Metal Casting

Lecture 5

MEL120: Manufacturing Practices 1

Steps in Casting
z Pattern and Mould
z Melting and Pouring
z Solidification and Cooling
z Removal, Cleaning, Finishing and Inspection

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Casting Process Flow

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Pattern and Mould

z A pattern is
z a replica of the final product and is used for preparing mould
cavity
z made of wood or metal
z Mould cavity
z which contains molten metal is essentially a negative of the final product
z Mould material
z should posses refractory characteristics and with stand the pouring
temperature
z When the mold is used for single casting, it made of sand and
known as expendable mold
z When the mold is used repeatedly for number of castings and is
made of metal or graphite are called permanent mould
z For making holes or hollow cavities inside a casting, cores made of
sand are used.

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Melting and Pouring
z Several types of furnaces are available for melting
metals
z Furnace selection depends on
z the type of metal,
z the maximum temperature required and
z the rate and the mode of molten metal delivery.
z Before pouring, provisions are made for the escape
of dissolved gases.
z The gating system should be designed to minimize
the turbulent flow and erosion of mould cavity.
z The other important factors are the pouring
temperature and the pouring rate.
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Solidification & Cooling

z The properties of the casting significantly depends
on the solidification time cooing rate.
rate
z Shrinkage of casting, during cooling of solidified
metal should not be restrained by the mould
material, otherwise internal stresses may develop
and form cracks in casting.
z Proper care should be taken at the design stage of
casting so that shrinkage can occur without casting
defects.

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Removal, Cleaning, Finishing and
Inspection
z After the casting is removed from the mould
z it is thoroughly cleaned and
z the excess material usually along the parting line
and the place where the molten metal was
poured, is removed using a potable grinder.
z White light inspection, pressure test,
magnetic particle inspection, radiographic
test, ultrasonic inspection etc. are used

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Pattern & Mould

Open and Closed Mould

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Sand Casting

Expendable Mould

Permanent Pattern

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Chaplets: To avoid Core Shifting

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 Pattern Geometry

a) Solid Pattern b) Split Pattern c) Match-Plate Pattern b) Cope and Drag Pattern

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Patterns
z Choice of pattern depends on:
z Configuration of casting
z Number of casting required
z Pattern Types
z Single-piece pattern
z Split pattern
z Follow board pattern
z Cope and drag pattern
z Match plate pattern
z Loose-piece pattern
z Sweep pattern
z Skeleton pattern

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a) Split pattern, b) Follow-board, c) Match Plate, d) Loose-piece, e) Sweep, f) Skeleton pattern

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Pattern Allowances
z Pattern always made larger than final job
z Excess dimensions – Pattern Allowance
z Shrinkage allowance
z Contraction of casting
ƒ Liquid – Pouring Temp to Freezing Temp
ƒ Change of phase – Liquid to Solid
ƒ Solid casting – Freezing Temp to Room temp
z Draft allowance
z To withdraw pattern from mould

z Machining allowance
z For final shape

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Mould Material
Major part of Moulding material in sand casting are
1. 70-85% silica sand (SiO2)
2. 10-12% bonding material e.g., clay etc.
3. 3-6% water
Requirements of molding sand are:
(a) Refractoriness – ability to remain solid at high temp
(b) Cohesiveness – bonding
(c) Permeability – gas flow through mould
(d) Collapsibility – ability to permit metal to shrink after solidification
The performance of mould depends on following factors:
(a) Permeability
(b) Green strength
(c) Dry strength

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Desirable properties of a Sand
based Molding material
z Inexpensive in bulk qty
z Retain properties through transportation and storage
z Uniformly fills a flask or container
z Compacted or set by simple methods
z Sufficient elasticity to remain undamaged during
pattern withdrawal
z Withstand high temperatures and maintain its
dimensions until metal solidifies
z Sufficient permeable to allow the escape of gases

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Desirable properties of a Sand

based Molding material
z Sufficiently dense to prevent metal penetration
z Sufficiently cohesive to prevent washout of mold
material into the pour stream
z Chemically inert to metal being cast
z Good collapsibility to permit easy removal and
separation of casting
z Can be recycled

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Effect of moisture, grain size and
shape on mould quality

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Melting and Pouring

z The quality of casting depends on the method of melting.
z Molten metal is prevented from oxidation by covering the molten
metal with fluxes
z Ladles which pour the molten metal from beneath the surface are
used
z The two main consideration during pouring are the temperature
and pouring rate
z Fluidity of molten metal is more at higher temperature but it
results into more amount of dissolved gases and high
temperature also damage the mould walls and results into poor
surface quality of the casting
z Fluidity: Capability of molten metal to fill mold cavities
z Characteristics of molten metal
z Casting parameters

