Casting Definitions and Terminology

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My ASNT Level III VI Self Study Notes
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A
As-Cast Condition: Casting without subsequent heat treatment.
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B
Back Draft: Reverse taper which would prevent removal of a pattern from a
mold or a core from a corebox
Bar, Flask: A rib in the cope of a tight flask to help support the sand.
Backing Sand: The bulk of the sand in the flask. The sand compacted on top of
the facing sand that covers the pattern.
Binder: The bonding agent used as an additive to mold or core sand to impart
strength of plasticity in a dry state.
Blasting or Blast Cleaning: A process for cleaning or finishing metal objects by
use of an air blast or centrifugal wheel that throws abrasive particles against the
surfaces of the work pieces. Small irregular particles of metal are used as the
abrasive in grit blasting; sand in sand blasting; and steel balls in shot blasting.
Bleeder: A defect wherein a casting lacks completeness due to molten metal
draining or leaking out of some part of the mold cavity after pouring has stopped.
Burn-On Sand: Sand adhering to the surface of the casting that is extremely
difficult to remove.
Burn-Out: Firing a mold at a high temperature to remove pattern material
residue.
Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang
C
Casting Yield: The weight of casting or castings divided by the total weight of
metal poured into the mold, expressed as a percent.
Centrifugal Casting: A process of filling molds by 1) pouring metal into a sand or
permanent mold that is revolving about either its horizontal or its vertical axis; or
2) pouring metal into a mold that is subsequently revolved before solidification of
the metal is complete. See also Centrifuge Casting.
Centrifuge Casting - A casting technique.
Cavity: The portion of a cast which forms the external shape
Chaplet: A small metal insert or spacer used in molds to provide core support
during the casting process.
Charge: A given weight of metal introduced into the casting furnace.
Chill: A metal insert in the sand mold used to produce local chilling and equalize
rate of solidification throughout the casting.
Cleaning: Removal of runners, risers, flash, surplus metal and sand from a
casting.
CO2 Process: Molds and cores made with sand containing sodium silicate are
instantly hardened by permeating the sand with carbon dioxide gas.
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Coining: A press metal-working operation which establishes accurate
dimensions of flat surfaces or depressions under predominantly compressive
loading.
Cold Shot: Small globule of metal embedded in, but not entirely fused with the
casting.
Cold Shut: A casting defect caused by imperfect fusing of molten metal coming
together from opposite directions in a mold or due to folding of the surface.
Collapsible Core: A metal insert made in two or more pieces to permit withdrawal
from an undercut mold surface.
Cope: The top half of a horizontally parted mold.
Core: A sand or metal insert in a mold to shape the interior of the casting or that
part of the casting that cannot be shaped by the mold pattern. The portion of the
cast which forms the internal shape
Core Assembly: An assembly made from a number of cores.
Corebox: The wooden, metal or plastic tool used to produce cores.
Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang
Coreprint: A projection on a pattern that leaves an impression in the mold for
supporting the core.
Core Wash: A liquid suspension of a refractory material applied to cores and
dried (intended to improve surface of casting).
Crush: The displacement of sand at mold joints.
Cuploa: A cylindrical, straight shaft furnace (usually lined with refractories) for
melting metal in direct contact with coke by forcing air under pressure through
openings near its base.
Cure: To harden.
Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang
D
Die: A metal form used as a permanent mold for die casting or for wax pattern in
investment casting.
Die Casting: A casting process in which the molten metal is forced under
pressure into a metal mold cavity.
Die Cavity: The impression in a die into which pattern material is forced.
Directional Solidification: The solidification of molten metal in a casting in such a
manner that liquid feed metal is always available for that portion that is just
solidifying.
Draft: Taper on the vertical sides of a pattern or corebox that permits the core or
sand mold to be removed without distortion or tearing of the sand. Angle of draft
varies and is dependant on surface length as well as process employed during
cast.
Draft (Pattern) - The taper on the sides of pattern which are perpendicular to the
parting plane that allows the pattern to be withdrawn from the mold without
breaking the edges of the mold.
Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang
E
Ejector Pins: Movable pins in the pattern die that "push" to remove cast pattern
from the dies.
External Undercut: Any recess or projection on the outside of the die block which
prevents its removal from the cavity.
F
Facing Sand: The sand used to surround the pattern that produces the surface in
contact with the molten metal.
Feeder: Also called "riser", it is part of the gating system that forms the reservoir
of molten metal necessary to compensate for losses due to shrinkage as the
metal solidifies.
Flask: A rigid metal or wood frame used to hold the sand of which a mold is
formed and usually consisting of two parts, cope and drag.
