Squeeze casting

Squeeze casting is a net shape fabrication technique under high pressure (50-150 MPa). Also known as
liquid forging or liquid stamping.
Process sequence:
1. A pre-specified amount of molten metal is poured into a preheated die cavity, located on the bed of
a hydraulic press.
2. The press is activated to close the die cavity and to pressurize the liquid metal until complete
solidification
3. The upper mould/punch is withdrawn and the casting is ejected

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Serope Kalpakjian, Steven R. Schmid - Manufacturing Engineering and Technology-Prentice Hall (2009)
Squeeze casting: Classification, Applications and Parameters
Two basic forms of the process depending on whether
• The pressure is applied directly on to the solidifying cast product via an upper or male die (punch) or
• The applied pressure is exerted through an intermediate feeding system
• Applications: Automotive industry in producing aluminum front steering knuckles, chassis frames,
brackets or nodes. High capacity propellers for boat-engine.
Parameters:
Direct squeeze Indirect squeeze
• Type of casting equipment
casting mode casting mode
• Melt volume
• Pressure level
• Timing of pressure application
• Pouring temperature
• Die temperature

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Ghomashchi, M. R., and A. Vikhrov. "Squeeze casting: an overview." Journal of Materials Processing Technology 101, no. 1-3 (2000): 1-9.
Squeeze casting: Classification
1. Direct squeeze casting mode
Without metal movement:
• Suitable for ingot type components where
there is no metal movement

With metal movement:

• Involves metal movement, also known as
the backward process
• More versatile and can be used to cast a
wide range of shaped components.

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Ghomashchi, M. R., and A. Vikhrov. "Squeeze casting: an overview." Journal of Materials Processing Technology 101, no. 1-3 (2000): 1-9.
Squeeze casting: Classification
2. Indirect squeeze casting mode
Further classified depending upon the clamping and injection direction
• Horizontal die closing and vertical injection
• Vertical die closing and horizontal injection

Horizontal die closing and vertical injection

a. Prevent inclusion of air: venting of air during complete upward hill filling technique
b. Enable pouring and clamping at same time to minimize cycle time

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Ghomashchi, M. R., and A. Vikhrov. "Squeeze casting: an overview." Journal of Materials Processing Technology 101, no. 1-3 (2000): 1-9.
 Squeeze casting: Advantages and issues
• The hydraulic press load are much lower than required for conventional forging or stamping.
• Squeeze cast shows isotropic material properties compared to conventional forged or stamped
products.
• The products are free from internal shrinkage and gas porosity, resulting from the influence of plastic
deformation under pressure during solidification.
• High cooling rate due to close contact between metal and die under pressure  Fine grained micro-
structure with better surface finish  higher strength to weight ratio with improved fatigue
properties.
• Near net shape manufacturing with higher casting yield.
• Process is limited to low melting point metal like aluminum, its metal matrix composites and
bimetals.
• The narrowest walls are limited to 4 mm thickness and the machines are slower than conventional
high pressure die casting.

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Ghomashchi, M. R., and A. Vikhrov. "Squeeze casting: an overview." Journal of Materials Processing Technology 101, no. 1-3 (2000): 1-9.
Thixomoulding
• The process is analogous to plastic injection molding.
• Magnesium chips are fed through a feed screw under Ar gas  progressively heated in the screw 
inject in to the die once the material reached the desired consistency at the front of the screw
(typically only 5–10% solid fraction)
• It does not require melting facilities as the material is processed from the solid.
• Product with high mechanical properties or complex shape.
• Applications: for making super-thin enclosures for laptops and other small electronic devices.
Competitor to injection molding and die-casting in a wide variety of applications.

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Thixomoulding: Grain structure
• With continuous shear during solidification, dendritic morphology becomes rosette due to ripening
and abrasion with other grains.
• Ripening proceeds during further cooling.
• With sufficient slow cooling and high shear  particles become spheroidal
• Spheroidal microstructure can be achieved by controlling
• Temperature of the melt,
• cooling rate,
• stirring (time, type, speed), etc.
Initial
dendritic dendritic Ripened
growth Rosette Spheroidal
fragment rosette

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Flemings, M. C. Behaviour of Metal Alloys in the Semisolid State. Metall. Trans. A 1991, 22, 957–981.
Centrifugal casting
• Rings, hollow cylinders, tubes, pipes, and large motor housings are often cast using the centrifugal
casting process for a number of reasons.
• There is no central core required and the wall thickness can therefore be controlled simply by
controlling the volume of metal poured.
• Neither running system nor feeders are required so the metallic yield can be close to 100%.

