Casting: Conventional Methods Unconventional Methods
Casting: Conventional Methods Unconventional Methods
com
UNIT I
Metal Casting Processes
Manufacturing
• Manufacturing in its broadest sense is the process of converting raw materials into useful
products.
• It includes
i) Design of the product
ii) Selection of raw materials and
iii) The sequence of processes through which the product will be manufactured.
Casting
Casting is the process of producing metal parts by pouring molten metal into the mould
cavity of the required shape and allowing the metal to solidify. The solidified metal piece is
called as “casting”.
Types of casting
Casting
Disadvantages
• Lot of molten metal is wasted in riser & gating
• Casting may require machining to remove rough surfaces
http://www.francisxavier.ac.in
www.ktuweb.com
Sand Casting
Sand Casting is simply melting the metal and pouring it into a preformed cavity, called mold,
allowing (the metal to solidify and then breaking up the mold to remove casting. In sand casting
expandable molds are used. So for each casting operation you have to form a new mold.
• Most widely used casting process.
• Parts ranging in size from small to very large
• Production quantities from one to millions
• Sand mold is used.
• Patterns and Cores
– Solid, Split, Match-plate and Cope-and-drag Patterns
– Cores – achieve the internal surface of the part
Molds
– Sand with a mixture of water and bonding clay
– Typical mix: 90% sand, 3% water, and 7% clay
– to enhance strength and/or permeability
Sand – Refractory for high temperature
Types of sand
a) Green-sand molds - mixture of sand, clay, and water; “Green" means mold contains moisture
at time of pouring.
b) Dry-sand mold - organic binders rather than clay and mold is baked to improve strength
c) Skin-dried mold - drying mold cavity surface of a green-sand
– mold to a depth of 10 to 25 mm, using torches or heating
http://www.francisxavier.ac.in
www.ktuweb.com
Pattern Allowances
Five types of allowances were taken into consideration for various reasons. They are
described as follows:
1. Shrinkage allowance
2. Draft allowance
3. Finish allowance
4. Shake allowance
5. Distortion allowance
Desirable Mold Properties and Characteristics
• Strength - to maintain shape and resist erosion
• Permeability - to allow hot air and gases to pass through voids in sand
• Thermal stability - to resist cracking on contact with molten metal
• Collapsibility - ability to give way and allow casting to shrink without cracking the casting
• Reusability - can sand from broken mold be reused to make other molds.
http://www.francisxavier.ac.in
www.ktuweb.com
Steps in shell-molding
Shell-mold casting yields better surface quality and tolerances. The process is described as
follows:
The 2-piece pattern is made of metal (e.g. aluminum or steel), it is heated to between 175°C- 370°C,
and coated with a lubricant, e.g. silicone spray.
Each heated half-pattern is covered with a mixture of sand and a thermoset resin/epoxy binder.
The binder glues a layer of sand to the pattern, forming a shell. The process may be repeated to get a
thicker shell.
The assembly is baked to cure it.
The patterns are removed, and the two half-shells joined together to form the mold; metal is poured
into the mold.
When the metal solidifies, the shell is broken to get the part.
http://www.francisxavier.ac.in
www.ktuweb.com
Advantages
Smoother cavity surface permits easier flow of molten metal and better surface finish on
casting
Good dimensional accuracy
Machining often not required
Mold collapsibility usually avoids cracks in
casting Can be mechanized for mass production
Disadvantages
More expensive metal pattern
Difficult to justify for small quantities
Investment Casting
Investment casting produces very high surface quality and dimensional accuracy.
Investment casting is commonly used for precision equipment such as surgical equipment,
for complex geometries and for precious metals.
This process is commonly used by artisans to produce highly detailed artwork.
The first step is to produce a pattern or replica of the finished mould. Wax is most
commonly used to form the pattern, although plastic is also used.
Patterns are typically mass-produced by injecting liquid or semi-liquid wax into a
permanent die.
Prototypes, small production runs and specialty projects can also be undertaken by carving
wax models.
Cores are typically unnecessary but can be used for complex internal structures. Rapid
prototyping techniques have been developed to produce expendable patterns.
Several replicas are often attached to a gating system constructed of the same material to
form a tree assembly. In this way multiple castings can be produced in a single pouring.
Advantages
– Parts of great complexity and intricacy can be cast
– Close dimensional control and good surface finish
– Wax can usually be recovered for reuse
– Additional machining is not normally required - this is a net shape process
Disadvantages
– Many processing steps are required
– Relatively expensive process
http://www.francisxavier.ac.in
www.ktuweb.com
Plaster Molding
• Similar to sand casting except mold is made of plaster of Paris (gypsum - CaSO4-2H2O)
• Plaster and water mixture is poured over plastic or metal pattern to make a mold
Advantages
– Good dimensional accuracy and surface finish
– Capability to make thin cross-sections in casting
Disadvantages
Moisture in plaster mold causes problems:
Mold must be baked to remove moisture
Mold strength is lost when is over-baked, yet moisture content can cause defects in
product Plaster molds cannot stand high temperatures
Advantage
- Good surface finish and dimensional control and Fine grain due to rapid solidification.
