MANUFACTURING PROCESSES I

LECTURE 2
CASTING PROCESS
 CASTING PROCESS

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CASTING

 Casting process involves pouring of the molten metal into a

refractory mould with a cavity of the shape to be made, and
allowing it to solidify. When solidified, the desired metal object
is taken out from the refractory mould either by breaking the
mould or taking the mould apart.
 The solidified object is called casting.

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 Casting

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 CASTING

Sand casting
weighing over 680
kg (1500 lb) for an
air compressor frame
(photo courtesy of
Elkhart Foundry).

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 CASTING

Casting of the Wright

brother's engine block

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 Applications

V 6 ENGINE BLOCK

Machine tools

Motor casing
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Crank shaft

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 Engine block

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Side frames of railway wagon

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Impellers

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Dumbbell

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 Machine parts

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 CASTING

• Casting is the oldest manufacturing process.

• In general, casting is used where it is necessary to make large, near net-

shape parts having intricate internal features. Typically, parts made by
casting have geometries that are challenging (or impossible) to machine as
a single piece, and casting can achieve an economy of scale at large
volumes.

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Learning Objectives

✓ To understand the principles and applications of casting processes in general, and how
the solidification of molten metals is controlled to achieve the final part geometry.

✓ Describe the processes of sand casting, die casting, and investment casting, and
compare their key details (e.g., mold design, mold and part material, part size range
and surface quality).
✓ Describe how the high surface tension and low viscosity of metals influences flow in
casting processes.
✓ To understand how the microstructure of cast metal is influenced by heat transfer,
solidification, and shrinkage.
✓ Apply Chvorinov's rule to estimate the solidification time for a casting process.
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Classification of Foundry process

• A place where casting is done is typically called a foundry and that can
be a small shop or a very, very large facility.

• The two biggest categories of casting processes are expendable mold and
permanent mold casting.

• Expendable means you make the mold once and you use it and throw it
away.

• Permanent mold means that the mold is reusable.

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Pattern

Pattern is a full-sized model of part, slightly enlarged to account for

shrinkage and machining allowances in the casting.

Common Pattern materials are:

Wood - common material because it is easy to work, but it warps

Metal - more expensive to fabricate, but lasts longer

Plastic - compromise between wood and metal

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Types of Patterns

Types of patterns used in sand casting: (a) solid pattern, (b) split pattern, (c) match-plate
pattern, (d) cope and drag pattern
Single Piece Pattern
Split Pattern
Cope and Drag Pattern
Match Plate Pattern
SWEEP PATTERN
GATED PATTERN
Advantages of casting process

1. Very thin sections, because of the flowability of the liquid metal, can be cast by the
metal casting process, which otherwise are difficult to produced by other shaping
processes.
2.Intricate and complex shapes can be made by this process.
3.Any material that is ferrous or non-ferrous can be cast.
4. The tooling required for casting molds are very simple and inexpensive. As a result, for
production of a small lot, it is the ideal process.
5.There are certain parts made from metals and alloys that can only be processed this way.
6.Size and weight of the product is not a limitation for the casting process
7.Metal casting is a process highly adaptable to the requirements of mass production.

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 Limitations

1. Dimensional accuracy and surface finish of the castings made by casting

processes are a limitation to this technique. Many new casting processes
have been developed which can take into consideration the aspects of
dimensional accuracy and surface finish. Some of these processes are die
casting process, investment casting process, vacuum-sealed molding
process, and shell molding process.
2. The metal casting process is a labor intensive process

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Metal Casting Processes

Casting is one of the oldest manufacturing process. It is the first step in making
most of the products.
• Steps:
❖ Making mould cavity - Material is first liquefied by properly heating it in a
suitable furnace.
❖ Liquid is poured into a prepared mould cavity - allowed to solidify
❖ product is taken out of the mould cavity, trimmed and made to shape

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Mould Section and casting nomenclature, (a) top view, (b) front view

Flask: A metal or wood frame, without fixed top or bottom, in which

the mould is formed. Depending upon the position of the flask in the
moulding structure, it is referred to by various names such as drag –
lower moulding flask, cope – upper moulding flask, cheek –
intermediate moulding flask used in three piece moulding.
Pattern: It is the replica of the final object to be made. The mould
cavity is made with the help of pattern. Parting line: This is the
dividing line between the two moulding flasks that makes up the
mould.
Moulding sand: Sand, which binds strongly without losing its
permeability to air or gases. It is a mixture of silica sand, clay, and
moisture in appropriate proportions.
Facing sand: The small amount of carbonaceous material sprinkled
on the inner surface of the mould cavity to give a better surface finish
to the castings

