Lecture 1

FUNDAMENTALS OF METAL FORMING

There are four basic production processes for producing desired shape of a product. These are
casting, machining, joining (welding, mechanical fastners, epoxy, etc.), and deformation processes.
Casting process exploit the fluidity of a metal in liquid state as it takes shape and solidifies in a mold.
Machining processes provide desired shape with good accuracy and precision but tend to waste material
in the generation of removed portions. Joining processes permit complex shapes to be constructed from
simpler components and have a wide domain of applications.

Deformation processes exploit a remarkable property of metals, which is their ability to flow
plastically in the solid state without deterioration of their properties. With the application of suitable
pressures, the material is moved to obtain the desired shape with almost no wastage. The required
pressures are generally high and the tools and equipment needed are quite expensive. Large production
quantities are often necessary to justify the process.

Fig 1.1 State of the stresses metal undergo during deformation.

As a metal is deformed (or formed, as often called) into useful shape, it experiences stresses such
as tension, compression, shear, or various combinations there of Fig 1.1 illustrates these states of
stresses. Some common metal forming processes are schematically given in Fig 1.2 along with the state
of stress(es) experienced by the metal during the process.
 State of Stress in Main Part
Number Process
During Forming
Rolling

1 Bi-axial compression

Forging

2 Tri-axial compression

Extrusion

3 Tri-axial compression

swaging
4 Bi-axial compression
 Deep drawing

In flange of blank, bi-axial tension

5 and compression. In wall of cup,
simple uni-axial tension.

Wire and tube drawing

6 Bi-axial compression, tension.

Straight bending

At bend, bi-axial compression and

7
bi-axial tension
Fig 1.2 Common metal forming processes. State of stress experienced by metal is also given

To understand the forming of metal, it is important to know the structure of metals. Metals are
crystalline in nature and consist of irregularly shaped grains of various sizes. Each grain is made up of
atoms in an orderly arrangement, known as a lattice. The orientation of the atoms in a grain is uniform but
differs in adjacent grains. When a force is applied to deform it or change its shape, a lot of changes occur
in the grain structure. These include grain fragmentation, movement of atoms, and lattice distortion. Slip
planes develop through the lattice structure at points where the atom bonds of attraction are the weakest
and whole blocks of atoms are displaced. The orientation of atoms, however, does not change when slip
occurs.

To deform the metal permanently, the stress must exceed the elastic limit. At room temperature,
the metal is in a more rigid state than when at higher temperature. Thus, to deform the metal greater
pressures are needed when it is in cold state than when in hot state.

When metal is formed in cold state, there is no recrystallization of grains and thus recovery from
grain distortion or fragmentation does not take place. As grain deformation proceeds, greater resistance
to this action results in increased hardness and strength. The metal is said to be strain hardened. There
are several theories to explain this occurrence. In general, these refer to resistance build up in the grains
by atomic dislocation, fragmentation, or lattice distortion, or a combination of the three phenomena.

The amount of deformation that a metal can undergo at room temperature depends on its ductility.
The higher the ductility of a metal, the more the deformation it can undergo. Pure metals can withstand
greater amount of deformation than metals having alloying elements, since alloying increases the
tendency and rapidity of strain hardening. Metals having large grains are more ductile than those having
smaller grains.

When metal is deformed in cold state, severe stresses known as residual stresses are set up in the
material. These stresses are often undesirable, and to remove them the metal is heated to some
temperature below the recrystalline range temperature. In this temperature range, the stresses are
rendered ineffective without appreciable change in physical properties or grain structure.

COLD AND HOT WORKING OF METALS

Cold Working:

Plastic deformation of metals below the recrystallization temperature is known as cold working. It is
generally performed at room temperature. In some cases, slightly elevated temperatures may be used to
provide increased ductility and reduced strength. Cold working offers a number of distinct advantages,
and for this reason various cold-working processes have become extremely important. Significant
advances in recent years have extended the use of cold forming, and the trend appears likely to continue.

In comparison with hot working, the advantages of cold working are

1. No heating is required

2. Bettter surface finish is obtained

3. Better dimensional control is achieved; therefore no secondary machining is generally needed.

4. Products possess better reproducibility and interchangeablity.

5. Better strength, fatigue, and wear properties of material.

6. Directional properties can be imparted.

7. Contamination problems are almost negligible.

Some disadvantages associated with cold-working processes are:

1. Higher forces are required for deformation.

2. Heavier and more powerful equipment is required.

3. Less ductility is available.

4. Metal surfaces must be clean and scale-free.

5. Strain hardening occurs ( may require intermediate annealing ).

6. Undesirable residual stresses may be produced

Cold forming processes, in general, are better suited to large-scale production of parts because of the
cost of the required equipment and tooling.

Warm Working:

Metal deformation carried out at temperatures intermediate to hot and cold forming is called Warm
Forming. Compared to cold forming, warm forming offers several advantages. These include:

Lesser loads on tooling and equipment

Greater metal ductility

Fewer number of annealing operation (because of less strain hardening)

Compared to hot forming, warm forming offers the following advantages.

Lesser amount of heat energy requirement

Better precision of components

Lesser scaling on parts

Lesser decarburization of parts

Better dimensional control

Better surface finish

Lesser thermal shock on tooling

Lesser thermal fatigue to tooling, and so greater life of tooling.

Hot Working:
Plastic deformation of metal carried out at temperature above the recrystallization temperature, is called
hot working. Under the action of heat and force, when the atoms of metal reach a certain higher energy
level, the new crystals start forming. This is called recrystallization. When this happens, the old grain
structure deformed by previously carried out mechanical working no longer exist, instead new crystals
which are strain-free are formed.

In hot working, the temperature at which the working is completed is critical since any extra heat left in
the material after working will promote grain growth, leading to poor mechanical properties of material.

In comparison with cold working, the advantages of hot working are

1. No strain hardening
2. Lesser forces are required for deformation
3. Greater ductility of material is available, and therefore more deformation is possible.
4. Favorable grain size is obtained leading to better mechanical properties of material
5. Equipment of lesser power is needed
6. No residual stresses in the material.

Some disadvantages associated in the hot-working of metals are:

1. Heat energy is needed

2. Poor surface finish of material due to scaling of surface
3. Poor accuracy and dimensional control of parts
4. Poor reproducibility and interchangeability of parts
5. Handling and maintaining of hot metal is difficult and troublesome
6. Lower life of tooling and equipment.

Lecture 2

FORGING

Forging is a process in which material is shaped by the application of localized compressive forces
exerted manually or with power hammers, presses or special forging machines. The process may be
carried out on materials in either hot or cold state. When forging is done cold, processes are given special
names. Therefore, the term forging usually implies hot forging carried out at temperatures which are
above the recrystallization temperature of the material.

Forging is an effective method of producing many useful shapes. The process is generally used to
produce discrete parts. Typical forged parts include rivets, bolts, crane hooks, connecting rods, gears,
turbine shafts, hand tools, railroads, and a variety of structural components used to manufacture
machinery. The forged parts have good strength and toughness; they can be used reliably for highly
stressed and critical applications.

A variety of forging processes have been developed that can be used for either producing a single piece
or mass produce hundreds of identical parts. Some common forging processes are:

1. Open die hammer forging

2. Impression die drop forging
3. Press Forging
4. Upset Forging
5. Swaging
6. Rotary Forging
7. Roll forging
Open Die Hummer Forging.

It is the simplest forging process which is quite flexible but not suitable for large scale production. It
is a slow process. The resulting size and shape of the forging are dependent on the skill of the operator.

Fig 2.1

Open die forging does not confine the flow of metal, Fig 2.1. The operator obtains the desired
shape of forging by manipulating the work material between blows. Use may be made of some specially
shaped tools or a simple shaped die between the work piece and the hammer or anvil to assist in shaping
the required sections (round, concave, or convex), making holes, or performing cut off operations. This
process is most often used to make near final shape of the part so that some further operation done on
the job produces the final shape.

Forging Force. In open die forging operation, the forging force F, to be applied on a solid cylindrical
component can be determined from the relation.

Where s f is the flow stress of the material, is the coefficient of friction, and d and h are the diameter
and height of the work piece, respectively.

Example. Using open-die forging operation, a solid cylindrical piece of 304 stainless steel having 100 mm
dia x 72 mm height is reduced in the height to 60 mm at room temperature. Assuming the coefficient of
friction as 0.22 and the flow stress for this material at the required true strain as 1000 MPa, calculate the
forging force at the end of stroke.

Solution . Initial diameter = 100 mm

Initial height = 72 mm

Final height = 60 mm
If final diameter is d, (100)2 x 72 = d2 x 60

i.e. d =110 mm

Impression Die Drop Forging (Closed Die Forging)

The process uses shaped dies to control the flow of metal. The heated metal is positioned in the
lower cavity and on it one or more blows are struck by the upper die. This hammering makes the metal to
flow and fill the die cavity completely. Excess metal is squeezed out around the periphery of the cavity to
form flash. On completion of forging, the flash is trimmed off with the help of a trimming die.

Most impression die sets contain several cavities. The work material is given final desired shape
in stages as it is deformed in successive cavities in the die set. The shape of the cavities cause the metal
to flow in desired direction, thereby imparting desired fibre structure to the component.

Auto Forging:

This is a modified form of impression die forging, used mainly for non ferrous metals.

In this a cast preform, as removed from the mold while hot, is finish forged in a die. The flash
formed during die forging is trimmed later in the usual manner. As the four steps of the process casting,
transfer from mold to the forging die, forging, and trimming are in most applications completely
mechanized, the process has acquired the name Auto forging.

Coining:

It is a closed die forging process used mainly for minting coins and making of jewelry. In order to
produce fine details on the work material the pressures required are as large as five or six times the
strength of the material. Lubricants are not employed in this process because they can get entrapped in
the die cavities and, being incompressible, prevent the full reproduction of fine details of the die.

Net - shape forging (Precession Forging)

Modern trend in forging operation is toward economy and greater precision. The metal is deformed
in cavity so that no flash is formed and the final dimensions are very close to the desired component
dimensions. There is minimum wastage of material and need for subsequent machining operation is
almost eliminated.

The process uses special dies having greater accuracies than those in impression die gorging,
and the equipment used is also of higher capacity. The forces required for forging are high. Aluminum
and magnesium alloys are more suitable although steel can also be precision forged. Typical precision
forged components are gears, turbine blades, fuel injection nozzles, and bearing casings.

Because of very high cost of toolings and machines, precision forging is preferred over
conventional forging only where volume of production is extremely large.
Forging Force Requirement:

The forging force, F, required to forge material by impression die forging operation can be
determined by the relation

F=k.sf.A

where k is a constant (whose value can be taken from Table 2.1 s f is the flow stress of material at
the forging temperature, and A is the projected area of the forging including the flash.

In hot forging of most non ferrous metals and alloys, the forging pressure is generally in the range
of 500 MPa to 1000 MPa.

Table 2.1 Range of value of k

Simple shape of part, no flash produced 3
to 5

Simple shape of part, flash produced 5

to 6

Intricate shape of part, flash produced 8

to 12

Press Forging

Press forging, which is mostly used for forging of large sections of metal, uses hydraulic press to obtain
slow and squeezing action instead of a series of blows as in drop forging. The continuous action of the
hydraulic press helps to obtain uniform deformation throughout the entire depth of the workpiece.
Therefore, the impressions obtained in press forging are more clean.

Press forgings generally need smaller draft than drop forgings and have greater dimensional accuracy.
Dies are generally heated during press forging to reduce heat loss, promote more uniform metal flow and
production of finer details.

Hydraulic presses are available in the capacity range of 5 MN to 500 MN but 10 MN to 100MN capacity
presses are more common.

Upset Forging

Upset forging involves increasing the cross section of a material at the expense of its corresponding
length. Upset forging was initially developed for making bolt heads in a continuous manner, but
presently it is the most widely used of all forging processes. Parts can be upset forged from bars or rods
upto 200 mm in diameter in both hot and cold condition. Examples of upset forged parts are fasteners,
valves, nails, and couplings.

The process uses split dies with one or several cavities in the die. Upon separation of split die, the heated
bar is moved from one cavity to the next. The split dies are then forced together to grip the and a heading
tool (or ram) advances axially against the bar, upsetting it to completely fill the die cavity. Upon
completion of upsetting process the heading tool comes back and the movable split die releases the
stock.

Upsetting machines, called upsetters, are generally horizontal acting.

 When designing parts for upset forging, the following three rules must be followed.

1. The length of unsupported bar that can be upset in one blow of heading tool should not
exceed 3 times the diameter of bar. Otherwise bucking will occur.
2. For upsetting length of stock greater than 3 times the diameter the cavity diameter must
not exceed 1.5 times the dia of bar.
3. For upsetting length of stock greater than 3 times the diameter and when the diameter of
the upset is less than 1.5 times the diameter of the bar, the length of un supported
stock beyond the face of die must not exceed diameter of the stock.

Roll Forging

This process is used to reduce the thickness of round or flat bar with the corresponding increase in
length. Examples of products produced by this process include leaf springs, axles, and levers.

The process is carried out on a rolling mill that has two semi cylindrical rolls that are slightly eccentric to
the axis of rotation. Each roll has a series of shaped grooves on it. When the rolls are in open position,
the heated bar stock is placed between the rolls. With the rotation of rolls through half a revolution, the
bar is progressively squeezed and shaped. The bar is then inserted between the next set of smaller
grooves and the process is repeated till the desired shape and size are achieved.

Lecture 3

SWAGING

In this process, the diameter of a rod or a tube is reduced by forcing it into a confining die. A set of
reciprocation dies provides radial blows to cause the metal to flow inward and acquire the form of the die
cavity. The die movements may be of in and out type or rotary. The latter type is obtained with the
help of a set of rollers in a cage, in a similar action as in a roller bearing. The work piece is held stationary
and the dies rotate, the dies strike the work piece at a rate as high as 10 - 20 strokes per second.

Screwdriver blades and soldering iron tips are typical examples of swaged products. Fig 3.1 shows
these and other products made by swaging.
Fig 3.1 Typical parts made by swaging.

In tube swaging, the tube thickness and / or internal dia of tube can be controlled with the use of
internal mandrels. For small diameter tubing, a thin rod can be used as a mandrel; even internally
shaped tubes can be swaged by using shaped mandrels. Fig 3.2 shows the process.

Fig 3.2 (a) Swaging of tubes without a mandrel. Wall thickness is more in the die gap.
(b) Swaging with a mandrel. The final wall thickness of the tube depends
on the mandrel diameter.
(c) Examples of cross-sections of tubes produced by swaging on shaped mandrels.

The process is quite versatile. The maximum diameter of work piece that can be swaged is limited to
about 150 mm; work pieces as small as 0.5 mm diameter have been swaged. The production rate can be
as high as 30 parts per minute depending upon the complexity of the part shape and the part handling
means adopted.

The parts produced by swaging have tolerance in the range 0.05 mm to 0.5 mm and improved
mechanical properties. Use of lubricants helps in obtaining better work surface finish and longer die life.
Materials, such as tungsten and molybdenum are generally swaged at elevated temperatures as they
have low ductility at room temperature. Hot swaging is also used to form long or steep tapers, and for
large reductions.

Swaging is a noisy operation. The level of noise can be, however, reduced by proper mounting of the
machine or by the use of enclosure.

WIRE DRAWING

Wire drawing is primarily the same as bar drawing except that it involves smaller diameter
material that can be coiled. It is generally performed as a continuous operation on draw bench like the
one shown in Fig 3.3

Fig 3.3 Wire drawing on a continuous draw block. The rotating draw block provides a continuous pull on
the incoming wire.

Large coil of hot rolled material of nearly 10 mm diameter is taken and subjected to preparation
treatment before the actual drawing process. The preparation treatment for steel wire consists of:

Cleaning. This may be done by acid pickling, rinsing, and drying. Or, it may be done by
mechanical flexing.

Neutralization. Any remaining acid on the raw material is neutralized by immersing it in a lime
bath. The corrosion protected material is also given a thin layer of lubricant.

To begin the drawing process, one end of coil is reduced in cross section upto some length and fed
through the drawing die, and gripped. A wire drawing die is generally made of tungsten carbide and has
the configuration shown in Fig 3.4 for drawing very fine wire, diamond die is preferred.
Fig 3.4 Cross section through a typical carbide wire drawing die.

Small diameter wire is generally drawn on tandom machines which consists of a series of dies, each held
in a water cooled die block. Each die reduces the cross section by a small amount so as to avoid
excessive strain in the wire. Intermediate annealing of material between different states of wire may also
be done, if required.

Wire drawing terms :

Where Do , Df , Lo and Lf are the original and final diameter and length. Ao and Af are original and final
cross sectional area.

For a single cold drawing pass, the percent area reduction that can be done depends upon many
factors. These include the type of material, its size, initial metallurgical condition, the final size and
mechanical properties desired, die design and lubrication efficiency. The percent of area reduction per
pass can range from near zero to 50%.

Die pull

The force required to pull the stock through the die (under frictionless conditions) can be computed
as follows.
Where F = die pull, i.e. the force required to pull the stock through the die

Yavg = average true stress of the material in the die gap

Ao , Af = original and final areas of cross section of material.

Alternatively, the following expression can be used

F = c st (Ao - Af )

where c is a constant whose value is in the range 1.5 to 3.0 depending upon the % area reduction, (lower
value for higher % reduction), and st is tensile strength of material before drawing.

The pull force determines the machine capacity needed.

TUBE DRAWING

The diameter and wall thickness of tubes that have been produced by extrusion or other processes
can be reduced by tube drawing process. The process of tube drawing (Fig 3.5) is similar to wire or rod
drawing except that it usually requires a mandrel of the requisite diameter to form the internal hole.

Tubes as large as 0.3 m in diameter can be drawn.

Fig 3.5

Drawing Equipment

Drawing equipment can be of several designs. These designs can be classified into two basic
types; Draw bench, and Bull block. A draw bench (Fig 3.5) uses a single die and the pulling force is
supplied by a chain drive or by hydraulic means. Draw bench is used for single length drawing of rod or
tube with diameter greater than 20mm. Length can be as much as 30 m. The drawing speed attainable on
a draw bench ranges from 5 m/min to 50 m/min. Draw benches are available having capacities to provide
pull force of upto 1 MN.

Bull block or rotating drum (Fig 3.3) is used for drawing rods or wires of very long length.

Lecture 4

FORMABILITY OF SHEET METAL

Formability may be defined as the ease with which material may be forced into a permanent
change of shape.
 The formability of a material depends on several factors. The important one concerns the
properties of material like yield strength, strain hardening rate, and ductility. These are greatly
temperature - dependent. As the temperature of material is increased, the yield strength and rate of strain
hardening progressively reduce and ductility increases. The hot working of metal, therefore, permits
relatively very large amount of deformation before cracking.

There are several methods of predicting formability. A brief description of some important methods
follows.

Cup or Radial Drawing:

Cup drawing test uses a circular blank from the metal to be tested. It is inserted in a die, and the
severity of the draw it is able to withstand without tearing called the drawing ratio, is noted. The drawing
ratio is the ratio of the cup diameter to the blank diameter.

Where Rd = drawing ratio

D = blank diameter

d = punch diameter

A drawing ratio of 50 % is considered excellent. As shown in Fig 4.1(a), either a flat bottom punch
with lubricated blank may be used to draw the cup, or as shown in Fig 4.1(b) a blank may be drawn by a
lubricated hemi spherical punch. In the first case, the action is principally that of drawing in which
cylindrical stretching of material takes place. In the second case, there will be bi axial stretching of the
material. For drawing, the clamping force is just sufficient to prevent buckling of the material at the draw
radius as it enters the die. The deformation takes place in the flange and over the draw radius.

Fukui Conical Cup Test:

It utilizes a hemispherical, smoothly polished punch. No blank holder is required. In each test, a
drawing ratio which will result in a broken cup is determined. Formation of wrinkles is avoided by using a
fixed ratio between the thickness of the sheet, the size of the blank, and the punch and die diameters.
Under these conditions, the test produces a known amount of stretching, drawing, and bending under
tension.

Normal Anisotropy Coefficient:

The material is subjected to uni-axial tensile test. The anisotropy coefficient is derived from the ratio
of the plastic width strain eW to the thickness strain et . A material with a high plastic anisotropy also has a
greater thinning resistance. In general, the higher the anisotropy coefficient the better the material
deforms in drawing operations.