Disadvantage
- Simple geometric part, expensive mold.
Example
It is commonly used for producing pistons used in car engines; gear blanks, cylinder
heads, and other parts made of low melting point metals, e.g. copper, bronze, aluminum,
magnesium, etc.
http://www.francisxavier.ac.in
www.ktuweb.com
Advantages
– Good dimensional control and surface finish
– More rapid solidification caused by the cold metal mold results in a finer grain structure, so
stronger castings are produced
Limitations
• Generally limited to metals of lower melting point
• Simple part geometries compared to sand casting because of the need to open the mold
• High cost of mold
• Due to high mold cost, process is best suited to automated high volume production
Die Casting
• Die casting is a very commonly used type of permanent mold casting process.
• It is used for producing many components of home appliances (e.g rice cookers, stoves, fans,
washing and drying machines, fridges), motors, toys and hand-tools
• The molten metal is injected into mold cavity (die) under high pressure (7-350MPa).
Pressure maintained during solidification.
• Hot Chamber (Pressure of 7 to 35MPa)
• The injection system is submerged under the molten metals (low melting point metals such as
lead, zinc, tin and magnesium)
• Cold Chamber (Pressure of 14 to 140MPa)
• External melting container (in addition aluminum, brass and magnesium)
Molds are made of tool steel, mold steel, maraging steel, tungsten and molybdenum.
http://www.francisxavier.ac.in
www.ktuweb.com
Properties of die-casting
1) Huge numbers of small, light castings can be produced with great accuracy.
2) Little surface finishing is required.
3) Permanent mold (dies can be used over and over)
Advantages
– High production, Economical, close tolerance, good surface finish, thin sections, rapid cooling
http://www.francisxavier.ac.in
www.ktuweb.com
This process is particularly useful for high melting point metals such as Aluminum, and
Copper (and its alloys).
Advantages
– Economical for large production quantities
– Good dimensional accuracy and surface finish
– Thin sections are possible
– Rapid cooling provides small grain size and good strength to casting
Disadvantages
– Generally limited to metals with low metal points
– Part geometry must allow removal from die cavity
Centrifugal casting
Centrifugal casting uses a permanent mold that is rotated about its axis at a speed between
300 to 3000 rpm as the molten metal is poured.
Centrifugal forces cause the metal to be pushed out towards the mold walls, where it
solidifies after cooling.
Centrifugal casting has greater reliability than static castings. They are relatively free from
gas and shrinkage porosity.
Surface treatments such as case carburizing, flame hardening and have to be used when a
wear resistant surface must be combined with a hard tough exterior surface.
One such application is bimetallic pipe consisting of two separate concentric layers of
different alloys/metals bonded together.
• This sand is mixed with 3 to 5 % sodium silicate liquid base binder in muller for 3 to 4
minutes. Additives such as coal powder, wood flour sea coal, dextrine may be added to
improve its properties.
• Aluminium oxide Kaolin clay may also added to the sand .
http://www.francisxavier.ac.in
www.ktuweb.com
• Patterns used in this method may be coated with Zinc of 0.05 mm to 0.13 mm and then
spraying a layer of aluminium or brass of about 0.25 mm thickness for good surface finish and
good results.
Advantages
• Operation is speedy since we can use the mould and cores immediately after processing.
• Heavy and rush orders
• Floor space requirement is less
• Semi skilled labour may be used.
Disadvantages
Difficult in reusing the moulding sand.
Furnaces
Cupola Furnace
• A continuous flow of iron emerges from the bottom of the furnace.
• Depending on the size of the furnace, the flow rate can be as high as 100 tonnes per hour.
At the metal melts it is refined to some extent, which removes contaminants. This makes this
process more suitable than electric furnaces for dirty charges.
http://www.francisxavier.ac.in
www.ktuweb.com
http://www.francisxavier.ac.in
www.ktuweb.com
Three types: (a) lift-out crucible, (b) stationary pot, from which molten metal must be ladled, and
(c) tilting-pot furnace
http://www.francisxavier.ac.in
www.ktuweb.com
Induction Furnace:
Casting defects
Defects may occur due to one or more of the following reasons:
– Fault in design of casting pattern
– Fault in design on mold and core
– Fault in design of gating system and riser
– Improper choice of moulding sand
– Improper metal composition
– Inadequate melting temperature and rate of pouring
http://www.francisxavier.ac.in