and machinability govern and corrosion is manageable.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-163 oxy-container lyafs-card\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-160 oxy-text lyafs-h3\">\nWear bushings and plates\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-161 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nA product family rather than an alloy: bushes, sleeves, wear plates and bearing shells, cast to size in the bronze your duty calls for.\n<\/p><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-162 oxy-text lyafs-card-foot\">\n<b>Reach for it when<\/b> the part is a consumable wear item.\n<\/p><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/section><section class=\"oxy-container-7655-215 oxy-container lyafs-sec\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-214 oxy-container lyafs-inner\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-169 oxy-container lyafs-head\"><span class=\"oxy-text-7655-167 oxy-text lyafs-rail\">\n03\n<\/span><h2 class=\"oxy-text-7655-168 oxy-text lyafs-h2\">\nBronze or brass? The difference that decides the part\n<\/h2><\/div><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-170 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nThe two words are used interchangeably in conversation and mean quite different things in a specification. Bronze is copper alloyed with tin, aluminium or silicon; brass is copper alloyed with zinc. That single difference sets the colour, the corrosion behaviour, the machinability and the price.\n<\/p><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-211 oxy-container lyafs-table-wrap\"><table class=\"oxy-container-7655-210 oxy-container lyafs-table\"><caption class=\"oxy-text-7655-171 oxy-text\">\nBronze against brass, for the decision you are actually making.\n<\/caption><thead class=\"oxy-container-7655-176 oxy-container\"><tr class=\"oxy-container-7655-175 oxy-container\"><th class=\"oxy-text-7655-172 oxy-text\" scope=\"col\">\nProperty\n<\/th><th class=\"oxy-text-7655-173 oxy-text\" scope=\"col\">\nBronze (copper + tin \/ Al \/ Si)\n<\/th><th class=\"oxy-text-7655-174 oxy-text\" scope=\"col\">\nBrass (copper + zinc)\n<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody class=\"oxy-container-7655-209 oxy-container\"><tr class=\"oxy-container-7655-180 oxy-container\"><th class=\"oxy-text-7655-177 oxy-text\" scope=\"row\">\nStrength\n<\/th><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-178 oxy-text\">\nHigher, and holds it at temperature\n<\/td><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-179 oxy-text\">\nLower, drops off sooner\n<\/td><\/tr><tr class=\"oxy-container-7655-184 oxy-container\"><th class=\"oxy-text-7655-181 oxy-text\" scope=\"row\">\nCorrosion, especially seawater\n<\/th><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-182 oxy-text lyafs-yes\">\nExcellent, aluminium bronze especially\n<\/td><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-183 oxy-text\">\nPoor in chloride; dezincification risk\n<\/td><\/tr><tr class=\"oxy-container-7655-188 oxy-container\"><th class=\"oxy-text-7655-185 oxy-text\" scope=\"row\">\nWear and bearing duty\n<\/th><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-186 oxy-text lyafs-yes\">\nThe bearing family\n<\/td><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-187 oxy-text\">\nNot a bearing material\n<\/td><\/tr><tr class=\"oxy-container-7655-192 oxy-container\"><th class=\"oxy-text-7655-189 oxy-text\" scope=\"row\">\nMachinability\n<\/th><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-190 oxy-text\">\nGood, harder for aluminium bronze\n<\/td><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-191 oxy-text lyafs-yes\">\nExcellent, the easiest to machine\n<\/td><\/tr><tr class=\"oxy-container-7655-196 oxy-container\"><th class=\"oxy-text-7655-193 oxy-text\" scope=\"row\">\nCastability\n<\/th><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-194 oxy-text\">\nGood; silicon bronze best\n<\/td><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-195 oxy-text lyafs-yes\">\nVery good\n<\/td><\/tr><tr class=\"oxy-container-7655-200 oxy-container\"><th class=\"oxy-text-7655-197 oxy-text\" scope=\"row\">\nColour\n<\/th><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-198 oxy-text\">\nReddish-brown to golden\n<\/td><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-199 oxy-text\">\nYellow to gold\n<\/td><\/tr><tr class=\"oxy-container-7655-204 oxy-container\"><th class=\"oxy-text-7655-201 oxy-text\" scope=\"row\">\nCost\n<\/th><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-202 oxy-text\">\nHigher \u2014 tin and aluminium cost more than zinc\n<\/td><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-203 oxy-text lyafs-yes\">\nLower\n<\/td><\/tr><tr class=\"oxy-container-7655-208 oxy-container\"><th class=\"oxy-text-7655-205 oxy-text\" scope=\"row\">\nPick it when\n<\/th><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-206 oxy-text\">\nThe part wears, rotates, or meets seawater\n<\/td><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-207 oxy-text\">\nThe part is a fitting, housing or decorative item\n<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-213 oxy-container lyafs-note\"><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-212 oxy-text\">\nThe short version: if it moves against something or meets salt water, it is bronze. If it is a fitting, a housing or a decorative part in a dry environment, brass will do the same job for less.