What Are Types of Casting? Casting is one of the most widely used ways to manufacture metal components—especially when parts need complex shapes, internal passages, or cost-effective production at scale. If you work in industrial equipment, automotive, energy, construction machinery, pumps and valves, or general manufacturing, you’ve likely used casting parts even when you didn’t call them that. The reason casting remains so common is simple: it turns molten metal into a near-net-shape part with fewer machining steps, strong design freedom, and reliable repeatability when the process is controlled correctly.