MOULDING

UNIT-1
 INTRODUCTION OF SAND MOULDING
 Manufacture of a machine part by heating a metal or alloy above
its melting point and pouring the liquid metal/alloy in a cavity
called mould approximately of same shape and size as the machine
part is called casting process.
 After the liquid metal cools and solidifies, it acquires the shape and
size of the cavity and resembles the finished product required.
 The mould making material can be metallic or non-metallic. For
metallic category, the common materials are cast iron, mild steel
and alloy steels.
 In the non-metallic group moulding sands, plaster of paris,
graphite, silicon carbide and ceramics are included.
 But, out of all, the sand is the most common utilized non-metallic
moulding material called sand moulding because of its certain
inherent properties namely refractoriness, chemical and thermal
stability at higher temperature, high permeability and workability
The manufacture of a casting requires:
(a) Preparation of a pattern,
(b) Preparation of a mould with the help of the pattern,
(c) Melting of metal or alloy in a furnace,
(d) Pouring of molten metal into mould cavity,
(e) Breaking the mould to retrieve the casting,
(f) Cleaning the casting and cutting off risers, runners etc.,
(this operation is called ‘fettling’)
(g) Inspection of casting
Mould
 Important mould terms
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
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.
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.
Riser:
 A column of molten metal placed in the mould to feed the castings as it
 PATTERN
Patterns are replicas of the casting required. It is similar
in shape and size to the final product, but not exactly.
Patterns may be in two or three pieces, where as casting
are in a single piece.
Materials for making patterns:
Metal
Wood
Plastic
Plaster
Wax.
Types of Patterns:
Single piece pattern.
Split piece pattern.
Loose piece pattern.
 Match plate pattern.
Cope and Drag pattern
Gated pattern.
Sweep pattern.
Follow board pattern
Skeleton pattern
 Single piece (solid) pattern:
Made from one piece and does not contain loose pieces or
joints.
Inexpensive.
Used for large size simple castings.
Pattern is accommodated either in the cope or in the drag.
 Split-piece pattern:
Patterns of intricate shaped castings cannot be made in one
piece because of the inherent difficulties associated with the
moulding operations (e.g. withdrawing pattern from mould).
The upper and the lower parts of the split piece patterns are
accommodated in the cope and drag portions of the mould
respectively.
Parting line of the pattern forms the parting line of the
mould.
Dowel pins are used for keeping the alignment between the
two parts of the pattern.
 
 Loose piece pattern
Certain patterns cannot be withdrawn once they are embedded
in the moulding sand. Such patterns are usually made with one
or more loose pieces for easy removal from the moulding box.
Loose parts or pieces remain attached with the main body of
the pattern, with the help of dowel pins.
The main body of the pattern is drawn first from the moulding
box and thereafter as soon as the loose parts are removed.
 Match plate pattern
It consists of a match plate, on either side of which each half
of split patterns is fastened.
A no. of different sized and shaped patterns may be mounted
on one match plate.
The match plate with the help of locator holes can be
clamped with the drag.
After the cope and drag
have been rammed with
the moulding sand, the
match plate pattern is
removed from in between
the cope and drag.
By using this we can
eliminate mismatch of
 Cope and Drag patterns:
cope and drag pattern is another form of split pattern. Each
half of the pattern is fixed to a separate metal/wood plate.
Each half of the pattern(along the plate) is molded
separately in a separate molding box by an independent
molder or moulders.
 The two moulds of each half of the pattern are finally
assembled and pouring.
Cope and drag patterns are used for producing big castings
which as a whole cannot be conveniently handled by one
moulder alone.
 Gated pattern
The sections connecting different patterns serve as runner
and gates.
This facilitates filling of the mould with molten metal in a
better manner and at the same time eliminates the time and
labour otherwise consumed in cutting runners and gates.
A gated pattern can manufacture many casting at one time
and thus it is used in mass production systems.
 Sweep pattern
A sweep pattern is just a form made on a wooden board
which sweeps the shape of the casting into the sand all
around the circumference. The sweep pattern rotates about
the post.
Once the mould is ready, Sweep pattern and the post can
be removed.
Sweep pattern avoids the necessity of making a full, large
circular and costly three-dimensional pattern.
Making a sweep pattern saves
a lot of time and labour as
compared to making a full
pattern.
A sweep pattern is preferred
for producing large casting of
 Follow board pattern:
A follow board is a wooden board and is used for supporting
a pattern which is very thin and fragile and which may give
way and collapse under pressure when the sand being
rammed.
With the follow board support under the weak pattern, the
drag is rammed, and then the fallow board is with drawn,
The rammed drag is inverted, cope is mounted on it and
rammed.
During this operation pattern remains over sand of the drag
under it.
 Skeleton pattern
A skeleton pattern is the skeleton of a desired shape and
mounted on a metal base.
The skeleton is made from wooden strips.
Then it is filled with sand and is rammed.
A strickle (board) assists in giving the desired shape to the
sand and removes extra sand.
Skeleton patterns are employed
for producing a few large
castings.
A skeleton pattern is very
economical, because it involves
less material costs.
 Pattern allowances

