All,
I plan on venturing into casting a little more.. I've done some hobby casting of stupid stuff out of aluminum(bored on a weekend). Bad results, but i was using sand.
Now here is what Id like to do. I want to start casting rear differental covers out of aluinum. I was hoping to put together a really nice mold. At this point cost will be worth quality in the end. So what type of mold will I need to make for a great finish. Is it really possible to cast aluminum and not have a rough finish? I've seen casted aluminum and there was no machining necessary.. maybe some glass bead blasting for a smooth finish, I'm not sure how it was done. I just saw the finished part and was amazed.
Does anyone know if using a 2 part ceramic compound give me much cleaner results then if I was using casting sand? I'm starting out as hobby now, but I'd like to actually make some money off of it later once I perfect it(or at least retail quality). Also is it possible to glass bead or tumble casted aluminum to a nice smooth finish if the casting process wasn't perfect?
EDIT* I'd like to add that I would like this to be a perminate mold, not a Lost Foam or Wax setup.
I didn't realize there is a mold making section.. can a moderator move this post to the proper section?