Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
(MAE611)
Dr K.Srinivasulu Reddy
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Adama Science & Technology University
Course Outline
Lecture Objectives
Advantages of casting
Limitations of casting
Applications of casting
History
3200 B.C.E(Before Common Era)A copper frog, the oldest known casting in
existence, is cast in Mesopotamia.
233 B.C.Cast iron plowshares are poured in China.
500 A.D.or C.E(Common Era) Cast crucible steel is first produced in India,
but the process is lost until 1750, when Benjamin Huntsman reinvents it in
England.
1455Dillenburg Castle in Germany is the first to use cast iron pipe to transport
water.
1480Birth of Vannoccio Biringuccio (1480-1539), the "father of the foundry
industry," in Italy. He is the first man to document the foundry process in writing.
1709Englishman Abraham Darby creates the first true foundry flask for sand
and loam molding.
Weight:6 tons
Height:7 m
MP: Casting & Forging
Remark: Corrosion resistance is negligible
1750
Product Mix
Advantages
The metal casting process is extensively used in manufacturing
because of its many advantages.
1.Molten material can flow into very small sections so that
intricate shapes can be made by this process. As a result, many
other operations, such as machining, forging, and welding, can
be minimized or eliminated.
2.It is possible to cast practically any material that is ferrous or
non-ferrous.
3.The necessary tools required for casting molds are very
simple and inexpensive. As a result, for production of a small
lot, it is the idealprocess.
4.There are certain parts made from metals and alloys that can
only be processed this way.
5.Size and weight of the product is not a limitation for the
casting process.
Limitations
1.Dimensional accuracy and surface finish of the
castings made by sand casting processes are a limitation
to this technique. Many newcasting 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
Investment Casting
Permanent mould
Centrifugal Casting
Squeeze Casting
Permanent mold
Expendable molds
- Die casting
hot chamber
cold chamber
-Centrifugal casting
-Squeeze casting
sand
shell
slurry
investment
lost wax
lost foam
Capabilities
Dimensions
sand casting - as large as you like
small - 1 mm or so
Tolerances
0.12 mm to 2.54 mm
Surface finish
die casting (1-3 mm)
sand casting (10-25 mm)
Terminology involved
Flask: for holding the mold intact
Cope: Upper half of mold flask
Drag: Bottom half of mold flask
Parting line: Separation line of the two mold halves
Pattern: replica of the part of be made, mold cavity is formed with pattern
Core: to create internal geometrical surfaces, hollow cavities
Pouring basin: funnel shaped cavity at the top of the mold into which molten metal is
poured
Sprue: passage for the molten metal to reach mould cavity from pouring cup
Gate: actual entry point thru which molten metal enters mold cavity
Runner: passage way in the parting plane thru which molten metal reaches the mold
cavity
Riser: reservoir of molten metal for the casting to compensate for shrinkage during
solidification
Dry facing sand is sprinkled over the board and pattern to provide
a non-sticky layer.
Rest of the drag flask is completely filled with the backup sand and
uniformly rammed to compact the sand.
The ramming of sand should be done properly so as not to compact
it too hard, which makes the escape of gases difficult, nor too loose
so that mould would not have enough strength.
After the ramming is over, the excess sand in the flask is completely
scraped using a flat bar to the level of the flask edges.
Now, with a vent wire which is-a wire of 1 to 2 mm diameter with a
pointed end, vent holes are made in the drag to the full depth of the
flask as well as to the pattern to facilitate the removal of gases
during casting solidification.
This completes the preparation of the drag.
The finished drag flask is now rolled over to the bottom board exposing the pattern.
Using a slick, the edges of sand around the pattern is repaired and cope half of the
pattern is placed over the drag pattern, aligning it with the help of dowel pins.
The cope flask on top of the drag is located aligning again with the help of the pins.
The dry parting sand is sprinkled all over the drag and on the pattern.
A sprue pin for making the sprue passage is located at a small distance of about 50
mm from the pattern.
Also a riser pin if required, is kept at an appropriate place and freshly prepared
moulding sand similar to that of the drag along with the backing sand is sprinkled.
The sand is thoroughly rammed, excess scraped and vent holes are made all over
in the cope as in the drag.
The sprue pin and the riser pin are carefully withdrawn from the
flask.
Then, the pouring basin is cut near the top of the sprue.
The cope is separated from the drag and any loose sand on the
cope and drag removed.
Interface of the drag is blown off with the help of bellows.
