ME350 Sand Casting Lab Instructions 1 Objectives

The objectives of this lab are to: (1) Create a mold for sand casting. (2) Create parts of the students design by sand casting. (3) Examine sources of faults and defects in the process.

2 Lab Structure
Pattern making (RP lab)

Mold making Melting Aluminum Solidification and cooling Removal of sand mold

Pouring Aluminum

Examine finished casting for defects

Cleaning and sprue removal

3 Sand Casting Procedure

3.1 Mold Creation
(1) Separate the cope from the drag and place cope on the pattern board. (2) Glue the pattern to the pattern board. (3) Use a brush to sprinkle a little parting dust onto the pattern. Do not brush the dust onto the pattern; rather, collect some dust on the brush and shake it lightly above the pattern. (4) Cover the pattern with a shallow layer of sand first and make sure to pack it tightly around the pattern; use your hands for this first portion so that you can feel that the sand is packed tightly.

ME350 Sand Casting Lab Instructions

(5) Once the initial layer is packed continue to add sand. Use the rammer to make sure it is packed tightly all the way to the edges of the flask. Take special care to ensure that there are no voids in the flask; these may cause the mold to sink, move, or fall out completely. (6) Fill the entire cope and strike off the top so that it is perfectly level. Again, it is important not to leave any voids. (7) CAREFULLY remove the cope from the pattern board and place it upside-down on a flat surface. (8) Using the sprue cutter, create the sprue 1 to 2 inches from the pattern in the cope; take special care not to disturb the pattern. (9) Carve the runner into the bottom of the cope to connect the sprue and the pattern. Try not to disturb the pattern when doing this. Also, widen the sprue opening in the top of the cope. (10) Place the drag on the board that has no pattern and pack it tightly with sand just as you did the cope. (11) When both the cope and the drag are packed, place them together and move them to the pouring table.

3.2 Pouring
Note: The two people that will be working with the Al during melting and pouring must be wearing the proper safety equipment. This includes a facemask, goggles, coat, apron, gloves, and leggings. Make sure that you are completely covered. (1) Place Al bars in crucible, place crucible in the furnace, and turn it on; your TA has probably already done this as it takes a while for the furnace to melt the aluminum. (2) When the temperature has risen to the appropriate level (the metal should be at ~1400 F when you pour; the melting point of aluminum is approximately 1220 F), remove the lid - dross and impurities will rise to the top. Remove them with the skimmer. (3) The two people who are wearing the appropriate gear will remove the crucible from the furnace using the bent handle crucible tongs. Lift the crucible in the furnace and shake

ME350 Sand Casting Lab Instructions

it lightly to ensure that the crucible is gripped tightly. Place the crucible into the pourer and clamp it in place. (4) Quickly pour molten aluminum into the sprue openings. Be careful not to overflow too much.

3.3 Post-processing
(1) After the aluminum has cooled for about 10 minutes, separate the cope and drag over the sand table. Keep in mind that the metal will not yet be completely cool; use gloves to empty the flask and tongs to pick up the piece. (2) Salvage any sand that has not been burned and return to bucket. Throw any burned (black) sand into the appropriate waste bucket. (3) When the part is cool to the touch you may use the band saw to cut the piece from the excess metal. Be sure to wear protective eye gear when using the band saw. Aluminum fouls up the grinder, hence dont use it on the piece.

4 Summary
(1) In this lab, you used your part created by rapid prototyping as a pattern in order to sand cast the part out of aluminum. (2) By packing sand around your pattern, you were able to create a mold into which molten aluminum was poured to take the form of your pattern. Excess aluminum (from the downsprue, for example) was removed with a band saw. (3) Safety precautions must be taken when working with molten metal. (4) Take pictures of your part with a digital camera for inclusion in your lab report.