Casting
Casting
Casting
By
V. THULASIKANTH
Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering Department
vtkvsk@gmail.com
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Product Life Cycle
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Introduction to Manufacturing Technology
Manufacturing is the backbone of any industrialized nation.
Manufacturing processes
Materials being processed
Tools and equipments for manufacturing different components
Products with optimal process plan using proper precautions
Specified safety rules to avoid accidents
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Manufacturing Processes
Production or manufacturing can be simply defined as value addition
processes by which raw materials are converted into valued products.
Technologically acceptable
Technically feasible
Economically viable
Eco-friendly
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Broad classification of Manufacturing Processes
(a) Shaping or forming Manufacturing a solid product of definite
size and shape from a given material taken in three possible states:
Simple and complicated shapes can be made from any metal that can be melted.
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Advantages
It is possible to cast any material be it ferrous or non-ferrous.
Tools required for casting moulds are very simple and inexpensive.
Casting of any size and weight, even up to 200 tonnes can be made.
Limitations
Dimensional accuracy and surface finish achieved is some what less.
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Applications
Cylinder blocks
Liners
Machine tool beds
Pistons
Piston rings
Mill rolls
Wheels
Housings
Water supply pipes
air compressor frame
Bells etc.,
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Casting Terms
1. Flask (Cope & Drag)
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2. Pattern
It is a replica of the object to be made.
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3. Parting Line
It is a dividing line between cope, drag and also for split pattern.
4. Bottom Board
It is made of wood, the pattern is first kept on the bottom board
5. Facing Sand
Carbonaceous material is sprinkled on the inner surface of the
moulding cavity to give better castings
7. Moulding Sand
Mixture of silica sand with 18 to 30 percent clay, having moisture content
from 6 to 8%. It is used to make mould cavity.
8. Pouring Basin
It is a funnel shaped cavity at the top of the mould into which molten
material is poured.
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Steps involved in making a sand mould
1. Initially a suitable size of moulding box for suitable wall thickness is selected
for a two piece pattern.
2. Next, place the drag portion of the pattern with the parting surface down on
the bottom (ram-up) board as shown below;
3. The facing sand is then sprinkled carefully all around the pattern so that the
pattern does not stick with moulding sand during withdrawn of the pattern.
4. The drag is then filled with loose prepared moulding sand and ramming of
the moulding sand is done uniformly in the moulding box around the pattern.
Fill the moulding sand once again and then perform ramming. Repeat the
process three four times,
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5. The excess amount of sand is then removed using strike off bar to bring
moulding sand at the same level of the moulding flask height to completes the
drag.
6. The drag is then rolled over and the parting sand is sprinkled over on the top
of the drag
7. Now the cope pattern is placed on the drag pattern and alignment is done
using dowel pins.
8. Then cope (flask) is placed over the rammed drag and the parting sand is
sprinkled all around the cope pattern.
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13. Rap and remove both the cope and drag patterns and repair the mould
suitably if needed and dressing is applied
14. The gate is then cut connecting the lower base of sprue basin with runner
and then the mould cavity.
15. Apply mould coating with a swab and bake the mould in case of a dry sand
mould.
16. Set the cores in the mould, if needed and close the mould by inverting cope
over drag.
17. The cope is then clamped with drag and the mould is ready for pouring
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Patterns
Pattern is the replica of the casting and it is embedded in moulding sand. The
pattern is then withdrawn for generating cavity (known as mould) in moulding sand,
so it is a mould forming tool.
Objectives of a pattern
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Types of Patterns
1. Single-piece or solid pattern
Solid pattern is made of single piece without
joints, partings lines or loose pieces. It is the
simplest form of the pattern.
• When solid pattern is difficult for withdrawal from the mold cavity, then
solid pattern is splited in two parts.
• Split pattern is made in two pieces which are joined at the parting line by means
of dowel pins.
•
21 The splitting at the parting line is done to facilitate the withdrawal of the pattern.
Types of Patterns
3. Gated pattern
•In the mass production of casings,
multi cavity moulds are used.
•These patterns are made of metals, and metallic pieces to form gates and runners
are attached to the pattern.