\n<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"oxy-container-7655-253 oxy-container lyafs-sec lyafs-sec--alt\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-252 oxy-container lyafs-inner\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-218 oxy-container lyafs-head\"><span class=\"oxy-text-7655-216 oxy-text lyafs-rail\">\n04\n<\/span><h2 class=\"oxy-text-7655-217 oxy-text lyafs-h2\">\nWhy copper is the easiest alloy on the mould\n<\/h2><\/div><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-219 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nA sand mould is a refractory material, and every metal has a pouring temperature that decides how hard it is on that material. Copper alloys sit in the comfortable middle of the range \u2014 hotter than aluminium, far cooler than iron or steel \u2014 and that changes the sand specification in a way that is easy to get backwards.\n<\/p><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-249 oxy-container lyafs-table-wrap\"><table class=\"oxy-container-7655-248 oxy-container lyafs-table\"><caption class=\"oxy-text-7655-220 oxy-text\">\nPouring temperature against the silica content the sand actually needs. Printed moulds are specified to the metal, not to a house default.\n<\/caption><thead class=\"oxy-container-7655-226 oxy-container\"><tr class=\"oxy-container-7655-225 oxy-container\"><th class=\"oxy-text-7655-221 oxy-text\" scope=\"col\">\nMetal\n<\/th><th class=\"oxy-text-7655-222 oxy-text\" scope=\"col\">\nPouring temperature\n<\/th><th class=\"oxy-text-7655-223 oxy-text\" scope=\"col\">\nSand SiO\u2082 needed\n<\/th><th class=\"oxy-text-7655-224 oxy-text\" scope=\"col\">\nBa\u011flay\u0131c\u0131\n<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody class=\"oxy-container-7655-247 oxy-container\"><tr class=\"oxy-container-7655-231 oxy-container\"><th class=\"oxy-text-7655-227 oxy-text\" scope=\"row\">\nCast steel\n<\/th><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-228 oxy-text\">\nAbove 1,500\u00a0\u00b0C\n<\/td><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-229 oxy-text\">\nAbove 96% on large parts\n<\/td><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-230 oxy-text\">\nPhenolic\n<\/td><\/tr><tr class=\"oxy-container-7655-236 oxy-container\"><th class=\"oxy-text-7655-232 oxy-text\" scope=\"row\">\nCast iron\n<\/th><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-233 oxy-text\">\nAbout 100\u00a0\u00b0C below steel\n<\/td><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-234 oxy-text\">\n80\u201390%\n<\/td><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-235 oxy-text\">\nFuran\n<\/td><\/tr><tr class=\"oxy-container-7655-241 oxy-container\"><th class=\"oxy-text-7655-237 oxy-text\" scope=\"row\">\nCopper alloys\n<\/th><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-238 oxy-text lyafs-yes\">\nAbout 1,200\u00a0\u00b0C\n<\/td><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-239 oxy-text lyafs-yes\">\n70\u201380% is sufficient\n<\/td><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-240 oxy-text\">\nFuran\n<\/td><\/tr><tr class=\"oxy-container-7655-246 oxy-container\"><th class=\"oxy-text-7655-242 oxy-text\" scope=\"row\">\nAluminium alloys\n<\/th><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-243 oxy-text\">\nAbout 700\u00a0\u00b0C\n<\/td><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-244 oxy-text\">\nNot a governing factor\n<\/td><td class=\"oxy-text-7655-245 oxy-text\">\nFuran\n<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-250 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nHere is the part that runs against intuition. <strong>Using a higher-silica sand for copper would be worse, not better.<\/strong> Silica expands and changes phase sharply as it heats, and sand that is richer in it expands harder \u2014 which cracks the mould face and produces sand inclusion, slag entrapment and distortion cracks in the casting. For copper you deliberately specify a lower-silica sand, and you keep the clay content under 0.2% so the binder can do its job.\n<\/p><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-251 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nA printed mould lets us set that specification per job rather than per foundry default. That is the whole advantage: the sand, the binder and the coating are chosen for your alloy and your wall thickness, and the part is poured once with the right recipe instead of being re-poured after a defect.\n<\/p><\/div><\/section><section class=\"oxy-container-7655-279 oxy-container lyafs-sec\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-278 oxy-container lyafs-inner\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-256 oxy-container lyafs-head\"><span class=\"oxy-text-7655-254 oxy-text lyafs-rail\">\n05\n<\/span><h2 class=\"oxy-text-7655-255 oxy-text lyafs-h2\">\nGravity casting or investment casting\n<\/h2><\/div><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-277 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-261 oxy-container\"><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-257 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nCopper alloys run on two routes here, and the choice is about geometry and surface rather than about the alloy.\n<\/p><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-258 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\n<strong>Gravity casting into a printed sand mould<\/strong> is the route for anything with an internal cavity, an integral passage, a flange or a bore \u2014 pump bodies, valve bodies, housings, brackets, propellers. Sand cores printed as part of the mould give you the internal geometry, and the mould is collapsible enough to let a bronze part contract without tearing itself apart. Walls from about 4\u00a0mm up, and finished weights into the hundreds of kilograms.