Expendable Moulding processes

1. Shell Moulding
2. CO2 Moulding
3. Vacuum moulding
4. Plaster mould
5. Investment Casting
6. Sand Casting
 Shell Moulding
• Shell mould casting is recent invention in
moulding techniques for mass production and
smooth finish
• Germany during the Second World War.
• It is a process in which, a thin mould is made
around a heated metallic pattern plate.
• The moulding material is a mixture of
– dry, fine silica sand (clay content should be
kept very low),
– 3-8% of a thermosetting resin like phenol
formaldehyde or silicon grease.
 Shell Moulding
• Conventional dry mixing techniques are used for
obtaining the moulding mixture.
• Specially prepared thermosetting resin coated
sands
• When the moulding mixture drops on to the
pattern plate, which is heated to a
– temperature of 180 to 375°C,
– a shell of about 6-9 mm thickness is formed.
 Shell moulding
• A metal pattern is heated
and placed over a box
containing sand mixed with
thermosetting resin
• The dump box is inverted so
that sand and resin mixture
fall on the hot pattern,
causing a layer of the
mixture to partially cure on
the pattern surface to form
a hard shell
• The box is positioned to the
previous stage, so that
loose, uncured particles
drop away
• sand shell is heated 180 to 350°C for
about 10 minutes in oven to complete
curing
• The shell mould is removed from the
pattern and two halves of the shell
mould are assembled, supported by
sand or metal shot in a box, and
pouring is completed

The part made by this

method is shown here
 Advantages of shell moulding process
• Shell moulding is suitable for mass production of
thin walled, grey cast iron and aluminum alloy
castings having a maximum weight between 15 to
20 kg
• However, castings weighing up to 1000 pounds
can be made by shell moulding on an individual
basis.
• The surface of the shell mould is smoother than
conventional green sand mould.
 Advantages of shell moulding process
• This permits easier flow of molten metal during
pouring and better surface finish on the final
casting.
• Surface finish of the order of 2.5 μm can be
obtained.
• Good dimensional tolerances of the order of ±
0.25 mm can be reached in a small to medium
sized parts.
• Machining operations are reduced because of
good surface finish.
Disadvantages
• expensive metal pattern is required, and
hence not suitable for small quantities.
• can be mechanized for mass production and
will be economical too.
Examples of parts made using shell moulding
include gears, valve bodies, bushings, and
camshafts.
Shell moulding
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• BMW engine block casting
 CO2 Moulding
• This process is widely used for rapid hardening
the moulds & cores made up of green sand
• sand casting process that employs
– moulding mixture of green sand
– and liquid sodium silicate binder
• The moulding mixture is then hardened by
blowing carbon dioxide gas through it.
 Process
• mould material comprises of
– pure dry silica sand free from clay,
– 3-5% sodium silicate as binder and
– moisture content less than 3%.
• A small amount of starch may be added to
improve the green compression strength
• very small quantity of coal dust, sea coal, dextrin,
wood flour, pitch, graphite and sugar can also be
added to improve the collapsibility of the
moulding sand.
 Process
• mould box and mould is prepared by any
conventional technique.
• After packing,
– carbon dioxide gas at about 1.3-1.5 kg/cm2 pressure
is then forced all-round the mould surface
– to about 20 to 30 seconds using CO2 head or probe
• Cores also be baked this way.
• The sodium silicate presented in the mould
reacts with CO2 and produce a very hard
constituents or substance commonly called as
silica gel.
 CO2 Moulding
• This method offers a great deal of advantages
over other forms of sand moulding.
• It reduces
– production time
– as well as fuel costs and
– reduces the number of mould boxes required for
making moulds.
• This process also offers a great deal of accuracy
in production
Features
• High accuracy moulding systems incorporating the gas
carbon dioxide as a catalyst.
Advantages
• Provides good dimensional tolerances through strong core
and mould
• Provides excellent casting surface finishes
• Generally used for high-production runs
• Accommodates a wide range of core and mould sizes.
• When used for making cores, the CO2 process can be
automated for long durations & speedy production runs.
Applications
• Ideal for casting applications where speed and flexibility is
paramount.
Disadvantages of carbon dioxide-silica sand moulding
1. It is a expensive process.
2. Thorough mixing of the materials is very necessary.
3. Gathering all the materials is not easy.
4. It needs careful mixing which involves the use of
mechanical means.
5. A common fault is poor surface finish because of
over gassing.
6. If sand reclamation plant is not present then the
sand cannot be reused.
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 Vacuum moulding

