Chap6.1 - Casting-1

6.
1 Metal Casting (Technology)
• Casting: Net-shape formation of a metal object by pouring

(or forcing) molten material into a mold and allowing it to
solidify.
• Cast objects may be worked on further through other metal-
forming or machining processes in order to obtain more
intricate shapes, better mechanical properties, as well as
higher tolerances.
B. Benhabib / Manufacturing Matters / Chapter 6: Metal Casting, Powder Processing and Plastics Molding 1
6.1 Metal Casting
• Using an Expendable Mold

• Sand Casting (6.1.3)
• Investment Casting (6.1.4)
• Using a Permanent Mold

• Permanent Mold Casting (with or without Expendable Core)
• Die Casting (6.1.5)
6.1.1 Brief History of Casting
• 1200-1600 A.D.: Casting of iron in Europe – the primary

customers of these castings were the European armies
(cannons and cannon balls).
• Early 1600s: The first two commercial foundries in North
America – New England. Most castings manufactured by
solidifying molten metal in trenches on the foundry floor
or poured into sand-based molds.
• 1900-2000: The primary user of cast parts has been the
automotive industry.
6.1.2 Casting Materials
• Low Carbon Steel (< 0.2 %):

• More ductile
• Easier to cold form
• Automotive applications
• High Carbon Steel (> 0.5%)

• Strong but brittle
• High wear resistance due to their superior surface
hardness
• Better response to heat treatment & longer service life
• Die & tool making
(not in the text)
6.1.2 Casting Mold Components and Materials
• Mold:
o Expendable Mold: (the mold is broken once the casting is solidified)
- Made of sand (sand casting) or plaster (investment casting).
o Permanent Mold: (the mold is reusable à multiple use)
- Made of metal.
• Pattern: Expendable (polystyrene, wax); permanent (metal, ceramic)
• Core: Expendable (sand); permanent (metal, ceramic)
6.1.3 Sand Casting
• Introductory animation (link to 6.1.3 Sand Casting - animation)

(Please note that no video clips can be posted because of the
copyright issue. All the movies will be shown only in the lecture hall.)
• Sand casting is the most common casting process for large-sized
objects, such as automotive engine blocks.
• Parts can be cast for batch sizes of only several units.
• Patterns can be made of wear-resistance metals, plastics, or wax.
• Cores can be made of a metal or a ceramic with a higher melting
temperature because the cores are a part of the mold to determine the
part geometry.
– Permanent cores: reusable
– Expendable cores: not reusable
6.1.3 Sand Casting (cont.)
Riser Vent Cavity
Core
Downsprue Cope
Parting line
Gating system
Drag
Flask
Chaplet
Cope Pattern Drag Pattern
• Mold Making:
Cope pattern; Core placed inside drag.
Ready to be filled
with sand.
Cope filled with sand; Cope and drag assembled;

Pattern removed. Molten metal poured
into mold.
Drag pattern;
Ready to be filled
with sand. Metal cools and solidifies;
Casting removed from mold.
Drag filled with sand;

Pattern removed
from drag.
(not in textbook)
Surface Roughness
• The surface quality of the sand-cast part is relatively poor