\n<\/p><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-259 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\n<strong>Investment casting from a printed wax pattern<\/strong> is the route for thin-walled, fine-detail work where the part should come out close to net shape \u2014 impellers, small precision components, art and sculpture with surface detail a sand mould cannot hold. The wax pattern is printed rather than injection-moulded, so there is no tooling.\n<\/p><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-260 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nBoth routes are available on the same enquiry, and we will tell you which one we would use rather than leaving you to guess.\n<\/p><\/div><aside class=\"oxy-container-7655-276 oxy-container\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-262 oxy-text\">\nQuicker guide\n<\/h3><ul class=\"oxy-container-7655-275 oxy-container lyafs-deflist\"><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-264 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-263 oxy-text\">\n<b>Internal cavity or passage<\/b> \u2014 gravity, printed sand cores\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-266 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-265 oxy-text\">\n<b>Pump or valve body<\/b> \u2014 gravity, printed sand mould\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-268 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-267 oxy-text\">\n<b>Large part, hundreds of kg<\/b> \u2014 gravity, to 2\u00a0t\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-270 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-269 oxy-text\">\n<b>Thin wall, fine detail<\/b> \u2014 investment, printed wax\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-272 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-271 oxy-text\">\n<b>Art and sculpture<\/b> \u2014 investment, or plaster mould\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-274 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-273 oxy-text\">\n<b>Small precision part<\/b> \u2014 investment, printed wax\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/aside><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"oxy-container-7655-297 oxy-container lyafs-sec lyafs-sec--alt\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-296 oxy-container lyafs-inner\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-282 oxy-container lyafs-head\"><span class=\"oxy-text-7655-280 oxy-text lyafs-rail\">\n06\n<\/span><h2 class=\"oxy-text-7655-281 oxy-text lyafs-h2\">\nA 2.5\u00a0m bronze propeller, without hand moulding\n<\/h2><\/div><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-283 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nMarine propellers are the traditional argument for bronze, and the traditional way to make one is hand moulding: a pattern, a pit, a great deal of skilled labour and a working environment nobody enjoys. This one was printed instead \u2014 the sand mould and the blade cores came off a 2.5\u00a0m-class binder-jetting sand printer, and the foundry poured it as a single copper alloy casting.\n<\/p><ul class=\"oxy-container-7655-293 oxy-container lyafs-figs\"><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-286 oxy-container lyafs-fig\"><img class=\"oxy-image-7655-284 oxy-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lyafs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ship-Propeller-Sand-Mold.jpg\" alt=\"3D printed sand mould and blade cores for a marine bronze propeller\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"><figcaption class=\"oxy-text-7655-285 oxy-text\">\nPrinted mould and blade cores<span>One setup, no pattern<\/span>\n<\/figcaption><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-289 oxy-container lyafs-fig\"><img class=\"oxy-image-7655-287 oxy-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lyafs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bz-mould-volute.jpg\" alt=\"3D printed sand mould for a volute casing\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"><figcaption class=\"oxy-text-7655-288 oxy-text\">\nPrinted mould for a volute casing<span>Sand route, cores included<\/span>\n<\/figcaption><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-292 oxy-container lyafs-fig\"><img class=\"oxy-image-7655-290 oxy-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lyafs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bz-wax-patterns.jpg\" alt=\"3D printed wax patterns for investment casting\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"><figcaption class=\"oxy-text-7655-291 oxy-text\">\nPrinted wax patterns<span>Investment route, no tooling<\/span>\n<\/figcaption><\/li><\/ul><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-294 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nThe result was a faster build than the hand-moulded route, a better and more consistent casting, a cleaner working environment and far less manual labour. The same argument holds at the other end of the size range \u2014 a wear bushing or a valve body that used to need a pattern now does not, so a one-off replacement part is a normal order rather than an expensive exception.\n<\/p><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-295 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nThe moulds are printed on our own machines, including the <a href=\"\/tr\/3d-printers\/sand-3d-printers\/3dptek-j1800\/\">3DPTEK-J1800<\/a> for moulds and cores up to about a metre and the <a href=\"\/tr\/3d-printers\/sand-3d-printers\/3dptek-j4000\/\">3DPTEK-J4000<\/a> for the large work. <a href=\"\/tr\/3d-printers\/sand-3d-printers\/\">See the full sand printer range.