The size of a pattern is never kept the same as that of the desired
casting because of the fact that during cooling the casting is
subjected to various effects and hence to compensate for these
effects, corresponding allowances are given in the pattern.
These various allowances given to pattern can be listed as,
allowance for shrinkage, allowance for machining, allowance for
draft, allowance for rapping or shake, allowance for distortion
and allowance for mould wall movement.
These allowances are discussed as under.
1. Shrinkage or contraction allowance
2. Draft or taper allowance
3. Machining or finish allowance
4. Distortion or camber allowance
5. Rapping allowance
Shrinkage or Contraction Allowance:
All most all cast metals shrink or contract volumetrically on
cooling. The total shrinkage in volume is divided into the
following parts:
1. Liquid shrinkage: the shrinkage during the period in which the
temperature of the liquid metal or alloy falls from the pouring
temperature to the liquidus temperature.
2. Liquid to Solid shrinkage: Contraction on cooling from the
liquidus to the solidus temperature, i.e. solidifying shrinkage.
3. Solid shrinkage : Contraction that results there after until the
temperature reaches the room temperature. This is known as solid
shrinkage.
The first two of the above are taken care of by proper gating and
riser. Only the solid contraction is taken care by the pattern
makers by giving a positive shrinkage allowance. This
contraction allowance is different for different metals.
Rate of Shrinkage of Various Metals
Material Dimension Shrinkage allowance
(inch/ft)
Up to 2 feet 0.125
Grey Cast Iron 2 feet to 4 feet 0.105
over 4 feet 0.083

Up to 2 feet 0.251
2 feet to 6 feet 0.191
Cast Steel over 6 feet 0.155

Up to 4 feet 0.155
4 feet to 6 feet 0.143
Aluminum over 6 feet 0.125

Up to 4 feet 0.173
Magnesium Over 4 feet 0.155
 Example
The casting shown is to be made in cast iron using a
wooden pattern. Assuming only shrinkage allowance,
calculate the dimension of the pattern. (All Dimensions
are in Inches).

The shrinkage allowance for cast iron for size up to 2 feet is o.125 inch per
feet (as per Table)
For dimension 18 inch, allowance = 18 X 0.125 / 12 = 0.1875 inch » 0.2 inch
For dimension 14 inch, allowance = 14 X 0.125 / 12 = 0.146 inch » 0.15 inch
For dimension 8 inch, allowance = 8 X 0.125 / 12 = 0.0833 inch » 0. 09 inch
For dimension 6 inch, allowance = 6 X 0.125 / 12 = 0.0625 inch » 0. 07 inch
Machining Allowance:
It is a positive allowance given to compensate for the
amount of material that is lost in machining or finishing the
casting.
If this allowance is not given, the casting will become
undersize after machining. The amount of this allowance
depends on Metalthe size
Dimension
Cast iron
of casting,
(inch) methods
Allowanceof machining and
(inch)

the degree of Up finish.