because of the rough mold surface. The surface roughness Ra
(Roughness Average) is 6 to 50 µm for sand casting.
– The Roughness Average, Ra, is the arithmetic average of the absolute
values. 𝒏
𝟏
𝑹𝒂 = ' 𝒚𝒊 − 𝒚𝒂𝒗𝒈
𝒏
𝒊-𝟏
– Another popular surface roughness is
Rq or RRMS, root mean squared. Rq is
typically 10-20% higher than Ra.
𝒏
𝟏
𝑹𝒒 = '(𝒚𝒊 − 𝒚𝒂𝒗𝒈 )𝟐
𝒏
𝒊-𝟏
9
(not in textbook)
Surface Roughness Calculation - Example
10
8
6 Yi
4
Yavg
2
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
-2
-4
-6
-8
Xi 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Yi 1 4 6 8 5 2 -1 -4 -1 2 -1 -4 -7 -4 -1 2 5 8 5 2 -1 -4 -1 1 Yavg = 0.92
Yi - Yavg 0.08 3.08 5.08 7.08 4.08 1.08 -1.92 -4.92 -1.92 1.08 -1.92 -4.92 -7.92 -4.92 -1.92 1.08 4.08 7.08 4.08 1.08 -1.92 -4.92 -1.92 0.08
ABS(Yi-Yavg) 0.08 3.08 5.08 7.08 4.08 1.08 1.92 4.92 1.92 1.08 1.92 4.92 7.92 4.92 1.92 1.08 4.08 7.08 4.08 1.08 1.92 4.92 1.92 0.08 Ra = 3.26
(Yi-Yavg)^2 0.01 9.51 25.84 50.17 16.67 1.17 3.67 24.17 3.67 1.17 3.67 24.17 62.67 24.17 3.67 1.17 16.67 50.17 16.67 1.17 3.67 24.17 3.67 0.01 Rq = 3.94 10
(not in textbook)
• The heat of the liquid metal is removed through the cold mold.
But the liquid metal cools slowly because of the low thermal
conductivity of the sand mold.
– Thermal conductivity of sand = 0.7 W/(mK)
– Thermal conductivity of quartz is 3 W/(mK), but the heat transfer through
the poor contacts of grain boundaries becomes lower to 0.7 W/(mK)
• Because of slow cooling, the defects of the sand-cast part are

minimized.
11
6.1.4 Investment Casting
• Introductory animation (link to 6.1.4 Investment Casting - animation)

• Introductory movie (link to 6.1.4 Investment Casting - movie)
• Investment casting can yield parts with intricate geometry and
excellent surface quality - (Ra: 1 to 6µm vs 6 to 50µm in sand casting)
Wax pattern. Patterns attached Patterns and sprue Patterns and sprue
to wax sprue. coated in slurry. coated in stucco.
Heat
Pattern Molten metal Mold broken away from Finished part.

melt-out. poured into mold; casting; Finished part
Solidification. removed from sprue.
(not in textbook)
6.1.4 Investment Casting (cont.)
• In addition to the excellent surface quality, the investment cast part

has a smooth surface with no parting-lines.
• Dimensional accuracy is good.
• But this process is expensive because of the very long production-
cycle times versus other casting processes.
• The thin ceramic mold is preheated before casting. The heat
transfer is slow because the temperature difference between mold and
part is small, and the whole mold is cooled slowly through natural
convection. Consequently, the defects of investment casting are
minimal.
(not in textbook)
Parting line: where two halves of

the mold meet (cope/drag in sand
casting)
(not in the text)
6.1.2 Casting Mold Components and Materials
• Core: Insert(s) placed inside the mold to produce

hollow parts, to form interior surfaces, or to engrave exterior
features (such as the part ID number).
• Expendable (sand); permanent (metal, ceramic)
Manufacturing Engineering and Technology, Serope Kalpakjian, Steven R. Schmid, 7 edition, Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 11
(not in the text)
6.1.2 Core
• The core will be removed once cast is solidified.
Core Hollow part (the core is removed)
• Pins and chaplets to fix/support the core
Manufacturing Engineering and Technology, Serope Kalpakjian, Steven R. Schmid, 7 edition, Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 11
(not in textbook)
Permanent-Mold Casting (with or without an Expendable Core)