<\/a>\n<\/p><\/div><\/section><section class=\"oxy-container-7655-322 oxy-container lyafs-sec\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-321 oxy-container lyafs-inner\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-300 oxy-container lyafs-head\"><span class=\"oxy-text-7655-298 oxy-text lyafs-rail\">\n07\n<\/span><h2 class=\"oxy-text-7655-299 oxy-text lyafs-h2\">\nDefects copper alloys are prone to\n<\/h2><\/div><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-301 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nCopper alloys are forgiving on the mould and unforgiving on gas. They dissolve hydrogen readily, they form stubborn oxide films, and several of the useful grades segregate as they freeze. These six are the ones that decide whether your casting passes.\n<\/p><ol class=\"oxy-container-7655-320 oxy-container lyafs-numlist\"><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-304 oxy-container\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-302 oxy-text\">\nHydrogen and steam porosity\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-303 oxy-text\">\nCopper alloys absorb hydrogen from any moisture in the charge, the mould or the atmosphere, and reject it as the metal freezes \u2014 leaving porosity concentrated in the last metal to solidify. Melt degassing, dry moulds and a dry charge are the controls.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-307 oxy-container\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-305 oxy-text\">\nDross and oxide entrapment\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-306 oxy-text\">\nAluminium bronze forms a tough, tenacious oxide film that does not float out easily. Stirred into the cavity it becomes a hard inclusion that surfaces at machining. A quiescent pouring basin and a properly sized runner keep the first metal clean.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-310 oxy-container\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-308 oxy-text\">\nShrinkage porosity\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-309 oxy-text\">\nCopper alloys contract noticeably on solidifying and, like steel, have no graphite expansion to help feed it. Heavy sections need properly sized risers, and thick-to-thin transitions need chills or they will pull a void.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-313 oxy-container\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-311 oxy-text\">\nTin sweat in high-tin bronze\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-312 oxy-text\">\nIn high-tin grades the tin-rich liquid is squeezed out of the freezing solid and exudes onto the surface as beads \u2014 the defect has its own name because it is that common. Controlled cooling and a carbon equivalent chosen for the section prevent it.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-316 oxy-container\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-314 oxy-text\">\nLead segregation in bearing bronzes\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-315 oxy-text\">\nLeaded tin bronzes rely on distributed lead for their bearing behaviour, but lead separates readily. Pour it too hot or cool it too slowly and the lead pools instead of dispersing, and the bearing surface fails unevenly.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-319 oxy-container\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-317 oxy-text\">\nHot tearing in the high-strength grades\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-318 oxy-text\">\nManganese bronze and the high-tensile brasses are strong at temperature and can crack as they contract against a mould that restrains them. A collapsible printed mould helps; the rigging still has to let the part move.\n<\/p><\/li><\/ol><\/div><\/section><section class=\"oxy-container-7655-542 oxy-container lyafs-sec lyafs-sec--alt\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-541 oxy-container lyafs-inner\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-528 oxy-container lyafs-head\"><span class=\"oxy-text-7655-526 oxy-text lyafs-rail\">\n08\n<\/span><h2 class=\"oxy-text-7655-527 oxy-text lyafs-h2\">\nThe bronze foundry behind these castings\n<\/h2><\/div><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-529 oxy-text lyafs-sub\">\nCopper is poured at two of our own plants: the industrial bronze and brass foundry line at Shaanxi Xianyang, and the art foundry at Tongling in Anhui. Both melt, cast, finish and inspect in house, and the records ship with the casting.\n<\/p><ul class=\"oxy-container-7655-540 oxy-container lyafs-deflist lyafs-deflist--2col\"><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-531 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-530 oxy-text\">\n<strong>Melting and composition.<\/strong> Medium-frequency induction melting, with a spectrograph sample taken from every heat before it is poured. Copper alloys are the best-behaved metals we pour \u2014 no magnesium treatment, no narrow carbon window \u2014 so the target composition is hit more easily than in iron or steel. It is still checked on every heat.\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-533 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-532 oxy-text\">\n<strong>Moulds and cores from our own printers.<\/strong> The printed sand mould, or the printed wax pattern for the investment route, comes off machines on the same site. That is what removed hand moulding from the propeller case above.\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-535 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-534 oxy-text\">\n<strong>Finishing and machining on site.<\/strong> Fettling, heat treatment where a grade calls for it, CNC machining from 3-axis to 5-axis, and the patina and finishing work for sculpture \u2014 all in the same chain as the pour.\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-537 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-536 oxy-text\">\n<strong>Testing and records.