International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7 (3.

34) (2018) 410-413

International Journal of Engineering & Technology

Website: www.sciencepubco.com/index.php/IJET

Research paper

Reduction of Blowholesin Aluminium High Pressure Die

Casting Machine
Nagasankar.P1, Sathiyamoorthy.V2, Gurusamy.P3,VinothKanna.P4, Manibharathi.D5, Srikanth.P6
1, 2,4,5,6
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vel Tech High Tech Dr.Rangarajan Dr.Sakunthala Engineering College, Chennai -
600062, India
3
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jaya Engineering College, Chennai - 602024, India

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to reduce the blowholes by analyzing the factors which are affected during the casting process. The
process parameters are optimized and change is made in the design part to reduce the blowhole and to increase the efficiency of the high
pressure die casting machines. Product manufactured from every manufacturing process shows some defects. For supplying quality
product to the customer these defects must be reduced. In this work, an attempt is made to reduce the rejection due to the blowhole defect
is found out through why-why analysis technique. Process capability of current high pressure die casting manufacturing process is
checked. Manufacturing process found capable to manufacture the components. Current problem of blowhole defect is solved making an
improvement in design of die which we insert. In gate directions are changed so as to obtain modified improved flow pattern. Using
magma flow simulationsoftware existing and modified design has then been compared. It is found that, modified design shows superior
results and using this, the defect of blowholes is minimized up to satisfactory level.

Keywords: Pressure die casting, Aluminum, Blowholes, Casting Defects

1. Introduction: is used to meltthe metal and the molten metal is poured into the
die-casting machine with a ladle for each casting cycle which is
also called shoot.
Die casting involves the preparation of components by injecting
molten metal at high pressure into a metallic die. Die casting is
closely related to permanent mold casting, in that both the 2. Usage of Electric Arc Furnace:
processes uses reusable metallic dies. In die casting, as the metal
is forced in under pressure compared to permanent molding, it is In the electric arc furnaces the resistance type heating is generally
also called pressure die casting. As the high pressure is involved in used for holding furnaces to maintain the liquid metal at a certain
die casting, any narrow sections, complex shapes and fine surface temperature for non-ferrous alloys such as for die casting.
details can comfortably be produced. However, the electric furnaces in view of their high degree of
In die casting, the die consists of two parts. One is the stationary temperature control and flexibility of operations have been widely
half or cover die which is fixed to the die-casting machine and the used for melting small to medium sized castings in ferrous as well
second part is the moving half or ejectors die which is moved out as non-ferrous alloys.
for the extraction of the casting. The casting cycle will start when  For heavy steel castings, the open-hearth type of furnaces
the two parts of the die are apart. The lubricant is sprayed on the with electric arc or oilfired would be generally suitable in view of
die cavity manually or by the auto lubrication system so that the the large heat required for melting.
casting will not stick to the die. After the two halves of die are
 Electric arc furnaces are more suitable for ferrous materials
closed and clamped, the required quantity of metal is injected into
and are larger in capacity. This type of furnace draws an electric
the die. After the casting is solidified under pressure, the die is
arc that rapidly heats and melts the charge material.
opened and the casting is ejected. The die casting needs to have
 The bowl shaped bottom of the furnace, called the heath is
the provision of ejectors to push the casting after it gets solidified.
lined with refractory bricks and granular refractory material. Heat
It will also have cooling channels to extract the heat of the molten
is directly transferred to the charge material from the electrode
metal to maintain proper die temperature.
arc.
The die casting machines are of two types:
The furnace has a tilting mechanism allowing it to be tilted
Hot-chamber die casting
forward for metal tapping or backward for de lagging. Once the
Cold-chamber die casting
melt is ready to pour, the electrodes are raised through the roof
The main difference between the two types is that in the hot
and the furnace is tilted to pour the molten metal into a receiving
chamber, the die-casting machine is integral withthe holding
ladle.
furnace, whereas in the cold-chamber machine, a separate furnace

Copyright © 2018 Authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
411 International Journal of Engineering & Technology

