Spin casting

[clarification needed] These qualities also encourage operators to use casting materials specially formulated for low melting points and viscosities.

Prior to vulcanization, the mold rubber is a soft and malleable solid-like fluid, in many ways very similar to Silly Putty.

Vulcanization serves two purposes: establishing the negative space inside the mold as well as hardening the rubber so it will remain strong and rigid during casting.

The final product is a cured rubber mold, which can withstand anywhere from hundreds to over a thousand casting cycles before replacement is needed.

Zamak 2, of a slightly different composition, was originally developed as a gravity-cast alloy with greater finished strength but was found to work well with spin-casting.

These components are placed inside of a machine body, which shields against flashing of molten metal or liquid plastic that is inadvertently ejected from the mold during the spinning process.

Owing to the weight and bulkiness of spin casting molds, front loading machines tend to offer several advantages regarding ease of use and time savings.

If the metal is introduced at significantly lower temperatures (below 413 °C or 775 °F), its solidification time will similarly be shortened resulting in incomplete or low quality castings.

Compared to the two main competing processes, injection molding and (zinc) die-casting, spin casting has significant advantages in terms of startup cost and ease of use.

The precision tooling and resilient nature of the machined metal die yields an extremely long-lasting mold and slight improvements to casting tolerances.

These users include smaller business and design houses that would normally contract their work to production "job" shops, as well as hobbyists producing unique items for personal enjoyment.