Strain-Hardening Coefficient:

Strain hardening refers to the fact that as a metal deforms in some area, dislocations occur in the
microstructure. As these dislocations pile up, they tend to strengthen the metal against further
deformation in that area. Thus the strain is spread throughout the sheet. However, at some point in the
deformations, the strain suddenly localizes and necking, or localized thinning, develops. When this
occurs, little further overall deformation of the sheet can be obtained without it fracturing in the necked
region.

The strain hardening coefficient therefore reflects how well the metal distributes the strain
throughout the sheet, avoiding or delaying localized necking. The higher the strain hardening
coefficient, the move the material will harden as it is being stretched and the greater will be the resistance
to localized necking. Necks in the metal harm surface appearance and affect structural integrity.

For many stamping operations, stretching of the metal is the critical factor and is dependent on the
strain hardening coefficient. Therefore, stampings that need much drawing should be made from metal
having high average strain hardening coefficients. Yield strength should be low to avoid wrinkles or
buckling.

Forming Limit Curve:

The forming limit curve is a good index of determining the formability of sheet metal. Essentially, it
requires to draw a curve that shows a boundary line between acceptable strain levels in forming and
those that may cause failure, Fig 4.2.
Fig 4.2 The relationship of major, e1 , and minor, e2 , strains is established by measurement after forming.

The curve indicates the relation between major and minor strains that are perpendicular to the
plane of the sheet. To determine these strains, a grid of circles is marked on the sheet metal, say by an
electrolytic stencil etching process. After the metal is deformed, the circles are measured to obtain the
major strain e1 and the minor strain e2 , as shown in Fig 4.2 Typically, ten to fifteen data points are
obtained from a test specimen in the region of fracture. Ellipses lying both in the failed region and just
outside of it are measured. The forming limit curve is then drawn to fall below the strains in the necked
and fractured zones, and above the strains found just outside these zones (Fig 4.3)

With controlled variation in specimen size it is possible to plot an entire forming limit curve from
one test setup. A reasonably accurate forming limit curve may be obtained with four specimens while a
precision curve may be obtained with eight specimens.

In may be noted that local ductility varies for different metals, so no universal forming limit curve
can be developed. For example, two metals may have peak local ductilities of 20% and 50% at a given
minor strain. The metal with the 20 % local ductility (high strain hardening coefficient) may turn out to be
the best choice because the strain will then have a better distribution throughout, allowing the entire sheet
to be stretched 20%. If the other sheet showed little strain hardening, it might stretch by 50% in local
area, but leave the rest of the sheet relatively unstrained.

Through the use of formability prediction techniques. Designers and fabricators are able to make
a wiser choice of metals and obtain date quickly on newer metals. The essential data can be obtained
before the die is designed. Also metal suppliers will be able to establish whether a material possesses
required formability before it is shipped from the plant.
Fig. 4.3

Lecture 5

SHEARING

Shearing is a cutting operation used to remove a blank of required dimensions from a large sheet.
To understand the shearing mechanism, consider a metal being sheared between a punch and a die, Fig
5.1 Typical features of the sheet and the slug are also shown in this figure. As can be seen that cut edges
are neither smooth nor perpendicular to the plane of the sheet.
Fig 5.1 (a) Shearing with a punch and die (b) features of a punched hole and (c) features of the slug.

Shearing starts as the punch presses against the sheet metal. At first, cracks form in the sheet on
both the top and bottom edges (marked T and T', in the figure). As the punch descends further, these
cracks grow and eventually meet each other and the slug separates from the sheet. A close look at the
fractured surfaces will revel that these are quite rough and shiny; rough because of the cracks formed
earlier, and shiny because of the contact and rubbing of the sheared edge against the walls of the die.

The clearance between the punch and the die plays an important role in the determination of the
shape and quality of the sheared ege. There is an optimum range for the clearance, which is 2 to 10% of
the sheet thickness, for the best results. If the clearance increases beyond this, the material tends to be
pulled into the die and the edges of the sheared zone become rougher. The ratio of the shining
(burnished) area to the rough area on the sheared edge decreases with increasing clearance and sheet
thickness. The quality of sheared edge is also affected by punch speed; greater the punch speed better
the edge quality.

Shearing Operations

For general purpose shearing work, straight line shears are used. as shown in Fig 5.2, small pieces
(A, B, C, D.) may be cut from a large sheet.
Fig 5.2

Shearing may also be done between a punch and die, as shown in Fig 5.1. The shearing
operations make which use of a die, include punching, blanking, piercing, notching, trimming, and
nibbling.

Punching/Blanking

Punching or blanking is a process in which the punch removes a portion of material from the larger
piece or a strip of sheet metal. If the small removed piece is discarded, the operation is called punching,
whereas if the small removed piece is the useful part and the rest is scrap, the operation is called
blanking, see Fig 5.3.

Fig 5.3 Comparison of basic stamping operations.

In punching, the metal inside the part is removed; in blanking, the metal around the part is removed.

A typical setup used for blanking is shown in Fig 5.4.

Fig 5.4 Blanking punch and die.

The clearance between the die and punch can be determined as c = 0.003 t. t where t is the sheet
thickness and t is the shear strength of sheet material. For blanking operation, die size = blank size, and
the punch is made smaller, by considering the clearance.

The maximum force, P required to be exerted by the punch to shear out a blank from the sheet can
be estimated as

P = t. L. t

where t is the sheet thickness, L is the total length sheared (such as the perimeter of hole), and t is
the shear strength of the sheet material.

Stripping force. Two actions take place in the punching process punching and stripping. Stripping
means extracting the punch. A stripping force develops due to the spring back (or resiliency) of the
punched material that grips the punch. This force is generally expressed as a percentage of the force
required to punch the hole, although it varies with the type of material being punched and the amount of
clearance between the cutting edges. The following simple empirical relation can be used to find this
force

SF = 0.02 L.t

where SF = stripping force, kN

L = length of cut, mm

t = thickness of material, mm
Example: A circular blank of 30 mm diameter is to be cut from 2 mm thick 0.1 C steel sheet. Determine
the die and punch sizes. Also estimate the punch force and the stripping force needed. You may assume
the following for the steel : Tensile strength: 410 MPa ; shear strength : 310 MPa

Solution:- For cutting a blank, die size = blank size

\ Die size = 30mm

Clearance = 0.003 x t x t = 0.003 x 2 x 310

= 1.86 mm

Punch size = blank size 2 clearance

= 30 2 x 1.86 = 26.28 mm

Punch force needed = L. t. p = p x 30 x 2 x 310

= 58.5 kN

Stripping force needed = 0.02 L.t

= 0.02 x p x 30 x 2

= 3.77 kN

Piercing:

It is a process by which a hole is cut (or torn) in metal. It is different from punching in that piercing does
not generate a slug. Instead, the metal is pushed back to form a jagged flange on the back side of the
hole.

A pierced hole looks somewhat like a bullet hole in a sheet of metal.

Trimming:

When parts are produced by die casting or drop forging, a small amount of extra metal gets spread out at
the parting plane. This extra metal, called flash, is cut off before the part is used, by an operation called
trimming. The operation is very similar to blanking and the dies used are also similar to blanking dies. The
presses used for trimming have, however, relatively larger table.

Notching:

It is an operation in which a specified small amount of metal is cut from a blank. It is different from
punching in the sense that in notching cutting line of the slug formed must touch one edge of the blank or
strip. A notch can be made in any shape. The purpose of notching is generally to release metal for fitting
up.

Nibbling:

Nibbling is variation of notching, with overlapping notches being cut into the metal. The operation may be
resorted to produce any desired shape, for example flanges, collars, etc.
Perforating:

Perforating is an operation is which a number of uniformly spaced holes are punched in a sheet of metal.
The holes may be of any size or shape. They usually cover the entire sheet of metal.

Lecture 6

SHEET METAL PROCESSES

BENDING

Bending is one very common sheet metal forming operation used not only to form shapes like seams,
corrugations, and flanges but also to provide stiffness to the part (by increasing its moment of inertia).

As a sheet metal is bent (Fig 6.1), its fibres experience a distortion such that those nearer its outside,
convex surface are forced to stretch and come in tension, while the inner fibres come in compression.
Somewhere, in the cross section, there is a plane which separates the tension and compression zones.
This plane is parallel to the surface around which the sheet is bending, and is called neutral axis. The
position of neutral axis depends on the radius and angle of bend. Further, because of the Poisson's ratio,
the width of the part L in the outer region is smaller, and in the inner region it is larger, than the initial
original width.

Fig 6.1 Sheet metal bending. It may be noted that the bend radius is measured to the inner surface of the
bent part.

BEND ALLOWANCE

It is the length of the neutral axis in the bend, Fig 6.1. This determines the blank length needed for a bent
part. It can be approximately estimated from the relation

Lb = a ( R + kt )

where, Lb = bend allowance (mm)

a = bend angle (radian)

R = bend radius (mm)

t = thickness of sheet (mm), and

k = constant, whose value may be taken as 1/3 when R < 2t, and as 1/2 when R 2t.

Example

A 20 mm wide and 4 mm thick C 20 steel sheet is required to be bent at 600 at bend radius 10 mm.
Determine the bend allowance.

Solution.

Here, bend radius R = 10 mm

Sheet thickness t = 4 mm

Since R > 2t, k = 0.5

Bend allowance

MINIMUM BEND RADIUS

As the ratio of the bend radius to the thickness of sheet (R / t) decreases, the tensile strain on the outer
fibres of sheet increases. If R / t decreases beyond a certain limit, cracks start appearing on the surface
of material. This limit is called Minimum Bend Radius for the material.

Minimum bend radius is generally expressed in terms of the thickness of material, such as 2t, 3t, 4t,
etc. Table 6.1 gives the minimum bend radius allowed for different materials.

Table 6.1 Minimum Bend radius for Various Materials at Room Temperature

Condition
Material
Soft Hard
Aluminum alloys 0 6t

Beryllium copper 0 4t

Brass,low-leaded 0 2t

Magnesium 5t 13t
Steels

Austenitic stainless 0.5t 6t

Low-carbon,low-alloy 0.5t 4t

Titanium 0.7t 3t

Titanium alloys 2.5t 4t

Bending Force :

There are two general types of die bending : V die bending and wiping die bending. V die
bending is used expensively in brake die operations and stamping die operations. The bending force can
be estimated from the following simple relation.

P = k.Y.L.t2 / D

where P is bending force, g is the yield stress of the material, L is the bend length ( bend allowance ), t is
the sheet thickness, D is the die opening and k is a constant whose value can be taken as 1.3 for a V-die
and 0.3 for a wiping die. Fig 6.2 shows various types of bending dies.

Fig 6.2 Die-bending operations.

 Bending force varies as the punch progresses through the bending operation. The force is zero in
the beginning. It rises and reaches the maximum value as the punch progresses and reaches the bottom
of the stroke.

Example:

A 400 mm long and 2.5 mm thick piece of carbon steel sheet is required to be bent at 90 0 using a V
die. You may assume the yield stress of the material as 500 MPa and the die opening as 10 times the
material thickness. Estimate the force required for the operation.

Solution : Here, Y = 500 MPa

L = 400 mm

t = 2.5 mm

k = 1.3 (for V die)

D = 25 mm

Bending force P = k.Y.L.t2 / D

= 1.3 x 500 x 400 x (2.5)2 / 25

= 65 KN

Example :

If the material as mentioned in the above example is to be bent at 900 using wiping die with radius
= 3.75 mm, what is the force requirement?

Solution : Here,Y = 500 MPa

L = 400 mm

t = 2.5 mm

k = 0.3

D = 2.5 + 3.75 + 3.75 = 10mm (see Fig 6.3)

Fig 6.3

Bending force P = k.Y.L.t2 / D

= 0.3 x 500 x 400 x (2.5)2 / 10

= 37.5 KN

DRAWING

It is a process of cold forming a flat blank of sheet metal into a hollow vessel without much
wrinkling, trimming, or fracturing. The process involves forcing the sheet metal blank into a die cavity with
a punch. The punch exerts sufficient force and the metal is drawn over the edge of the die opening and
into the die, Fig 6.4. In forming a cup, however, the metal goes completely into the die, Fig 6.5.

Fig 6.4 Drawing operation.

Fig 6.5 Drawing operation.

The metal being drawn must possess a combination of ductility and strength so that it does not
rupture in the critical area (where the metal blends from the punch face to the vertical portion of the
punch). The metal in this area is subjected to stress that occurs when the metal is pulled from the flat
blank into the die.

OPERATION . A setup similar to that used for blanking is used for drawing with the difference that the
punch and die are given necessary rounding at the corners to permit smooth flow of metal during
drawing. The blank of appropriate dimensions is place within the guides on the die plate. The punch
descends slowly on the blank and metal is drawn into the die and the blank is formed into the shape of
cup as punch reaches the bottom of the die. When the cup reaches the counter bored portion of the die,
the top edge of the cup formed around the punch expands a bit due to the spring back . On the return
stroke of the punch, the cup is stripped off the punch by this counter bored portion.

The term shallow drawing is used when the height of cup formed is less than half its diameter.
When drawing deeper cup (height greater that diameter) the chances of excessive wrinkle formation at
the edges of blank increases. To prevent this, a blank holder is normally provided, see Fig 6.4. As the
drawing process proceeds the blank holder stops the blank from increasing in thickness beyond a limit
and allows the metal to flow radially. The limiting thickness is controlled by the gap between the die and
the blank holder, or by the spring pressure in the case of a spring loaded blank holder.

Some lubricant is generally used over the face of the blank to reduce friction and hence drawing
load.

Blank Size

It is generally difficult to find the exact size of the blank needed for drawing a given cup, because of
thinning and thickening of the metal sheet during the drawing operation. The following simple relations
can be used for determine the blank diameter D:
where d = outside diameter of cup

h = height of cup

r = corner radius on punch.

Drawing Force.

For drawing cylindrical shells having circular cross section, the maximum drawing force P can be
determined from the relation

P = k.t.d.t.Y

where d = outside diameter of cup

t = thickness of material

Y = yield strength of material

k = factor whose value is approx. equal to [D/d 0.6]

D = blank diameter

EMBOSSING

Embossing is an operation in which sheet metal is drawn to shallow depths with male and female
matching dies, Fig 6.6. The operation is carried out mostly for the purpose of stiffening flat panels.The
operation is also sometimes used for making decoration items like number plates or name plates, jewelry,
etc.
Fig 6.6 Embossing operation with two dies. Letters, numbers and designs on sheet-metal parts can be
produced by this operation.

COINING

Coining is a severe metal squeezing operation in which the flow of metal occurs only at the top layers of
the material and not throughout the values. The operation is carried out in closed dies mainly for the
purpose of producing fine details such as needed in minting coins, and medal or jewelry making. The
blank is kept in the die cavity and pressures as high as five to six times the strength of material are
applied. Depending upon the details required to be coined on the part, more than one coining operations
may be used.

The difference between coining and embossing is that the same design is created on both sides of the
work piece in embossing (one side depressed and the other raised ), whereas in coining operation, a
different design is created on each side of work piece.

Lecture 7

PRESSES FOR SHEET METAL WORKING

Classification of presses.

Types of presses for sheet metal working can be classified by one or a combination of characteristics,
such as source of power, number of slides, type of frame and construction, type of drive, and intended
applications.

Classification on the basis of source of power.

Manual Presses. These are either hand or foot operated through levers, screws or gears. A
common press of this type is the arbor press used for assembly operations.
Mechanical presses.These presses utilize flywheel energy which is transferred to the work piece
by gears, cranks, eccentrics, or levers.
Hydraulic Presses. These presses provide working force through the application of fluid pressure
on a piston by means of pumps, valves, intensifiers, and accumulators. These presses have
better performance and reliability than mechanical presses.
Pneumatic Presses. These presses utilize air cylinders to exert the required force. These are
generally smaller in size and capacity than hydraulic or mechanical presses, and therefore find
use for light duty operations only.

Classification on the basis of number of slides.

Single Action Presses. A single action press has one reciprocation slide that carries the tool for
the metal forming operation. The press has a fixed bed. It is the most widely used press for
operations like blanking, coining, embossing, and drawing.
Double Action Presses. A double action press has two slides moving in the same direction
against a fixed bed. It is more suitable for drawing operations, especially deep drawing, than
single action press. For this reason, its two slides are generally referred to as outer blank holder
slide and the inner draw slide. The blank holder slide is a hollow rectangle, while the inner slide is
a solid rectangle that reciprocates within the blank holder. The blank holder slide has a shorter
stroke and dwells at the bottom end of its stroke, before the punch mounted on the inner slide
touches the workpiece. In this way, practically the complete capacity of the press is available for
drawing operation.
Another advantage of double action press is that the four corners of the blank holder are individually
adjustable. This permits the application of non uniform forces on the work if needed.

A double action press is widely used for deep drawing operations and irregular shaped stampings.

Triple Action Presses. A triple action press has three moving slides. Two slides (the blank holder
and the inner slide) move in the same direction as in a double action press and the third or
lower slide moves upward through the fixed bed in a direction opposite to that of the other two
slides. This action allows reverse drawing, forming or bending operations against the inner slide
while both upper actions are dwelling.

Cycle time for a triple action press is longer than for a double action press because of the time
required for the third action.

Classification on the basis of frame and construction.

Arch Frame Presses. These presses have their frame in the shape of an arch. These are not
common.
Gap Frame Presses. These presses have a C-shaped frame. These are most versatile and
common in use, as they provide un obstructed access to the dies from three sides and their
backs are usually open for the ejection of stampings and / or scrap.
Straight Side Presses. These presses are stronger since the heavy loads can be taken in a
vertical direction by the massive side frame and there is little tendency for the punch and die
alignment to be affected by the strain. The capacity of these presses is usually greater than 10
MN.
Horn Presses. These presses generally have a heavy shaft projecting from the machine frame
instead of the usual bed. This press is used mainly on cylindrical parts involving punching,
riveting, embossing, and flanging edges.

Fig 7.1 shows typical frame designs.

Fig 7.1 Typical frame designs used for power presses.

Press Selection:

Proper selection of a press is necessary for successful and economical operation. Press is a costly
machine, and the return on investment depends upon how well it performs the job. There is no press that
can provide maximum productively and economy for all application so, when a press is required to be
used for several widely varying jobs, compromise is generally made between economy and productivity.

Important factors affecting the selection of a press are size, force, energy and speed requirements.

Size. Bed and slide areas of the press should be of enough size so as to accommodate the dies to be
used and to make available adequate space for die changing and maintenance. Stroke requirements are
related to the height of the parts to be produced. Press with short stroke should be preferred because it
would permit faster operation, thus increasing productivity. Size and type of press to be selected also
depends upon the method and nature of part feeding, the type of operation, and the material being
formed.

Force and Energy. Press selected should have the capacity to provide the force and energy necessary for
carrying out the operation. The major source of energy in mechanical presses is the flywheel, and the
energy available is a function of mass of flywheel and square of its speed.

Press Speed. Fast speeds are generally desirable, but they are limited by the operations performed. High
speed may not, however, be most productive or efficient. Size, shape and material of workpiece, die life,
maintenance costs, and other factors should be considered while attemping to achicve the highest
production rate at the lowest cost per piece.
Mechanical versus Hydraulic Presses:

Mechanical presses are very widely used for blanking, forming and drawing operations required to be
done on sheet metal. For certain operations which require very high force, for example, hydraulic presses
are more advantageous. Table 7.1 gives a comparison of characteristics and preferred application of the
two types of press.

Table 7.1 Comparison of Mechanical and Hydraulic Presses

Characteristic Mechanical Presses Hydraulic Presses

Dose not depend upon slide position.
Force Depends upon slide position.
Relatively constant.
Stroke length Short strokes Long strokes,even as much as 3 m.
Slow. Rapid advance and retraction.
Slide speed High. Highest at mid-stroke. Can be variable
Variable speeds uniform throughout stroke.
Capacity About 50 MN (maximum) About 500 MN, or even more.
Adjustable, slide reversal possible from any
Control Full stroke generally required before reversel.
position.
Operations requiring steady pressure
Operations requiring maximum pressure near
through-out stoke. Deep drawing. Drawing
bottom of stroke. Cutting operations(blanking,
Application irregular shaped parts. Straightening.
shearing, piercing, Forming and drawing to
Operations requiring variable forces and /or
depths of about 100 mm.
strokes.

Press Feeding Devices:

Safety is an important consideration in press operation and every precaution must be taken to protect the
operator. Material must be tried to be fed to the press that eliminates any chance of the operator having
his or her hands near the dies. The use of feeding device allows faster and uniform press feeding in
addition to the safety features.

