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Die Casting
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 mould
casting, in that both the processes use reusable
metallic dies. In die casting, as the metal is forced in
under pressure compared to permanent moulding, it is
also called pressure die casting. Because of the high
pressure involved any narrow sections, complex shapes
and fine surface details can be easily produced.
In die casting, the die consists of two parts. One part is
called stationary half or cover die which is fixed to the
die casting machine. The second part is the moving half
or ejector die that is moved out for the extraction of
casting.
The casting cycles starts when the two parts of the die
are apart. The lubricant is sprayed on the die cavity
manually or by the auto-lubricating system so that the
casting will not stick to the die. The two die halves are
closed and clamped. The required amount of metal is
injected into the die. After the casting is solidified under
pressure, the die is opened and the casting is ejected.
The die needs to have the provision of ejectors to push
the casting after it gets solidified.
Hot working-tool steel is generally used for the
preparation of the dies, die inserts and cores. For zinc
alloys, the normal die material is AISI P20 for low
volume and H13 for high volume, whereas for
aluminium and magnesium, H13 and H11 are used. For
copper alloys, H20,H21 and H22 are the usual die
materials.
Advantages:
1. Because of the use of movable cores, it is possible
to obtain fairly complex castings than that feasible
by permanent mould casting.
2. Very small thickness can be easily filled because
the liquid metal is injected at high pressure.
3. Very high production rates can be achieved. The
typical rates can be 200 pieces per hour since the
process is completely automated.
4. Because of the metallic dies, very good surface
finish of the order 1 micron can be obtained. The
surfaces generated by die casting can be directly
electroplated without any further processing.
5. Closer dimensional tolerances of the order of
+0.08 mm for small dimensions can be obtained
compared to the sand castings.
6. The die has a long life, which is of the order of 300
000 pieces for zinc alloys and 150 000 for
aluminium alloys.
7. Die casting gives better mechanical properties
compared to sand casting, because of the fine
grained skin formed during solidification.
8. Inserts can be readily cast in place.
9. It is very economical for large scale production.
Limitations:
1. The maximum size of the casting is limited.
2. This is not suitable for all materials because of the
limitations on the die materials. Normally, zinc,
aluminium, magnesium, copper alloys are die cast.
3. The air in the die cavity gets trapped inside the
casting and is therefore a problem often with the
die castings.
4. The dies and the machines are very expensive and
therefore, economy in production is possible only
when large quantities are produced.
Applications:
The typical products made by die casting are
carburetors, crank cases, magnetos, handle bar
housings and other parts of scooters, motorcycles and
mopeds, zip fasteners, head-lamp bezels and other
decorative items on automobiles.
Vacuum Die Casting
The major problem with the die casting is the air left in
the cavity when the die is closed. Since that air cannot
escape, it ends up inside the casting. As a result, when
the casting is heat treated, blisters appear on the
surface. This problem is solved by evacuating the air
from the die after the die is closed and before the metal
is injected. Thus, the metal enters much faster into the
die, thereby decreasing the filling time and the same
time the parts do not experience any porosity due to
the removal of air in the cavity.
The part is exposed to atmospheric air only after
solidification and as such the oxidation of the material
is avoided. It would be possible with the vacuum die
casting to process parts with very thin walls, tight
tolerances, fine microstructure due to rapid
solidification rates and therefore have properties
approaching that of wrought product and with relatively
short cycle times.
Low-Pressure Die Casting
Though the process is not new, it has been adapted
generally for casting aluminium and magnesium based
alloys. In this process, the permanent mould and the
filling system are placed over the furnace containing
the molten alloy. Then, compressed gas is used at a
pressure typically ranging from 0.3 to 1.5 bars to force
the molten metal to rise slowly through the ceramic
riser tube that is connected to the mould. Once the
mould cavity is filled, the pressure in the crucible is
removed and the residual molten metal in the tube
flows back to the crucible. After the casting is solidified,
the side dies opens and the top die is raised vertically.
The casting will move with the top die owing to the
shrinkage and will be ejected onto a transfer tray.
The quality of the casting is affected by the cooling rate
and therefore care has to be taken to see that the
casting is properly cooled before ejecting from the die.
The top and the bottom dies are cooled by the means
of air jets. Care needs top be exercised during the
design of the mould to provide proper cooling circuits,
so that the heavier sections of the casting are located
close to the feeding path to make it act as a riser. Since
the metal enters the mould slowly compared to die
casting with less turbulence, the casting quality is
improved, eliminating the defects. Close tolerance
castings can be made using this process.
Centrifugal Casting
This is a process where the mould is rotated rapidly
about its central axis as the metal is poured into it.
