Small Series - Römheld & Moelle

Small series castings

Modern casting processes for small production volumes

Small series

Versatile, economical, fast

Your partner for casting in small series
When you need more than one, less than thousands

For the economical production of small series castings, factors such as pattern costs, ancillary costs, lead times, and technical requirements must be carefully balanced. Choosing the right - and most economical - casting process depends on the exact number of pieces and the technical demands of the part being produced.

As a specialist foundry for small series, Römheld & Moelle can draw on several processes to find the best process for each project, no matter the quantity:

Full mold casting, a cost-effective and proven process where each casting in the series vaporizes its own pattern.
ClearCast, exclusively available at Römheld & Moelle, enabling full mold casting with a degree of precision and surface quality comparable to permanent pattern-based casting. Like traditional full mold casting, patterns are single use.
Printed Casting using 3D sand printing, eliminating the need for a physical pattern entirely and allowing maximum flexibility and design freedom.

ClearCast and Printed Casting open up completely new possibilities for producing small series castings. These modern methods complement the established full mold casting process, which remains an economical choice, especially for larger components.

No pattern costs:
3D sand printing

3D sand printing is a hybrid process where mold production happens directly in our 3D printers without the need for a physical pattern. The molds are then poured as usual.

Particularly for when casting in small series, this patternless method offers distinct advantages – with strategically important differences compared to full mold casting and permanent pattern casting.

A critical advantage for small series castings: Depending on the part size, multiple (or even all) required molds for the series can often be produced in a single printing process (as many as fit into the build space of the 3D sand printer). This provides a huge time advantage, as production can usually start immediately. To prepare for printing, only a 2D drawing or, ideally, a 3D model of the component is needed.

In addition to its short lead times and fast delivery, 3D sand printing is characterized by high precision and exceptional design freedom. This allows savings in post-processing, functional integration, and even individualization and variation within the same series.

Fast and precise: ClearCast

ClearCast is a casting process available exclusively at Römheld & Moelle and developed in-house. It combines the advantages of full mold casting (economical, fast, straightforward) with the precision and surface quality of permanent pattern casting.

Unlike 3D sand printing, ClearCast is not a patternless process. Instead, a disposable pattern is created quickly using a special foam. The pattern remains in the mold during casting and vaporizes without residue. This enables casting in small series when demands on the surface quality are high, but castings need to be produced cost-effectively and efficiently.

ClearCast is ideal for small series casting where 3D sand printing is not suitable due to part size (from approximately 2t upward) and where a high surface quality is required, which cannot be achieved with traditional full mold casting.