Manufacturing Processes

(ET ZC 235/PE ZC 236)

Prof. Tufan Chandra Bera
Mechanical Engineering Department,
BITS Pilani BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus
Pilani Campus
 BITS Pilani
Pilani Campus

Metal Casting
Lecture No. 5
Gates or in-gates

Gates
Types of gates
Gating design
 Pouring time
 Choke area
 Gating ratios

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Choke Area

• For calculation of optimum pouring time, it is

required to establish the main control area known
as choke area.
• Normally, the choke area locates at the bottom of
the sprue.
• It is the minimum cross sectional area of sprue.
• It meters the metal flow into the mold cavity so that
the mold is completely filled within the calculated
pouring time.
• The first element, to be designed in the gating
system is the sprue size and its proportions.

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Choke Area Calculation

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Choke Area contd…

Calculation of sprue height for Top, Bottom

and Parting gate:
Top gate,

Bottom gate,

Parting gate,
h= height of the sprue
p= height of the mold cavity in cope
c= total height of the mold cavity
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Sprue height for different
gating system

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 Gating Ratios

• It refers to the proportion of the cross

sectional areas among the sprue, runner, and
in-gates.
• It is denoted as
sprue area : runner area : in-gate area
• Depending on the choke area, there can be two
types of the gating systems:
 Non-pressurized
 Pressurized

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Gating Ratios contd…

Non-pressurized (1:4:4)
 Choke at the bottom of the sprue.
 Total runner area and in-gate areas are higher than the
sprue area.
 No pressure exists in the metal flow system.
 Low velocity & low turbulence.
 Used for drossy alloys (Al, Mg)
Pressurized (1:2:1)
 In-gate area is smallest.
 Maintain a back pressure throughout the gating system.
 High velocity, more turbulence, less chances of air
aspiration.
 Higher casting yield.
 Useful for ferrous alloys.
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 Riser

• It is reservoir from which molten metal can flow readily

into the casting when the need arises.
• The main function of a riser is to feed the casting during
solidification so that no shrinkage cavities are formed.
• The riser are normally of the following types:
 Top riser:
They are open to the atmosphere.
 It is the most conventional and convenient to make.
The top being open releases heat to the atmosphere by
radiation and convection.

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Riser contd...

Blind riser:
They are completely concealed inside the mold.
It is surrounded by the molding sand. Therefore, it
releases heat slowly and effectively.
It can be located more conveniently than the open riser.
Internal riser:
They are enclosed on all sides by the casting such that
heat from the casting keeps the metal in the riser hot for
a long time.
These are normally used for castings, which are
cylindrical shaped or having hollow cylindrical portions.
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Riser contd...

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Riser contd...

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Riser contd...

Cross section of a train wheel 14

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Riser Functions

• The main function of a riser is to feed the casting during

solidification so that no shrinkage cavities are formed.
• It is the endeavor of casting designer to reduce all the
hot spots so that no shrinkage cavities occur.
• It allows the air to escape from the mould during the
pouring of molten metal.
• It creates pressure head to ensure the mold cavity to be
filled completely.
• Molder can check through the riser whether the cavity is
full or not.

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 Riser Design

• The basic requirements for riser design

The metal in the riser should solidify at the end.
The riser volume should be sufficient for
compensating the shrinkage in the casting.
• In order to satisfy the basic requirements, riser
diameter should be large. But it is very
expensive solution since the solidified metal in
the riser is to be cut off from the casting and is
to be melted for reuse.
• Higher the riser volume, the lower is the
casting yield, which is very uneconomical.

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Riser Design contd…

• Directional Solidification:
 The solidification of the metal should start at the furtherest
point of the casting from the riser and proceeds towards the
riser.
 The cooling normally starts from the point which is the
thinnest or is exposed over a large surface area.
• The solidification of the casting occurs by losing
heat from the surfaces.
• The cooling characteristic of a casting can be
represented by surface area to volume ratio.
• Riser characteristic is also specified by surface
area to volume.
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Riser Design contd…

• If surface area to volume ratio of casting higher, then

casting is expected to cool faster.
• The solidification time of casting is proportional to the
square of the ratio of volume to surface area of the
casting. It is known as Chvorinov’s Law.

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Riser Design contd…

• Freezing ratio (X) of a mold is defined as the ratio of

cooling characteristic of casting to the riser.

