Centrifugal Casting — When It Pays Off and How the Process Works

Centrifugal casting is one of the oldest and most underrated manufacturing methods in industrial metalworking. For rotationally symmetric components — bushings, bearing rings, cylinder liners, pipe sleeves, wheels and large rings — few methods match centrifugal casting in terms of material quality, cost-effectiveness and the ability to produce large thick-walled components without core moulds.

Despite this, knowledge of the method remains surprisingly limited among many design engineers and buyers, who instead default to die casting, sand casting or solid bar machining.

How centrifugal casting works

Centrifugal casting involves pouring molten metal into a rotating mould. The centrifugal force pushes the metal outward against the mould wall, where it solidifies with a dense, uniform grain structure. Impurities and gas inclusions migrate toward the inner bore, where they can be removed through subsequent machining.

Horizontal centrifugal casting

Used for long cylindrical components such as pipes, tubes and cylinder liners. The mould rotates around a horizontal axis while metal is poured from one end.

Vertical centrifugal casting

Used for shorter, ring-shaped components such as flanges, bushings and bearing races. The mould rotates around a vertical axis.

Advantages

Very dense material — virtually porosity-free
Excellent mechanical properties (often superior to sand castings)
No cores needed for hollow shapes
High material yield
Cost-effective for medium volumes
Bimetallic components possible (e.g. steel outer / bronze inner)

When to choose centrifugal casting

Centrifugal casting excels when:

The component is rotationally symmetric (cylindrical or ring-shaped)
Material density and mechanical properties are critical
Wall thickness exceeds 10–15 mm
Volumes are too low for die casting tooling
Bimetallic construction is required

Materials

Grey iron (EN-GJL-200 to EN-GJL-350)
Ductile iron (EN-GJS-400 to EN-GJS-700)
Carbon and alloy steel
Stainless steel (austenitic, duplex)
Bronze and brass alloys
Nickel-based alloys

Traficator’s capabilities

Traficator sources centrifugal castings from qualified foundries in Sweden and internationally. We manage the entire process from specification review to delivery and quality assurance.

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