3. Nitrogen Degassing Process: The three components are the priority that the operations should
be created to the same standards for properly practice. Further,
machinery selection for the product is important which must be
Molten aluminum contains a large amount of dissolved hydrogen, considered in the next stage.
which should be expelled before it is poured in the molds, this The condition of parameters is to determine the appropriate step
process is called degassing. During the solidification of aluminum molding process. Because of some parameters which affects the
alloys, dissolved hydrogen generates porosity which is detrimental quality of the part for actual practice was difficult to control due to
to the mechanical properties of this alloy casting. The inert gas variations. The most common method, which is at the same time
when expelled through the metal accumulates the soluble the most easily applicable in the foundries environment, is the trial
hydrogen atoms, letting a hydrogen molecule to form inside the and error method. Usually, the main controlled variables are mold
lower pressure of the collector gas bubble. Pure argon is temperature, dosage volume, slow and fast shots, communication
frequently injected into the liquid alloy through a submerged lance spots, injection pressure, upset pressure as well as chemical
or bubbler, so that dissolved hydrogen enters the argon bubble composition and liquid metal temperature. Recently some papers
prior to discharge from the environment. As this bubble disrupts have some shown the die casting injection speed and the low-
the surface, aluminum may be lost to oxidation by the entrapment speed starting position.
in dross andfurnace gasses. Additionally, the use of chlorine Pressure in compression during the coagulation that effect on the
creates environmental issues. quality of the air inside the cavity. The time for cooling setting
Another technique is a rotor degassing process, proved to be work piece in the mold which in fluency only to the external
more effective by producing smaller bubbles and hence in surface quality
degassing. One of the advantages in this technique is that, flux Blow holes caused by gas in the water metal or may be a result of
may be injected simultaneously with the degassing when gas is the remaining air in the material is mixed. Pore appearance of
used as a carrier for different types of fluxes. The Foseco Metal cavitation is often a small hole. The shape of blowholes is with a
Degassing Unit (MDU) has a graphite rotor, which will introduce round and sharp holes. Usually, occurs as a group within the meat
inert gasses near the bottom of the vessel, which generates very casting and found after the component is turning. The focus of this
small bubbles and blends them withmolten aluminum drawn into paper is on the blowholes of the die casting process by using the
the rotor. As the bubbles float to the surface, they enlarge with a R14 aluminum alloy. The basic step as following:
decrease in pressure that attracts the dissolved oxygen to Determine the blow holes ratings of the die casting process. The
thebubble surface and into the bubbles that escape from the metal. blow holes have been selected as the most quality problem.
The Foseco MDU rotor operates as a pump, pulling the metal into The select of most significant factors effects on the blow holes
the rotor chamber. The inert gas is transported to the rotor through rating when adjusted to different levels.
the center of the shaft which is then sheared into tiny gas bubbles Analyze the summary data to determine the significant of each
that interact with the metal. The mixture is then ejected through factor and considering for the best condition that the minimum
quadrants around the perimeter of the rotor. The rotor, since it effects on the blow holes rating. Determine the optimum setting of
rotates continuously, assures fast and complete treatment. A controlling factors is considered. Verification of a result by the
refractory baffle board at the center eliminates. optimum factors setting as new as levels in the predicted of the die
casting process. In the first step the ladle was pouring the mold
4. High Pressure Die Casting Process: into the machine and in the second step the plunger injects the
mold into the die, when the plunger injects the mold in the high
pressure the mold transforms into the casting part by the
High pressure die casting process is the most common technology intensification process.
for the production of components made for the alloys. Because the To reduce the rejection rate in aluminum high pressure die casting
process characterized by molten metal is forged into cold empty machine one must have to analyze the casting defects and their
cavity of the metal in the mold. When the die is opened, the causes. So, the problems which are faced while casting are
casting is returned in the moving half from which it is ejected by analyzed and discussed below.
pins activated either hydraulically or mechanically. These
characteristics are good mechanical properties in the casting.
However the quality defects that may occur most frequently in 5. Problem Statement:
casting process at high pressure is blow holes defects that occur is
mainly composed as follows. Porosity defect in the die casted product is major issue considered
 The operation in casting process. in this work fig 1 shows chart for Sep 2016. Contribution of
 Machine used in the casting process. porosity in injection is maximum from return chart for the months
 How to design appropriate January 2016 to September 2016 that the rejection of the product
due to porosity is increasing month by month see figure2.
Objective is set to reduce the rejection of the product due to
porosity defect below 5%

