Castings
Castings are our business and, as befits the largest jobbing foundry in the UK, castings produced for our customers vary considerably in size and shape. It is obviously not possible to show the entire range of castings which we have made for our customers over the years, however these pages show typical examples made in various materials. For more detail on our moulding practices please refer to our iron foundry practices page.
General Engineering Castings
General engineering castings made in both cast iron and ductile iron (SG iron) provide some unique challenges which Coupe Foundry has shown it is more than equal to.
For a brief history read our engineering castings page.
Automotive Press Dies and Aerospace Form Tools
As the largest producer of full mould (polystyrene pattern) in the UK, Coupe Foundry produces a wide range of automotive press dies and aerospace type form tools. The full mould technique provides the advantage of complicated cast iron and ductile iron (SG iron) castings produced from relatively low cost polystyrene pattern. The wide range of metals cast by Coupe Foundry enables us to produce both form and press dies to a high standard with relatively short lead times.
Pressure Containing Castings
High integrity casting techniques combined with solid modelling and solidification software enables Coupe Foundry to supply cast iron, ductile iron (SG iron) and ni-resist iron castings to a large customer base in valves, pipe and distribution industries. Coupe Foundry is justifiably proud to have been involved in such projects as the Thames barrier and Ferrybridge power station.
Energy
Coupe Foundry's wealth of experience has helped in many areas not least of which is the energy sector. High quality cast iron and ductile (SG) castings have been supplied to such "green" energy sources as wind, wave and marine current. The latter being the prestigious Seagen project as featured on TV. This project provided some interesting challenges (see Case Studies).
Nuclear Castings
Castings for the nuclear power industry require a high degree of built in quality and integrity. This comes naturally to Coupe Foundry and we are especially proud to supply castings to the world leaders in this area.
Marine Castings
Castings used in marine applications also require a high degree of quality and integrity due to to harsh nature of the environment in which they operate. Coupe Foundry has extensive experience in this field which can be applied to this type of application.
Specialised Castings
The unusual is no surprise to us and specialised castings are accommodated with the same attention to quality, speed of delivery and attention to detail. Coupe Foundry's association with 3D imaging companies have enabled us to reproduce cast iron sculptures from artwork produced by local and internationally acclaimed artists.
Stephanopyxis, designed by Andrew McKeown, is part of a set of cast sculptures inspired by single cell organisms called Diatoms. Diatoms are a type of plankton and they form the basis of almost all the food chains in the ocean. It was cast by Coupe Foundry using a polystyrene pattern made by the artist. The sculpture, known in the foundry as “the virus” during manufacture, symbolises the start of new life. It is located on the East Shore Village where Vane Tempest Colliery once stood. Our thanks to Andrew for permission to use his picture. For more examples of Andrew’s work please see his web site http://www.andrewmckeown.com.
Airport Ground Lighting
The acquisition of the Airfield Ground Lighting products previously manufactured by Lupton
Smallshaw Castings and, prior to that, Castle Castings Ltd has expanded the range of castings offered to our customers. Purchasing the patterns and machinery has given the foundry the ability to create a cell that produces castings and then fully machines and paints them offering the customers a one stop shop for airport products.
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