The production of a one-piece component from molten metal poured into the cavity of a mould which may be of sand, steel, plaster or cuttlefish ‘bone’ and the use of low-melting point metals.

This is a 'bumper' edition, with articles covering: mobile kitchens, wall painting, power tools, D&T projects, 3D printing, food resources, drone racing, textiles careers, competitions, and some H&S updates in the 'smallprint'.

The spring edition of Futureminds has articles from a range of contributors, with advice about writing assessments, the history of the 555 timer chip, how to use exercise books in D&T, Scalextric4Schools, The Design Ventura challenge, news from the Food Teachers Centre and a guide to LEV testing, plus the usual smallprint, and look out for something a bit different on the last page...

Firing ceramic materials in electric kilns.