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Fluidity
z Characteristics of molten metal
z Viscosity
z Surface tension
z Inclusions
z Solidification pattern of the alloy
z Casting Parameters
z Mold design
z Mold material and surface characteristics
z Degree of superheat
z Rate of pouring
z Heat transfer

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Gating system
1. Minimize turbulent flow to reduce
• absorption of gases,
• oxidation of metal and
• erosion of mould surfaces
2. Regulate the entry of molten metal into the mould
cavity
3. Ensure complete filling of mould cavity, and
4. Promote a temperature gradient within the casting
so that all sections irrespective of size and shape
could solidify properly
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Gating system

z A: pouring basin
z B: Weir
z C: Sprue
z D: Sprue well
z E: Runner
z F: Ingates
z G: Runner break up
z H: Blind
z J: Riser

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Cooling and Solidification

Pure metal
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Mechanism of Solidification
z Pure metals solidifies at a constant temp. equal to its
freezing point, which same as its melting point.
z The change form liquid to solid does not occur all at
once. The process of solidification starts with nucleation,
the formation of stable solid particles within the liquid
metal.
z Nuclei of solid phase, generally a few hundred atom in
size, start appearing at a temperature below the freezing
temperature. The temp. around this goes down and is
called supercooling or undercooling. In pure metals
supercooling is around 20% of the freezing temp.
z A nuclei, more than a certain critical size grows, and
causes solidification.
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Mechanism of Solidification
z By adding, certain foreign materials (nucleating agents)
the undercooling temp. is reduced which causes
enhanced nucleation.
z In case of pure metals fine equi-axed grains are formed
near the wall of the mold and columnar grain growth
takes place upto the centre of the ingot.
z In typical alloy,
alloy the columnar grains do not extend upto
the center of casting but are interrupted by an inner zone
of equiaxed graines.
z By adding typical nucleating agents like sodium,
magnesium or bismuth the inner zone of equiaxed
grained can be extended in whole casting.

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Crystal structure in Castings

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Dendrite formation

• In alloys, such as Fe-C, freezing and solidification occurs over a

wide range of temp. There is no fine line of demarcation exists
between the solid and liquid metal.

• Here, ‘start of freezing’ implies that grain formation while

progressing towards the center does not solidify the metal
completely but leaves behind the islands of liquid metals in
between grains which freeze later and there is multidirectional
tree like growth.
growth
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Riser
z Risers are added reservoirs designed to feed
liquid metal to the solidifying casting as a means
for compensating for solidification shrinkage.
shrinkage
z Riser must solidify after casting.
casting
z Riser should be located so that directional
solidification occurs from the extremities of mold
cavity back toward the riser.
z freeze Riser
Thickest part of casting – last to freeze,
should feed directly to these regions.
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Why Risers?
z The shrinkage occurs in three stages,
1. When temperature of liquid metal drops from Pouring
to Freezing temperature
2. When the metal changes from liquid to solid state, and
3. When the temperature of solid phase drops from
freezing to room temperature
z The shrinkage for stage 3 is compensated by
providing shrinkage allowance on pattern, while the
shrinkage during stages 1 and 2 are compensated
by providing risers.
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Riser – Location & Types
• Top riser has the
advantage of additional
pressure head and
smaller feeding distance
over the side riser.

• Blind risers are

generally bigger in size
because of additional
area of heat conduction.
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Cleaning and Finishing

1. Casting is taken out of the mould by Shaking and the
Moulding sand is recycled often with suitable additions.
2. The remaining sand, some of which may be embedded
in the casting, is removed by means of Shot blasting.blasting
3. The excess material in the form of sprue, runners,
gates etc., along with the flashes formed due to flow of
molten metal into the gaps is broken manually in case
of brittle casting or removed by sawing and grinding in
case of ductile grinding.
4. The entire casting is then cleaned by either shot
blasting or chemical pickling.
pickling
5. Sometimes castings are heat treated to achieve better
mechanical properties.
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Casting Defects
z Defects may occur due to one or more of the
following reasons:
z Fault in design of casting pattern
z Fault in design on mold and core
z Fault in design of gating system and riser
z Improper choice of molding sand
z Improper metal composition
z Inadequate melting temperature and rate of
pouring
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Classification of Casting
Defects
z Surface Defects
z Blow, Scar, Blister, Drop, Scab, Penetration,
Buckle
z Internal Defects
z Blow holes, Porosity, Pin holes, Inclusions, Dross
z Visible Defects
z Wash, Rat tail, Swell, Mis run, Cold shut, Hot tear,
Shrinkage/Shift

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Surface Defects
Blow is relatively large cavity produced by gases which
displace molten metal from convex surface.