Because of the centrifugal force, a continuous pressure
will be acting on the metal as it solidifies. The slag,
oxides and other inclusions being lighter, gets
separated from the metal and segregates towards the
centre.
This is normally used for making hollow pipes, tubes,
hollow bushes, etc. , which are axi-symmetric with a
concentric hole. Since the metal is always pushed
outward because of the centrifugal force, no core needs
to be used for making the concentric hole. The axis of
rotation can either be horizontal, vertical or any other
angle in between. Very long pipes are normally cast
with a horizontal axis, whereas short pipes are
conveniently cast with a vertical axis.
First, the moulding flask is properly rammed with sand
to confirm to the outer contour of the pipe to be made.
Then the flask is dynamically balanced so as to reduce
the occurrence of undesirable vibrations during the
casting process. The finished flask is mounted in
between the rollers and the mould is rotated slowly.
Now, the molten metal, in requisite quantity, is poured
into the mould through the movable pouring basin. The
amount of metal poured determines the thickness of
the pipe to be cast. After the pouring is complete, the
mould is rotated at its operational speed till it solidifies
to form the requisite tubing. Then the mould is replaced
by a new mould machine and the process continued.
Advantages:
1. The mechanical properties of centrifugally cast
jobs are better compared to other processes,
because the inclusions such as slag and oxides get
segregated towards the centre and can be easily
removed by machining. Also, the pressure acting
on the metal throughout the solidification causes
the porosity to be eliminated giving rise to dense
metal.
2. Up to a certain thickness of objects, proper
directional solidification can be obtained starting
from the mould surface to the centre.
3. No cores are required for making concentric holes
in the case of centrifugal casting.
4. There is no need for gates and runners, which
increases the casting yield, reaching almost 100%.
Limitations:
1. Only certain shapes which are axi-symmetric and
having concentric holes are suitable for centrifugal
casting
2. The equipment is expensive and thus is only
suitable for large scale production.
Continuous Casting
Generally, the starting point of any structural steel
product is the ingot which is subsequently rolled
through a number of mills before a final product such
as a slab or a bloom is obtained. However, the wide
adoption of the continuous casting has changed that
scenario by directly casting slabs, billets and blooms
without going through the rolling process. This process
is very fast and economical.
In this process, the liquid steel is poured into a double-
walled, bottomless water cooled mould where a solid
skin is quickly formed and a semi-finished skin emerges
from the open mould bottom. The skin formed in the
mould is further solidified by intensive cooling with
water sprays as the casting moves downwards.
The molten steel is collected in a ladle and kept over a
refractory lined intermediate pouring vessel named
tundish. The steel is then poured into water-cooled
vertical copper moulds. Before starting the casting, a
dummy starter bar is kept in the mould. After starting
the casting process as the metal level rises in the
mould to a desirable height, the starter bar is
withdrawn at a rate equal to the steel pouring rate. The
initial metal freezes onto the starter bar as well as the
periphery of the mould. This solidified shell supports
the metal a it moves downwards. This steel shell is
mechanically supported as it moves down through the
secondary cooling zone where water is sprayed onto
the shell surface to complete the solidification process.
After the casting is completely solidified, it is cut to
desired lengths by suitable cutoff apparatus.
Squeeze Casting
The product quality is greatly improved in this process
by solidifying the casting under heavy pressure to
prevent the formation of shrinkage defects and retain
dissolved gasses in solution until freezing is complete.
Thus, it is a combination of casting and forging.
When the cycle is started, the punch and die portion
are separated. The holding furnace holds the molten
metal at the requisite temperature. Then the carefully
metered charge of molten metal is poured into the die
cavity. Then the punch is lowered into place forming a
tight seal. The punch portion of the upper die is then
forced into the cavity, displacing the molten metal
under pressure until it fills the annular space between
the die and the punch. The metal is then under
pressure and at the same time loses heat rapidly
because of its contact with the metallic die. The
solidification under pressure is claimed to be
responsible for the reduction in the shrinkage cavities
in the resulting castings. Once the casting is completely
solidified, the punch is retracted and then the casting is
ejected from the die.
The squeeze-casting process has very low gas
entrapment, lower shrinkage cavities, lower die costs
and very high-quality surface with fine details. Also, it
produces a fine grain size, which improves mechanical
properties. Aluminium, magnesium and copper alloy
components can be readily manufactured using this
process
Manufacturing
Process
Assignment: Special
Casting Processes
By:
A
nkit Khullar
B.Tech(C.S) 1st Year
Index
• Shell Moulding
• Precision Investment Casting
• Permanent Mould Casting
• Die Casting
• Vacuum Diecasting
• Centrifugal Casting
• Continuous Casting
• Squeeze Casting