<\/strong> Composition per heat, tensile and hardness testing, dimensional inspection on a coordinate measuring machine, and pressure testing for pump and valve work. The heat number stays with the casting and the records are exported with it.\n<\/div><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-539 oxy-container\"><div class=\"oxy-text-7655-538 oxy-text\">\n<strong>Scale.<\/strong> The Tongling art foundry holds 500 t a year of bronze sculpture capacity, and was the first in China to use 3D-printed investment casting for sculpture. Industrial bronze and brass work runs on the same printed-mould chain, to 2 t per pour.\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/section><section class=\"oxy-container-7655-347 oxy-container lyafs-sec\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-346 oxy-container lyafs-inner\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-325 oxy-container lyafs-head\"><span class=\"oxy-text-7655-323 oxy-text lyafs-rail\">\n09\n<\/span><h2 class=\"oxy-text-7655-324 oxy-text lyafs-h2\">\nCopper alloy castings we have poured\n<\/h2><\/div><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-326 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nBodies, bushings, impellers and wear parts, in the alloy the duty called for. Because the mould or the wax pattern is printed, a different part every week costs nothing extra.\n<\/p><ul class=\"oxy-container-7655-345 oxy-container lyafs-figs\"><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-329 oxy-container lyafs-fig\"><img class=\"oxy-image-7655-327 oxy-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lyafs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bz-pump-bodies.jpg\" alt=\"Cast bronze pump bodies after casting\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"><figcaption class=\"oxy-text-7655-328 oxy-text\">\nPump bodies<span>Cast bronze, gravity route<\/span>\n<\/figcaption><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-332 oxy-container lyafs-fig\"><img class=\"oxy-image-7655-330 oxy-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lyafs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bz-wear-plate.jpg\" alt=\"Copper alloy wear plate casting\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"><figcaption class=\"oxy-text-7655-331 oxy-text\">\nCopper alloy wear plate<span>Cast to size, no pattern<\/span>\n<\/figcaption><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-335 oxy-container lyafs-fig\"><img class=\"oxy-image-7655-333 oxy-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lyafs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bz-impeller.jpg\" alt=\"Closed impeller casting\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"><figcaption class=\"oxy-text-7655-334 oxy-text\">\nClosed impeller<span>Investment route<\/span>\n<\/figcaption><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-338 oxy-container lyafs-fig\"><img class=\"oxy-image-7655-336 oxy-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lyafs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bz-finished.jpg\" alt=\"Finished casting produced from a printed wax pattern\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"><figcaption class=\"oxy-text-7655-337 oxy-text\">\nFinished casting<span>From a printed wax pattern<\/span>\n<\/figcaption><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-341 oxy-container lyafs-fig\"><img class=\"oxy-image-7655-339 oxy-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lyafs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Silicon-bronze-casting.jpg\" alt=\"Silicon bronze casting\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"><figcaption class=\"oxy-text-7655-340 oxy-text\">\nSilicon bronze casting<span>As-cast, printed mould<\/span>\n<\/figcaption><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-344 oxy-container lyafs-fig\"><img class=\"oxy-image-7655-342 oxy-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lyafs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Copper-Alloys.jpg\" alt=\"Copper alloy castings\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"><figcaption class=\"oxy-text-7655-343 oxy-text\">\nCopper alloy castings<span>Mixed production run<\/span>\n<\/figcaption><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/section><section class=\"oxy-container-7655-365 oxy-container lyafs-sec lyafs-sec--alt\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-364 oxy-container lyafs-inner\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-350 oxy-container lyafs-head\"><span class=\"oxy-text-7655-348 oxy-text lyafs-rail\">\n10\n<\/span><h2 class=\"oxy-text-7655-349 oxy-text lyafs-h2\">\nArt and sculpture bronze\n<\/h2><\/div><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-351 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nBronze has been the sculptor's metal for three thousand years, and it is still cast the old way in most of the world: a rubber mould, a wax copy, a ceramic shell, a great deal of hand work. We run an art foundry in Tongling that was the first in China to put 3D-printed investment casting into sculpture production, with a bronze sculpture capacity of 500\u00a0t a year.