Blank and Stamping Feeds.

Feeding of blanks or previously formed stampings to presses can be done in several ways. Selection of a
specific method depends upon factors like production rate needed, cost, and safety considerations.

Manual feeding. Feeding of blanks or stampings by hand is generally limited to low production rate
requirements which do not warrant the cost of automatic or semi- automatic feeding devices. Manual
feeding, however, is accomplished with the use of a guard or, if a guard is not possible, hand feeding
tools and a point of operation safety device. Some commonly used hand feeding tools are special
pliers, tongs, tweezes, vacuum lifters and magnetic pick ups.

Chute feeds. For feeding small blanks or stampings, simple chutes are often used. The blank slides by
gravity along rails in the bottom of the chute. Slide chutes are designed for a specific die and blank and
are generally attached permanently to the die so as to reduce setup time. Slide angle of 20 0 - 300 is
sufficient in most cases. Chute feeds need barrier guard enclosure for operation protection, with just
enough opening in the enclosure for the blanks to slide through to the die.

Push feeds. These feeds are used when blanks need orientation in specific relation to the die. Work piece
is manually placed in a nest in a slide, one at a time, and the slide pushed until the piece falls into the die
nest. An interlock is provided so that the press cannot be operation until the slide has correctly located
the part in the die. To increase production rate, push feeds can be automated by actuating the feed slide
through mechanical attachment to the press slide.

Lift and transfer devices . In some automatic installations vacuum or suction cups are used for lifting of
blanks one at a time from stacks and then moved to the die by transfer units. Separation of the top blank
from a stack is achieved by devices which are operated magnetically, pneumatically or mechanically.

Dial Feeds.

Dial feeds consist of rotary indexing tables (or turntables) having fixtures for holding workpiecs as they
are taken to the press tooling. Parts are placed in the fixtures at the loading station (which are located
away from the place of press operation) manually or by other means like chutes, hoppers, vibratory
feeders, robots etc. Such feeds are being increasingly used because of higher safety and productivity
associated with them.

Coil Stock Feed.

Two main classifications of automatic press feeds for coil stock are slide (or gripper) and roll feeds. Both
of these may be press or independently driven.

Mechanical slide feeds. Press driven slide feeds have a gripper arrangement which clamps and feeds
the stock during its forward movement and releases it on the return stroke. Material is prevented from
backing up during the return stroke of the gripper by a drag unit like a frictional brake. Grippers
reciprocate on rods or slides between adjustable positive stops to ensure accuracy. Slide feeds are
available in a variety of sizes and designs. These are generally best for narrow coil stock and short feed
lengths.

Hitch type feed. This feed differs from press driven mechanical slide feed in that actuation is by a
simple flat cam attached to the ram or punch holder instead of by the press. On the downward stroke of
the ram, one or more springs are compressed by the cam action, then on the upstroke, the springs
provide the force to feed stock into the die.

These feeds are best suited for coil stock of small to medium thickness and for relatively short feed
progression. These are one of the oldest and least expensive feeding devices still used very widely. Due
to their low cost, they are generally left permanently attached to the dies, thus reducing setup time.

Pneumatic slide feeds. These feeds are similar to mechanical slide feeds in that they have grippers or
clamps that reciprocate on guide rails or slides between adjustable positive stops to push and / or pull
stock into a die. However, these differ in that they are powered by an air cylinder, with actuation and
timing of valves by cam operated limit switches.

These feeds are best for short progression, and find wide applications in job shops because of their low
cost and versatility.

Roll feeds. In these feeds, coil stock is advanced by pressure exerted between intermittently driven,
opposed rolls which allow the stock to dwell during the working part of the press cycle. Intermittent
rotation (or indexing) of the feed rolls, with the rolls rotating in only one direction, is accomplished in many
ways. In one common design, the rolls are indexed through a one way clutch by a rack and pinion
mechanism that is actuated by an adjustable eccentric on the press crankshaft.

These feeds are available in several types and sizes to suit almost any width and thickness of stock.
Though their initial cost is slightly higher, their greater durability and lower maintenance cost account for
their extensive use.
Lecture 8

DIE AND PUNCH

A typical die and punch set used for blanking operation is shown in Fig 8.1. The sheet metal used
is called strip or stock. The punch which is held in the punch holder is bolted to the press ram while die is
bolted on the press table. During the working stroke, the punch penetrates the strip, and on the return
stroke of the press ram the strip is lifted with the punch, but it is removed from the punch by the stripper
plate. The stop pin is a gage and it sets the advance of the strip stock within the punch and die. The strip
stock is butted against the back stop acting as a datum location for the centre of the blank.

Fig 8.1.

The die opening is given angular clearance to permit escape of good part (blank). The waste
skelton of stock strip, from which blanks have been cut, is recovered as salvaged material.

The clearance angle provided on the die (Fig 8.1) depends on the material of stock, as well as its
thickness. For thicker and softer materials generally higher angular clearance is given. In most cases, 2
degree of angular clearance is sufficient. The height of cutting land of about 3 mm is generally sufficient.

Clearance

In blanking operation , the die size is taken as the blank size and the punch is made smaller giving
the necessary clearance between the die and the punch.

Die size = blank size

Punch size = blank size 2 x clearance

Clearance = k . t . t

where t is the shear strength of material, t is the thickness of sheet metal stock, and k is a constant whose
value may be taken as 0.003.

In a piercing operation , the following equations hold.

Punch size = blank size

Die size = blank size + 2 x clearance

Clearance = k . t . t

TYPES OF DIES

The components generally incorporated in a piercing or blanking die are shown in Fig 8.3. This
Figure shown the die in the conventional closed position. The die set is made up of the punch holder
which is fastened to the ram of the punch press and the die shoe which is fastened to the bolster plate of
the punch press.

Generally, the punch is fastened to the punch holder and aligned with the opening in the die block.
Fig 8.2 shows one type of stripper plate and push off pins. The stripper holds the scrap strip so that the
punch may pull out of the hole. The push off pins are needed to free the blank in instances where the
material strip clings to the bottom of the punch. This may be necessary for thin material, or where
lubricants are used on the material.

Fig 8.2

Sometimes the die and the punch positions may be interchanged. This may become necessary
when the opening in the bolster plate is too small to permit the finished product to pass through the
bolster opening. Fig 8.3 shows such a die.
Fig 8.3

Inverted die (Fig 8.3) is designed with the die block fastened to the punch holder and the punch
fastened to the die shoe. During the downward stroke of ram, the blank is sheared from the strip. The
blank and shedder are forced back into the die opening, which loads a compression spring in the die
opening . At the same time the punch is forced through the scrap strip and a spring attached to the
stripper is compressed and loaded. On the upstroke of the ram, the shedder pushes the blank out of the
die opening and the stripper forces the scrap strip off the punch. The finished part (blank) falls, or is
blown, out the rear of the press.

Compound die (Fig 8.4) combines the principles of the conventional and inverted dies in one
station. This type of die may produce a workpiece which is pierced and blanked at one station and in one
operation. The piercing punch is fastened in the conventional position to the punch holder. Its matching
die opening for piercing is machined into the blanking punch. The blanking punch and blanking die
opening are mounted in an inverted position. The blanking punch is fastened to the die shoe and the
blanking die opening is fastened to the punch holder.

Fig 8.4

Progressive dies are made with two or more stations arranged in a sequence. Each station performs an
operation on the workpiece, or provides an idler station, so that the workpiece is completed when the last
operation has been accomplished. Thereafter each stroke of the ram produces a finished part. Thus after
the fourth stroke of a four station die, each successive stroke will produce a finished part. Operations
which may be carried out in a progressive die are piercing, blanking, forming, drawing, cut off, etc. The
list of possible operations is long. The number and types of operations which may be performed in a
progressive die depends upon the ingenuity of the designer.

Fig 8.5 shows a four station progressive die. The die block is made up of four pieces and
fastened to the die shoe. This permits easy replacement of broken or worn die blocks. The stock is fed
from the right and registers against a finger strop (not shown). The first stroke of the press Fig 8.5(a)
produces a square hole and two notches. These notches form the left end of the first piece.

During the upstroke of ram, the stock is moved to the next station against a finger stop (not shown).
The stock is positioned for the second stroke. The second station is an idler, Fig 8.5(b). The right end of
the first piece, the left end of the second piece, and a second square hole are pierced.

Fig 8.5

The ram retracts and the scrap strip is moved to the third station against an automatic stop, Fig
8.5(c). This stop picks up the notched V and positions the scrap strip. The third stroke of the ram pierces
the four holes as shown in Fig 8.5(c). The fourth stroke, Fig 8.5(d), cuts off and forms the radii at the ends
of the finished piece. Thereafter every stroke produces a finished part, Fig 8.5(e).

Progressive dies generally have the cut off or blanking operation as the last operation. It is preferred to
have piercing operation as the first operation so that the pierced hole can be advantageously used as a
pilot hole. Alternatively, special pilot holes are pierced in the scrapped part of the stock. In certain special
cases, blanking is done at the first station, and the blank returned to the die by using spring plates and
then moved to the subsequent station by mechanical means or manually.

Progressive dies are used where higher production rates are desired and the material is neither too
thick nor too thin. Their use helps in cutting down the material handling costs.

Lecture 9

HIGH ENERGY RATE FORMING PROCESSES

 In these forming processes large amount of energy is applied for a very short interval of time. Many
metals tend to deform more readily under extra fast application of load which make these processes
useful to form large size parts out of most metals including those which are otherwise difficult to form.

The parts are formed at a rapid rate, and thus these processes are also called high velocity
forming processes. There are several advantages of using these forming processes, like die costs are
low, easy maintenance of tolerances, possibility of forming most metals, and material does not show
spring-back effect. The production cost of components by such processes is low. The limitation of these
processes is the need for skilled personnel.

There are three main high energy rate forming processes: explosive forming, magnetic forming,
and electro hydraulic forming. We shall discuss these processes.

Explosive Forming

Explosive forming, is distinguished from conventional forming in that the punch or diaphragm is
replaced by an explosive charge. The explosives used are generally high explosive chemicals, gaseous
mixtures, or propellants. There are two techniques of high explosive forming: stand off technique and
the contact technique.

Standoff Technique . The sheet metal work piece blank is clamped over a die and the assembly is
lowered into a tank filled with water. The air in the die is pumped out. The explosive charge is placed at
some predetermined distance from the work piece, see Fig 9.1. On detonation of the explosive, a
pressure pulse of very high intensity is produced. A gas bubble is also produced which expands
spherically and then collapses. When the pressure pulse impinges against the work piece, the metal is
deformed into the die with as high velocity as 120 m/s.

Fig 9.1 Sequeuce of underwater explosive forming operations.(i) explosive charge is set in position (ii)
pressure pulse and gas bubble are formed as the detonation of charge occurs, (iii) workpiece is
deformed, and (iv) gas bubbles vent at the surface of water.
 The use of water as the energy transfer medium ensures a uniform transmission of energy and
muffles the sound of the explosive blast. The process is versatile a large variety of shapes can be
formed, there is virtually no limit to the size of the work piece, and it is suitable for low quantity
production as well.

The process has been successfully used to form steel plates 25 mm thick x 4 m diameter and to
bulge steel tubes as thick as 25 mm.

Contact Technique. The explosive charge in the form of cartridge is held in direct contact with the work
piece while the detonation is initiated. The detonation builds up extremely high pressures (upto
30,000MPa) on the surface of the work piece resulting in metal deformation, and possible fracture. The
process is used often for bulging tubes, as shown in Fig 9.2.

Fig 9.2 Schematic illustration of contact technique of explosive forming.

The process is generally used for bulging of tubes.

Applications. Explosive forming is mainly used in the aerospace industries but has also found
successful applications in the production of automotive related components. The process has the greatest
potential in limited production prototype forming and for forming large size components for which
conventional tooling costs are prohibitively high.

Electro Magnetic Forming

The process is also called magnetic pulse forming and is mainly used for swaging type operations,
such as fastening fittings on the ends of tubes and crimping terminal ends of cables. Other applications
are blanking, forming, embossing, and drawing. The work coils needed for different applications vary
although the same power source may be used.

To illustrate the principle of electromagnetic forming, consider a tubular work piece. This work piece
is placed in or near a coil, Fig 9.3. A high charging voltage is supplied for a short time to a bank of
capacitors connected in parallel. (The amount of electrical energy stored in the bank can be increased
either by adding capacitors to the bank or by increasing the voltage). When the charging is complete,
which takes very little time, a high voltage switch triggers the stored electrical energy through the coil. A
high intensity magnetic field is established which induces eddy currents into the conductive work piece,
resulting in the establishment of another magnetic field. The forces produced by the two magnetic fields
oppose each other with the consequence that there is a repelling force between the coil and the tubular
work piece that causes permanent deformation of the work piece.

Fig 9.3 Various applications of magnetic forming process. (i) Swaging, (ii) Expanding, and (iii) Embossing
or blanking.

Either permanent or expandable coils may be used. Since the repelling force acts on the coil as
well the work, the coil itself and the insulation on it must be capable of withstanding the force, or else they
will be destroyed. The expandable coils are less costly and are also preferred when high energy level is
needed.

Magnetic forming can be accomplished in any of the following three ways, depending upon the
requirements.

Coil surrounding work piece. When a tube like part x is to fit over another part y (shown as
insert in Fig 9.3(i)), coil is designed to surround x so that when energized, would force the
material of x tightly around y to obtain necessary fit.
Coil inside work piece. Consider fixing of a collar on a tube like part, as shown in Fig 9.3(ii). The
magnetic coil is placed inside the tube like part, so that when energized would expand the
material of the part into the collar.
Coil on flat surface. Flat coil having spiral shaped winding can also be designed to be placed
either above or below a flat work piece, see Fig 9.3(iii).These coils are used in conjunction with a
die to form, emboss, blank, or dimple the work piece.
 In electromagnetic forming, the initial gap between the work piece and the die surface, called the fly
distance , must be sufficient to permit the material to deform plastically. From energy considerations, the
ideal pressure pulse should be of just enough magnitude that accelerates the part material to some
maximum velocity and then let the part come to zero velocity by the time it covers the full fly distance. All
forming coils fail, expendable coils fail sooner than durable coils, and because extremely high voltages
and currents are involved, it is essential that proper safety precautions are observed by the production
and maintenance personnel.

Applications

Electromagnetic forming process is capable of a wide variety of forming and assembly operations. It has
found extensive applications in the fabrication of hollow, non circular, or asymmetrical shapes from
tubular stock. The compression applications involve swaging to produce compression, tensile, and torque
joints or sealed pressure joints, and swaging to apply compression bands or shrink rings for fastening
components together. Flat coils have been used on flat sheets to produce stretch (internal) and shrink
(external) flanges on ring and disc shaped work pieces.

Electromagnetic forming has also been used to perform shearing, piercing, and rivettting.

Electro Hydraulic Forming

Electro hydraulic forming (EHF), also known as electro spark forming, is a process in which electrical
energy is converted into mechanical energy for the forming of metallic parts. A bank of capacitors is first
charged to a high voltage and then discharged across a gap between two electrodes, causing explosions
inside the hollow work piece, which is filled with some suitable medium, generally water. These
explosions produce shock waves that travel radially in all directions at high velocity until they meet some
obstruction. If the discharge energy is sufficiently high, the hollow work piece is deformed. The
deformation can be controlled by applying external restraints in the form of die or by varying the amount
of energy released, Fig 9.4.

Fig 9.4 Unrestrained and restrained electro-hydraulic forming process.

Advantages
 1. EHF can form hollow shapes with much ease and at less cost compared to other forming
techniques.
2. EHF is more adaptable to automatic production compared to other high energy rate forming
techniques.
3. EHF can produce small to intermediate sized parts that don't have excessive energy
requirements.

Accuracy of parts produced

Accuracy of electro hydraulically formed parts depends on the control of both the magnitude and location
of energy discharges and on the dimensional accuracy of the dies used. With the modern equipment, it is
now possible to precisely control the energy within specified limits, therefore the primary factor is the
dimensional accuracy of the die. External dimensions on tubular parts are possible to achieve within
0.05 mm with the current state of technology.

Materials formed

Materials having low ductility or having critical impact velocity less than 30 m/s are generally not
considered to be good candidate for EHF. All materials that can be formed by conventional forming
processes can be formed by EHF also. These materials are aluminum alloys, nickel alloys, stainless
steels, titanium, and Inconel 718.

Lecture 10

POWDER METALLURGY

Powder metallurgy (PM) is a metal working process for forming precision metal components from metal
powders. The metal powder is first pressed into product shape at room temperature. This is followed by
heating (sintering) that causes the powder particles to fuse together without melting.

The parts produced by PM have adequate physical and mechanical properties while completely meeting
the functional performance characteristics. The cost of producing a component of given shape and the
required dimensional tolerances by PM is generally lower than the cost of casting or making it as a
wrought product, because of extremely low scrap and the fewer processing steps. The cost advantage is
the main reason for selecting PM as a process of production for high volume component which needs to
be produced exactly to, or close to, final dimensions. Parts can be produced which are impregnated with
oil or plastic, or infiltrated with lower melting point metal. They can be electroplated, heat treated, and
machined if necessary.

The rate of production of parts is quite high, a few hundreds to several thousands per hour.

Industrial applications of PM parts are several. These include self lubricating bearings, porous metal
filters and a wide range of engineered shapes, such as gears, cams, brackets, sprockets, etc.

Process Details:

In the PM process the following three steps are followed in sequence: mixing (or blending), compacting,
and sintering.

Mixing: A homogeneous mixture of elemental metal powders or alloy powders is prepared. Depending
upon the need, powders of other alloys or lubricants may be added.
Compacting: A controlled amount of the mixed powder is introduced into a precision die and then it is
pressed or compacted at a pressure in the range 100 MPa to 1000 MPa. The compacting pressure
required depends on the characteristics and shape of the particles, the method of mixing, and on the
lubricant used. This is generally done at room temperature. In doing so, the loose powder is consolidated
and densified into a shaped model. The model is generally called green compact. As is comes out of the
die, the compact has the size and shape of the finished product. The strength of the compact is just
sufficient for in process handling and transportation to the sintering furnace.

Fig 10.1 Typical set of powder metallurgy tools.

To illustrate the process, let us take a straight cylindrical part such as a sleeve bearing. Fig 10.1 shows a
typical set of tools used for producing this part. The compacting cycle for this part (Fig 10.2) follows the
following steps.
Fig 10.2 Powder metallurgy compacting cycle.

1. With the upper punch in the withdrawn position, the empty die cavity is filled with mixed powder.
2. The metal powder in the die is pressed by simultaneous movement of upper and lower punches.
3. The upper punch is withdrawn, and the green compact is ejected from the die by the lower punch.
4. The green compact is pushed out of the pressing area so that the next operating cycle can start.

This compacting cycle is almost the same for all parts.

Sintering: During this step, the green compact is heated in a protective atmosphere furnace to a suitable
temperature, which is below the melting point of the metal. Typical sintering atmospheres are
endothermic gas, exothermic gas, dissociated ammonia, hydrogen, and nitrogen. Sintering temperature
varies from metal to metal; typically these are within 70 to 90% of the melting point of the metal or alloy.
Table 10.1 gives the sintering temperatures used for various metals. Sintering time varies with size and
metal of part. Table 10.1 also gives typical range of sintering time needed for various metals.

Table 10.1 Sintering temperature and time for various metal powders

Material Temperature Time

( 0C)
Copper, brass, bronze 760-900 10-40

Nickel 1000-1150 30-40

 Stainless steels 1100-1290 30-60

Ferrites 1200-1500 10-600

Tungsten carbide 1430-1500 20-30

Molybdenum 2050 120

Tungsten 2350 480

Tantalum 2400 480

Sintering is a solid state process which is responsible for producing physical and mechanical properties in
the PM part by developing metallurgical bond among the powder particles. It also serves to remove the
lubricant from the powder, prevents oxidation, and controls carbon content in the part. The structure and
porosity obtained in a sintered compact depend on the temperature, time, and processing details. It is not
possible to completely eliminate the porosity because voids cannot be completely closed by compaction
and because gases evolve during sintering. Porosity is an important characteristic for making PM
bearings and filters.

SECONDARY AND FINISHING OPERATIONS

Sometimes additional operations are carried out on sintered PM parts in order to further improve their
properties or to impart special characteristics. Some important operations are as under.