4. Cope and drag pattern
•This is done when the complete mould is too heavy to be handled by one operator.
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•The pattern is made up of two halves, which are mounted on different plates.
Types of Patterns
5. Match plate pattern
After removing match plate mould cavity along with gating will be formed.
Several patterns can be fixed to a single match plate if they are small in size.
Used for small castings with higher dimensional accuracy and & large production.
Loose pieces are provided on the pattern and they are the part of pattern.
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First main pattern is removed finally the loose piece is withdrawal separately
Types of Patterns
7. Follow board pattern
8. Sweep Pattern
The
24 pivot end is attached to a stake of metal in the center of the mould.
Types of Patterns
9. Skeleton pattern
Used for large castings having simple geometric shape.
These are simple wooden frames that outline the shape of the part to be cast.
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Pattern Materials
Metal patterns are used for large scale casting productions, close tolerances,
Smooth, Surface finish. Aluminium and white metals are commonly used.
Plastics are used because of their low weight, easier formability, smooth surface.
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Pattern Allowances
Final dimensions of casting are different from pattern because of various reasons
1. Shrinkage allowances
Metal Shrinks on solidification and contracts further cooling at room temperature.
Liquid Shrinkage refers to reduction in volume when metal changes from liquid to
solid state. Risers are used to compensate this.
Solid Shrinkage refers to reduction in volume when metal loses temperature in
solid state. Shrinkage allowance is used to overcome this.
Rate of contraction with temperature is dependent on the material.
Shrink rulers are used for different castings.
Vertical faces of pattern are continual contact with the sand and may damage
during withdrawal.
Inner details of the pattern require higher draft than outer surfaces.
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Pattern Allowances
3. Machining allowance
To get better surface finish for casting
4. Shake allowance
Pattern is rapped all around the faces to remove and it enlarges the final casting.
5. Distortion allowance
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Moulding Types
Commonly used traditional methods of molding are bench molding, floor
molding, pit molding and machine molding.
1. Bench Molding
In this process, a minimum of two flasks, namely cope and drag molding flasks
are necessary.
But in certain cases, the number of flasks may increase depending upon the
number of parting surfaces required.
2. Floor Molding
This type of molding is preferred for medium and large size jobs.
In this method, only drag portion of molding flask is used to make the mold
The floor itself is utilized as drag
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It is usually performed with dry sand.
Moulding Types
3. Pit Molding
Usually large castings are made in pits instead of drag flasks because of their
huge size.
In pit molding, the sand under the pattern is rammed by bedding-in process.
The walls and the bottom of the pit are usually reinforced with concrete and a
layer of coke is laid on the bottom of the pit to enable easy escape of gas.
The coke bed is connected to atmosphere through vent pipes which provide an
outlet to the gases.
One box is generally required to complete the mold, runner, sprue, pouring basin
and gates are cut in it.
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Moulding Types
4. Machine Molding
For mass production of the casting
The main advantage of machine molding, besides the saving of labor and
working time, is the accuracy and uniformity of the castings which can otherwise be
only obtained with much time and labor.
Molding machines thus prepare the moulds at a faster rate and also eliminate the
need of employing skilled molders.
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Constituents of molding sand
Silica sand
It is the main constituent of moulding sand having enough refractoriness which
can impart strength, stability and permeability to moulding and core sand.
Binder
It can be either inorganic or organic substance.
Organic group includes dextrin, molasses, cereal binders, linseed oil and
resins like phenol formaldehyde, urea formaldehyde etc.
Moisture
Moisture content in the molding sand varies between 2 to 8 percent.
Amount of water is held rigidly by the clay and is mainly responsible for
Developing the strength in the sand.
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Additives
Generally added to the moulding and core sand mixture to develop some
special property in the sand.
Coal Dust
Corn flour
Dextrin
Sea coal
Pitch
Wood flour
Silica flour
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Properties of moulding sand
Refractoriness
Permeability
Cohesiveness
Green strength
Dry strength
Flowability or plasticity
Adhesiveness
Collapsibility
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Types of moulding sand
1. Green sand
Silica sand + Clay 18 to 30% + Moisture 6 to 8%
Green sand is damp, when squeezed in the hand and it retains the shape
and the impression to give to it under pressure.
