Innovative low cost Aluminium casting process by Julien Carretero

Designers working on material processes is a wonderful & not too common thing.Presenting a unique & low cost aluminium casting process from French designer Julien Carretero.Carratero created stencil, a set of cast aluminium furniture by casting aluminium in heat resistant fabric.

Stencil serier, cast aluminium furniture
Image source : http://www.dezeen.com

The designer aimed to create a flexible and low-cost system of production without the investment costs required by aluminium injection moulding. He uses a woven fabric made of silica that can resist up to 1200°C.

Carratero says "The Stencil collection is the first series of aluminium pieces of furniture ever cast in fabric. It is the result of experimental research aiming at turning the complex aluminium casting technique into a flexible and low-cost system of production. In order to do so, the number of steps required along the process is reduced to its minimum and the need for complex and expensive infrastructures is avoided.
Economic flexibility arises from the lightness of the method that encourages locally set production facilities. Technical flexibility is brought through the use of extremely basic and low-cost re-usable mould systems made from raw flat materials. High-temperature resistant fabric is clamped in a steel stencil and the fused aluminum is poured into it. Unlike usual metal casting processes, once the mould is unclamped and the piece released, it can instantly be reused for another casting. This process does not create any waste as the aluminum left overs can be melted down and the fabric reused over and over."

Carretero studied industrial design in France and England before completing a Master’s at Design Academy Eindhoven, where he submitted a polyurethane foam casting process as his final project.

More on Stencil series & Designer Julien Carratero here
source : www.dezeen.com