1. Coining and sizing. These are high pressure compacting operations. Their main function is to
impart (a) greater dimensional accuracy to the sintered part, and (b) greater strength and better
surface finish by further densification.
2. Forging. The sintered PM parts may be hot or cold forged to obtain exact shape, good surface
finish, good dimensional tolerances, and a uniform and fine grain size. Forged PM parts are being
increasingly used for such applications as highly stressed automotive, jet engine and turbine
components.
3. Impregnation. The inherent porosity of PM parts is utilized by impregnating them with a fluid like
oil or grease. A typical application of this operation is for sintered bearings and bushings that are
internally lubricated with upto 30% oil by volume by simply immersing them in heated oil. Such
components have a continuous supply of lubricant by capillary action, during their use. Universal
joint is a typical grease impregnated PM part.
4. Infiltration. The pores of sintered part are filled with some low melting point metal with the result
that part's hardness and tensile strength are improved. A slug of metal to be impregnated is kept
in close contact with the sintered component and together they are heated to the melting point of
the slug. The molten metal infiltrates the pores by capillary action. When the process is complete,
the component has greater density, hardness, and strength. Copper is often used for the
infiltration of iron base PM components. Lead has also been used for infiltration of components
like bushes for which lower frictional characteristics are needed.
5. Heat Treatment. Sintered PM components may be heat treated for obtaining greater hardness or
strength in them.
6. Machining. The sintered component may be machined by turning, milling, drilling, threading,
grinding, etc. to obtain various geometric features.
7. Finishing. Almost all the commonly used finishing method are applicable to PM parts. Some of
such methods are plating, burnishing, coating, and colouring.

Plating. For improved appearance and resistance to wear and corrosion, the sintered compacts may be
plated by electroplating or other plating processes. To avoid penetration and entrapment of plating
solution in the pores of the part, an impregnation or infiltration treatment is often necessary before plating.
Copper, zinc, nickel, chromium, and cadmium plating can be applied.

Burnishing. To work harden the surface or to improve the surface finish and dimensional accuracy,
burnishing may be done on PM parts. It is relatively easy to displace metal on PM parts than on wrought
parts because of surface porosity in PM parts.

Coating. PM sintered parts are more susceptible to environmental degradation than cast and machined
parts. This is because of inter connected porosity in PM parts. Coatings fill in the pores and seal the
entire reactive surface.

Colouring. Ferrous PM parts can be applied colour for protection against corrosion. Several methods are
in use for colouring. One common method to blacken ferrous PM parts is to do it chemically, using a salt
bath.

8. Joining. PM parts can be welded by several conventional methods. Electric resistance welding is
better suited than oxy- acetylene welding and arc welding because of oxidation of the interior
porosity. Argon arc welding is suitable for stainless steel PM parts.

Lecture 11

METAL POWDERS FOR PM

Metal powders play an extremely important role in powder metallurgy. These are highly engineered
materials. The particle size, shape and size distribution of metal powder affect the characteristics and
properties of the compacted product. A large number of types and grades of powders available which
makes possible the production of a wide variety of components for meeting numerous performance
requirements. All metals can be produced in powder form but not all have the desired properties which
are necessary for economical production. Some widely used metal powders for manufacturing PM parts
are listed in Table 11.1. The characteristic of powders given in this Table are significant from the
viewpoint of application feasibility for PM parts

Table 11.1 Widely used Metal Powders

Pure Metals: Alloys:

Aluminum Aluminium-iron

Antimony Brass

Berylium Copper-zinc-nickel

Bismuth Nickel-chromium

Cadmium Nickel-chromium-iron

Chromium Nickel-copper

Cobalt Nickel-iron
Copper Silicon-iron

Iron Solder

Lead Stainless steel

Manganese

Molybdenum Compounds:

Nickel Borides (chromium, tungsten, etc.)

Precious metals(gold, silver, platinum) Carbides (molybdenum, tungsten, etc.)

Rhenium Molybdenum disilicide

Silicon Nitrides (siliconn titanium, etc.)

Tantalum Zirconium hydride

Tin

Titanium

Tungsten

Vanadium

Zinc

Powder Production

All metal powders, because of their individual physical and chemical characteristics, cannot be produced
in the same way.

There are several methods for producing metal powders each giving different size and structure of the
particles. Table 11.2 gives important characteristics of powders produced by some commercial methods.
Also given in this Table are advantages and disadvantages of these methods. A brief description of some
of these methods follows.

Table 11.2 Metal Powder Characteristics

Apparent Density

The apparent density or specific gravity of a powder is expressed in kg/m 3 . It should be kept
constant. This means that the same amount of powder should be fed into the die each time.

Chemical Properties
These are the properties like the purity of the powder, amount of oxides permitted, and the
percentage of other elements allowed.

Compressibility

Compressibility is the ratio of the volume of intial powder to the volume of the compressed piece. It
varies considerably and is affected by the particle-size distribution and shape. Compressibility affects
the green strength of a compact.

Fineness

Fineness refers to the particle size and is determined by passing the powder through a standard
sieve or by microscopic measurement.

Flowablity

Flowablity is the characteristic of a powder that permits it to flow readily and conform to the mold
cavity. It can be described as the rate of flow through a fixed orifice.

Particle-Size Distribution

Particle-Size Distribution refers to the amount of each standard particle size in the powder. It
influences the flowablity and apparent density as well as porosity of the product.

Sintering Ability

Sintering ability is the suitability of a powder for bonding of particles by the application of heat.

Atomization: It is as excellent and very widely used method of producing metal powders. In case of low
melting point metals, the molten metal is kept in a tank. It is raised by the suction produced by hot air,
through a pipe to the atomizing nozzle. A fine stream of molten metal is broken into small droplets, which
solidify into metal powder particles. The size of particles can be controlled but the shape of particles
remains irregular. However, the technique used for high melting point metals is slightly different. A stream
of molten metal coming from an orifice at the bottom of a reservoir is broken up by a jet of atomizing fluid
(which may be inert gas, air , water or steam) into metal powder particles. It is possible to control the
powder characteristics (average particle size, particle shapes, particle size distribution, particle chemistry,
and particle structure) by changing the process variables (such as temperature, stream velocity, etc.) in
the atomizing process.

Electrolysis: Electrolytic deposition or electrolysis is a widely used method of producing powders of iron,
coppers, silver, and several other metals. For producing iron, for example, a tank containing a suitable
electrolyte is taken. In it steel plates are placed as anode and stainless steel plates are placed as
cathode. The two electrodes are connected to a powerful de source. In about 50 hours, a 2 mm thick
deposit of is obtained on the cathode plates. This deposit of electrolytic iron is stripped, washed,
screened, and sized. The iron powder may be annealed if its brittleness is to be reduced.

Reduction: In this process, metal oxide is reduced to metal powder through contact with a reducing gas at
temperature below the melting point. For example, in case of iron the iron oxide is crushed and passed
through a furnace. The hydrogen atmosphere in the furnace reacts with the oxygen of iron oxide at a
temperature of nearly 1050 0 C and pure iron with sponge like structure is obtained. In addition to iron,
other commonly produced commercially by this method include nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, and
tungsten.
 Machining and Grinding. Machining has been used to produce coarse magnesium powder. Milling and
grinding processes utilize various types of rotary mills, stamping mills, crushers, and grinders, break down
brittle metals into powders of almost any fineness but of irregular shaped particles.

There are several other methods involving precipitation, condensation and other chemical processes, that
are employed for producing metal powders.

Powder Mixing

Mixing of powders precedes compacting.

The process of mixing includes mixing of various metal powders with lubricants as a result of which the
powders are thoroughly intermingled. This is carried out in batch mixers. The surface friction properties of
the powders to be mixed significantly affect the properties of the mixtures. If the powders differ to much in
density, segregation of the heavier powder may occur because gravitational forces may be stronger than
the frictional forces.

The temperature during mixing affects the friction between powder particles. With increasing temperature,
the friction coefficient between most materials increases and the flow of powders is impaired. It is
therefore desirable to maintain lower mixing temperature.

When parts are pressed in rigid dies, the use of lubricant becomes essential in order to reduce friction
between powder particles and between the compact being pressed and the die wall and core rod. The
lubricant also reduces the pressure required to eject compacts from the die. The lubricant, which is
generally to 1% by weight, is introduced as a fine powder mixing time and the intensity of mixing
powder and lubricant affect flow and apparent density of the powder mixture.

Lecture 12

POWDER METALLURGY

Advantages: Metal in powder form is costlier than in solid form. Further, expensive dies and equipment
needed to adapt this process implies that the process is justified by the unusual properties obtained in the
products. Powder metallurgy offers the following specific advantages.

i.Parts can be produced from high melting point refractory metals with respectively less difficulty and at
less cost.

2. Production rates are high even for complex parts. This is primarily because of the use of
automated equipment in the process.

iii. Near net shape components are produced. The dimensional tolerances on components are
mostly such that no further machining is needed. Scrap is almost negligible.

iv. Parts can be made from a great variety of compositions. It is therefore much easy to have parts of
desired mechanical and physical properties like density, hardness toughness, stiffness, damping,
and specific electrical or magnetic properties.

v. Parts can be produced with impregnation and infiltration of other materials to obtain special
characteristics needed for specific applications.

vi. Skilled machinists are not needed, so labour cost is low

 vii. Parts with controlled porosity can be produced

viii. Bi-metallic products, sintered carbides and porous bearings can be produced only by this
process.

Limitations: Powder metallurgy has the following limitations.

i. High cost of metal powders compared to the cost of raw material used for casting or forging a
component. A few powders are even difficult to store without some deterioration.

ii. High cost of tooling and equipment. This is particularly a limitation when production volumes are
small.

iii. Large or complex shaped parts are difficult to produce by PM process.

iv. Parts have lower ductility and strength than those produced by forging.

v. Uniformly high density products are difficult to produce.

vi. Some powders (such as aluminum, magnesium, titanium and zirconium) in a finally divided state
present fire hazard and risk of explosion.

vii. Low melting point metal powders (such as of zinc, tin, cadmium) give thermal difficulties during
sintering operation, as most oxides of these metals cannot be reduced at temperatures below the
melting point.

Applications of Powder Metallurgy:

There is a great variety of machine components that are produced from metal powders, many of
these are put to use without any machining operation carried out on them. Following are some of the
prominent PM Products.

Filters: Permanent metal powder filters have greater strength and shock resistance than ceramic filters.
Fiber metal filters, having porosity upto 95% and more, are used for filtering air and fluids. Such filters find
use in dehydration for filtering air and fluids. Such filters find use in dehydrators for diffusing moisture
laden air around some drying agent such as silica gel, Fig 12.1.
Fig 12.1 Applications of powder metallurgy parts. Filiers can be used for diffusing or for separating.

These filters find wide usage also in petrol / diesel engines for separating dirt and moisture from
fuel system. Metal powder filters are also used for arresting flame and attenuating sound.

Cutting Tools and Dies. Cemented carbide cutting tool inserts find extensive applications in machine
shops. These are produced by PM from tungsten carbide powder mixed with cobalt binder.

Machinery Parts. Several machinery parts including gears, bushes and bearings, sprockets, rotors are
made from metal powders mixed with sufficient graphite to give to product the desired carbon content.
The parts have nearly 20 percent porosity. The pores of the parts which are to rub against another
surface in their use, are impregnated with oil to promote quiet operation.

Bearing and Bushes. Bearing and bushes to be used with rotating parts are made from copper powder
mixed with graphite. In small quantities, lead or tin may also be added for obtaining better wear
resistance. After sintering, the bearings are sized and then impregnated with oil by vacuum treatment.
Porosity in the bearings may be as high as 40 percent of the volume. Other machinery parts made by PM
include clutch plates, brake drums, ball retainers and welding rods.

Magnets. Small magnets produced from different compositions of powders of iron, aluminum, nickel and
cobalt have shown excellent performance, far superior to those cast.

Electrical Parts. The possibility of combining several metal powders and maintaining some characteristics
of each has promoted PM for production of electric contact parts. These parts are required to have
excellent electrical conductively, be wear resistant, and somewhat refractory. Several combinations such
as copper tungsten, cobalt tungsten, silver tungsten, copper-nickel, and silver molybdenum have
been used for production of these parts.

Economics of Powder Metallurgy:

 Since it is possible to produce near net shape parts by PM, there is usually very little scrap and
also no need for secondary manufacturing and assembly operations. PM is therefore becoming
increasingly competitive with conventional manufacturing processes like forging, casting, and machining.
The high initial cost of dies, punches, and equipment for PM processing, however, requires sufficiently
high production volume to make this process cost effective.

Design Considerations for PM Parts

The following recommendations should be kept in mind while designing parts to be made by PM

1. The shape of the part must permit ejection from the die.
2. The shape of the part must not require the powder to flow into thin walls, narrow passages, or
sharp corners.
3. The shape of the part should permit construction of strong and rigid tooling.
4. The shape of the part should make allowance for the length to which thin walled portion of the
part can be compacted.
5. The shape of the part should have the fewest possible change in section.
6. The special capabilities afforded by PM to produce certain part forms, should be utilized.

Lecture 1

Metal Casting

Introduction

Virtually nothing moves, turns, rolls, or flies without the benefit of cast metal products. The metal casting
industry plays a key role in all the major sectors of our economy. There are castings in locomotives, cars
trucks, aircraft, office buildings, factories, schools, and homes. Figure some metal cast parts.

Metal Casting is one of the oldest materials shaping methods known. Casting means pouring molten
metal into a mold with a cavity of the shape to be made, and allowing it to solidify. When solidified, the
desired metal object is taken out from the mold either by breaking the mold or taking the mold apart. The
solidified object is called the casting. By this process, intricate parts can be given strength and rigidity
frequently not obtainable by any other manufacturing process. The mold, into which the metal is poured,
is made of some heat resisting material. Sand is most often used as it resists the high temperature of the
molten metal. Permanent molds of metal can also be used to cast products.
Figure 0: Metal Cast parts

Advantages

The metal casting process is extensively used in manufacturing because of its many advantages.

1. Molten material can flow into very small sections so that intricate shapes can be made by this
process. As a result, many other operations, such as machining, forging, and welding, can be
minimized or eliminated.
2. It is possible to cast practically any material that is ferrous or non-ferrous.
3. As the metal can be placed exactly where it is required, large saving in weight can be achieved.
4. The necessary tools required for casting molds are very simple and inexpensive. As a result, for
production of a small lot, it is the ideal process.
5. There are certain parts made from metals and alloys that can only be processed this way.
6. Size and weight of the product is not a limitation for the casting process.

Limitations

1. Dimensional accuracy and surface finish of the castings made by sand casting processes are a
limitation to this technique. Many new casting processes have been developed which can take
into consideration the aspects of dimensional accuracy and surface finish. Some of these
processes are die casting process, investment casting process, vacuum-sealed molding process,
and shell molding process.
2. The metal casting process is a labor intensive process

History

Casting technology, according to biblical records, reaches back almost 5,000 years BC. Gold, pure in
nature, most likely caught Prehistoric man's fancyas he probably hammered gold ornaments out of the
gold nuggets he found. Silver would have been treated similarly. Mankind next found copper, because it
appeared in the ash of his camp fires from copper-bearing ore that he lined his fire pits with. Man soon
found that copper was harder than gold or silver. Copper did not bend up when used. So copper, found a
nitch' in man's early tools, and then marched it's way into Weaponry. But, long before all thisman found
clay. So he made pottery something to eat from. Then he thought, "nowwhat else can I do with this
mud" . Early man thought about it, "they used this pottery stuff, ( the first patterns ), to shape metal into
bowls ".

3200 B.C. A copper frog, the oldest known casting in existence, is cast in Mesopotamia.

233 B.C. Cast iron plowshares are poured in China.

500 A.D. Cast crucible steel is first produced in India, but the process is lost until 1750, when Benjamin
Huntsman reinvents it in England.

1455 Dillenburg Castle in Germany is the first to use cast iron pipe to transport water.

1480 Birth of Vannoccio Biringuccio (1480-1539), the "father of the foundry industry," in Italy. He is the
first man to document the foundry process in writing.

1709 Englishman Abraham Darby creates the first true foundry flask for sand and loam molding.

1750 Benjamin Huntsman reinvents the process of cast crucible steel in England. This process is the first
in which the steel is completely melted, producing a uniform composition within the melt. Since the
metal is completely molten, it also allows for alloy steel production, as the additional elements in
the alloy can be added to the crucible during melting. Prior steel production was accomplished by a
combination of forging and tempering, and the metal never reached a molten state.

1809 Centrifugal casting is developed by A. G. Eckhardt of Soho, England.

1896 American Foundrymen's Association (renamed American Foundrymen's Society in 1948 and now
called the American Foundry Society) is formed.

1897 Investment casting is rediscovered by B.F. Philbrook of Iowa. He uses it to cast dental inlays.

1947 The Shell process, invented by J. Croning of Germany during WWII, is discovered by U.S. officials
and made public.

1953 The Hotbox system of making and curing cores in one operation is developed, eliminating the need
for dielectric drying ovens.

1958 H.F. Shroyer is granted a patent for the full mold process, the forerunner of the expendable pattern
(lost foam) casting process.

1968 The Coldbox process is introduced by L. Toriello and J. Robins for high production core making.

1971 The Japanese develop V-Process molding. This method uses unbonded sand and a vacuum.

1971 Rheocasting is developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

1996 Cast metal matrix composites are first used in a production model automobile in the brake rotors for
the Lotus Elise.

Metal Casting History (India)

3000 BC Earliest castings include the 11 cm high bronze dancing girl found at Mohen-jo-daro.

2000 BC Iron pillars, arrows, hooks, nails, bowls and daggers or earlier have been found in Delhi,
Roopar, Nashik and other places.

500 BC Large scale state-owned mints and jewelry units, and processes of metal extraction and alloying
have been mentioned in Kautilya's Arthashastra

500 A.D. Cast crucible steel is first produced in India, but the process is lost until 1750, when Benjamin
Huntsman reinvents it in England

Lecture 2

Casting Terms (Click on the figure 1 to view)

1. Flask: A metal or wood frame, without fixed top or bottom, in which the mold is formed.
Depending upon the position of the flask in the molding structure, it is referred to by various
names such as drag lower molding flask, cope upper molding flask, cheek intermediate
molding flask used in three piece molding.
2. Pattern: It is the replica of the final object to be made. The mold cavity is made with the help of
 pattern.
3. Parting line: This is the dividing line between the two molding flasks that makes up the mold.
4. Molding sand: Sand, which binds strongly without losing its permeability to air or gases. It is a
mixture of silica sand, clay, and moisture in appropriate proportions.
5. Facing sand: The small amount of carbonaceous material sprinkled on the inner surface of the
mold cavity to give a better surface finish to the castings.
6. Core: A separate part of the mold, made of sand and generally baked, which is used to create
openings and various shaped cavities in the castings.
7. Pouring basin: A small funnel shaped cavity at the top of the mold into which the molten metal is
poured.
8. Sprue: The passage through which the molten metal, from the pouring basin, reaches the mold
cavity. In many cases it controls the flow of metal into the mold.
9. Runner: The channel through which the molten metal is carried from the sprue to the gate.
10. Gate: A channel through which the molten metal enters the mold cavity.
11. Chaplets: Chaplets are used to support the cores inside the mold cavity to take care of its own
weight and overcome the metallostatic force.
12. Riser: A column of molten metal placed in the mold to feed the castings as it shrinks and
solidifies. Also known as feed head.
13. Vent: Small opening in the mold to facilitate escape of air and gases.

Figure 1 : Mold Section showing some casting terms

Steps in Making Sand Castings

There are six basic steps in making sand castings:

1. Patternmaking
 2. Core making
3. Molding
4. Melting and pouring
5. Cleaning

Pattern making

The pattern is a physical model of the casting used to make the mold. The mold is made by packing some
readily formed aggregate material, such as molding sand, around the pattern. When the pattern is
withdrawn, its imprint provides the mold cavity, which is ultimately filled with metal to become the casting.
If the casting is to be hollow, as in the case of pipe fittings, additional patterns, referred to as cores, are
used to form these cavities.

Core making

Cores are forms, usually made of sand, which are placed into a mold cavity to form the interior surfaces of
castings. Thus the void space between the core and mold-cavity surface is what eventually becomes the
casting.