Foundry Returns: Metal (of unknown composition) in the form of gates, sprues,
runners, risers and scraped castings returned to the furnace for remelting.
Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang
G
Gas Porosity: A condition existing in a casting caused by the trapping of gas in
the molten metal or by mold gases evolved during the pouring of the casting.
Green Sand: A molding sand that has been tempered with water and is
employed for casting when still in the damp condition.
Green Sand Mold: A mold composed of moist molding sand and not dried before
being filled with molten metal.
H
Hotbox Process: A resin-based process that uses heated metal coreboxes to
produce cores.
Hot tear: Irregularly shaped fracture in a casting resulting from stresses set up by
steep thermal gradients within the casting during solidification.
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I
Inclusions: Particles of slag, refractory materials, sand or deoxidation products
trapped in the casting during pouring solidifications.
Internal Shrinkage: A void or network of voids within a casting caused by
inadequate feeding of that section during solidification.
Inverse Chill: The condition in a casting section where the interior is mottled
or white, while the other sections are gray iron. Also known as Reverse Chill,
Internal Chill and Inverted Chill.
Investment Casting Process: A pattern casting process in which a wax or
thermoplastic pattern is used. The pattern is invested (surrounded) by a
refractory slurry. After the mold is dry, the pattern is melted or burned out of
the mold cavity, and molted metal poured into the resulting cavity
Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang
L
Loose Piece:
1) Core box; part of a core box which remains embedded in the core, and is
removed after lifting off the core box. 2) Pattern; laterally-projecting part of a
pattern so attached that it remains in the mold until the body of the pattern is
drawn. Back-draft is avoided by this means. 3) Part of a permanent mold
which remains on the casting, and is removed after casting is ejected from the
mold.
Lost Wax Process: A casting process in which an expendable pattern made of
wax or similar material is melted or burned out of the mold rather than being
drawn out.
Lost Foam:
A casting process in which a foam pattern is replaced by molten in a flask
filled with loose sand to form a casting.
Master Pattern: The object from which a die can be made; generally a metal
model of the part to be cast with process shrinkage.
Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang
M
Mold: The form, made of sand, metal or refractory material, which contains
the cavity into which molten metal is poured to produce a casting of desire
shape.
Mold Cavity: The impression in a mold produced by removal of the pattern. It
is filled with molten metal to form the casting. Gates and risers are not
considered part of the mold cavity.
Mold Shift: A casting defect which results when the parts of the mold do not
match at the parting line.
Mold Wash: A slurry of refractory material, such as graphite and silica flour,
used in coating the surface of the mold cavity to provide an improved casting
surface.
Mold Weight: A weight that is applied to the top of a mold to keep the mold
from separating.
Molding Machine: A machine for making molds
Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang
N
Nitriding: A process of shallow case hardening in which a ferrous alloy,
usually of a special composition, is heated in an atmosphere of ammonia, or in
contact with nitrogenous material, to produce surface hardening by formation
of nitrites, without quenching.
Nobake Process: Molds/cores produced with a resin bonded air-setting sand.
also known a the airset process because molds are left to harden under ambient
conditions.
Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang
P
Parting Line: A mark or line produced on the cast, formed at the junction of
the parting dies.
Patternmakers Shrinkage: Contraction allowance made on patterns to
compensate for the decrease in dimensions as the solidified casting cools in
the mold from freezing temperature of the metal to room temperature. Pattern
is made larger by the amount of contraction that is characteristic of the
particular metal to be used.
Porosity: Holes in the produced casting due to : Gasses trapped in the mold,
the reaction of molten metal with moisture in the molten sand, or the imperfect
fusion of chaplets with molten metal.
R
Rod: A heavy wire or bar in a sand core used for reinforcing.
Runner: The portion of the gate assembly that connects the down gate (sprue)
with the casting ingate or riser. The term also applies to that part of the pattern
which forms the runner.
Runout: Unintentional escape of molten metal from a mold.
Riser: See feeder.
Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang
S
Shrink Hole: A hole or cavity in a casting resulting from shrinkage and
insufficient feed metal, and formed during solidification.
Shrinkage: Decrease in volume of the metal as it solidifies.
Shrinkage Cavity: Void left in cast metals as a result of solidification
shrinkage.
Shrinkage Defect: J agged hole or spongy area of a casting lined with
dendrites: generally due to insufficient feeding of molten metal during
solidification. Not to be confused with Patternmakers shrinkage.
Sprues: Channels cut into a mold to allow for the entry of metal. Also the
name given to the metal rods that assume this shape in the final casting.
Other Reading
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Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang