Casting: Processes

gating system

Risers (side and top): reservoirs of molten metal to supply any molten
metal to prevent porosity due to shrinkage during solidification or for
excess molten metal to escape

Types of Casting
Expendable
Mould

Casting
Permanent
Mould

Sand Casting

Sand Casting
Sand casting is the most common and versatile form of
casting
Sand is mixed with clay and water
Packed around a pattern
Gravity flow is the most common method of inserting the
liquid metal into the mold
Metal is allowed to solidify and then the mold is removed

Production Steps in Sand-Casting

Outline of production steps in a typical sand-casting operation.

Sands and Sand Conditioning

Four requirements of sand used in casting
Refractoriness-ability withstand high temperatures
Cohesiveness-ability to retain shape
Permeability-ability of a gases to escape through the
sand
Collapsibility-ability to accommodate shrinkage and
part removal
Size of sand particles, amount of bonding agent,
moisture content, and additives are selected to obtain
sufficient requirements

Processing of Sand
Green-sand mixture is 88% silica, 9% clay, and 3%
water
Each grain of sand needs to be coated uniformly with
additive agents
Muller kneads, rolls, and stirs the sand to coat it

Figure 12-8 Schematic diagram

of a continuous (left) and batchtype (right) sand muller. Plow
blades move and loosen the
sand, and the muller wheels
compress and mix the
components. (Courtesy of ASM
International. Metals Park, OH.)

Sand Testing
Blended molding sand is characterized by the following
attributes
Moisture content, clay content, compactibility
Properties of compacted sand
Mold hardness, permeability, strength
Standard testing
Grain size
Moisture content
Clay content
Permeability
Compressive strength
Ability to withstand erosion
Hardness
Compactibility

Sand Mold

Schematic illustration of a sand mold, showing various features.

Home-made foundry

Sand, Sodium Silicate (aka Water Glass)

and ordinary Molasses. When this mixture
is gassed with CO2, it hardens instantly.

Mold with core installed

The open mold for the Motor Adapter.

Mold Shake out.

pancake

Typical Products

DESIGN AND DEFECT ANALYSIS OF DAIMLER

CHRYSLER SUSPENSION COMPONENTS

Chamber Link

Compression Link

Tension Link

Investment Casting Process

Investment casting is good for metals that are hard to machine or fabricate
Typical material for investment casting: aluminum alloys, bronzes, tool
steels, stainless steels, superalloys, and precious metals/jewelries.

Investment Casting
Sequential steps for investment casting
Produce a master die
Produce wax patterns (inject the wax into dies)
Assemble the wax patterns onto a common wax
sprue
Coat the tree with a thin layer of investment material
Allow the investment to harden
Remove the wax pattern from the mold by melting or
dissolving
Heat the mold
Pour the molten metal
Remove the solidified casting from the mold

Advantages & disadvantages of investment casting

Advantages
Parts of great complexity and intricacy can be cast
Close dimensional control and good surface finish
Wax can usually be recovered for reuse
Additional machining is not normally required
Disadvantages
Many processing steps are required
Relatively expensive process

Investment Casting: Products

Cargo door - aluminium alloy

investment casting: A300 (GFAlSi7Mg0.6, heat treated).
Dimensions: 1,300mm x 1,000mm x
120mm. Wall thickness: 1.9mm to
15mm. Weight: 18kg.

Gravity Casting
Gravity-die casting is similar to sand casting except that the
mould is machined from solid metal, usually cast iron
The mould and cavity are permanent. Being metal, it allows the
casting to cool quickly
The surface finish is better than those produced by sand casting
Typical products include bicycle cranks and engine pistons

Gravity Casting

Die Casting
A permanent mold casting process in which molten metal is injected
into mold cavity under high pressure
Pressure is maintained during solidification, then mold is opened
and part is removed
Molds in this casting operation are called dies; hence the name die
casting
Use of high pressure to force metal into die cavity is what
distinguishes this from other permanent mold processes

Die Casting

Types of Cavities in Die-Casting Die

Figure 11.19 Various types of cavities in a die-casting die.

Source: Courtesy of American Die Casting Institute.

Molds for Die Casting

Usually made of tool steel, mold steel, or maraging steel

Tungsten and molybdenum (good refractory qualities) used to die
cast steel and cast iron
Ejector pins required to remove part from die when it opens
Lubricants must be sprayed into cavities to prevent sticking

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Die Casting
ADVANTAGES

- Economical for large production quantities

(high production rates)
- Good accuracy and surface finish
- Thin sections are possible
- Complex Shapes are possible

DISADVANTAGES
- Expensive Machinery & Dies
- Limited to Metals With Low Melting Points

Pressure Die Casting

Cold-chamber

Hot-chamber

Pressure-die casting: developed from gravity-die casting

1. Molten metal is injected into a steel mould under pressure
2. The metal being cast must have a lower melting point than
the mould material.
3. Pressure-die casting is quicker than sand- and gravity-die
casting and because the fluid is under pressure, finer surface
details can be replicated.
4. It is commonly used for door handles, electric iron bases and
hollow sections requiring fine detail

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Squeeze Casting

Squeeze-Casting

Sequence of operations in the squeeze-casting process. This process

combines the advantages of casting and forging.

Vacuum-Casting

Schematic illustration of the vacuum-casting process. Note that the mold has a
bottom gate. (a) Before and (b) after immersion of the mold into the molten metal.

For thin-walled parts (0.75mm)

Complex shapes
Uniform properties

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Contact Moulding

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Injection Moulding

Injection moulding is used mainly for thermoplastic polymer

materials
The raw polymer, in the form of solid granules, falls under gravity
from a hopper into a cylinder where it is propelled along by a
rotating screw into an electrically heated section.
As the material is heated, it softens and flows. When the cylinder
contains enough material to fill the mould, the screw action is
stopped.
In the final stage, the screw moves axially, acting as a ram,
injecting the material through a small nozzle, and down channels
(runners) into the shaped cavity within a cooled mould

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Summary of Casting Processes

Design for Ease of Removal from Mold

Figure 11.5 Taper on patterns for ease of removal from the sand mold

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Common Casting Defects

Examples of common defects in castings. These defects can be minimized or eliminated by

proper design and preparation of molds and control of pouring procedures.

General Defects: Misrun

A casting that has solidified before completely filling mold cavity

General Defects: Cold Shut

Two portions of metal flow together but there is a lack of fusion due
to premature freezing

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General Defects: Cold Shot

Metal splatters during pouring and solid globules form and
become entrapped in casting

General Defects: Shrinkage Cavity

Depression in surface or internal void caused by solidification shrinkage
that restricts amount of molten metal available in last region to freeze

Sand Casting Defects: Sand Blow

Balloon-shaped gas cavity caused by release of mold gases during
pouring

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Sand Casting Defects: Pin Holes

Formation of many small gas cavities at or slightly below surface of casting

Sand Casting Defects: Penetration

When fluidity of liquid metal is high, it may penetrate into sand mold or
core, causing casting surface to consist of a mixture of sand grains
and metal

Sand Casting Defects: Mold Shift

A step in cast product at parting line caused by sideways
relative displacement of core and drag + cope

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Hot Tears in Castings

Examples of hot tears in castings. These defects occur because the casting cannot
shrink freely during cooling, owing to constraints in various portions of the molds
and cores. Exothermic (heat-producing) compounds may be used (as exothermic
padding) to control cooling at critical sections to avoid hot tearing

Types of Internal and External Chills used in Casting

Various types of (a) internal and (b) external chills (dark areas at corners) used
in castings to eliminate porosity caused by shrinkage. Chills are placed in
regions where there is a larger volume of metal, as shown in (c).

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Properties and Applications of Die-Casting Alloys

Types of Melting Furnaces

top loading

Figure 11.26 Two types of melting furnaces used in foundries: (a) crucible, and (b) cupola.

Investment Casting

Also known as: lost wax process

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