Molding

Molding consists of all operations necessary to prepare a mold for receiving molten metal. Molding
usually involves placing a molding aggregate around a pattern held with a supporting frame, withdrawing
the pattern to leave the mold cavity, setting the cores in the mold cavity and finishing and closing the
mold.

Melting and Pouring

The preparation of molten metal for casting is referred to simply as melting. Melting is usually done in a
specifically designated area of the foundry, and the molten metal is transferred to the pouring area where
the molds are filled.

Cleaning

Cleaning refers to all operations necessary to the removal of sand, scale, and excess metal from the
casting. Burned-on sand and scale are removed to improved the surface appearance of the casting.
Excess metal, in the form of fins, wires, parting line fins, and gates, is removed. Inspection of the casting
for defects and general quality is performed.

Lecture 3

Pattern (Click on Figure 2 to view a typical pattern)

The pattern is the principal tool during the casting process. It is the replica of the object to be made by the
casting process, with some modifications. The main modifications are the addition of pattern allowances,
and the provision of core prints. If the casting is to be hollow, additional patterns called cores are used to
create these cavities in the finished product. The quality of the casting produced depends upon the
material of the pattern, its design, and construction. The costs of the pattern and the related equipment
are reflected in the cost of the casting. The use of an expensive pattern is justified when the quantity of
castings required is substantial.
Functions of the Pattern

1. A pattern prepares a mold cavity for the purpose of making a casting.

2. A pattern may contain projections known as core prints if the casting requires a core and need to
be made hollow.
3. Runner, gates, and risers used for feeding molten metal in the mold cavity may form a part of the
pattern.
4. Patterns properly made and having finished and smooth surfaces reduce casting defects.
5. A properly constructed pattern minimizes the overall cost of the castings.

Pattern Material

Patterns may be constructed from the following materials. Each material has its own advantages,
limitations, and field of application. Some materials used for making patterns are: wood, metals and
alloys, plastic, plaster of Paris, plastic and rubbers, wax, and resins. To be suitable for use, the pattern
material should be:

1. Easily worked, shaped and joined

2. Light in weight
3. Strong, hard and durable
4. Resistant to wear and abrasion
5. Resistant to corrosion, and to chemical reactions
6. Dimensionally stable and unaffected by variations in temperature and humidity
7. Available at low cost

The usual pattern materials are wood, metal, and plastics. The most commonly used pattern material is
wood, since it is readily available and of low weight. Also, it can be easily shaped and is relatively cheap.
The main disadvantage of wood is its absorption of moisture, which can cause distortion and dimensional
changes. Hence, proper seasoning and upkeep of wood is almost a pre-requisite for large-scale use of
wood as a pattern material.
Figure 2: A typical pattern attached with gating and risering system

Pattern Allowances

Pattern allowance is a vital feature as it affects the dimensional characteristics of the casting. Thus, when
the pattern is produced, certain allowances must be given on the sizes specified in the finished
component drawing so that a casting with the particular specification can be made. The selection of
correct allowances greatly helps to reduce machining costs and avoid rejections. The allowances usually
considered on patterns and core boxes are as follows:

1. Shrinkage or contraction allowance

2. Draft or taper allowance
3. Machining or finish allowance
4. Distortion or camber allowance
5. Rapping allowance

Shrinkage or Contraction Allowance ( click on Table 1 to view various rate of contraction of

various materials)

All most all cast metals shrink or contract volumetrically on cooling. The metal shrinkage is of two types:

i. Liquid Shrinkage: it refers to the reduction in volume when the metal changes from liquid state
to solid state at the solidus temperature. To account for this shrinkage; riser, which feed
the liquid metal to the casting, are provided in the mold.
ii. Solid Shrinkage: it refers to the reduction in volume caused when metal loses temperature in
solid state. To account for this, shrinkage allowance is provided on the patterns.
The rate of contraction with temperature is dependent on the material. For example steel contracts to a
higher degree compared to aluminum. To compensate the solid shrinkage, a shrink rule must be used in
laying out the measurements for the pattern. A shrink rule for cast iron is 1/8 inch longer per foot than a
standard rule. If a gear blank of 4 inch in diameter was planned to produce out of cast iron, the shrink rule
in measuring it 4 inch would actually measure 4 -1/24 inch, thus compensating for the shrinkage. The
various rate of contraction of various materials are given in Table 1.

Table 1 : Rate of Contraction of Various Metals

Material Dimension Shrinkage allowance (inch/ft)

Grey Cast Iron Up to 2 feet 0.125
2 feet to 4 feet 0.105
over 4 feet 0.083
Cast Steel Up to 2 feet 0.251
2 feet to 6 feet 0.191
over 6 feet 0.155
Aluminum Up to 4 feet 0.155
4 feet to 6 feet 0.143
over 6 feet 0.125
Magnesium Up to 4 feet 0.173
Over 4 feet 0.155

Exercise 1

The casting shown is to be made in cast iron using a wooden pattern. Assuming only shrinkage
allowance, calculate the dimension of the pattern. All Dimensions are in Inches

Solution 1

The shrinkage allowance for cast iron for size up to 2 feet is o.125 inch per feet (as per Table 1)

For dimension 18 inch, allowance = 18 X 0.125 / 12 = 0.1875 inch 0.2 inch

For dimension 14 inch, allowance = 14 X 0.125 / 12 = 0.146 inch 0.15 inch

For dimension 8 inch, allowance = 8 X 0.125 / 12 = 0.0833 inch 0. 09 inch

For dimension 6 inch, allowance = 6 X 0.125 / 12 = 0.0625 inch 0. 07 inch

The pattern drawing with required dimension is shown below:

Lecture 4

Draft or Taper Allowance

By draft is meant the taper provided by the pattern maker on all vertical surfaces of the pattern so that it
can be removed from the sand without tearing away the sides of the sand mold and without excessive
rapping by the molder. Figure 3 (a) shows a pattern having no draft allowance being removed from the
pattern. In this case, till the pattern is completely lifted out, its sides will remain in contact with the walls of
the mold, thus tending to break it. Figure 3 (b) is an illustration of a pattern having proper draft allowance.
Here, the moment the pattern lifting commences, all of its surfaces are well away from the sand surface.
Thus the pattern can be removed without damaging the mold cavity.

Figure 3 (a) Pattern Having No Draft on Vertical Edges

Figure 3 (b) Pattern Having Draft on Vertical Edges

Draft allowance varies with the complexity of the sand job. But in general inner details of the pattern
require higher draft than outer surfaces. The amount of draft depends upon the length of the vertical side
of the pattern to be extracted; the intricacy of the pattern; the method of molding; and pattern material.
Table 2 provides a general guide lines for the draft allowance.

Table 2 : Draft Allowances of Various Metals

Pattern material Height of the given Draft angle Draft angle

surface (inch)
(External surface) (Internal surface)
1 3.00 3.00

1 to 2 1.50 2.50

Wood 2 to 4 1.00 1.50

4 to 8 0.75 1.00

8 to 32 0.50 1.00
1 1.50 3.00
Metal and plastic
1 to 2 1.00 2.00
 2 to 4 0.75 1.00

4 to 8 0.50 1.00

8 to 32 0.50 0.75

Machining or Finish Allowance

The finish and accuracy achieved in sand casting are generally poor and therefore when the casting is
functionally required to be of good surface finish or dimensionally accurate, it is generally achieved by
subsequent machining. Machining or finish allowances are therefore added in the pattern dimension. The
amount of machining allowance to be provided for is affected by the method of molding and casting used
viz. hand molding or machine molding, sand casting or metal mold casting. The amount of machining
allowance is also affected by the size and shape of the casting; the casting orientation; the metal; and the
degree of accuracy and finish required. The machining allowances recommended for different metal is
given in Table 3.

Table 3 : Machining Allowances of Various Metals

Metal Dimension (inch) Allowance (inch)

Up to 12 0.12

Cast iron 12 to 20 0.20

20 to 40 0.25
Up to 6 0.12

Cast steel 6 to 20 0.25

20 to 40 0.30
Up to 8 0.09

Non ferrous 8 to 12 0.12

12 to 40 0.16

Exercise 2

The casting shown is to be made in cast iron using a wooden pattern. Assuming only machining
allowance, calculate the dimension of the pattern. All Dimensions are in Inches
Solution 2

The machining allowance for cast iron for size, up to 12 inch is o.12 inch and from 12 inch to 20 inch is
0.20 inch ( (Table 3)

For dimension 18 inch, allowance = 0.20 inch

For dimension 14 inch, allowance = 0.20 inch

For dimension 8 inch, allowance = 0.12 inch

For dimension 6 inch, allowance = 0.12 inch

The pattern drawing with required dimension is shown in Figure below

Distortion or Camber Allowance

Sometimes castings get distorted, during solidification, due to their typical shape. For example, if the
casting has the form of the letter U, V, T, or L etc. it will tend to contract at the closed end causing the
vertical legs to look slightly inclined. This can be prevented by making the legs of the U, V, T, or L shaped
pattern converge slightly (inward) so that the casting after distortion will have its sides vertical ( (Figure 4).

The distortion in casting may occur due to internal stresses. These internal stresses are caused on
account of unequal cooling of different section of the casting and hindered contraction. Measure taken to
prevent the distortion in casting include:

i. Modification of casting design

ii. Providing sufficient machining allowance to cover the distortion affect
iii. Providing suitable allowance on the pattern, called camber or distortion allowance (inverse
reflection)
Figure 4: Distortions in Casting

Rapping Allowance

Before the withdrawal from the sand mold, the pattern is rapped all around the vertical faces to enlarge
the mold cavity slightly, which facilitate its removal. Since it enlarges the final casting made, it is desirable
that the original pattern dimension should be reduced to account for this increase. There is no sure way of
quantifying this allowance, since it is highly dependent on the foundry personnel practice involved. It is a
negative allowance and is to be applied only to those dimensions that are parallel to the parting plane.

Core and Core Prints

Castings are often required to have holes, recesses, etc. of various sizes and shapes. These impressions
can be obtained by using cores. So where coring is required, provision should be made to support the
core inside the mold cavity. Core prints are used to serve this purpose. The core print is an added
projection on the pattern and it forms a seat in the mold on which the sand core rests during pouring of
the mold. The core print must be of adequate size and shape so that it can support the weight of the core
during the casting operation. Depending upon the requirement a core can be placed horizontal, vertical
and can be hanged inside the mold cavity. A typical job, its pattern and the mold cavity with core and core
print is shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5: A Typical Job, its Pattern and the Mold Cavity

Lecture 5

Types of Pattern

Patterns are of various types, each satisfying certain casting requirements.

1. Single
piece
pattern
2. Split or
two piece
pattern
3. Match
plate
pattern

Single Piece Pattern

The one piece or single pattern is the most inexpensive of all types of patterns. This type of pattern is
used only in cases where the job is very simple and does not create any withdrawal problems. It is also
used for application in very small-scale production or in prototype development. This type of pattern is
expected to be entirely in the drag and one of the surface is is expected to be flat which is used as the
parting plane. A gating system is made in the mold by cutting sand with the help of sand tools. If no such
flat surface exists, the molding becomes complicated. A typical one-piece pattern is shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6: A Typical One Piece Pattern

Split or Two Piece Pattern

Split or two piece pattern is most widely used type of pattern for intricate castings. It is split along the
parting surface, the position of which is determined by the shape of the casting. One half of the pattern is
molded in drag and the other half in cope. The two halves of the pattern must be aligned properly by
making use of the dowel pins, which are fitted, to the cope half of the pattern. These dowel pins match
with the precisely made holes in the drag half of the pattern. A typical split pattern of a cast iron wheel
Figure 7 (a) is shown in Figure 7 (b).

Figure 7 (a): The Details of a Cast Iron Wheel

Figure 7 (b): The Split Piece or Two Piece Pattern of a Cast Iron Wheel

Classification of casting Processes

Casting processes can be classified into following FOUR categories:

1. Conventional Molding Processes

a. Green Sand Molding

b. Dry Sand Molding
c. Flask less Molding

2. Chemical Sand Molding Processes

a. Shell Molding
b. Sodium Silicate Molding
c. No-Bake Molding

3. Permanent Mold Processes

a. Gravity Die casting

b. Low and High Pressure Die Casting

4. Special Casting Processes

a. Lost Wax
b. Ceramics Shell Molding
c. Evaporative Pattern Casting
d. Vacuum Sealed Molding
e. Centrifugal Casting

Green Sand Molding

Green sand is the most diversified molding method used in metal casting operations. The process utilizes
a mold made of compressed or compacted moist sand. The term "green" denotes the presence of
moisture in the molding sand. The mold material consists of silica sand mixed with a suitable bonding
agent (usually clay) and moisture.

Advantages

1. Most metals can be cast by this method.

2. Pattern costs and material costs are relatively low.
3. No Limitation with respect to size of casting and type of metal or alloy used
Disadvantages

Surface Finish of the castings obtained by this process is not good and machining is often required to
achieve the finished product.

Sand Mold Making Procedure

The procedure for making mold of a cast iron wheel is shown in (Figure 8(a),(b),(c)).

The first step in making mold is to place the pattern on the molding board.
The drag is placed on the board ((Figure 8(a)).
Dry facing sand is sprinkled over the board and pattern to provide a non sticky layer.
Molding sand is then riddled in to cover the pattern with the fingers; then the drag is completely
filled.
The sand is then firmly packed in the drag by means of hand rammers. The ramming must be
proper i.e. it must neither be too hard or soft.
After the ramming is over, the excess sand is leveled off with a straight bar known as a strike rod.
With the help of vent rod, vent holes are made in the drag to the full depth of the flask as well as
to the pattern to facilitate the removal of gases during pouring and solidification.
The finished drag flask is now rolled over to the bottom board exposing the pattern.
Cope half of the pattern is then placed over the drag pattern with the help of locating pins. The
cope flask on the drag is located aligning again with the help of pins ( (Figure 8 (b)).
The dry parting sand is sprinkled all over the drag and on the pattern.
A sprue pin for making the sprue passage is located at a small distance from the pattern. Also,
riser pin, if required, is placed at an appropriate place.
The operation of filling, ramming and venting of the cope proceed in the same manner as
performed in the drag.
The sprue and riser pins are removed first and a pouring basin is scooped out at the top to pour
the liquid metal.
Then pattern from the cope and drag is removed and facing sand in the form of paste is applied
all over the mold cavity and runners which would give the finished casting a good surface finish.
The mold is now assembled. The mold now is ready for pouring (see ((Figure 8 (c) )

Figure 8 (a)
Figure 8 (b)

Figure 8 (c)

Figure 8 (a, b, c): Sand Mold Making Procedure

Lecture 6

Molding Material and Properties

A large variety of molding materials is used in foundries for manufacturing molds and cores. They include
molding sand, system sand or backing sand, facing sand, parting sand, and core sand. The choice of
molding materials is based on their processing properties. The properties that are generally required in
molding materials are:

Refractoriness

It is the ability of the molding material to resist the temperature of the liquid metal to be poured so that it
does not get fused with the metal. The refractoriness of the silica sand is highest.

Permeability

During pouring and subsequent solidification of a casting, a large amount of gases and steam is
generated. These gases are those that have been absorbed by the metal during melting, air absorbed
from the atmosphere and the steam generated by the molding and core sand. If these gases are not
allowed to escape from the mold, they would be entrapped inside the casting and cause casting defects.
To overcome this problem the molding material must be porous. Proper venting of the mold also helps in
escaping the gases that are generated inside the mold cavity.

Green Strength

The molding sand that contains moisture is termed as green sand. The green sand particles must have
the ability to cling to each other to impart sufficient strength to the mold. The green sand must have
enough strength so that the constructed mold retains its shape.

Dry Strength

When the molten metal is poured in the mold, the sand around the mold cavity is quickly converted into
dry sand as the moisture in the sand evaporates due to the heat of the molten metal. At this stage the
molding sand must posses the sufficient strength to retain the exact shape of the mold cavity and at the
same time it must be able to withstand the metallostatic pressure of the liquid material.

Hot Strength

As soon as the moisture is eliminated, the sand would reach at a high temperature when the metal in the
mold is still in liquid state. The strength of the sand that is required to hold the shape of the cavity is called
hot strength.

Collapsibility

The molding sand should also have collapsibility so that during the contraction of the solidified casting it
does not provide any resistance, which may result in cracks in the castings.Besides these specific
properties the molding material should be cheap, reusable and should have good thermal conductivity.

Molding Sand Composition

The main ingredients of any molding sand are:

Base sand,
Binder, and
Moisture

Base Sand
Silica sand is most commonly used base sand. Other base sands that are also used for making mold are
zircon sand, Chromite sand, and olivine sand. Silica sand is cheapest among all types of base sand and it
is easily available.

Binder

Binders are of many types such as:

1. Clay binders,
2. Organic binders and
3. Inorganic binders

Clay binders are most commonly used binding agents mixed with the molding sands to provide the
strength. The most popular clay types are:

Kaolinite or fire clay (Al2O3 2 SiO2 2 H2O) and Bentonite (Al2O3 4 SiO2 nH2O)

Of the two the Bentonite can absorb more water which increases its bonding power.

Moisture

Clay acquires its bonding action only in the presence of the required amount of moisture. When water is
added to clay, it penetrates the mixture and forms a microfilm, which coats the surface of each flake of
the clay. The amount of water used should be properly controlled. This is because a part of the water,
which coats the surface of the clay flakes, helps in bonding, while the remainder helps in improving the
plasticity. A typical composition of molding sand is given in (Table 4).

Table 4 : A Typical Composition of Molding Sand

Molding Sand Constituent Weight Percent

Silica sand 92
Clay (Sodium Bentonite) 8
Water 4

Lecture 7

Dry Sand Molding

When it is desired that the gas forming materials are lowered in the molds, air-dried molds are sometimes
preferred to green sand molds. Two types of drying of molds are often required.

1. Skin drying and

2. Complete mold drying.

In skin drying a firm mold face is produced. Shakeout of the mold is almost as good as that obtained with
green sand molding. The most common method of drying the refractory mold coating uses hot air, gas or
oil flame. Skin drying of the mold can be accomplished with the aid of torches, directed at the mold
surface.

Shell Molding Process

It is a process in which, the sand mixed with a
thermosetting resin is allowed to come in
contact with a heated pattern plate (200 oC),
this causes a skin (Shell) of about 3.5 mm of
sand/plastic mixture to adhere to the pattern..
Then the shell is removed from the pattern.
The cope and drag shells are kept in a flask
with necessary backup material and the
molten metal is poured into the mold.

This process can produce complex parts with

good surface finish 1.25 m to 3.75 m, and
dimensional tolerance of 0.5 %. A good
surface finish and good size tolerance reduce
the need for machining. The process overall is
quite cost effective due to reduced machining
and cleanup costs. The materials that can be
used with this process are cast irons, and
aluminum and copper alloys.

Molding Sand in Shell Molding Process

The molding sand is a mixture of fine grained quartz sand and powdered bakelite. There are two methods
of coating the sand grains with bakelite. First method is Cold coating method and another one is the hot
method of coating.

In the method of cold coating, quartz sand is poured into the mixer and then the solution of powdered
bakelite in acetone and ethyl aldehyde are added. The typical mixture is 92% quartz sand, 5% bakelite,
3% ethyl aldehyde. During mixing of the ingredients, the resin envelops the sand grains and the solvent
evaporates, leaving a thin film that uniformly coats the surface of sand grains, thereby imparting fluidity to
the sand mixtures.

In the method of hot coating, the mixture is heated to 150-180 o C prior to loading the sand. In the course
of sand mixing, the soluble phenol formaldehyde resin is added. The mixer is allowed to cool up to 80
90 o C. This method gives better properties to the mixtures than cold method.

Sodium Silicate Molding Process

In this process, the refractory material is coated with a sodium silicate-based binder. For molds, the sand
mixture can be compacted manually, jolted or squeezed around the pattern in the flask. After compaction,
CO 2 gas is passed through the core or mold. The CO 2 chemically reacts with the sodium silicate to
cure, or harden, the binder. This cured binder then holds the refractory in place around the pattern. After
curing, the pattern is withdrawn from the mold.