Now, the cope and the drag pattern halves are withdrawn by
using the draw spikes and rapping the pattern all around to slightly
enlarge the mould cavity so that the mould walls are not spoiled by
the withdrawing pattern.
The runners and the gates are cut in the mould carefully without
spoiling the mould. Any excess or loose sand found in the runners
and mould cavity is blown away using the bellows.
Now, the facing sand in the form of a paste is applied all over the
mould cavity and the runners which would give the finished casting
a good surface finish.
Melting furnace
Knock out
Heat treatment
Machining
Patterns
Materials used for pattern
Types of patterns
Pattern
- Pattern is a replica of the object to be made by the casting process
- Patterns are used to mold the sand mixture into the shape of the
casting.
- Made of wood, plastic, metal, POP, rubber, wax and polystyrene
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PATTERN MATERIALS
Some materials used for making patterns are:
Wood, metals and alloys, plastic, plaster of Paris, plastic and
rubbers, wax, and resins.
The pattern material should be:
1. Easily worked, shaped and joined
2. Light in weight
3. Strong, hard and durable
4. Resistant to wear and abrasion
5. Resistant to corrosion, and to chemical reactions
6. Dimensionally stable and unaffected by variations in
temperature and humidity
7. Available at low cost
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Pattern Materials
Usual materials: wood, metal and plastics.
Wood
Most commonly used pattern material.
Varieties of woods: Pine, mahogany, teak, sal and deodar
Advantages
- Easily available
- Low weight
- Cheap
- Easy to shape
Disadvantages
- Absorbs moisture from moulding sand distortions/warpages and
dimensional changes occur.
- Proper seasoning and upkeep of wood is necessary for large scale
use.
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Metals & Alloys: For large quantities of molds, better accuracy, finish
and higher pressures in ramming as in machine molding, metal
patterns are recommended even though costlier than wood.
Ex: cast iron, aluminum and copper alloys
Plastics: Combine the advantage of wood-like lightness, easy
machinability and economy with the wear-resistance and dimensional
stability of metals.
Sometimes used as wear resistant coating on wooden pattern
Ex: Epoxy resins
Polystyrene: Polystyrene or expanded Thermocole, which has special
property that gasifies on heating.
For single quantity castings like prototypes, it is very easy to make a pattern
which is not taken out but either burnt off (or) metal is poured through gating
directly into the mold without removing the pattern.
As the polystyrene gasifies leaving negligible residue , the casting formed is
sound.
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Advantages
Disadvantages
Aluminium alloys
Good machinability
High corrosion resistance
Low density
Good surface finish
Low strength
High cost
Good machinability
High strength
Low cost
Corrosion prone
Steel
Corrosion prone
High cost
Lead alloys
Good machinability
High cost
Low strength
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Pattern material
2,000
Hard wood
6,000
Aluminum, plastic
100,000
Cast iron
Medium castings
1,000
Hard wood
3,000
Aluminum, plastic
Large castings
(above 1,800 mm)
200
Soft wood
500
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Types of Patterns
1. Single piece pattern
2. Split/two piece pattern
3. Gated pattern
4. Cope and drag pattern
5. Loose piece pattern
6. Follow board Pattern
7. Sweep pattern
8. Skeleton pattern
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Dowel Pins
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3. Gated Pattern
Improved version of simple or single piece pattern.
Gating and runner system integrated in this pattern.
Hand cutting of runners and gates are eliminated
Productivity improvement of a moulder.
These are made of wood or metal and specially used for
mass productions of small castings
In mass production, a number of castings
are prepared in a single multicavity
mould by joining a group of patterns.
In such type of multicavity mould, gates or
runners for the molten metal are formed by
connecting parts between the individual
patterns
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7.Sweep Pattern
Used to sweep complete pattern by means of a plane sweep.
Used for generating large shapes which are axis-symmetrical
Ex. Bell shaped or cylindrical.
Greatly reduces the cost of a 3-dimensional pattern.
Suitable for large castings ex. bells for ornamental purposes which
are cast in pit molds.
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8.Skeleton Pattern
Used for production of only few castings of large weight and size
Skeleton pattern made of wood is used for building final pattern which
is made by packing sand around the skeleton.
The desired form is obtained by removing the excess sand using a
strickle (foundry tool used to shape a mold in sand).
Skeleton depends upon the geometry of the workpiece.
Skeleton pattern used for very large castings required in small
quantities where large expense on complete wooden pattern is not
economical.
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