Scar is shallow blow generally occurring on a flat

surface.

A scar covered with a thin layer of metal is called blister.

blister
These are due to improper permeability or venting.
Sometimes excessive gas forming constituents in
moulding sand.

Drop is an irregularly-shaped projection on the cope

surface caused by dropping of sand.
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Surface Defects
z A scab when an up heaved sand gets separated
from the mould surface and the molten metal
flows between the displaced sand and the mold.

z Penetration occurs when the molten metal flows

between the sand particles in the mould. These
defects are due to inadequate strength of the
mold and high temperature of the molten metal
adds on it.

z Buckle is a v-shaped depression on the surface

of a flat casting caused by expansion of a thin
layer of sand at the mould face.

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Internal Defects
z The internal defects found in the castings are
mainly due to trapped gases and dirty metal.

z Gases get trapped due to hard ramming or

improper venting.

z These defects also occur when excessive

moisture or excessive gas forming materials are
used for mould making.

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Internal Defects
z Blow holes are large spherical shaped gas
bubbles

z Porosity indicates a large number of uniformly

distributed tiny holes.

z Pin holes are tiny blow holes appearing just

below the casting surface.

z Inclusions are the non-metallic particles in the

metal matrix,
z Lighter impurities appearing the casting surface
are dross.
dross.
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Visible Defects

z Insufficient mould strength, insufficient metal, low

pouring temperature, and bad design of casting
are some of the common causes.

z Wash is a low projection near the gate caused by

erosion of sand by the flowing metal.

z Rat tail is a long, shallow, angular depression

caused by expansion of the sand.

z Swell is the deformation of vertical mould surface

due to hydrostatic pressure caused by moisture in
the sand.

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Visible Defects

z Misrun and cold shut are caused by insufficient

superheat provided to the liquid metal.

z Hot tear is the crack in the casting caused by

high residual stresses.

z Shrinkage is essentially solidification

contraction and occurs due to improper use of
Riser.

z Shift is due to misalignment of two parts of the

mould or incorrect core location.
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Shell Molding

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Shell Molding
1. A match plate or cope-drag metal pattern is heated and
placed over a box containing sand mixed with thermosetting
resin.
2. Box is inverted so that sand and resin fall onto the hot
pattern, causing a layer of the mixture to partially cure on
the surface to form a hard shell.
3. Box is repositioned so that loose, uncured particles drop
away.
4. Sand shell is heated in oven for several minutes for
complete curing.
5. Shell mold is stripped from the pattern
6. Two halves of the shell mold are assembled, supported by
sand or metal shot in a box, and pouring is accomplished.
The finished casting with sprue is removed.
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Shell Molding
Advantages & Limitations

z Shell thickness typically 9 mm is used

z Surface of shell mold cavity is smoother than sand mold.
z Easy flow of molten metal, good surface quality
z Finish is of the order of 2.5 micrometer.
z Good dimensional accuracy
z Can be mechanized for mass production and is very
economical
z Gears, valve bodies, bushings, and cam shafts are typical
products
z Expensive metal pattern as compared to sand casting
z Difficult to justify for small quantities manufacturing
z Possible on small to medium size parts
z Suitable for steel castings less than 10 kg.
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Investment Casting

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Investment Casting
Advantages & Limitations

z Parts of greater complexity and intricacy can be cast

z Close dimensional control ±0.075mm
z Good surface finish
z The lost wax can be reused
z Additional machining is not required in normal course
z Al, Cu, Ni, Carbon and alloy steels, tool steels etc. are the
common materials
z Preferred for casting weight less than 5 kg, maximum
dimension less than 300 mm, Thickness is usually
restricted to 15mm

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Die Casting

Graphite+oil

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Die Casting Machine

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Die Casting
z In Die casting the molten metal is forced to flow
into a permanent metallic mold under moderate to
high pressures, and held under pressure during
solidification
z This high pressure forces the metal into intricate
details, produces smooth surface and excellent
dimensional accuracy
z High pressure causes turbulence and air
entrapment. In order to minimize this larger in-gates
are used and in the beginning, pressure is kept low
and is increased gradually
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Hot Chamber Casting

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Cold Chamber Casting

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Centrifugal Casting

z A permanent mold made of metal or ceramic is rotated at high

speed (300 to 3000 rpm). The molten metal is then poured into the
mold cavity and due to centrifugal action the molten metal conform
to the cavity provided in the mould.
z Castings are known for their higher densities in the outer most
regions.
z The process gives good surface finish
z Applications: pipes, bushings, gears, flywheels etc.
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Comparison of Casting Processes

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Comparison of Casting Processes

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