MANUFACTURING PROCESSES
CASTING PROCESSES
Introduction
• Casting metals is one of the oldest
metalworking processes used by man.
• It is a method of making parts or products by
pouring molten metal into a mould.
• The mould forms a cavity having the shape
and size of the part to be cast, in a medium
suitable for holding the molten metal until it
cools.
• The part made by this process is called a
"casting“.
Introduction
• Ferrous metals
Iron
• Non-Ferrous metals
Aluminium
Note: Some of the complicated shapes may not be produced on
the components with conventional machining processes.
CASTING
Casting is one of the processes used for making
components of complicated shapes in larger
quantity.
Producing metal parts by pouring molten metal into
the mould or mold cavity of the required shape and
allowing the metal to solidify.
The solidified metal piece is called as “casting”
A plant where the castings are made is called a
“Foundry”
The main advantages of casting processes
1- Possibility of manufacturing parts of complex
shape or intricate design.
2- Casted products are simplified, in the sense
they are produced in one part.
3- Some alloys and metals cannot be formed
excepted by casting like cast iron.
4- Possibility of producing large parts which may
weight several tons.
5- Possibility of mechanizing and automating
casting operations in foundries.
Casting methods
Two Categories of Metal Casting Processes
1. Expendable mould processes - mould is
sacrificed to remove part
– Advantage: more complex shapes possible
– Disadvantage: production rates often limited by
time to make mold rather than casting itself
2. Permanent mould processes - mould is made of
metal and can be used to make many castings
– Advantage: higher production rates
– Disadvantage: geometries limited
Sand Casting
• Most widely used casting process
• Nearly all alloys can be sand casted, including
metals with high melting temperatures, such
as steel, nickel, and titanium
• Parts ranging in size from small to very large
• Production quantities from one to millions
The main elements of sand casting
The main elements involved in the process are:
Moulding methods “green-sand moulds”
1. Patterns
2. Moulding sand
3. Cores
4. Metal preparation
5. Cleaning of casting
Moulding Methods
a- green–sand moulds:
• These moulds are formed form damp
moulding sand (a mixture of sand, clay, and
water).
• Fig.3.1 illustrates the principal steps in making
a mould for sand casting.
• The mould shown is made in a flask, which has
two parts.
• The top part is called the ‘cope’, and the lower
parts the ‘drag’.
Sand casting example
Sand casting example
video
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=06tYVlT5gHs
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Terminology
Moulding Sand
• The molding sand is a mixture of sand, clay water, and
certain additives.
Cores
• A core is a performed piece of material that is put into a
mould so that the metal will flow around it and leave an
opening in the casting. The following figure shows some
examples of cores and how they can be used.
Terminology
Core box :The core is made from mixture of sand
and oil (acting as a binder) and then is pressed
into a core box. The core box is made of wood,
metal, or plastic, Fig. 3.7 shows the core boxes
used to cast the cores shown in Fig. 3.6.
Terminology
Patterns
• The first step in making a casting is to prepare a Model of
the required casting, known as a pattern’.
• Most patterns are made of wood, which is inexpensive
and can be worked easily.
• Patterns are also made of aluminum, brass or plastic.
• If more than 500 parts are to be cast from one pattern,
the pattern should be made of metal, usually aluminum.
• The pattern will be used to form the cavity in the sand
mould.
• The patternmaker must consider several items in
dimensioning the pattern in addition to the original
drawing dimensions
Pattern part
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Pattern allowances
The difference in the dimensions of the casting
and the pattern is due to the various allowances
considered while designing a pattern for a
casting.
The various types of allowances are,
Advantages and disadvantages
• Advantages
1. Castings can be up to several tons.
2. Least expensive casting process.
3. Can be used with most metals.
• Disadvantages
1. Rough Surface Finish
2. Large dimensional variation
3. Usually require Secondary Machining
4. Parts have internal porosity
5. Low production volume
Questions for Review
1. What are the main advantages and
disadvantages of sand casting
2. What is the pattern allowances of the pattern
used in casting process
3. What is the function of core in the process
of sand casting.
4. Explain with net sketch the steps used in
making a mould for sand casting for the
figures shown
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