to 12 0.12
12 to 20 0.20
20 to 40 0.25
Cast steel
Up to 6 0.12
6 to 20 0.25
20 to 40 0.30
Non ferrous
Up to 8 0.09
8 to 12 0.12
12 to 40 0.16
 Rapping or Shake Allowance
Before withdrawing the pattern it is rapped and thereby the
size of the mould cavity increases.
Actually by rapping, the external sections move outwards
increasing the size and internal sections move inwards
decreasing the size.
This movement may be insignificant in the case of small
and medium size castings, but it is significant in the case
of large castings. This allowance is kept negative and
hence the pattern is made slightly smaller in dimensions
0.5-1.0 mm.
 Draft or Taper Allowance
By draft is meant the taper provided by the pattern maker on all
vertical surfaces of the pattern so that it can be removed from
the sand without tearing away the sides of the sand mold and
without excessive rapping by the molder.
Figure (a) shows a pattern having no draft allowance being
removed from the pattern. In this case, till the pattern is
completely lifted out, its sides will remain in contact with the
walls of the mold, thus tending to break it.
Figure (b) is an illustration of a pattern having proper draft
allowance. Here, the moment the pattern lifting commences, all
of its surfaces are well away from the sand surface. Thus the
pattern can be removed without damaging the mold cavity.
 Distortion Allowance
Sometimes castings get distorted, during solidification, due
to their typical shape.
For example, if the casting has the form of the letter U, V, T,
or L etc. it will tend to contract at vertical legs to look
slightly inclined.
This can be prevented by making the legs of the U, V, T, or L
shaped pattern converge slightly (inward) so that the casting
after distortion will have its sides vertical.
The distortion in casting may occur due to internal stresses.
These internal stresses are caused on account of unequal
cooling of different section of the casting and hindered
contraction.
Measure taken to prevent the distortion in casting
includes:
i. Modification of casting design
ii. Providing sufficient machining allowance to cover the
distortion affect
iii. Providing suitable allowance on the pattern, called
camber or distortion allowance (inverse reflection)
Mold wall Movement Allowance
Mold wall movement in sand moulds occurs as a result
of heat and static pressure on the surface layer of sand
at the mold metal interface.
This effect becomes more prominent with increase in
moisture content and temperature.
 SAND TESTING
Moulding sand depends upon shape, size composition and
distribution of sand grains, amount of clay, moisture and
additives.
The increase in demand for good surface finish and higher
accuracy in castings necessitates certainty in the quality of
mould sand.
 DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS IN PATTERN
MAKING
All Abrupt changes in section of the pattern should be avoided
as far as possible.
Parting line should be selected carefully, so as to allow as small
portion of the pattern as far as possible in the cope area.
The thickness and section of the pattern should be kept as
uniform as possible.
Sharp corners and edges should be supported by suitable fillets
or otherwise rounded of. It will help easy withdrawal of pattern,
smooth flow of molten metal and ensure a sound casting.
For mass production, the use of several patterns in a mould with
common riser is to be preferred.
The pattern should have very good surface finish as it directly
affects the corresponding finish of the casting.
Proper material should always be selected for the pattern after
carefully analyzing the factors responsible for their selection.
For large scale production of small castings, the use of gated
or match- plate patterns should be preferred.
If gates, runners and risers are required to be attached with
the pattern, they should be properly located and their sudden
variation in dimensions should be avoided.
Proper allowances should be provided, wherever necessary.
Try to employ full cores always instead of jointed half cores
as far as possible. This will reduce cost and ensure greater
dimensional accuracy.
Shape and size of the casting and that of the core should be
carefully considered to decide the size and location of the
 PATTERN LAYOUT
After deciding the molding method and form of pattern, planning for
the development of complete pattern is made which may be in two
different stages.
The first stage is to prepare a layout of the different parts of the
pattern.
The next stage is to shape them. The layout preparation consists of
measuring, marking, and setting out the dimensions on a layout board
including needed allowances.
The first step in laying out is to study the working drawing carefully
and select a suitable board of wood that can accommodate at least two
views of the same on full size scale.
The next step is to decide a working face of the board and plane an
adjacent edge smooth and square with the said face.
Select a proper contraction scale for measuring and marking
dimensions according to the material of the casting.
Further the layout is prepared properly and neatly using
different measuring and making tools specifying the
locations of core prints and machined surfaces.
Finally on completion of the layout, check carefully the
dimension and other requirements by incorporating all
necessary pattern allowances before starting construction
of the pattern.
 PATTERN CONSTRUCTION
On preparing the pattern layout, the construction for making it is
started by studying the layout and deciding the location of parting
surfaces.
From the layout, try to visualize the shape of the pattern and
determine the number of separate pieces to be made and the
process to be employed for making them.
Then the main part of pattern body is first constructed using pattern
making tools.
The direction of wood grains is kept along the length of pattern as
far as possible to ensure due strength and accuracy. Further cut and
shape the other different parts of pattern providing adequate draft
on them.
The prepared parts are then checked by placing them over the
prepared layout.
Further the different parts of the pattern are assembled with the
main body in proper position by gluing or by means of dowels as
the case may be.
Next the relative locations of all the assembled parts on the
pattern are adjusted carefully.
Then, the completed pattern is checked for accuracy.
Next all the rough surfaces of pattern are finished and imparted
with a thin coating of shellac varnish.
The wax or leather fillets are then fitted wherever necessary.
Wooden fillets should also be fitted before sanding and finishing.
The pattern surface once again prepared for good surface and
give final coat of shellac.
Finally different parts or surfaces of pattern are colored with
specific color mixed in shellac or by painting as per coloring
specifications.