Moulds prepared by this sand are not requiring backing and hence are
known as green sand moulds.
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2. Dry sand
Green sand that has been baked in suitable oven after the making mould
and cores
It possesses more strength, rigidity and thermal stability.
It is mainly suitable for larger castings.
3. Facing sand
It is sprinkled on the inner surface of the moulding cavity to give better
castings
It is directly next to the surface of the pattern and it comes into contact
molten metal when the mould is poured.
It is made of silica sand and clay, without the use of used sand.
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4. Backing sand
It is used to back up the facing sand and is used to fill the whole volume of
the moulding flask.
Used moulding sand is mainly employed for this purpose.
Black in colour due to addition of coal dust and burning on coming in
contact with the molten metal.
5. Parting sand
This is clean clay-free silica sand which serves the same purpose as
parting dust.
To keep the green sand not to stick to the pattern and also to allow the
sand on the parting surface the cope and drag to separate without clinging.
6. Core sand
Core sand is used for making cores and it is sometimes also known as oil sand
This is highly rich silica sand mixed with oil binders such as core oil which
composed of linseed oil, resin, light mineral oil and other bind materials.
39 Pitch or flours and water may also be used in large cores for the sake of
economy.
Cores
Cores are made of sand which are used to make cavities and hallow
projections.
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Characteristics of Core
Green strength – sufficient strength to hold up its shape till it is baked.
Permeability – gases evolved may pass through the core to escape and
should posses sufficient permeability.
Friability – should get dismantled easily once the casting is completely cooled.
Sand grains
Sand containing more than 5% clay is not used to make core
Coarse silica used for making steels and finer one for cast iron an
non- ferrous alloys
Binders
Organic binders tend to burn away under the heat of molten metal
and hence increases the collapsibility of the core.
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Types of Cores
Horizontal cores –
It is held horizontally along the parting line of the mould.
Ends of core rests in the seats provided by core prints on the pattern.
Vertical cores –
Two ends of the mould sits on the cope and drag portion of the mould.
Amount of taper on the top is more than the taper at the bottom of the core.
Balanced cores –
When openings are required at only one end, balanced cores are used.
Core prints are available at one end of the pattern.
Core prints need to be sufficiently longer to support the core in case of longer
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holes.
Types of Cores
Hanging cores –
They are used when the casting is made in drag.
Fastening wires or rods are used and hole is made in the upper part of the core
so that molten metal reaches the mould cavity.
Cover cores –
In cover core, core hangs from the cope portion and is supported by the drag.
Wing cores –
A wing core is used when hole or recess is to be obtained in casting.
Pouring basin
Sprue
Sprue Base
Runner
Gate
Riser
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Functions of Gating system
To provide continuous, uniform feed of molten metal in to mould
To fill the mould cavity in a less time to avoid thermal gradient
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Elements of Gating system
1. Pouring basin
It is the conical hollow element or tapered hollow vertical portion of
It makes easier for the ladle operator to direct the flow of molten
It also helps in separating dross, slag and foreign element etc.
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Elements of Gating system
3. Sprue Base Well
It acts as a reservoir for metal at the bottom of sprue in order to
reduce moment of molten metal.
4. Runner
It will be in trapezoidal cross section which will connect the sprue to
ingates of mould cavity.
For ferrous metals runner will be in cope side
Metal flow rate from runner should be more than flow rate in ingates
then only slag will be trapped.
5. Gate
It is a small passage or channel being cut by gate cutter which
connect runner with the mould cavity.
It feeds the liquid metal to the casting at the rate consistent with
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the rate of solidification.
6. Riser
It is a passage in molding sand made in the cope portion of the mold.
Molten metal rises in it after filling the mould cavity completely.
It compensates the shrinkage during solidification of the casting
thus avoiding the shrinkage defect in the casting.
It also permits the escape of air and mould gases.
It promotes directional solidification too and helps in bringing the
soundness in the casting.
Types of Gates
Top Gate
Bottom Gate
Parting Gate
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Chills
At that particular position, the special mould surface for fast extraction of
heat is to be made.