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CASTING PROCESS
 Casting Terminologies
Core: A separate part of the mould, made of sand and generally baked, which is used to create openings and
various shaped cavities in the castings.
Pouring basin: A small funnel shaped cavity at the top of the mould into which the molten metal is
poured.
Sprue: The passage through which the molten metal, from the pouring basin, reaches the mould cavity. In
many cases it controls the flow of metal into the mould.
Runner: The channel through which the molten metal is carried from the sprue to the gate.
Gate: A channel through which the molten metal enters the mould cavity.
Chaplets: Chaplets are used to support the cores inside the mould cavity to take care of its own weight. The
chaplet melts as it come in contact with the molten metal and forms part of the cast material
Riser:It is a passage made in the cope through which the molten metal rises after the mould is filled up.
Vent: Small opening in the mould to facilitate escape of air and gases

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The six basic steps in making sand castings are

(i)Pattern making,
(ii)Core making,
(iii)Moulding
(iv)Melting and pouring,
(v)Cleaning

Pattern making
Pattern: Replica of the part to be cast and is used to prepare the mould cavity.
It is the physical model of the casting used to make the mould. Made of either wood or metal.
-The mould is made by packing some readily formed aggregate material, such as moulding sand,
surrounding the pattern. When the pattern is withdrawn, its imprint provides the mould cavity. This
cavity is filled with metal to become the casting.
- If the casting is to be hollow, additional patterns called ‘cores’, are used to form these cavities.

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 Open & Closed Moulds

Two forms of mold: (a) open mold and (b) closed mold for more complex mold
geometry with gating system leading into the cavity
Two Categories of Casting Processes

1. Expendable mold processes – use an expendable mold which must be

destroyed to remove the casting
▪ Mold materials: sand, plaster, and similar materials, plus binders

2. Permanent mold processes – use a permanent mold which can be used to

produce many castings
▪ Mold is made of metal (or, less commonly, a ceramic refractory material)
Relative Advantages and Disadvantages

▪ More intricate geometries are possible with expendable mold

processes

▪ Part shapes in permanent mold processes are limited by the need

to open the mold

▪ Permanent mold processes are more economic in high production

operations
Use of a Core in the Mold Cavity

▪ The mold cavity provides the external surfaces of the cast part
▪ In addition, a casting may have internal surfaces, determined by a core, placed
inside the mold cavity to define the interior geometry of the part
▪ In sand casting, cores are generally made of sand
 Pattern Allowances

Shrink rule is used to compensate solid shrinkage depending on the material contraction rate.
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 Shrinkage allowance`
1. The shrinkage allowance depends on the coefficient of thermal expansion
of the material (α).
2. For a dimension ‘l’, shrinkage allowance is α l (θf –θ0). Here θf is the
freezing temperature and θ0 is the room temperature, α-linear coefficient of
thermal expansion, l -dimension of casting.

Machining allowance:

1. It will take care of the extra material that will be removed to obtain a
finished product. In this the rough surface in the cast product will be
removed
2. The machining allowance depends on the size of the casting, material
properties, material distortion, finishing accuracy and machining
method.

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 Draft Allowance
Draft allowance:

All the surfaces parallel to the

direction in which the pattern will
be removed are tapered slightly
inward to facilitate safe removal of
the pattern. This is called ‘draft
allowance’.
Shake allowance

Before withdrawal from the sand mould, the pattern is

rapped all around the vertical faces to enlarge the mould
cavity slightly, which facilitates its removal. Since it
enlarges the final casting made, it is desirable that the
original pattern dimensions should be reduced to account
for this increase.

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Distortion Allowance
A metal when it has just solidified is very weak and therefore is
likely to be distortion prone. This is particularly so for weaker
sections such as long flat portions, V, U sections or in a
complicated casting which may have thin and long sections which
are connected to thick sections. The foundry practice should be to
make extra material provision for reducing the distortion.

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Shrinkage allowance

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