• In this process, a sand mould is held together by

• vacuum pressure and not by a chemical binder.
• The term vacuum in this process refers to the
making of the mould, rather than the casting
operation.
• Casting operation is same as any other process
 Vacuum moulding
Advantages:
• No binders are used and hence sand is readily
recovered in vacuum moulding
• Mechanical ramming is not required
• Since no water is mixed with the sand, moisture
related defects are absent from the product
Disadvantages:
• relatively slow and not readily adaptable to
mechanization
 Plaster mould
• The mould is made by mixing
– plaster of paris (CaSO4) with talc and silica flour;
• this is a fine white powder,
• when mixed with water gets a clay-like consistency
and can be shaped around the pattern
• It is the same material used to make casts for
people if they fracture a bone.
• The plaster cast can be finished to yield very good
surface finish and dimensional accuracy.
 Plaster mould
• However, it is relatively soft and not strong
enough at temperature above 1200°C,
• So alloys and metals of zinc, copper, aluminum,
and magnesium.
• Since plaster has lower thermal conductivity,
• the casting cools slowly, and therefore has more
uniform grain structure (i.e. less warpage, less
residual stresses).
 Plaster mould casting
• Similar to sand casting, except mould is made of Plaster and
not sand
• Parts that are typically made by plaster casting are lock
components, gears, valves, fittings, tooling, and ornaments
• Wooden pattern is not used in general.
 Plaster mould casting
• Curing time: 20 mts, baking time: several hours ,
Permeability is low.
• The sulfur in the gypsum reacts with iron, making it
unsuitable for casting ferrous materials
• Another disadvantage is that its long cooling times restrict
production volume
 Plaster mould
• Plaster mould casting, also called rubber plaster
moulding (RPM),
• producing Al or Zn castings by pouring liquid metal into
typical plaster (gypsum) moulds.
• Low melting point alloys
• The moulds are made in two halves
– cope and drag moulds
– and the halves of the plaster moulds are clamped
together with any required cores positioned
appropriately in the mould.
 Plaster mould
• Molten metal is subsequently poured into the
negative plaster mould and allowed to dry.
• The final part is taken out after breaking the
mould.
• The final cast may require machining operation
depending upon the requisite dimensional
accuracy.
• This process is often used for producing
prototypes of final part or component.
 Process
• mixing plaster of paris (CaSO4) with talc and silica flour
• pattern is sprayed with a thin film of parting compound to
prevent the plaster from sticking to the pattern.
• Plaster compound is actually composed of 70-80%
gypsum and 20-30% strengtheners and water
 Process
• To minimize contraction, curing time, reduce cracking,
additives like talc and silica flour are mixed with the
plaster.
• The mould is then baked, between 120 °C - 260 °C to
remove any excess water.
• The dried mould is then assembled, preheated, and
the metal poured.
 Process
• The plaster is then poured over the pattern and the unit
shaken so that the plaster fills any small features.
• The plaster sets, usually in about 15 minutes, and the
pattern is removed.
• Finally, after the metal has solidified, the plaster is broken
from the cast part.
• The used plaster cannot be reused
 Investment casting

• The root of the investment casting process, or

“lost wax” method dates back to at least the
fourth millennium B.C.
• investment casting process to create intricately
detailed jewelry and idols.
• is a precision casting process used to create
metal parts from almost any alloy, and is
typically used to create complex, thin-wall
castings
 Investment casting
Advantages:
(1)Complex and intricate parts can be cast
(2)tolerances of 0.075 mm are possible
(3)good surface finish is possible
(4)In general, additional machining is not
required – neat net shaped part
• Disadvantage
• the overall cost, especially for short-run productions.
• Some of the reasons for the high cost include specialized
equipment, costly refractories and binders, many
operations to make a mould, a lot of labor is needed and
occasional minute defects.
• It can be difficult to cast objects requiring cores.
• This process is expensive, is usually limited to small
casting, and presents some difficulties where cores are
involved.
• Holes cannot be smaller than 1/16 in. (1.6 mm) and
should be no deeper than about 1.5 times the diameter
• Investment castings require longer production cycles
compared to other casting processes
INVESTMENT CASTINGS WAX INJECTION
Pattern creation
• The investment castings
process begins with
fabrication of a sacrificial
pattern with the same basic
geometrical shape as the
intended finished cast part.
• Patterns are normally made of
investment casting wax that is
injected into a metal wax
injection die
 Pattern tree
• Several of these patterns are
attached to a central wax gating
system (sprue, runners, and risers)
to form a tree-like assembly.
• The gating system forms the
channels through which the
molten metal will flow to the
mould cavity
Mould creation –
• This "pattern tree" is dipped
into a slurry of fine ceramic
particles, coated with more
coarse particles
• and then dried to form a
ceramic shell around the
patterns and gating system.
• This process is repeated until
the shell is thick enough to
withstand the molten metal
it will encounter.
 Dewaxing
• Once the ceramic is dry, the
wax is melted out in an
autoclave or oven, creating a
negative impression / a
hollow ceramic shell that acts
as a one-piece mould of the
assembly within the shell.
• hence the name "lost wax"
casting.
• The shell mould is then fired
in a high temperature oven.
Pouring
• The mould is
preheated in a furnace
to approximately
1000°C and the molten
metal is poured from a
ladle into the gating
system of the mould,
filling the mould cavity.
• Pouring is typically
achieved manually
under the force of
gravity, but other
methods such as
vacuum or pressure
are sometimes used.
Cooling
• After the mould has
been filled, the molten
metal is allowed to cool
and solidify into the
shape of the final
casting.
• Cooling time depends on
the thickness of the
part, thickness of the
mould, and the material
used.
Casting removal - After the
molten metal has cooled, the
mould can be broken and the
casting removed.
• The ceramic mould is typically
broken using water jets, but
several other methods exist
• After minor final post
processing (sandblasting,
machining),
• The castings - identical to the
original wax patterns - are
complete
Investment casting
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• Investment castings
– Directional solidification
– Single crystal 174, Investment

A356, Sensor

Turbine
Ni, Housing