Fonderie

Fonderie is the term used for a foundry, a manufacturing facility where metal is melted and cast into shapes by pouring liquid metal into molds. Foundries produce components for a wide range of industries, including automotive, machinery, construction, aerospace, and consumer goods, and they can operate on small artisanal scales or large industrial scales.

Casting processes vary by material and application. Common methods include sand casting, investment casting (lost-wax), shell molding, die casting, permanent-mold casting, and centrifugal casting. Ferrous foundries typically work with gray iron, ductile iron, and steel, while nonferrous foundries handle aluminum, zinc, copper, and their alloys. Each process offers different tolerances, surface finishes, and production rates, influencing cost and part performance.

The typical workflow in a foundry includes scrap handling and alloying, melting in furnaces (such as induction or cupola furnaces for ferrous metals), mold making or pattern preparation, pouring and solidification, shakeout and cleaning, and finishing steps such as grinding, machining, and heat treatment. Quality control is integral, using chemical analysis, mechanical testing, and non-destructive testing to detect porosity, shrinkage, inclusions, and other casting defects.

Foundries face environmental and safety considerations due to energy use, emissions, molten-metal hazards, and handling of fluxes and coolants. Modern operations emphasize recycling of scrap, energy efficiency, waste management, and worker safety.

The term fonderie is used in several Romance languages to denote a metal casting facility and is often equated with the English word foundry. Historical foundries date to ancient civilizations and evolved with industrialization to become highly automated metalcasting plants today.