\n<\/p><ul class=\"oxy-container-7655-361 oxy-container lyafs-figs\"><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-354 oxy-container lyafs-fig\"><img class=\"oxy-image-7655-352 oxy-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lyafs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bz-art-horses.jpg\" alt=\"Monumental bronze horse sculpture group\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"><figcaption class=\"oxy-text-7655-353 oxy-text\">\nMonumental bronze group<span>Cast from printed wax<\/span>\n<\/figcaption><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-357 oxy-container lyafs-fig\"><img class=\"oxy-image-7655-355 oxy-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lyafs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bz-art-showroom.jpg\" alt=\"Bronze art castings in the foundry showroom\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"><figcaption class=\"oxy-text-7655-356 oxy-text\">\nArt castings in the showroom<span>Investment and plaster mould<\/span>\n<\/figcaption><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-360 oxy-container lyafs-fig\"><img class=\"oxy-image-7655-358 oxy-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lyafs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Silicon-bronze-art-casting.png\" alt=\"Silicon bronze art casting\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"><figcaption class=\"oxy-text-7655-359 oxy-text\">\nSilicon bronze art casting<span>Patinated after casting<\/span>\n<\/figcaption><\/li><\/ul><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-362 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nThe art foundry runs investment casting, resin-bonded sand casting and plaster-mould integral casting, so a piece can be scaled, sectioned and assembled without a physical maquette being cut apart. For an artist or an architect that means a large work can be printed and cast in sections that fit the foundry rather than being limited by it.\n<\/p><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-363 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nIf you are commissioning a sculpture rather than a component, say so in your enquiry and it will be routed to the art foundry with the rest of the bronze work.\n<\/p><\/div><\/section><section class=\"oxy-container-7655-384 oxy-container lyafs-sec\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-383 oxy-container lyafs-inner\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-368 oxy-container lyafs-head\"><span class=\"oxy-text-7655-366 oxy-text lyafs-rail\">\n11\n<\/span><h2 class=\"oxy-text-7655-367 oxy-text lyafs-h2\">\nWhat we do not do\n<\/h2><\/div><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-369 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nCopper alloys are one of the things we are genuinely good at, which makes it more important to be precise about the edges.\n<\/p><ul class=\"oxy-container-7655-382 oxy-container lyafs-grid lyafs-grid--2\"><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-372 oxy-container lyafs-card\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-370 oxy-text lyafs-h3\">\nWe do not roll, draw or extrude copper\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-371 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nWe are a casting route. Bar, plate, tube and wire are different supply chains and we do not quote them. If your part is better machined from stock, that is what we will tell you.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-375 oxy-container lyafs-card\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-373 oxy-text lyafs-h3\">\nWe do not die cast copper alloys\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-374 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nHigh-pressure die casting is a different process with a different cost curve, and copper alloys are rarely die cast. We do not run it, and we will not quote a part as if sand casting and die casting were interchangeable.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-378 oxy-container lyafs-card\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-376 oxy-text lyafs-h3\">\nWe are not the cheapest at high annual volume\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-377 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nA printed mould is economic because there is no pattern. Once a pattern or die pays back over many thousands of parts a year, a conventional foundry will beat us on piece price. Our advantage is the first part, not the ten-thousandth.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-381 oxy-container lyafs-card\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-379 oxy-text lyafs-h3\">\nWe do not do restoration or repair casting\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-380 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nWe can cast a new sculpture or component from a model or a scan, but we do not weld, patch or restore an existing antique bronze. That is a specialist conservation trade and we are not in it.\n<\/p><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/section><section class=\"oxy-container-7655-408 oxy-container lyafs-sec lyafs-sec--alt\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-407 oxy-container lyafs-inner\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-387 oxy-container lyafs-head\"><span class=\"oxy-text-7655-385 oxy-text lyafs-rail\">\n12\n<\/span><h2 class=\"oxy-text-7655-386 oxy-text lyafs-h2\">\nChoosing the right route for your part\n<\/h2><\/div><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-388 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nIf a copper alloy is not the answer, one of these is. Each runs the same printed-mould or printed-pattern chain, so switching route does not cost you the lead time you were trying to save.\n<\/p><ul class=\"oxy-container-7655-404 oxy-container lyafs-links\"><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-391 oxy-container\"><a class=\"oxy-text-link-7655-389 oxy-text-link lyafs-route\" href=\"\/tr\/services\/precision-casting\/\" target=\"_self\">\nPrecision investment casting\n<\/a><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-390 oxy-text lyafs-route-desc\">\nThe wax route, for thin walls and fine detail \u2014 including the art work above.