The sodium silicate process is one of the most environmentally acceptable of the chemical processes
available. The major disadvantage of the process is that the binder is very hygroscopic and readily
absorbs water, which causes a porosity in the castings.. Also, because the binder creates such a hard,
rigid mold wall, shakeout and collapsibility characteristics can slow down production. Some of the
advantages of the process are:

A hard, rigid core and mold are typical of the process, which gives the casting good dimensional
tolerances;
good casting surface finishes are readily obtainable;
Permanent Mold Process

In al the above processes, a mold need to be prepared for each of the casting produced. For large-scale
production, making a mold, for every casting to be produced, may be difficult and expensive. Therefore, a
permanent mold, called the die may be made from which a large number of castings can be produced. ,
the molds are usually made of cast iron or steel, although graphite, copper and aluminum have been
used as mold materials. The process in which we use a die to make the castings is called permanent
mold casting or gravity die casting, since the metal enters the mold under gravity. Some time in die-
casting we inject the molten metal with a high pressure. When we apply pressure in injecting the metal it
is called pressure die casting process.

Advantages

Permanent Molding produces a sound dense casting with superior mechanical properties.
The castings produced are quite uniform in shape have a higher degree of dimensional accuracy
than castings produced in sand
The permanent mold process is also capable of producing a consistent quality of finish on
castings

Disadvantages

The cost of tooling is usually higher than for sand castings

The process is generally limited to the production of small castings of simple exterior design,
although complex castings such as aluminum engine blocks and heads are now commonplace.

Centrifugal Casting

In this process, the mold is rotated rapidly about its central axis as the metal is poured into it. Because of
the centrifugal force, a continuous pressure will be acting on the metal as it solidifies. The slag, oxides
and other inclusions being lighter, get separated from the metal and segregate towards the center. This
process is normally used for the making of hollow pipes, tubes, hollow bushes, etc., which are
axisymmetric with a concentric hole. Since the metal is always pushed outward because of the centrifugal
force, no core needs to be used for making the concentric hole. The mold can be rotated about a vertical,
horizontal or an inclined axis or about its horizontal and vertical axes simultaneously. The length and
outside diameter are fixed by the mold cavity dimensions while the inside diameter is determined by the
amount of molten metal poured into the mold.Figure 9(Vertical Centrifugal Casting), Figure 10 ( Horizontal
Centrifugal Casting)
Figure 9: (Vertical Centrifugal Casting)
Figure 10: (Horizontal Centrifugal Casting)

Advantages

Formation of hollow interiors in cylinders without cores

Less material required for gate
Fine grained structure at the outer surface of the casting free of gas and shrinkage cavities and
porosity

Disadvantages

More segregation of alloy component during pouring under the forces of rotation
Contamination of internal surface of castings with non-metallic inclusions
Inaccurate internal diameter

Lecture 8

Investment Casting Process

The root of the investment casting process, the cire perdue or lost wax method dates back to at least
the fourth millennium B.C. The artists and sculptors of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia used the
rudiments of the investment casting process to create intricately detailed jewelry, pectorals and idols. The
investment casting process alos called lost wax process begins with the production of wax replicas or
patterns of the desired shape of the castings. A pattern is needed for every casting to be produced. The
patterns are prepared by injecting wax or polystyrene in a metal dies. A number of patterns are attached
to a central wax sprue to form a assembly. The mold is prepared by surrounding the pattern with
refractory slurry that can set at room temperature. The mold is then heated so that pattern melts and
flows out, leaving a clean cavity behind. The mould is further hardened by heating and the molten metal is
poured while it is still hot. When the casting is solidified, the mold is broken and the casting taken out.

The basic steps of the investment casting process are ( Figure 11 ) :

1. Production of heat-disposable wax, plastic, or polystyrene patterns

2. Assembly of these patterns onto a gating system
3. Investing, or covering the pattern assembly with refractory slurry
4. Melting the pattern assembly to remove the pattern material
5. Firing the mold to remove the last traces of the pattern material
6. Pouring
7. Knockout, cutoff and finishing.
Figure 11: The Basic Steps of the Investment Casting Process

Advantages

Formation of hollow interiors in cylinders without cores

Less material required for gate
Fine grained structure at the outer surface of the casting free of gas and shrinkage cavities and
porosity

Disadvantages

More segregation of alloy component during pouring under the forces of rotation
Contamination of internal surface of castings with non-metallic inclusions
Inaccurate internal diameter

Ceramic Shell Investment Casting Process

The basic difference in investment casting is that in the investment casting the wax pattern is immersed in
a refractory aggregate before dewaxing whereas, in ceramic shell investment casting a ceramic shell is
built around a tree assembly by repeatedly dipping a pattern into a slurry (refractory material such as
zircon with binder). After each dipping and stuccoing is completed, the assembly is allowed to thoroughly
dry before the next coating is applied. Thus, a shell is built up around the assembly. The thickness of this
shell is dependent on the size of the castings and temperature of the metal to be poured.

After the ceramic shell is completed, the entire assembly is placed into an autoclave or flash fire furnace
at a high temperature. The shell is heated to about 982 o C to burn out any residual wax and to develop a
high-temperature bond in the shell. The shell molds can then be stored for future use or molten metal can
be poured into them immediately. If the shell molds are stored, they have to be preheated before molten
metal is poured into them.

Advantages

excellent surface finish

tight dimensional tolerances
machining can be reduced or completely eliminated

Lecture 9

Full Mold Process / Lost Foam Process / Evaporative Pattern Casting Process

The use of foam patterns for metal casting was patented by H.F. Shroyer on April 15, 1958. In Shroyer's
patent, a pattern was machined from a block of expanded polystyrene (EPS) and supported by bonded
sand during pouring. This process is known as the full mold process. With the full mold process, the
pattern is usually machined from an EPS block and is used to make primarily large, one-of-a kind
castings. The full mold process was originally known as the lost foam process. However, current patents
have required that the generic term for the process be full mold.

In 1964, M.C. Flemmings used unbounded sand with the process. This is known today as lost foam
casting (LFC). With LFC, the foam pattern is molded from polystyrene beads. LFC is differentiated from
full mold by the use of unbounded sand (LFC) as opposed to bonded sand (full mold process).

Foam casting techniques have been referred to by a variety of generic and proprietary names. Among
these are lost foam, evaporative pattern casting, cavity less casting, evaporative foam casting, and full
mold casting.

In this method, the pattern, complete with gates and risers, is prepared from expanded polystyrene. This
pattern is embedded in a no bake type of sand. While the pattern is inside the mold, molten metal is
poured through the sprue. The heat of the metal is sufficient to gasify the pattern and progressive
displacement of pattern material by the molten metal takes place.

The EPC process is an economical method for producing complex, close-tolerance castings using an
expandable polystyrene pattern and unbonded sand. Expandable polystyrene is a thermoplastic material
that can be molded into a variety of complex, rigid shapes. The EPC process involves attaching
expandable polystyrene patterns to an expandable polystyrene gating system and applying a refractory
coating to the entire assembly. After the coating has dried, the foam pattern assembly is positioned on
loose dry sand in a vented flask. Additional sand is then added while the flask is vibrated until the pattern
assembly is completely embedded in sand. Molten metal is poured into the sprue, vaporizing the foam
polystyrene, perfectly reproducing the pattern.
In this process, a pattern refers to the expandable polystyrene or foamed polystyrene part that is
vaporized by the molten metal. A pattern is required for each casting.

Process Description ((Figure 12)

1. The EPC procedure starts with the pre-expansion of beads, usually polystyrene. After the pre-
expanded beads are stabilized, they are blown into a mold to form pattern sections. When the
beads are in the mold, a steam cycle causes them to fully expand and fuse together.
2. The pattern sections are assembled with glue, forming a cluster. The gating system is also
attached in a similar manner.
3. The foam cluster is covered with a ceramic coating. The coating forms a barrier so that the
molten metal does not penetrate or cause sand erosion during pouring.
4. After the coating dries, the cluster is placed into a flask and backed up with bonded sand.
5. Mold compaction is then achieved by using a vibration table to ensure uniform and proper
compaction. Once this procedure is complete, the cluster is packed in the flask and the mold is
ready to be poured .

Figure 12: The Basic Steps of the Evaporative Pattern Casting Process

Advantages
The most important advantage of EPC process is that no cores are required. No binders or other
additives are required for the sand, which is reusable. Shakeout of the castings in unbonded sand is
simplified. There are no parting lines or core fins.

Lecture 10

Vacuum Sealed Molding Process

It is a process of making molds utilizing dry sand, plastic film and a physical means of binding using
negative pressure or vacuum. V-process was developed in Japan in 1971. Since then it has gained
considerable importance due to its capability to produce dimensionally accurate and smooth castings.
The basic difference between the V-process and other sand molding processes is the manner in which
sand is bounded to form the mold cavity. In V-process vacuum, of the order of 250 450 mm Hg, is
imposed to bind the dry free flowing sand encapsulated in between two plastic films. The technique
involves the formation of a mold cavity by vacuum forming of a plastic film over the pattern, backed by
unbounded sand, which is compacted by vibration and held rigidly in place by applying vacuum. When
the metal is poured into the molds, the plastic film first melts and then gets sucked just inside the sand
voids due to imposed vacuum where it condenses and forms a shell-like layer. The vacuum must be
maintained until the metal solidifies, after which the vacuum is released allowing the sand to drop away
leaving a casting with a smooth surface. No shakeout equipment is required and the same sand can be
cooled and reused without further treatment.

Sequence of Producing V-Process Molds

The Pattern is set on the Pattern Plate of Pattern Box. The Pattern as well as the Pattern Plate
has Numerous Small Holes. These Holes Help the Plastic Film to Adhere Closely on Pattern
When Vacuum is Applied.
A Heater is used to Soften the Plastic Film
The Softened Plastic Film Drapes over the Pattern. The Vacuum Suction Acts through the Vents
(Pattern and Pattern Plate) to draw it so that it adheres closely to the Pattern.
The Molding Box is Set on the Film Coated Pattern
The Molding Box is filled with Dry Sand. Slight Vibration Compacts the Sand
Level the Mold. Cover the Top of Molding Box with Plastic Film. Vacuum Suction Stiffens the
Mold.
Release the Vacuum on the Pattern Box and Mold Strips Easily.
Cope and Drag are assembled and Metal is poured. During Pouring the Mold is Kept under
Vacuum
After Cooling, the Vacuum is released. Free Flowing Sand Drops Away, Leaving a Clean Casting

Advantages

Exceptionally Good Dimensional Accuracy

Good Surface Finish
Longer Pattern Life
Consistent Reproducibility
Low Cleaning / Finishing Cost

Click to view the sequence of producing V - Process Mode.

Lecture 11

Melting Practices
Melting is an equally important parameter for obtaining a quality castings. A number of furnaces can be
used for melting the metal, to be used, to make a metal casting. The choice of furnace depends on the
type of metal to be melted. Some of the furnaces used in metal casting are as following:.

Crucible furnaces
Cupola
Induction furnace
Reverberatory furnace

Crucible Furnace.

Crucible furnaces are small capacity typically used for small melting applications. Crucible furnace is
suitable for the batch type foundries where the metal requirement is intermittent. The metal is placed in a
crucible which is made of clay and graphite. The energy is applied indirectly to the metal by heating the
crucible by coke, oil or gas.The heating of crucible is done by coke, oil or gas. .

Coke-Fired Furnace(Figure 13) .

Primarily used for non-ferrous metals

Furnace is of a cylindrical shape
Also known as pit furnace
Preparation involves: first to make a deep bed of coke in the furnace
Burn the coke till it attains the state of maximum combustion
Insert the crucible in the coke bed
Remove the crucible when the melt reaches to desired temperature

Figure 13: Coke Fired Crucible Furnace

Oil-Fired Furnace.

Primarily used for non-ferrous metals

Furnace is of a cylindrical shape
Advantages include: no wastage of fuel
Less contamination of the metal
Absorption of water vapor is least as the metal melts inside the closed metallic furnace

Cupola

Cupola furnaces are tall, cylindrical furnaces used to melt iron and ferrous alloys in foundry operations.
Alternating layers of metal and ferrous alloys, coke, and limestone are fed into the furnace from the top. A
schematic diagram of a cupola is shown in Figure14 . This diagram of a cupola illustrates the furnace's
cylindrical shaft lined with refractory and the alternating layers of coke and metal scrap. The molten metal
flows out of a spout at the bottom of the cupola. .

Description of Cupola

The cupola consists of a vertical cylindrical steel sheet and lined inside with acid refractory bricks.
The lining is generally thicker in the lower portion of the cupola as the temperature are
higher than in upper portion
There is a charging door through which coke, pig iron, steel scrap and flux is charged
The blast is blown through the tuyeres
These tuyeres are arranged in one or more row around the periphery of cupola
Hot gases which ascends from the bottom (combustion zone) preheats the iron in the preheating
zone
Cupolas are provided with a drop bottom door through which debris, consisting of coke, slag etc.
can be discharged at the end of the melt
A slag hole is provided to remove the slag from the melt
Through the tap hole molten metal is poured into the ladle
At the top conical cap called the spark arrest is provided to prevent the spark emerging to outside

Operation of Cupola

The cupola is charged with wood at the bottom. On the top of the wood a bed of coke is built. Alternating
layers of metal and ferrous alloys, coke, and limestone are fed into the furnace from the top. The purpose
of adding flux is to eliminate the impurities and to protect the metal from oxidation. Air blast is opened for
the complete combustion of coke. When sufficient metal has been melted that slag hole is first opened to
remove the slag. Tap hole is then opened to collect the metal in the ladle.
.Figure 14: Schematic of a Cupola

Lecture 12

Reverberatory furnace

A furnace or kiln in which the material under treatment is heated indirectly by means of a flame deflected
downward from the roof. Reverberatory furnaces are used in opper, tin, and nickel production, in the
production of certain concretes and cements, and in aluminum. Reverberatory furnaces heat the metal to
melting temperatures with direct fired wall-mounted burners. The primary mode of heat transfer is through
radiation from the refractory brick walls to the metal, but convective heat transfer also provides additional
heating from the burner to the metal. The advantages provided by reverberatory melters is the high
volume processing rate, and low operating and maintenance costs. The disadvantages of the
reverberatory melters are the high metal oxidation rates, low efficiencies, and large floor space
requirements. A schematic of Reverberatory furnace is shown in Figure 15
Figure 15: Schematic of a Reverberatory Furnace

Induction furnace

Induction heating is a heating method. The heating by the induction method occurs when an electrically
conductive material is placed in a varying magnetic field. Induction heating is a rapid form of heating in
which a current is induced directly into the part being heated. Induction heating is a non-contact form of
heating.

The heating system in an induction furnace includes:

1. Induction heating power supply,

2. Induction heating coil,
3. Water-cooling source, which cools the coil and several internal components inside the power
supply.

The induction heating power supply sends alternating current through the induction coil, which generates
a magnetic field. Induction furnaces work on the principle of a transformer. An alternative
electromagnetic field induces eddy currents in the metal which converts the electric energy to heat
without any physical contact between the induction coil and the work piece. A schematic diagram of
induction furnace is shown in Figure 16. The furnace contains a crucible surrounded by a water cooled
copper coil. The coil is called primary coil to which a high frequency current is supplied. By induction
secondary currents, called eddy currents are produced in the crucible. High temperature can be obtained
by this method. Induction furnaces are of two types: cored furnace and coreless furnace. Cored furnaces
are used almost exclusively as holding furnaces. In cored furnace the electromagnetic field heats the
metal between two coils. Coreless furnaces heat the metal via an external primary coil.
Figure 16: Schematic of a Induction Furnace

Advantages of Induction Furnace

Induction heating is a clean form of heating

High rate of melting or high melting efficiency
Alloyed steels can be melted without any loss of alloying elements
Controllable and localized heating

Disadvantages of Induction Furnace

High capital cost of the equipment

High operating cost

Lecture 13 & 14

Gating System

The assembly of channels which facilitates the molten metal to enter into the mold cavity is called the
gating system (Figure17). Alternatively, the gating system refers to all passage ways through which
molten metal passes to enter into the mold cavity. The nomenclature of gating system depends upon the
function of different channels which they perform.

Down gates or sprue

Cross gates or runners
Ingates or gates
The metal flows down from the pouring basin or pouring cup into the down gate or sprue and passes
through the cross gate or channels and ingates or gates before entering into the mold cavity.

Figure 17: Schematic of Gating System

Goals of Gating System

The goals for the gating system are

To minimize turbulence to avoid trapping gasses into the mold

To get enough metal into the mold cavity before the metal starts to solidify
To avoid shrinkage
Establish the best possible temperature gradient in the solidifying casting so that the shrinkage if
occurs must be in the gating system not in the required cast part.
Incorporates a system for trapping the non-metallic inclusions

Hydraulic Principles used in the Gating System

Reynold's Number

Nature of flow in the gating system can be established by calculating Reynold's number
 RN = Reynold's number

V = Mean Velocity of flow

D = diameter of tubular flow

m = Kinematics Viscosity = Dynamic viscosity / Density

r = Fluid density

When the Reynold's number is less than 2000 stream line flow results and when the number is more than
2000 turbulent flow prevails. As far as possible the turbulent flow must be avoided in the sand mold as
because of the turbulence sand particles gets dislodged from the mold or the gating system and may
enter into the mould cavity leading to the production of defective casting. Excess turbulence causes

Inclusion of dross or slag

Air aspiration into the mold
Erosion of the mold walls

Bernoulli's Equation

h = height of liquid

P = Static Pressure

n = metal velocity

g = Acceleration due to gravity

r = Fluid density

Turbulence can be avoided by incorporating small changes in the design of gating system. The sharp
changes in the flow should be avoided to smooth changes. The gating system must be designed in such
a way that the system always runs full with the liquid metal. The most important things to remember in
designing runners and gates are to avoid sharp corners. Any changes in direction or cross sectional area
should make use of rounded corners.

To avoid the aspiration the tapered sprues are designed in the gating systems. A sprue tapered to a
smaller size at its bottom will create a choke which will help keep the sprue full of molten metal.

Types of Gating Systems (Figure18a, 18b)

The gating systems are of two types:

Pressurized gating system

Un-pressurized gating system
Pressurized Gating System

The total cross sectional area decreases towards the mold cavity
Back pressure is maintained by the restrictions in the metal flow
Flow of liquid (volume) is almost equal from all gates
Back pressure helps in reducing the aspiration as the sprue always runs full
Because of the restrictions the metal flows at high velocity leading to more turbulence and
chances of mold erosion

Un-Pressurized Gating System

The total cross sectional area increases towards the mold cavity
Restriction only at the bottom of sprue
Flow of liquid (volume) is different from all gates
aspiration in the gating system as the system never runs full
Less turbulence

Fig 18a : Pressurized Gating System

Fig 18b : Un-Pressurized Gating System

Riser

Riser is a source of extra metal which flows from riser to mold cavity to compensate for shrinkage which
takes place in the casting when it starts solidifying. Without a riser heavier parts of the casting will have
shrinkage defects, either on the surface or internally.

Risers are known by different names as metal reservoir, feeders, or headers.

Shrinkage in a mold, from the time of pouring to final casting, occurs in three stages.

1. during the liquid state

2. during the transformation from liquid to solid
3. during the solid state

First type of shrinkage is being compensated by the feeders or the gating system. For the second type of
shrinkage risers are required. Risers are normally placed at that portion of the casting which is last to
freeze. A riser must stay in liquid state at least as long as the casting and must be able to feed the casting
during this time.
Functions of Risers

Provide extra metal to compensate for the volumetric shrinkage

Allow mold gases to escape
Provide extra metal pressure on the solidifying mold to reproduce mold details more exact

Design Requirements of Risers

1. Riser size: For a sound casting riser must be last to freeze. The ratio of (volume / surface area) 2
of the riser must be greater than that of the casting. However, when this condition does not meet
the metal in the riser can be kept in liquid state by heating it externally or using exothermic
materials in the risers.
2. Riser placement: the spacing of risers in the casting must be considered by effectively calculating
the feeding distance of the risers.
3. Riser shape: cylindrical risers are recommended for most of the castings as spherical risers,
although considers as best, are difficult to cast. To increase volume/surface area ratio the bottom
of the riser can be shaped as hemisphere.

Lecture 15

Casting Defects (Figure19)

The following are the major defects, which are likely to occur in sand castings

Gas defects
Shrinkage cavities
Molding material defects
Pouring metal defects
Mold shift

Gas Defects

A condition existing in a casting caused by the trapping of gas in the molten metal or by mold gases
evolved during the pouring of the casting. The defects in this category can be classified into blowholes
and pinhole porosity. Blowholes are spherical or elongated cavities present in the casting on the surface
or inside the casting. Pinhole porosity occurs due to the dissolution of hydrogen gas, which gets
entrapped during heating of molten metal.