Figure 1: working of high pressure die casting machine

Figure 2: Pareto chart
412 International Journal of Engineering & Technology

6. Result and Discussion

6.1. Causes of Porosity:

Porosity is defined as void in casted part where there is absence of

cast metal. Main case for gas porosity is high velocity of the metal
injection. Before producing to solve any problem of
porosity,identification of the type of porosity is very essential to
obtain optimum solution for minimizing of defect. A blowhole
typically shows series of smooth pores in casting as shown in the
figure, there are series of pores near gate region in final product.
Therefore mentioned porosity is gas porosity.
After the type of porosity is recognized, the root cause for the
sameis found. North American die casting association has listed
some causes for gas porosity, some of them are trapped air in
plunger system, poor gate design, turbulent metal flows inside the Figure 3: Existing housing cover design
cavity, etc... Some secondary causes are coolant leakages in die,
excess lubricant and die coat spray on die, etc.. Figure shows the Table 3: Why-Why analysis
causes and effect diagram for porosity defect by performing brain SI.NO Why? Answer
storming on all obtained causes, we come to conclusion that 1 Chip off in gate region. Bad design near gate.
maintained blowhole defect problem can be reduced by either 2 Blowholes near gate Air entrapment in gate.
modifying process parameter or by modifying gating design. region are obtained.
3 Gating directions are Poor feeding system design.
6.2. Parameter Optimization wrong.

This results into chip off and blowholes, Analysis called why-why
To reduce the blowholes we had chosen to optimize the process
analysis is performed to obtain the exact root cause for blowhole
parameters by changing the high speed change position. The
problem. From why-why analysis, it is concluded that the
following parameters are used before.
blowholes is occurring at gate section due to improper design near
Table 1: Existing parameter for housing cover
gate. Gating directions are designed with modifications so as to
PROCESS UPPER LOWER improve metal flow in die cavity. To reduce the affection of
PARAMETERS SPECIFIC SPECIFIC parental material during chip off the design has been changed near
LIMIT (U.S.L) LIMIT (L.S.L) the gate region. By modifying the gate design the parental material
High-speed velocity 6 4 remains unchanged during chip off hence the design is safe.
Intensification pressure
35 25
High-speed change
position 250 210
Biscuit thickness 31 15
Metal temperature 685 655

Table 2: New parameter for housing cover

PROCESS PARAMETERS UPPER LOWER
SPECIFIC SPECIFIC
LIMIT (U.S.L) LIMIT (L.S.L)
High-speed velocity 6 4
Intensification pressure 35 25
High-speed change position Figure4: Modified housing cover design
210 170
Biscuit thickness 31 15 The new modified design protects the parental material during
Metal temperature 685 655
chip off and reduces the air entrapment.
It hasbeen decided to change the high speed change position
from 230 to 190 so as to obtain the defect free parts. The other 7. Conclusion
parameters like biscuit thickness, intensification pressure are
remains unchanged. By optimizing parameters and by modifying the design near gate
The new process parameter reduces the pressure and the chance of region the defects of blowholes and affection of parental material
forming blowholes is reduced. We also made a change in design during chip off is reduced. The defect concentration diagram for
near gate system to avoid chip off. modified design is shown in figure 7. As a result of this project the
rejection rate reduced from 20% to 8.9%.
6.3. Design Modification:

After obtaining CAD design for current using design and shot
details, flow simulation results using magma software is obtained.
The figure shows the air entrapment results. It is observed that,
there is an entrapment near gate design.

The blowhole defect is identified using why-why analysis

technique.
413 International Journal of Engineering & Technology

Figure 5: Defect Concentration Diagram for Modified Design.

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