John Campbell - Complete Casting Handbook_ Metal Casting Processes, Techniques and Design 145
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Centrifugal casting - horizontal
• In centrifugal casting, molten metal is introduced into the mould which is rotated during
solidification 2
Fc r 2
r    2 0.011rN 2 r in m and N in rpm
G factor      N 
Fg g g  30  g
• For a particular diameter of casting the rpm should be chosen such that the G factor should
be sufficient
 to prevent raining as the metal passes over the
upper half of the mould,
 to spread the liquid metal through out the length by
compression of liquid against the mould wall
without slip and Fc
 to prevent instability without tearing the shell due to
higher stress
On an empirical basis, values of [GF = 60 to 80] are
found to be appropriate for horizontal centrifugal casting 146
True centrifugal casting (horizontal)
Centrifugal casting example
If G-factor of 120G is necessary to produce a hollow cylindrical part in true centrifugal casting
in a mould having inner diameter of 350 mm and length of 6 cm, what rotational speed is
needed?
Fc r 2 r 
2
0 .011 rN 2 2 120 g
G factor     2 N 
   N  0.011r
Fg g g  30  g

What will be the thickness of the hollow cylindrical casting if 9.4 kg of metal is poured in liquid
state having density 2.3 gm/cm3, and the total volumetric shrinkage is 0.05.

9400 9400
2.3 
Vol (cm3 )  2
Vol   r  r h
1 2
2
   r12  r22  h 
2.3

4087
r22  r12 
h
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Centrifugal casting – vertical
• In vertical casting method, the spinning die spins about a vertical axis.
• Vertical castings may achieve O.D. shaping by inserting graphite, sand, or ceramic molds into the die
 significantly reduced post-processing, like machining or fabrication.

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 Centrifugal casting – vertical
• Vertical axis true centrifugal casting has a tendency to form a parabolic bore due to the gravitational component
of the force acting on the metal.
• For regime below 10 mm line, the extra machining become so severe.
• Other routes such as horizontal spinning or conventional static casting using internal core have to be
considered.

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John Campbell - Complete Casting Handbook_ Metal Casting Processes, Techniques and Design
Semi-centrifugal casting
• Axisymmetric components of varying internal diameter or irregular wall thickness are fabricated by
using central core in a rotated mould.
• The centrifugal force helps in feeding the liquid metal to capture the intricate shape of the mould.
• The centrifugal force acting on the casting metal eliminates the porosity and shrinkage cavities.
• However, the G-factor is less than 15G to avoid the excessive flashing of liquid metal at the parting
surface.

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 Centrifuging casting
• In centrifuging casting process, multiple number of mold cavities are placed at certain distance from
the axis of rotation.
• The molten metal is poured from the center and is forced into the mold by centrifugal force.
• The properties of the casting vary by distance from the axis of rotation.
• The various process variables influencing the casting quality in true centrifugal, semi-centrifugal and
centrifuging casting processes are:
• speed of rotation
• pouring temperature
• pouring speed
• mould temperate

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Serope Kalpakjian, Steven R. Schmid - Manufacturing Engineering and Technology-Prentice Hall (2009)
 Investment casting (lost wax casting)
• Precision casting  very good surface finish and
close dimensional tolerance.
• The pattern in the investment casting has the
dimensional allowance to compensate its own
volumetric shrinkage as well as solidification
shrinkage of the cast metal.

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Serope Kalpakjian, Steven R. Schmid - Manufacturing Engineering and Technology-Prentice Hall (2009)
Investment casting (lost wax casting)
• The application of investment casting is principally in the field of relative small components. (most
emphasis on intricate parts weighing 1 gm - 0.5 kg)
• Thickness of 0.75 mm or even less can be achieved with complex shape.
• Tolerance of around ± 0.15 mm with surface finish in the range of 0.8-3.2 μm can be commonly
achieved
• All cast alloys can be fabricated
• The preheat temperature has strong influence on casting dimension.

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Continuous casting
• The molten metal is poured directly into a casting machine to produce billets, blooms or
slabs.
• Continuous casting eliminates the need for primary and
intermediate rolling mills, soaking pits and the storage and
use of large numbers of ingot molds.
• Liquid steel flows out of the ladle (1) into the tundish (2),
and then into a water-cooled copper mold (3).
• Advantages:
• Yield improvement
• Energy conservation (direct
production of semi-finished products)
• Savings in manpower

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Mikell P. Groover - Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing_ Materials, Processes, and Systems-Wiley (2012)
Continuous casting: Features
• Tundish to 1. Control the flow of melt into the chill mold
2. Help in positioning the melt flow to mold
3. Function as a slag separator
• Oscillating water-cooled copper mold:
• This mold is to form a solidified steel shell having sufficient strength to prevent
breakouts below;
• Mold oscillation creates a relative movement between strand and mold, and prevents
metal sticking to the mold surface.
• Stripping is facilitated by providing
an adequate lubricant (casting
powders or oil) at the steel meniscus.
• This lubricant is also essential to
maintain a high heat extraction and
prevent breakouts.

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Continuous casting: Features
• Tapered mold walls to accommodate the strand shrinkage over the mold length of 700 mm.
• On leaving the mold, the strand is cooled by water sprays and is supported by rolls to
prevent bulging until solidification is complete
• Modern casters are curved type machines which are cheaper and easier to accommodate in
the plant than the original vertical machines.
• The curved strand is straightened
by rollers after complete
solidification and cut to the
required length for further
processing in the rolling mills.

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