Causes

The lower gas-passing tendency of the mold, which may be due to lower venting, lower permeability of
the mold or improper design of the casting. The lower permeability is caused by finer grain size of the
sand, high percentage of clay in mold mixture, and excessive moisture present in the mold.

Metal contains gas

Mold is too hot
Poor mold burnout

Shrinkage Cavities

These are caused by liquid shrinkage occurring during the solidification of the casting. To compensate for
this, proper feeding of liquid metal is required. For this reason risers are placed at the appropriate places
in the mold. Sprues may be too thin, too long or not attached in the proper location, causing shrinkage
cavities. It is recommended to use thick sprues to avoid shrinkage cavities.

Molding Material Defects

The defects in this category are cuts and washes, metal penetration, fusion, and swell.

Cut and washes

These appear as rough spots and areas of excess metal, and are caused by erosion of molding sand by
the flowing metal. This is caused by the molding sand not having enough strength and the molten metal
flowing at high velocity. The former can be taken care of by the proper choice of molding sand and the
latter can be overcome by the proper design of the gating system.

Metal penetration

When molten metal enters into the gaps between sand grains, the result is a rough casting surface. This
occurs because the sand is coarse or no mold wash was applied on the surface of the mold. The coarser
the sand grains more the metal penetration.

Fusion

This is caused by the fusion of the sand grains with the molten metal, giving a brittle, glassy appearance
on the casting surface. The main reason for this is that the clay or the sand particles are of lower
refractoriness or that the pouring temperature is too high.

Swell

Under the influence of metallostatic forces, the mold wall may move back causing a swell in the
dimension of the casting. A proper ramming of the mold will correct this defect.

Inclusions

Particles of slag, refractory materials, sand or deoxidation products are trapped in the casting during
pouring solidification. The provision of choke in the gating system and the pouring basin at the top of the
mold can prevent this defect.

Pouring Metal Defects

The likely defects in this category are

Mis-runs and
Cold shuts.

A mis-run is caused when the metal is unable to fill the mold cavity completely and thus leaves unfilled
cavities. A mis-run results when the metal is too cold to flow to the extremities of the mold cavity before
freezing. Long, thin sections are subject to this defect and should be avoided in casting design.

A cold shut is caused when two streams while meeting in the mold cavity, do not fuse together properly
thus forming a discontinuity in the casting. When the molten metal is poured into the mold cavity through
more-than-one gate, multiple liquid fronts will have to flow together and become one solid. If the flowing
metal fronts are too cool, they may not flow together, but will leave a seam in the part. Such a seam is
called a cold shut, and can be prevented by assuring sufficient superheat in the poured metal and thick
enough walls in the casting design.

The mis-run and cold shut defects are caused either by a lower fluidity of the mold or when the section
thickness of the casting is very small. Fluidity can be improved by changing the composition of the metal
and by increasing the pouring temperature of the metal.

Mold Shift

The mold shift defect occurs when cope and drag or molding boxes have not been properly aligned.

Figure 19 : Casting Defects

Lecture 1

Introduction:

Welding which is the process of joining two metallic components for the desired purpose, can be defined
as the process of joining two similar or dissimilar metallic components with the application of heat, with or
without the application of pressure and with or without the use of filler metal. Heat may be obtained by
chemical reaction, electric arc, electrical resistance, frictional heat, sound and light energy. If no filter
metal is used during welding then it is termed as Autogenous Welding Process'.

During Bronze Age' parts were joined by forge welding to produce tools, weapons and ornaments etc,
however, present day welding processes have been developed within a period of about a century.

First application of welding with carbon electrode was developed in 1885 while metal arc welding with
bare electrode was patented in 1890. However, these developments were more of experimental value
and applicable only for repair welding but proved to be the important base for present day manual metal
arc (MMAW) welding and other arc welding processes.

In the mean time resistance butt welding was invented in USA in the year 1886. Other resistance welding
processes such as spot and flash welding with manual application of load were developed around 1905.

With the production of cheap oxygen in 1902, oxy acetylene welding became feasible in Europe in
1903.

When the coated electrodes were developed in 1907, the manual metal arc welding process become
viable for production/fabrication of components and assemblies in the industries on large scale.

Subsequently other developments are as follows:

Thermit Welding (1903)

Cellulosic Electrodes (1918)

Arc Stud Welding (1918)

Seam Welding of Tubes (1922)

Mechanical Flash Welder for Joining Rails (1924)

Extruded Coating for MMAW Electrodes (1926)

Submerged Arc Welding (1935)

Air Arc Gouging (1939)

 Inert Gas Tungsten Arc (TIG) Welding (1941)

Iron Powder Electrodes with High Recovery (1944)

Inert Gas Metal Arc (MIG) Welding (1948)

Electro Slag Welding (1951)

Flux Cored Wire with CO 2 Shielding (1954)

Electron Beam Welding (1954)

Constricted Arc (Plasma) for Cutting (1955)

Friction Welding (1956)

Plasma Arc Welding (1957)

Electro Gas Welding (1957)

Short Circuit Transfer for Low Current, Low Voltage Welding with CO 2 Shielding (1957)

Vacuum Diffusion Welding (1959)

Explosive Welding (1960)

Laser Beam Welding (1961)

High Power CO 2 Laser Beam Welding (1964)

All welded Liberty ' ships failure in 1942, gave a big jolt to application of welding. However, it had drawn
attention to fracture problem in welded structures.

Applications:

Although most of the welding processes at the time of their developments could not get their place in the
production except for repair welding, however, at the later stage these found proper place in
manufacturing/production. Presently welding is widely being used in fabrication of pressure vessels,
bridges, building structures, aircraft and space crafts, railway coaches and general applications. It is also
being used in shipbuilding, automobile, electrical, electronic and defense industries, laying of pipe lines
and railway tracks and nuclear installations etc.

General Applications:

Welding is vastly being used for construction of transport tankers for transporting oil, water, milk and
fabrication of welded tubes and pipes, chains, LPG cylinders and other items. Steel furniture, gates, doors
and door frames, body and other parts of white goods items such as refrigerators, washing machines,
microwave ovens and many other items of general applications are fabricated by welding.

Pressure Vessels:
One of the first major use of welding was in the fabrication of pressure vessels. Welding made
considerable increases in the operating temperatures and pressures possible as compared to riveted
pressure vessels.

Bridges:

Early use of welding in bridge construction took place in Australia . This was due to problems in
transporting complete riveted spans or heavy riveting machines necessary for fabrication on site to
remote areas. The first all welded bridge was erected in UK in 1934. Since then all welded bridges are
erected very commonly and successfully.

Ship Building :

Ships were produced earlier by riveting. Over ten million rivets were used in Queen Mary' ship which
required skills and massive organization for riveting but welding would have allowed the semiskilled/
unskilled labor and the principle of pre-fabrication. Welding found its place in ship building around 1920
and presently all welded ships are widely used. Similarly submarines are also produced by welding.

Building Structures:

Arc welding is used for construction of steel building leading to considerable savings in steel and money.
In addition to building, huge structures such as steel towers etc also require welding for fabrication.

Aircraft and Spacecraft:

Similar to ships, aircrafts were produced by riveting in early days but with the introduction of jet engines
welding is widely used for aircraft structure and for joining of skin sheet to body.

Space vehicles which have to encounter frictional heat as well as low temperatures require outer skin and
other parts of special materials. These materials are welded with full success achieving safety and
reliability.

Railways:

Railways use welding extensively for fabrication of coaches and wagons, wheel tyres laying of new
railway tracks by mobile flash butt welding machines and repair of cracked/damaged tracks by thermit
welding.

Automobiles:

Production of automobile components like chassis, body and its structure, fuel tanks and joining of door
hinges require welding.

Electrical Industry:

Starting from generation to distribution and utilization of electrical energy, welding plays important role.
Components of both hydro and steam power generation system, such as penstocks, water control gates,
condensers, electrical transmission towers and distribution system equipment are fabricated by welding.
Turbine blades and cooling fins are also joined by welding.

Electronic Industry:
Electronic industry uses welding to limited extent such as for joining leads of special transistors but other
joining processes such as brazing and soldering are widely being used. Soldering is used for joining
electronic components to printed circuit boards. Robotic soldering is very common for joining of parts to
printed circuit boards of computers, television, communication equipment and other control equipment
etc.

Nuclear Installations:

Spheres for nuclear reactor, pipe line bends joining two pipes carrying heavy water and other
components require welding for safe and reliable operations.

Defence Industry:

Defence industry requires welding for joining of many components of war equipment. Tank bodies
fabrication, joining of turret mounting to main body of tanks are typical examples of applications of
welding.

Micro-Joining:

It employs the processes such as micro-plasma, ultrasonic, laser and electron beam welding, for joining
of thin wire to wire, foil to foil and foil to wire, such as producing junctions of thermocouples, strain gauges
to wire leads etc.

Apart from above applications welding is also used for joining of pipes, during laying of crude oil and gas
pipelines, construction of tankers for their storage and transportation. Offshore structures, dockyards,
loading and unloading cranes are also produced by welding.

Lecture 2

Classification of Welding Processes:

Welding processes can be classified based on following criteria;

1. Welding with or without filler material.

2. Source of energy of welding.
3. Arc and Non-arc welding.
4. Fusion and Pressure welding.

1. Welding can be carried out with or without the application of filler material. Earlier only gas
welding was the fusion process in which joining could be achieved with or without filler material.
When welding was done without filler material it was called autogenous welding'. However, with
the development of TIG, electron beam and other welding processes such classification created
confusion as many processes shall be falling in both the categories.
2. Various sources of energies are used such as chemical, electrical, light, sound, mechanical
energies, but except for chemical energy all other forms of energies are generated from electrical
energy for welding. So this criterion does not justify proper classification.
3. Arc and Non-arc welding processes classification embraces all the arc welding processes in one
class and all other processes in other class. In such classification it is difficult to assign either of
the class to processes such as electroslag welding and flash butt welding, as in electroslag
welding the process starts with arcing and with the melting of sufficient flux the arc extinguishes
while in flash butt welding tiny arcs i.e. sparks are established during the process and then
components are pressed against each other. Therefore, such classification is also not perfect.
 4. Fusion welding and pressure welding is most widely used classification as it covers all processes
in both the categories irrespective of heat source and welding with or without filler material. In
fusion welding all those processes are included where molten metal solidifies freely while in
pressure welding molten metal if any is retained in confined space under pressure (as may be in
case of resistance spot welding or arc stud welding) solidifies under pressure or semisolid metal
cools under pressure. This type of classification poses no problems so it is considered as the best
criterion.

Processes falling under the categories of fusion and pressure welding are shown in Figures 2.1 and 2.2.

Figure 2.1: Classification of Fusion Welding Processes

Figure 2.2: Classification of Pressure Welding Processes

Lecture 3

Brazing and Soldering:

Both brazing and soldering are the metal joining processes in which parent metal does not melt but only
filler metal melts filling the joint with capillary action. If the filler metal is having melting temperature more
than 450C but lower than the melting temperature of components then it is termed as process of brazing
or hard soldering. However, if the melting temperature of filler metal is lower than 450C and also lower
than the melting point of the material of components then it is know as soldering or soft soldering.

During brazing or soldering flux is also used which performs the following functions:

Dissolve oxides from the surfaces to be joined.

Reduce surface tension of molten filler metal i.e. increasing its wetting action or spreadability.

Protect the surface from oxidation during joining operation.

The strength of brazed joint is higher than soldered joint but lower than welded joint. However, in between
welding and brazing there is another process termed as braze welding'.

Braze Welding:

Unlike brazing, in braze welding capillary action plays no role but the filler metal which has liquidus above
450 C but below the melting point of parent metal, fills the joint like welding without the melting of edges
of parent metal. During the operation, the edges of the parent metal are heated by oxy-acetylene flame or
some other suitable heat source to that temperature so that parent metal may not melt but melting
temperature of filler metal is reached. When filler rod is brought in contact with heated edges of parent
metal, the filler rod starts melting, filling the joint. If edges temperature falls down then again heat source
is brought for melting filler rod. The molten filler metal and parent metal edges produce adhesion on
cooling resulting into strong braze weld.
The braze welding filler material is normally brass with 60% Cu and remaining Zn with small additions of
tin, manganese and silicon. The small additions of elements improve the deoxidizing and fluidity
characteristics of filler metal.

Brazing:

The most commonly used filler metal is copper base zinc alloy consisting of normally 50-60% Cu,
approximately 40% Zn, 1% Ni, 0.7 % Fe and traces of Si and Mn, which is brass and termed as 'spelter'.
In some cases around 10% Ni may also be added to filler alloys. Copper base alloys may be available in
the form of rod, strip and wire. Silver brazing filler metal may consists of 30-55% Ag, 15-35% Cu, 15-28%
Zn, 18-24% Cd and sometimes 2-3% Ni or 5% Sn. Silver brazing alloys are available in form of wire, strip,
rods and powders.

Borax and boric acid are commonly used fluxes for brazing with copper base filler metals. Many other
commercial fluxes may be available in the form of paste or liquid solution leading to ease of application
and adherence to the surface in any position.

Various commonly used method of brazing are followings:

Torch Brazing

Torch brazing utilizes the heat of oxy-acetylene flame with neutral or reducing flame. Filler metal may be
either preplaced in form of washers, rings, formed strips, powders or may be fed manually in form of rod.

Dip Brazing

In dip brazing components with filler metal in proper form is preplaced at the joint and assembly is dipped
in bath of molten salt which acts as heat source as well as flux for brazing. Preplaced preform melts and
fills the joint. Another variant is to dip assembled parts in metallic bath and metal of bath fills the joint.

Furnace Brazing

Self fixturing assembly with preplaced filler metal is placed inside electrically heated furnace with
temperature control for heating and cooling. These furnaces may also be using protective atmosphere
with inert gases like argon and helium or vacuum for brazing of reactive metal components.

Infra-red Brazing

The heat for brazing is obtained from infra-red lamps. Heat rays can be concentrated at desired area or
spot with concave reflectors. Such method of brazing requires automation and parts to be joined should
be self fixturing. Filler metal is to be preplaced in the joint. The operation can be performed in air or in
inert atmosphere or in vacuum.
 Induction Brazing

The heat is generated by induced current into the workpiece from a water cooled coil which surrounds the
workpieces to be brazed. High frequencies employed vary from 5 to 400 kHz. Higher the frequency of
current, shallow is the heating effect while lower frequencies of current lead to deeper heating and so it
can be employed for thicker sections. Fluxes may or may not be used during brazing.

Resistance Brazing

In resistance brazing the heat is generated at the interfaces to be brazed by resistive heating. The
components are connected to high current and low voltage power supply through two electrodes under
pressure. Only those fluxes are used which are electrically conductive and filler metal is preplaced.

Fig 3.2: Typical Self Fixturing Brazing Assembly

Fig 3.3: Preplaced Brazing Material and filling of joint during Brazing.

Soldering:

The soldering filler metal is called solder. The most commonly used solder is lead and tin alloy containing
tin ranging from 5 to 70% and lead 95 to 30%. Higher the contents of tin, lower the melting point of alloy.
Other filler metal are tin-antimony solder (95% tin and 5% antimony), tin-silver solder (tin 96% and silver
4%), lead-silver solder (97% lead, 1.5 tin and 1.5 silver), tin-zinc solder (91 to 30% tin and 9 to 70% zinc),
cadmium-silver solder (95% cadmium and 5% silver). These are available in the form of bars, solid and
flux cored wires, preforms, sheet, foil, ribbon and paste or cream.

Fluxes used in soldering are ammonium chloride, zinc chloride, rosin and rosin dissolved in alcohol.
Various soldering methods are soldering with soldering irons, dip soldering, torch soldering, oven
soldering, resistance soldering, induction soldering, infra-red and ultrasonic soldering.

Soldering iron being used for manual soldering, consists of insulated handle and end is fitted with copper
tip which may be heated electrically or in coke or oil/gas fired furnace. Solder is brought to molten state
by touching it to the tip of the soldering iron so that molten solder can spread to the joint surface.

Ultrasonic soldering uses ultrasonics i.e. high frequency vibrations which break the oxides on the surface
of workpieces and heat shall be generated due to rubbing between surfaces. This heat melts the solder
and fills the joint by capillary action.

Flux Residue Treatment:

When brazing or soldering is completed then the flux residues are to be removed because without
removal the residues may lead to corrosion of assemblies.

Brazing flux residues can be removed by rinsing with hot water followed by drying. If the residue is sticky
then it can be removed by thermal shock i.e. heating and quenching. Sometimes steam jet may be
applied followed by wire brushing.

Soldering flux residues of rosin flux can be left on the surface of joint, however, activated rosin flux and
other flux residues require proper treatment. If rosin residues removal is required then alcohol, acetone or
carbon tetrachloride can be used. Organic flux residues are soluble in hot water so double rising in warm
water shall remove it. Residue removal of zinc chloride base fluxes can be achieved by washing first in
2% hydrochloric acid mixed in hot water followed by simple hot water rinsing.

Lecture 4

Arc Welding Power Sources:

The main requirement of a power source is to deliver controllable current at a voltage according to the
demands of the welding process being used. Each welding process has distinct differences from one
another, both in the form of process controls required to accomplish a given operating condition and the
consequent demands on the power source. Therefore, arc welding power sources are playing very
important role in welding. The conventional welding power sources are:

Power Source Supply

Power Source Supply

(i) Welding
AC
Transformer
(ii) Welding Rectifier DC
(iii) WeldingAC or DC (Depending on
Generators generator)

Welding transformers, rectifiers and DC generators are being used in shop while engine coupled AC
generators as well as sometimes DC generators are used at site where line supply is not available.
Normally rectifiers and transformers are preferred because of low noise, higher efficiency and lower
maintenance as compared to generators. Selection of power source is mainly dependent on welding
process and consumable. The open circuit voltage normally ranges between 70-90 V in case of welding
transformers while in case of rectifiers it is 50-80 V. However, welding voltages are lower as compared to
open circuit voltage of the power source.
Based on the static characteristics power sources can be classified in two categories

Constant current or drooping or falling characteristic power source.

Constant potential or constant voltage or flat characteristic power source.

Constant voltage power source does not have true constant voltage output. It has a slightly downward or
negative slope because of sufficient internal electrical resistance and inductance in the welding circuit to
cause a minor droop in the output volt ampere characteristics.

With constant voltage power supply the arc voltage is established by setting the output voltage on the
source. The power source shall supply necessary current to melt the electrode at the rate required to
maintain the preset voltage or relative arc length. The speed of electrode drive is used to control the
average welding current. The use of such power source in conjunction with a constant electrode wire feed
results in a self regulating or self adjusting arc length system. Due to some internal or external fluctuation
if the change in welding current occurs, it will automatically increase or decrease the electrode melting
rate to regain the desired arc length.

Fig 4.1: Constant Potential or Constant Voltage or Flat Characteristic.

Fig 4.2: Drooping or Constant current or Falling Characteristic.

The volt ampere output curves for constant current power source are called drooper' because of
substantial downward or negative slope of the curves. The power source may have open circuit voltage
adjustment in addition to output current control. A change in either control will change the slope of the volt
ampere curve. With a change in arc voltage, the change in current is small and, therefore, with a
consumable electrode welding process, electrode melting rate would remain fairly constant with a change
in arc length. These power sources are required for processes using relatively thicker consumable
electrodes which may sometimes get stubbed to workpiece or with nonconsumable tungsten electrode
where during touching of electrode for starting of arc may lead to damage of electrode if current is
unlimited. Under these conditions the short circuiting current shall be limited leading to safety of power
source and the electrode.

Some power sources need high frequency unit to start the arc, which may be requirement of processes
like TIG and plasma arc. High frequency unit is introduced in the welding circuit but in between the control
circuit and HF unit, filters are required so that high frequency may not flow through control circuit and
damage it. High frequency unit is a device which supplies high voltage of the order of few KV along with
high frequency of few KHz with low current. This high voltage ionizes the medium between electrode and
workpiece/nozzle starting pilot arc which ultimately leads to the start of main arc. Although high voltage
may be fatal for the operator but when it is associated with high frequencies then current does not enter
body but it causes only skin effect i.e. current passes through the skin of operator causing no damage to
the operator.