• Introductory animation (link to 6.1.5 Permanent-Mold Casting w Hollow Core - animation)
• Introductory movie (link to 6.1.5 Permanent-Mold Casting - movie)
• Use of a permanent mold, where the molten metal is cast under a

gravity force.
• An expendable/collapsible (sand) core can be applied to produce
internal cavities. If the core is not expendable, the internal cavities
cannot be formed properly.
• The (permanent) mold comprises of two halves. The (expendable) core
can be placed inside the mold cavity prior to casting, and the mold’s
halves are clamped.
• The molten metal is poured into the mold assembly.
• Once the melt solidifies, the part is shaken to remove the
expendable/collapsible core.
(not in textbook)
Permanent-Mold Casting with an Expendable Core
Lower mold half Core is put inside the cavity, Casting

and the core and the mold is closed
Cast + Core The cast

(product)
6.1.5 Die Casting
• Die-casting is a permanent-mold process, where the molten

metal should be forced into the mold under high pressure
because of the fast cooling.
• It offers low cost and mass-production capability (with low
cycle times).
• A die-casting mold comprises two halves: One is fixed and the
other is moving (ejector half).
• There exist two primary die-casting processes, whose names are
derivatives of the locations of the molten-metal storage units:
“Cold-chamber” versus “Hot-chamber” machines.
6.1.5 Die Casting – Cold Chamber Casting
• Introductory animation (link to 6.1.5 Die Casting – Cold Chamber)
Cold-chamber Moveable die Stationary die

casting half half Ladle
Ram
Ejector pins
Shot Chamber
Cavity
(i) Die closed; Chamber filled with molten metal.
(ii) Ram forces molten metal (iii) Ram withdrawn; Die opened
to flow into die. and part ejected.
6.1.5 Die Casting – Hot Chamber Casting
• Introductory animation (link to 6.1.5 Die Casting – Hot Chamber)
Nozzle Plunger
Hot-chamber
casting Chamber
Pot
(i) Die closed; Chamber filled with molten metal.
(ii) Ram forces molten metal (iii) Ram withdrawn; Die opened
to flow into die. and part ejected.
(not in textbook)
6.1.5 Die Casting (cont.)
• The surface quality is excellent because of the smooth mold

surface, but there is a parting-line.
• Unlike in the cases of sand casting and investment casting, the
heat transfer in the metallic mold of die casting is very fast.
• Consequently, there are so many defects generated within the
die-cast parts (the price for mass production).
22
(not in textbook)
Comparison of Sand Casting and Die Casting
• Economics of Casting
Cost
per
piece
Sand casting
Die casting
103 # of pieces
Cyclic time Equipment cost Residual stresses, Products

defects
Sand Casting Long Inexpensive Low Pump housing, Machine tool Base
Die casting Short Expensive High Pin, shafts, fasteners
23
6.1.6 Principles of Casting – Solidification of Metals
• A pure metal, typically, solidifies at a constant temperature, TS:

• The final granular structure of the part is a thin layer of
randomly oriented grains on the part’s surface and columnar
grains extending toward its center.
A
Temperature
B C
TS
D
Time
Liquid Liquid and solid Solid
(not in textbook)
Formation of Cavity/Porosity: Most Critical Defect of Casting

Introductory movie (link to 6.1.6 Defects of Casting - movie)
liquid
Cavity and
pores
(porosities)
solid
– due to shrinkage
– due to non-uniform solidification
Defects: Cavity/Porosity
Cracks
Due to : Volume contraction
Non-uniform cooling
6.1.6 Principles of Casting - Solidification
2
• Time of solidification, ts, is: æV ö
ts = C ç ÷
è Aø
where V and A are the casting’s volume and surface area.
6.1.6 Principles of Casting - Solidification (cont.)
• Shrinkage: Roughly 5%: Aluminum »7%, copper »5%,

carbon steel »2.5-4%, magnesium »4.2%, and so on.
• The use of risers can remedy some of the consequent
problems of shrinkage, such as voids.
• Fluid flow: The gating system determines the flow of the
molten metal: Excessive temperature loss, turbulence, and
entrapment of gases should be minimized:
• Downsprue (down runner, or sprue) should not be
oversized to avoid turbulence during pouring: The mold,
however, must be filled before freezing is complete.
• Down-runner base is a minor cavity that exists at the

