worries about not losing his rules stuff.
How much metal do they go through in a day? Beats me, but I'd bet a lot, based on the bits area (seen in picture below — courtesy of orchard_noir). Metal comes to them in the form shown below. Unlike other firms, they do not have to process the "dross" from the molding process. When they receive metal deliveries, they ship the dross out to their metal supplier who handles it for them. Thus there are no dealings with esoteric EPA regulations. The pallet is a standard-size pallet you see in warehouses and in shipping areas. Al later told me that they go through a minimum of 1,200 lbs of metal a week, and can go through as much as 4,000 (which outweighs my Honda Civic!).
The metal is prepared for pouring in ladles, with handles that are about two feet long. My guess is that you'd want to stay as far away from the heat as possible, in case you get any impurities in the metals that might cause problems.
The spincaster sits next to the melting pot. Molds are firmly in place before the metal is heated. You can see one of the screw locks on the lefthand side of the spincaster, that holds the mold and lid in place. The spincaster can handle nine- or twelve-inch molds.
Once the mold is poured and cooled for a few minutes, it is removed, and placed on the rack on the righthand side of the cubicle to cool. Pieces are pulled from the mold and set into a cardboard box. From there, the castings go over to the quality control area.