Duty Cycle:

Duty cycle is the ratio of arcing time to the weld cycle time multiplied by 100. Welding cycle time is either
5 minutes as per European standards or 10 minutes as per American standard and accordingly power
sources are designed. It arcing time is continuously 5 minutes then as per European standard it is 100%
duty cycle and 50% as per American standard. At 100% duty cycle minimum current is to be drawn i.e.
with the reduction of duty cycle current drawn can be of higher level. The welding current which can be
drawn at a duty cycle can be evaluated from the following equation;
Duty cycle and associated currents are important as it ensures that power source remains safe and its
windings are not getting damaged due to increase in temperature beyond specified limit. The maximum
current which can be drawn from a power source depends upon its size of winding wire, type of insulation
and cooling system of the power source.

Table 4.1: Welding Processes, Type of Current and Static Characteristic

Type of Static Characteristic of

Welding Process
Current The Power Source
Manual Metal Arc Welding Constant Current

Tungsten Inert Gas Welding Constant Current

Plasma Arc Welding Constant Current

Constant Current (if
electrode F = 2.4 mm )
Submerged Arc Welding
Constant Potential (if
electrode F = 2.4 mm )
Gas Metal Arc Welding / Metal Inert Gas
Constant Potential
Welding / Metal Active Gas Welding

Lecture 5 & 6

Manual Metal Arc Welding:

Manual metal arc welding (MMAW) or shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) is the oldest and most widely
used process being used for fabrication. The arc is struck between a flux covered stick electrode and the
workpieces. The workpieces are made part of an electric circuit, known as welding circuit. It includes
welding power source, welding cables, electrode holder, earth clamp and the consumable coated
electrode. Figure 5.1 Shows details of welding circuit.
Fig 5.1: Manual Metal Arc Welding Circuit
Fig 5.2: Molten Metal and Flux Transfer to Weld Pool

Figure 5.2 shows the fine molten droplets of metal and molten flux coming from the tip of the coated
electrode. The flux melts along with the metallic core wire and goes to weld pool where it reacts with
molten metal forming slag which floats on the top of molten weld pool and solidifies after solidification of
molten metal and can be removed by chipping and brushing.

Welding power sources used may be transformer or rectifier for AC or DC supply. The requirement
depends on the type of electrode coating and sometimes on the material to be welded.

The constant-current or drooping type of power source is preferred for manual metal arc welding since it
is difficult to hold a constant arc length. The changing arc length causes arc voltage to increase or
decrease, which in turn produces a change in welding current. The steeper the slope of the volt-ampere
curve within the welding range, the smaller the current change for a given change in arc voltage. This
results into stable arc, uniform penetration and better weld seam inspite of fluctuations of arc length.

The welding voltages range from 20 to 30 V depending upon welding current i.e. higher the current,
higher the voltage. Welding current depends on the size of the electrode i.e. core diameter. The
approximate average welding current for structural steel electrodes is 35.d (where d is electrode diameter
in mm) with some variations with the type of coating of electrode. Table 5.1 shows influence of welding
parameters on weld characteristics.

Table 5.1: Welding Variables and Their Influence

Welding Condition Main Effects

Current in excess of optimum Excess spatter. Flat wide deposit. Deep crater. Deep penetration.
Electrode overheats.
Current less than optimum Slag difficult to control. Metal piles up. Poor dead shape. Poor
penetration.
Voltage in excess of Deposit irregular and flat. Arc wander. Porosity. Spatter.
optimum
Voltage less than optimum Irregular piling of weld metal. Arc extinctions. Little penetration.
Travel speed in excess of Narrow thin weld bead. Undercut.
optimum
Travel speed less than Wide thick deposit. Difficulty in slag control.
optimum
Optimum Welding Smooth even weld deposit. Stable arc condition. Easily controlled slag.
conditions Little spatter produced.

The output voltage of the power source on no load' or open circuit' must be high enough to enable the
arc to be started. A value of 80 V is sufficient for most electrodes but certain types may require more or
less than this value.

A manual welding power source is never loaded continuously because of operations such as, electrode
changing, slag removal etc. Most MMA welding equipment has a duty cycle of around 40% at maximum
welding current.

Coated Electrodes are specified based on core wire diameter. Commonly used electrode diameters are 2,
2.5, 3.18, 4, 5 and 6 mm. Length of electrodes may depend on diameter of core wire ranging from 250 to
450 mm i.e. larger the core diameter larger the length. However, special electrodes may be of 8-10 mm
diameter. Table 5.2 gives the details of electrode sizes and currents.

Table 5.2: Size and Welding Current for Stick Mild Steel Electrodes
 Diameter d 2.0 2.5 3.18(1/8") 4.0 5.0 6.0
mm
Length L mm 250/300 350 350/450 450 450 450
Welding I 50-80 70-100 90-130 120-160 160-200 190-240
Current A

The electrodes are also specified based on ratio of diameter of coated portion of electrode to core wire
diameter. If this ratio is lesser than 1.2 then electrodes are thin coated, if ratio ranges between 1.2 to 1.5
then medium coated and if ratio exceeds 1.5 then electrodes are heavy coated or thick coated. This ratio
may vary slightly in different codes.

Thin coated electrodes have very good bridgeability at the joint gap but weld bead has coarse ripples and
penetration is also poor. Medium coated electrodes lead to reasonably good bridgeability, medium ripples
in weld bead and modest penetration. Thick coated electrodes have poor bridgeability, however, bead
appearance is excellent with fine ripples and also excellent penetration.

The ingress of oxygen and nitrogen from the atmosphere to the weld pool and arc environment would
cause embrittlement and porosity in the weld metal and this must be prevented. The Actual method of arc
shielding from atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen attack varies with different type of electrodes which are
in two main categories.

1. Bulk of covering material converts to a gas by the heat of the arc, only a small amount of slag is
produced. Protection depends largely upon a gaseous shield to prevent atmospheric contamination as in
case of cellulosic electrode.

2. Bulk of covering material converts to a slag, only a small volume of shielding gas produced as in the
case of rutile and basic coated electrodes.

Electrode coating performs many functions depending upon coating constituents, during welding to
improve weld metal properties. The important functions are as follows:

1. Improve the electric conductivity in the arc region to improve the arc ignition and stabilization of the arc.

2. Formation of slag, which;

(a) Influences size of droplet.

(b) Protects the droplet during transfer and molten weld pool from atmospheric gases.

(c) Protects solidified hot metal from atmospheric gases.

(d) Reduces the cooling rate of weld seam.

3. Formation of shielding gas to protect molten metal.

4. Provide deoxidizers like Si and Mn in form of FeSi and FeMn.

5. Alloying with certain elements such as Cr, Ni, Mo to improve weld metal properties.

6. Improve deposition rate with addition of iron powder in coating.

Various constituents of electrode coating are cellulose, calcium fluoride, calcium carbonate, titanium
dioxide, clay, talc, iron oxide, asbestos, potassium / sodium silicate, iron powder, ferro-maganese,
powdered alloys, silica etc. Each constituent performs either one or more than one functions.

Electrode metallic core wire is the same but the coating constituents give the different characteristics to
the welds. Based on the coating constituents, structural steel electrodes can be classified in the following
classes;

1. Cellulosic Electrodes

Coating consists of high cellulosic content more than 30% and TiO2 up to 20%. These are all
position electrodes and produce deep penetration because of extra heat generated during
burning of cellulosic materials. However, high spatter losses are associated with these
electrodes.

2. Rutile Electrodes

Coating consists of TiO 2 up to 45% and SiO2 around 20%. These electrodes are widely used for
general work and are called general purpose electrodes.

3. Acidic Electrodes

Coating consists of iron oxide more than 20%. Sometimes it may be up to 40%, other
constituents may be TiO2 10% and CaCO3 10%. Such electrodes produce self detaching slag
and smooth weld finish and are used normally in flat position.

4. Basic Electrodes

Coating consist of CaCO3 around 40% and CaF2 15-20%. These electrodes normally require
baking at temperature of approximately 250 C for 1-2 hrs or as per manufacturer's instructions.
Such electrodes produce high quality weld deposits which has high resistance to cracking. This is
because hydrogen is removed from weld metal by the action of fluorine i.e. forming HF acid as
CaF2 generates fluorine on dissociation in the heat of arc.

Table 5.3: Coating Constituents and Their Functions

Coating Constituent Functions

Main Functions Other Functions
Cellulose Gas former Coating Strength and Reducing
agent
Calcium Fluoride (CaF2) Slag basicity and metal fluidity, Slag former
H2 removal
Clay (Aluminum Silicate) Slag former Coating strength
Talc (Magnesium Silicate) Slag former Arc stabilizer
Rutile (TiO2 ) Arc stabilizer, Slag former, Slag removal and bead
Fluidity appearance
Iron Oxides Fluidity, Slag former Arc Stabilizer, improved metal
transfer,
Calcium Carbonate Gas former, Arc stabilizer Slag basicity, Slag former
Asbestos Coating strength Slag former
Quartz (SiO2 ) Slag fluidity, Slag former Increase in current carrying
capacity.
 Sodium Silicate / Potassium Binder, Arc stabilizer Slag former
Silicate
FeMn / FeSi Deoxidizer -
Iron Powder Deposition Rate -
Powdered Alloys Alloying -

Classification of Electrodes as per Indian Standard:

Structural steel electrodes were classified as per IS 814:1974 and this code was revised and the revised
code is IS 814:1991.

The corresponding code is given on each packet of electrode.

IS 815:1974

As per IS 815 electrodes are designated with letters and digits.

PXXXXXXS

Prefix (P) is either E or R which indicates solid extruded (E) or reinforced extruded (R) Electrode.

1 st digit Indicates type of coating.

2 nd digit Indicates weld positions in which electrode can be used.

3 rd digit Indicates welding current conditions.

4 th and 5 th digit Indicate UTS and YS of all weld metal.

6 th digit Requirement of minimum % elongation and absorbed energy in charpy V- notch impact test of
weld metal.

Suffix (s) P Deep penetration electrode

H Hydrogen controlled electrode

J, K and L Amount of metal recovery in case of iron powder electrode

Suffix (s) are optional and may or may not be given if not applicable.

IS 814:1991

As per IS 814 electrodes are designated with letters and digits as given below:

ELXXXXS

In this code E indicates extruded solid electrode, L is a letter to designate type of coating, first digit
indicates UTS and YS of deposited weld metal, second digit gives percentage elongation and impact
values of weld metal deposited, third digit gives welding positions in which electrode can be used and
fourth digit gives the current conditions for the use of electrode.

Suffix(s) are optional and indicate special characteristics of electrode such as H1, H2, and H3 indicate
hydrogen controlled electrodes with different amount of diffusible hydrogen J, K, L indicate different
amount of metal recovery in weld pool in case of iron powder electrodes and X means radiographic weld
quality.

Note: For details see the above codes published by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Manak Bhawan,
Bahadur Shah Jafar Marg, New Delhi .

Weld Bead Geometry

Figure 5.3 shows the important parameters of the weld bead geometry for a butt weld.

FIg 5.3: Weld Bead Geometry

Lecture 5 & 6

Manual Metal Arc Welding:

Manual metal arc welding (MMAW) or shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) is the oldest and most widely
used process being used for fabrication. The arc is struck between a flux covered stick electrode and the
workpieces. The workpieces are made part of an electric circuit, known as welding circuit. It includes
welding power source, welding cables, electrode holder, earth clamp and the consumable coated
electrode. Figure 5.1 Shows details of welding circuit.
Fig 5.1: Manual Metal Arc Welding Circuit
Fig 5.2: Molten Metal and Flux Transfer to Weld Pool

Figure 5.2 shows the fine molten droplets of metal and molten flux coming from the tip of the coated
electrode. The flux melts along with the metallic core wire and goes to weld pool where it reacts with
molten metal forming slag which floats on the top of molten weld pool and solidifies after solidification of
molten metal and can be removed by chipping and brushing.

Welding power sources used may be transformer or rectifier for AC or DC supply. The requirement
depends on the type of electrode coating and sometimes on the material to be welded.

The constant-current or drooping type of power source is preferred for manual metal arc welding since it
is difficult to hold a constant arc length. The changing arc length causes arc voltage to increase or
decrease, which in turn produces a change in welding current. The steeper the slope of the volt-ampere
curve within the welding range, the smaller the current change for a given change in arc voltage. This
results into stable arc, uniform penetration and better weld seam inspite of fluctuations of arc length.

The welding voltages range from 20 to 30 V depending upon welding current i.e. higher the current,
higher the voltage. Welding current depends on the size of the electrode i.e. core diameter. The
approximate average welding current for structural steel electrodes is 35.d (where d is electrode diameter
in mm) with some variations with the type of coating of electrode. Table 5.1 shows influence of welding
parameters on weld characteristics.

Table 5.1: Welding Variables and Their Influence

Welding Condition Main Effects

Current in excess of optimum Excess spatter. Flat wide deposit. Deep crater. Deep penetration.
Electrode overheats.
Current less than optimum Slag difficult to control. Metal piles up. Poor dead shape. Poor
penetration.
Voltage in excess of Deposit irregular and flat. Arc wander. Porosity. Spatter.
optimum
Voltage less than optimum Irregular piling of weld metal. Arc extinctions. Little penetration.
Travel speed in excess of Narrow thin weld bead. Undercut.
optimum
Travel speed less than Wide thick deposit. Difficulty in slag control.
optimum
Optimum Welding Smooth even weld deposit. Stable arc condition. Easily controlled slag.
conditions Little spatter produced.

The output voltage of the power source on no load' or open circuit' must be high enough to enable the
arc to be started. A value of 80 V is sufficient for most electrodes but certain types may require more or
less than this value.

A manual welding power source is never loaded continuously because of operations such as, electrode
changing, slag removal etc. Most MMA welding equipment has a duty cycle of around 40% at maximum
welding current.

Coated Electrodes are specified based on core wire diameter. Commonly used electrode diameters are 2,
2.5, 3.18, 4, 5 and 6 mm. Length of electrodes may depend on diameter of core wire ranging from 250 to
450 mm i.e. larger the core diameter larger the length. However, special electrodes may be of 8-10 mm
diameter. Table 5.2 gives the details of electrode sizes and currents.

Table 5.2: Size and Welding Current for Stick Mild Steel Electrodes
 Diameter d 2.0 2.5 3.18(1/8") 4.0 5.0 6.0
mm
Length L mm 250/300 350 350/450 450 450 450
Welding I 50-80 70-100 90-130 120-160 160-200 190-240
Current A

The electrodes are also specified based on ratio of diameter of coated portion of electrode to core wire
diameter. If this ratio is lesser than 1.2 then electrodes are thin coated, if ratio ranges between 1.2 to 1.5
then medium coated and if ratio exceeds 1.5 then electrodes are heavy coated or thick coated. This ratio
may vary slightly in different codes.

Thin coated electrodes have very good bridgeability at the joint gap but weld bead has coarse ripples and
penetration is also poor. Medium coated electrodes lead to reasonably good bridgeability, medium ripples
in weld bead and modest penetration. Thick coated electrodes have poor bridgeability, however, bead
appearance is excellent with fine ripples and also excellent penetration.

The ingress of oxygen and nitrogen from the atmosphere to the weld pool and arc environment would
cause embrittlement and porosity in the weld metal and this must be prevented. The Actual method of arc
shielding from atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen attack varies with different type of electrodes which are
in two main categories.

1. Bulk of covering material converts to a gas by the heat of the arc, only a small amount of slag is
produced. Protection depends largely upon a gaseous shield to prevent atmospheric contamination as in
case of cellulosic electrode.

2. Bulk of covering material converts to a slag, only a small volume of shielding gas produced as in the
case of rutile and basic coated electrodes.

Electrode coating performs many functions depending upon coating constituents, during welding to
improve weld metal properties. The important functions are as follows:

1. Improve the electric conductivity in the arc region to improve the arc ignition and stabilization of the arc.

2. Formation of slag, which;

(a) Influences size of droplet.

(b) Protects the droplet during transfer and molten weld pool from atmospheric gases.

(c) Protects solidified hot metal from atmospheric gases.

(d) Reduces the cooling rate of weld seam.

3. Formation of shielding gas to protect molten metal.

4. Provide deoxidizers like Si and Mn in form of FeSi and FeMn.

5. Alloying with certain elements such as Cr, Ni, Mo to improve weld metal properties.

6. Improve deposition rate with addition of iron powder in coating.

Various constituents of electrode coating are cellulose, calcium fluoride, calcium carbonate, titanium
dioxide, clay, talc, iron oxide, asbestos, potassium / sodium silicate, iron powder, ferro-maganese,
powdered alloys, silica etc. Each constituent performs either one or more than one functions.

Electrode metallic core wire is the same but the coating constituents give the different characteristics to
the welds. Based on the coating constituents, structural steel electrodes can be classified in the following
classes;

1. Cellulosic Electrodes

Coating consists of high cellulosic content more than 30% and TiO2 up to 20%. These are all
position electrodes and produce deep penetration because of extra heat generated during
burning of cellulosic materials. However, high spatter losses are associated with these
electrodes.

2. Rutile Electrodes

Coating consists of TiO 2 up to 45% and SiO2 around 20%. These electrodes are widely used for
general work and are called general purpose electrodes.

3. Acidic Electrodes

Coating consists of iron oxide more than 20%. Sometimes it may be up to 40%, other
constituents may be TiO2 10% and CaCO3 10%. Such electrodes produce self detaching slag
and smooth weld finish and are used normally in flat position.

4. Basic Electrodes

Coating consist of CaCO3 around 40% and CaF2 15-20%. These electrodes normally require
baking at temperature of approximately 250 C for 1-2 hrs or as per manufacturer's instructions.
Such electrodes produce high quality weld deposits which has high resistance to cracking. This is
because hydrogen is removed from weld metal by the action of fluorine i.e. forming HF acid as
CaF2 generates fluorine on dissociation in the heat of arc.

Table 5.3: Coating Constituents and Their Functions

Coating Constituent Functions

Main Functions Other Functions
Cellulose Gas former Coating Strength and Reducing
agent
Calcium Fluoride (CaF2) Slag basicity and metal fluidity, Slag former
H2 removal
Clay (Aluminum Silicate) Slag former Coating strength
Talc (Magnesium Silicate) Slag former Arc stabilizer
Rutile (TiO2 ) Arc stabilizer, Slag former, Slag removal and bead
Fluidity appearance
Iron Oxides Fluidity, Slag former Arc Stabilizer, improved metal
transfer,
Calcium Carbonate Gas former, Arc stabilizer Slag basicity, Slag former
Asbestos Coating strength Slag former
Quartz (SiO2 ) Slag fluidity, Slag former Increase in current carrying
capacity.
 Sodium Silicate / Potassium Binder, Arc stabilizer Slag former
Silicate
FeMn / FeSi Deoxidizer -
Iron Powder Deposition Rate -
Powdered Alloys Alloying -

Classification of Electrodes as per Indian Standard:

Structural steel electrodes were classified as per IS 814:1974 and this code was revised and the revised
code is IS 814:1991.

The corresponding code is given on each packet of electrode.

IS 815:1974

As per IS 815 electrodes are designated with letters and digits.

PXXXXXXS

Prefix (P) is either E or R which indicates solid extruded (E) or reinforced extruded (R) Electrode.

1 st digit Indicates type of coating.

2 nd digit Indicates weld positions in which electrode can be used.

3 rd digit Indicates welding current conditions.

4 th and 5 th digit Indicate UTS and YS of all weld metal.

6 th digit Requirement of minimum % elongation and absorbed energy in charpy V- notch impact test of
weld metal.

Suffix (s) P Deep penetration electrode

H Hydrogen controlled electrode

J, K and L Amount of metal recovery in case of iron powder electrode

Suffix (s) are optional and may or may not be given if not applicable.

IS 814:1991

As per IS 814 electrodes are designated with letters and digits as given below:

ELXXXXS

In this code E indicates extruded solid electrode, L is a letter to designate type of coating, first digit
indicates UTS and YS of deposited weld metal, second digit gives percentage elongation and impact
values of weld metal deposited, third digit gives welding positions in which electrode can be used and
fourth digit gives the current conditions for the use of electrode.

Suffix(s) are optional and indicate special characteristics of electrode such as H1, H2, and H3 indicate
hydrogen controlled electrodes with different amount of diffusible hydrogen J, K, L indicate different
amount of metal recovery in weld pool in case of iron powder electrodes and X means radiographic weld
quality.

Note: For details see the above codes published by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Manak Bhawan,
Bahadur Shah Jafar Marg, New Delhi .

Weld Bead Geometry

Figure 5.3 shows the important parameters of the weld bead geometry for a butt weld.

FIg 5.3: Weld Bead Geometry