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-394 oxy-container\"><a class=\"oxy-text-link-7655-392 oxy-text-link lyafs-route\" href=\"\/tr\/services\/aluminum-casting\/\" target=\"_self\">\nAluminium casting\n<\/a><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-393 oxy-text lyafs-route-desc\">\nLighter and cheaper per kilogram, where corrosion and wear are not the governing duty.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-397 oxy-container\"><a class=\"oxy-text-link-7655-395 oxy-text-link lyafs-route\" href=\"\/tr\/services\/stainless-steel-casting\/\" target=\"_self\">\nStainless steel casting\n<\/a><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-396 oxy-text lyafs-route-desc\">\nWhen the duty is corrosion but the strength requirement rules copper out.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-400 oxy-container\"><a class=\"oxy-text-link-7655-398 oxy-text-link lyafs-route\" href=\"\/tr\/services\/sand-mold-sand-core-3d-printing\/\" target=\"_self\">\nSand mould and core printing\n<\/a><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-399 oxy-text lyafs-route-desc\">\nWhen you need the printed mould or core itself as a product, not the casting.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-403 oxy-container\"><a class=\"oxy-text-link-7655-401 oxy-text-link lyafs-route\" href=\"\/tr\/resources\/materials-guide\/\" target=\"_self\">\nMaterials guide\n<\/a><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-402 oxy-text lyafs-route-desc\">\nTo check the alloy against the rest of the range.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-519 oxy-container\"><a class=\"oxy-text-link-7655-517 oxy-text-link lyafs-route\" href=\"\/tr\/blog\/bronze-vs-brass\/\" target=\"_self\">\nBronze vs brass, compared\n<\/a><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-518 oxy-text lyafs-route-desc\">\nWhat actually separates the two families: dezincification, bearing duty and cost.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-522 oxy-container\"><a class=\"oxy-text-link-7655-520 oxy-text-link lyafs-route\" href=\"\/tr\/services\/cast-steel-casting\/\" target=\"_self\">\nCast steel casting\n<\/a><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-521 oxy-text lyafs-route-desc\">\nWhen the duty needs strength and corrosion resistance that copper cannot carry.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-525 oxy-container\"><a class=\"oxy-text-link-7655-523 oxy-text-link lyafs-route\" href=\"\/tr\/services\/ductile-iron-casting\/\" target=\"_self\">\nDuctile iron casting\n<\/a><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-524 oxy-text lyafs-route-desc\">\nThe cheaper ferrous option for housings and structural parts.\n<\/p><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-406 oxy-container lyafs-note\"><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-405 oxy-text\">\nNot sure which one? Send the drawing and the duty, and let our application engineers make the call. We print the part before you commit to tooling, so the route is tested rather than argued.\n<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/section><section class=\"oxy-container-7655-444 oxy-container lyafs-sec\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-443 oxy-container lyafs-inner\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-411 oxy-container lyafs-head\"><span class=\"oxy-text-7655-409 oxy-text lyafs-rail\">\n13\n<\/span><h2 class=\"oxy-text-7655-410 oxy-text lyafs-h2\">\nBronze and brass casting questions\n<\/h2><\/div><ul class=\"oxy-container-7655-442 oxy-container lyafs-faq\"><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-414 oxy-container lyafs-qa\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-412 oxy-text\">\nWhat is the difference between bronze and brass?\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-413 oxy-text\">\nBronze is copper alloyed with tin, aluminium or silicon. Brass is copper alloyed with zinc. Bronze is stronger, resists seawater and is the bearing family; brass is cheaper, machines more easily and suits fittings, housings and decorative parts in dry service.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-417 oxy-container lyafs-qa\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-415 oxy-text\">\nWhich bronze should I specify?\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-416 oxy-text\">\nTin bronze for bearings and sliding wear, aluminium bronze for seawater and chemical duty, silicon bronze when the shape is complex or the part will be welded, manganese bronze where strength matters more than corrosion. Send the duty and we will name the alloy.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-420 oxy-container lyafs-qa\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-418 oxy-text\">\nCan you cast bronze without a pattern?\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-419 oxy-text\">\nYes \u2014 that is the point of the service. The sand mould and its cores are printed from your CAD file on the gravity route, and the wax pattern itself is printed on the investment route. No pattern is made either way, so there is nothing to amortise.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-423 oxy-container lyafs-qa\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-421 oxy-text\">\nWhat is the largest bronze casting you can make?\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-422 oxy-text\">\n2\u00a0t for a single pour, in an envelope up to 3\u00a0m on the largest dimension. The marine propeller on this page is a 2.5\u00a0m class casting. Copper alloy capacity runs at 2,000\u00a0t a year, which is the largest of any material we cast.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-426 oxy-container lyafs-qa\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-424 oxy-text\">\nHow long does a bronze casting take?