For those who have never witnessed a commercial casting operation, the investment casting foundry environment can be exciting, fascinating and possibly a bit intimidating. Watching the process of turning different metals, alloys and other component into finished parts is often awe-inspiring. Alloys are heated to thousands of degrees in huge industrial furnaces. The white-hot alloys are then transferred and poured into molds and cooled before the casting are broken out of their molds with jackhammer-like tools. The process is loud, fast-paced and incredibly hot. There is no denying the safety issues, but good foundries put proper precautions in place. Visit the PPCP YouTube channel to watch a video of the process.