Shell Casting
Investment Casting
Die casting
Centrifugal Casting
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Shell Casting
It is a process in which, sand with thermosetting resin is poured on
heated metallic pattern to form a thin shells which act as a mould
cavity.
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Process
1. In this process a pattern is placed on a metal plate and it is then coated
with a mixture of fine sand and Phenol-resin (20:1).
3. Sand, hexa and additives which are all dry are mixed in mueller for 1min.
4. The pattern is heated first and silicon grease is then sprayed on the
heated metal pattern ( grey cast Iron) for easy separation.
5. The pattern is heated to 205 to 230°C and covered with resin bounded
sand. After 30 seconds, a hard layer of sand is formed over pattern.
6. Pattern and shell are heated and treated in an oven at 315°C for 60 secs.,
Disadvantages
(i) Initial cost is high.
(ii) Specialized equipment is required.
(iii) Resin binder is an expensive material.
(iv) Limited for small size.
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Applications
Suitable for production of Al, Cu and ferrous metals
Cylinder heads for air cooled IC engines
Automobile transmission parts
Cast tooth bevel gears
Break beam
Rollers for crawler tractors
Chain seat bracket
Refrigerator valve plate etc.
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Investment Casting (lost wax casting)
In this process mould is prepared around expandable pattern.
Pattern is made of wax and same shape die has to be prepared first
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(c) Shell built immerse into ceramic
slurry immerse into fine sand (few
layers)
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(f) Break ceramic shell (vibration or water blasting)
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Advantages
Complex shapes can be produced
Very thin sections can be produced
Because of using fine grain sand products with good surface finish can be
produced
Little or no machining is required
Controlled mechanical properties
Disadvantages
(i) Limited to size and mass of casting
(ii) More expensive
Application
Jewellery, surgical instruments, vanes and blades of a gas turbine
Fire arms, Steel valve bodies and impellers for turbo chargers, etc.
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PERMANENT MOLD OR GRAVITY DIE CASTING
Used in;
Carburetor bodies
Connecting rods
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Pistons etc.
Molten metal is poured into the mold under gravity only and no
external pressure is applied to force the liquid metal into the mold
cavity.
These molds are made of dense, fine grained, heat resistant cast
iron, steel, bronze, anodized aluminum, graphite or other suitable
refractoriness.
The pressure varies from 70 to 5000 kg/cm2 and is maintained while the
casting solidifies.
1. It consists of stationary die or cover die which is fixed to the die casting machine.
2. Second one is ejector die is moved out for the extraction of casting.
5. Required amount of metal is injected in to the die cavity and is allowed to solidified
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COLD CHAMBER:
•Die closed, molten metal is ladled into
cylinder
•Plunger pushes molten metal into die cavity
•Metal is held under high pressure until it
solidifies
•Die opens, plunger pushes solidified slug
from the cylinder
•Cores retracted
•Ejector pins push casting off ejector die
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COLD CHAMBER DIE
Casting
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Centrifugal Casting
In this casting process, molten metal is
poured into a revolving mold and allowed
to solidify molten metal by pressure of
centrifugal force.
3 -Types
1. True centrifugal casting
2. Semi-centrifugal casting
3. Centrifuging
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True Centrifugal Casting
At one end of the track there is a ladle containing proper quantities of
molten metal
As pouring proceeds mould is rotated and moved slowly down the track so
that the metal is laid progressively along the length of the mould wall.
After completion of pouring the machine will be at the lower end of its track
70with the mold that rotating continuously till the molten metal has solidified in
form of a pipe.
Advantages
Good mechanical properties can be achieved
Limitations
Castings which are axi-symmetric and having concentric holes are suitable.
Equipment is expensive.
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Semi - Centrifugal Casting
Used for articles which are more complicated than those possible in true
centrifugal casting, but are axi-symmetric in nature.
A particular shape of the casting is produced by mold and core and not by
centrifugal force.
The centrifugal force aids proper feeding and helps in producing the
castings free from porosity.
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For larger production rates moulds are stacked one over the other.
Centrifuging Casting
To obtain high metal pressures during
solidification When the shapes are not axi-
symmetrical the centrifuging is used.
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