\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-425 oxy-text\">\nThe mould-making cycle runs about 70% shorter than the traditional route because there is no pattern, and the investment route avoids a pattern die as well. What is left is melting, pouring, finishing and any machining \u2014 the steps any foundry runs.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-429 oxy-container lyafs-qa\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-427 oxy-text\">\nIs bronze harder to cast than aluminium?\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-428 oxy-text\">\nIt pours about 500\u00a0\u00b0C hotter, so the mould is worked harder, but it is still far easier than iron or steel. Copper alloys are the middle of the range: comfortable on the sand, and demanding mainly on gas control in the melt.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-432 oxy-container lyafs-qa\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-430 oxy-text\">\nCan you cast large sculptures?\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-431 oxy-text\">\nYes. Our Tongling art foundry was the first in China to use 3D-printed investment casting for sculpture, with 500\u00a0t a year of bronze sculpture capacity. Large works are printed and cast in sections sized to the foundry rather than to a physical maquette.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-435 oxy-container lyafs-qa\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-433 oxy-text\">\nDo you machine and finish the castings?\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-434 oxy-text\">\nYes, in the same chain. CNC machining from 3-axis to 5-axis, shot blasting, and the patination or coating the drawing calls for. Machining runs after stress relief so the finished dimensions hold.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-438 oxy-container lyafs-qa\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-436 oxy-text\">\nCan you match an existing patina?\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-437 oxy-text\">\nWithin reason, and it is best discussed with the art foundry rather than a component enquiry. Send a photograph of the finish you want alongside the drawing and we will tell you honestly how close we can get and by what route.\n<\/p><\/li><li class=\"oxy-container-7655-441 oxy-container lyafs-qa\"><h3 class=\"oxy-text-7655-439 oxy-text\">\nAsgari sipari\u015f miktar\u0131 var m\u0131?\n<\/h3><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-440 oxy-text\">\nOne piece. There is no pattern cost to spread across a batch, so a single replacement bushing or a one-off sculpture section is a legitimate order.\n<\/p><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/section><section class=\"oxy-container-7655-454 oxy-container lyafs-sec lyafs-sec--ink\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-453 oxy-container lyafs-inner\"><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-447 oxy-container lyafs-head\"><span class=\"oxy-text-7655-445 oxy-text lyafs-rail\">\n14\n<\/span><h2 class=\"oxy-text-7655-446 oxy-text lyafs-h2\">\nSend a drawing and we will name the alloy\n<\/h2><\/div><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-448 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nSend the CAD file, the duty the part actually sees, and the annual quantity. Our application engineers will come back with the alloy, the route, the finishing and a price \u2014 and if copper is the wrong family for your part, that is what we will tell you.\n<\/p><p class=\"oxy-text-7655-449 oxy-text lyafs-p\">\nYour file stays confidential. Nothing is subcontracted: the mould or the wax pattern is printed, the copper alloy is poured, and the casting is finished, machined and inspected in the same chain.\n<\/p><div class=\"oxy-container-7655-452 oxy-container lyafs-cta-row\"><a class=\"oxy-text-link-7655-450 oxy-text-link lyafs-btn\" href=\"\/tr\/get-a-quote\/\" target=\"_self\">\nSend your drawing for a quote\n<\/a><a class=\"oxy-text-link-7655-451 oxy-text-link lyafs-btn lyafs-btn--ghost\" href=\"\/tr\/about-us\/contact\/\" target=\"_self\">\nTalk to an application engineer\n<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/section><\/main>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bronze &amp; brass casting service Bronze and brass castings, from a 2.5\u00a0m propeller to a wear bushing We cast the whole copper family by gravity into printed sand moulds, or by investment from a printed wax pattern. No pattern is made either way, which is what makes a one-off bronze part economic \u2014 and what [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7654,"parent":70,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_oxygen_hide_in_design_set":false,"_oxygen_tags":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7655","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<title>Bronze &amp; Brass Casting | Brass Foundry, No Tooling - 3DPTEK | AFS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bronze and brass castings from our own bronze foundry: tin, aluminium, silicon and manganese bronze, gravity or investment cast from printed moulds.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lyafs.com\/tr\/services\/bronze-casting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"tr_TR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bronze &amp; Brass Casting | Tin, Aluminium &amp; Silicon Bronze - 3DPTEK | AFS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bronze and brass castings in tin, aluminium, silicon and manganese bronze. Gravity cast in printed moulds or investment cast from printed wax. 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