bottom of the sprue in order to prevent splashing and
turbulence at the right-angle turn of the flow (Its diameter
should be twice that of the sprue-exit diameter and its depth
should be twice the height of the subsequent runner).
• Runners should have a cross-sectional area at least twice
the exit area of the sprue and half the size of the gate area:
This sizing would allow the molten metal to settle and air
bubbles to float prior to arrival at the gate of the cavity.
• Gates must be designed to ensure smooth flow into the
cavity (twice cross-sectional area of that runner): They
should not accelerate the fluid and cause splashing.
Pouring cup
Riser
Sprue Sand
Cast
Sand
D
Core
2D 4D
4D
(Down-)Runner base 2D Runner Gate

6.1.6 Principles of Casting – Computer-Aided Casting
Process Analysis (and Design)
• The two primary phases of casting are mold filling and

solidification:
• Mold filling is governed by fluid-dynamics theories, where
molten metal is assumed to be incompressible.
• Casting-solidification is governed by heat-transfer
theories.
• Commercial software packages (e.g., CastCAE, ProCAST)
use finite-element methods (FEM) for fluid-flow and/or heat-
transfer analysis.
6.1.6 Principles of Casting – Product Design for Casting
• Engineers must design their parts and molds concurrently for

optimizing a casting’s performance:
• Wall thicknesses must be designed to minimize
shrinkage-induced porosities and cracks during cooling.

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6.

1 Metal Casting (Technology)

• Casting: Net-shape formation of a metal object by pouring

• Using an Expendable Mold

• Using a Permanent Mold

• 1200-1600 A.D.: Casting of iron in Europe – the primary

• Low Carbon Steel (< 0.2 %):

• High Carbon Steel (> 0.5%)

6.1.2 Casting Mold Components and Materials

• Introductory animation (link to 6.1.3 Sand Casting - animation)

Riser Vent Cavity

Cope Pattern Drag Pattern

Cope filled with sand; Cope and drag assembled;

Drag filled with sand;

• The surface quality of the sand-cast part is relatively poor

Surface Roughness Calculation - Example

6.1.3 Sand Casting (cont.)

• Because of slow cooling, the defects of the sand-cast part are

• Introductory animation (link to 6.1.4 Investment Casting - animation)

Pattern Molten metal Mold broken away from Finished part.

6.1.4 Investment Casting (cont.)

• In addition to the excellent surface quality, the investment cast part

Parting line: where two halves of

6.1.2 Casting Mold Components and Materials

• Core: Insert(s) placed inside the mold to produce

• The core will be removed once cast is solidified.

Core Hollow part (the core is removed)

• Pins and chaplets to fix/support the core

Permanent-Mold Casting (with or without an Expendable Core)

• Introductory movie (link to 6.1.5 Permanent-Mold Casting - movie)

• Use of a permanent mold, where the molten metal is cast under a

Permanent-Mold Casting with an Expendable Core

Lower mold half Core is put inside the cavity, Casting

Cast + Core The cast

• Die-casting is a permanent-mold process, where the molten

• Introductory animation (link to 6.1.5 Die Casting – Cold Chamber)

Cold-chamber Moveable die Stationary die

(i) Die closed; Chamber filled with molten metal.

• The surface quality is excellent because of the smooth mold

Comparison of Sand Casting and Die Casting

Cyclic time Equipment cost Residual stresses, Products

Die casting Short Expensive High Pin, shafts, fasteners

• A pure metal, typically, solidifies at a constant temperature, TS:

Formation of Cavity/Porosity: Most Critical Defect of Casting

• Shrinkage: Roughly 5%: Aluminum »7%, copper »5%,

• Down-runner base is a minor cavity that exists at the

(Down-)Runner base 2D Runner Gate

• The two primary phases of casting are mold filling and

• Engineers must design their parts and molds concurrently for

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