• The riser should solidify at the end; hence its freezing

ratio should be greater than unity (X>1).
• Casting is expected to cool faster as

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Which is the better shape for riser
Spherical or Cylindrical ?
• Sphere has the lowest (A/V) ratio.
• In the sphere, the hottest metal will remain at the
center.
• Problem of accessibility. It is difficult to use
hottest metal from the center for feeding the casting.
• The next best solution is cylindrical shape for its
ease of accessibility in molding.
• In case of open top riser, cylindrical shape is
used.
• In case of side riser, the base may be
hemispherical and for blind riser the top may be
hemispherical in order to provide smallest
possible (A/V) ratio.
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Riser Design contd…

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 CAINE’s Method for Riser
Design
Based on the Chvorinov’s rule, Caine developed a
relationship empirically for the freezing ratio as follows:

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 Constants for Caine’s
equation:
a b c

Steel 0.1 0.03 1.0

Al 0.1 0.06 1.08

CI, Brass 0.04 0.017 1.0

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Caine’s equation for steel
castings

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Modulus Method

• For finding the optimum riser size, modulus method is

extensively documented by Wlodawer.
• If the modulus of the riser exceeds the modulus of the
casting by a factor of 1.2, the feeding during
solidification would be satisfactory.

• The modulus is the inverse of the cooling characteristics

( A/V ratio).

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 Naval Research Laboratory
Method
• This is essentially simplification of Caine’s method.
• It defines a shape factor to replace the freezing ratio.

• Calculation of volumes and surface areas is too

complicated and therefore simplification is
desirable.
• The length, width and thickness are calculated from
the maximum dimensions of the casting section.
• The ratio of the riser volume to casting volume
can be obtained from the following graph.
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Riser volume selection chart

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Riser dimension selection
chart

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 Example

Calculate the size of a cylindrical riser (height

and diameter equal) necessary to feed a steel
slab casting of dimensions 25×25×5 cm with a
side riser, casting poured horizontally into the
mold.

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Answer

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 Riser Placement

• Riser should be located at the heaviest sections as

they themselves act as feeder for the thin sections.
• But when smaller section are connected to the thicker
sections, the riser should have larger volume to cater to
this appendage.
• But if this branch is thin, no change in the riser volume is
required.

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Placement of Risers contd…

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 Riser connections to the
casting
 How riser is attached to the casting is important
because:
• How well the riser can feed the casting.
• How readily the riser can be removed from the casting.
• It may also control the depth of the shrinkage cavity.

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 Chills

• Riser deals with the methods for securing directional

solidification by delaying the freezing process in
some part of the mold system.
• The same objective can be accomplished by reverse
procedure of chilling the metal in those portion of
casting that are more remote from the liquid metal
source.
• Chills are metallic objects having a higher heat
absorbing capability than the sand mold.

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 Chills contd…

Functions:
It provides a steeper temperature
gradient.
It promotes good directional and
progressive solidifications.
It reduces the incidents of macro and
micro-porosity.

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 Types of Chill

External:
Metal inserts of steel, cast iron or
copper that placed at appropriate
location in the mold.
They are used effectively at the
junctions or other portion of a casting
that are difficult to feed by risers.
Their size are determined by cooling
requirements.

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Chills contd…

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 Chills contd…

Internal:
Placed inside the mold cavity where
external chill can not be provided.
They are also used in spots that are
subsequently machined out such as
bosses and lugs that are to be drilled
or bored.
Composition of chill will be same of
pouring metal for proper fusing.
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Chills contd…

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 Critical issues for internal
chills
• The chill may not fuse properly with the casting.
• Cleanliness of the chill is more important.
• The chill may alter the mechanical properties of the
castings.

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Placement of risers and chills

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 Feeding Aids

• Exothermic materials/Insulators are added on

top of the riser to increase riser efficiency.
• They keep the molten metal in the riser in liquid
form for as long as a period as required.
• It also increases casting yield.
• Some exothermic materials are graphite,
charcoal power, rice hulls, thermit mixture.

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Cross section of wheel

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Cross section of wheel

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Casting Cleaning

• After entire pouring of metal into the mold cavity, the

casting is allowed to solidify and cooled in the mold itself.
• The sand mold is to be broken to extract the casting.
• But the breaking of sand mold is to be done only when
the casting is sufficiently cooled.

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Generally hot casting is not
exposed to air for cooling, why?
• Uneven cooling takes place in air. Because of that,
casting may wrap, crack, or induce thermal stress
beneath of the skin.
• The molding sand provides uniform cooling medium
for the casting while producing the least amount of
internal stress.

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Casting Cleaning contd…

• The complete process of the cleaning of casting is called

fettling process.
• Fettling process involves:
 Removal of cores, gates and risers.
 Breaking off any unnecessary projections on surface.
 Cleaning of casting surface.
• The gates and risers can be removed
 By hammering
 Chipping
 Hack sawing
 Abrasive cut off
 By flame or arc cutting

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Casting Cleaning contd…

• Some fins or other projections are removed

 Pedestal grinder.
 Swing frame grinder depending upon size of casting.
• Cleaning of casting surface is done by
 Sand blasting
 Tumbling
• The dry sand cores can be removed
 By knocking off with an iron bar.
 By means of core vibrator.
 By means of hydroblasting.

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Casting Defects

1. Gas defects
2. Shrinkage cavities
3. Molding material defects
4. Pouring metal defects
5. Metallurgical defects

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Defects in sand casting

Blow Buckle
Scar Scab
Blister Rat tail
Gas holes Penetration
Pin holes Swell
Porosity Misrun
Drop Cold shut
Inclusion Hot tear
Dross Shrinkage cavity
Dirt Shift
Wash 50
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Blow/Scar/Blister

 Possible causes
– Excess moisture in the molding sand or core sand.
– Moisture on chills, chaplets, or metal inserts.
– Cores not sufficiently baked or not properly vented.
– Permeability of molding sand or core too low because of hard
ramming or excess binder or too fine grain size.

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Gas holes

 Possible causes
– Faulty gating system
– Faulty pouring

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Pin holes/Porosity

 Possible causes
 Gas dissolved in the alloy and the alloy not properly degassed.
 Pouring temperature of the alloy too high.

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Gas defects & Remedy

• Controlling metallurgical, sand quality, molding

practice and proper temperature.
• Designing a good gating systems to avoid turbulent
pouring and turbulent flow of liquid metal into the
mold cavity.

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Drop

 Possible causes
– Dropping of loose molding sand from the cope surface.
– Faulty molding due to poor strength of the inside surface or
improper ramming.

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Inclusion/Dirt

 Possible causes
– Presence of non-metallic particle in the metal matrix.
– Molding sand or core not sufficiently strong.

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Dross

 Possible causes
– Lighter impurities on top surface of casting.
– Faulty gating system design.

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Wash

 Possible causes
– Erosion of sand from the near portion of the gate due to high
velocity of jet.
– Faulty gating system.

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Rat tail/Buckle

 Possible causes
– Compression failure of the skin of mold cavity because of
excessive heat in the molten metal.
– Poor expansion properties of the molding sand.
– Too high heat in the pouring metal.

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Penetration

 Possible causes
– Mold surface is too soft or
too porous.
– Molding sand has too large
grain size.
– Molding sand is not rammed
properly.

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Swell/Scab

 Possible causes
– Upheaved sand is separated from the mold surface and liquid
metal flows into the space between the mold and the displaced
sand.
– Influence of metallostatic force.
– Faulty mold making procedure.

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Swell/Scab

 Remedy:
– Increasing the ramming density in the areas of mold subject to
the defects, increasing the binder content in the sand.
– Modify the location of gating system to reduce pressure of liquid
metal.
– Substitute dried or chemically bonded sand.

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Misrun/Cold shut

 Possible causes
– Insufficient super heat in the liquid metal.
– Pouring time is high or slow pouring.
– Low fluidity of molten metal.
– Faulty gating system.

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Hot tear

 Possible causes
– It is a metallurgical
defect.
– Crack formation due to
unwanted cooling stress
or high residual stress.
– Faulty design of casting.
 Remedy:
– Control of grain
refinement of casting
material.
– Control of mold
temperature.

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Shrinkage cavity

 Possible causes
– Faulty design calling for isolated heavier sections which are
difficult to feed.
– Faulty gating system (riser or feeder).
– Improper use of chills.

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Shift

 Possible causes
– Core/jackets not properly located.
– Faulty flask/core boxes.

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 Inspection Methods for
Defects
Process inspection
Visual inspection
Dimensional inspection
Pressure testing
Radiography
Magnetic particle testing
Penetrant testing methods
Ultrasonic testing methods

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Ex:1

Mismatch
Flash

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Ex:2

Cold Shut Misrun Blow hole Gas porosity

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Ex:3

Shrinkage cavity Porosity

Crack

Corner Shrinkage
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?
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Thank You

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