Ceram. Eng. Sci. Proc. 15 {1} 24-33 (1994) Casting with Plaster Molds RONALD J. THomMas Albion Kaolin Company Hephzibah, GA 30815 For ceramic whiteware industries that use slip casting as a forming method, plaster dominates as the mold material. As production cycles shorten to accom- modate lower in-process inventories, and with more multiple casting or mecha- nized casting, more manufacturing plants require faster-casting slips. The role of the plaster mold becomes more important as process speeds increase. Plaster handling at the using plant, the water used to produce the molds, and the water] plaster ratio have increasingly important roles in casting performance. Introduction As whiteware industries move toward automated, mechanized, and multiple casting techniques, an understanding of the role of plaster molds becomes more important. With the exception of pressure casting, which uses a porous filter, the whiteware industries that use casting as a forming method are dominated by plaster molds. je io 50 45 40 Ss B 35. ol 2s 20} 30 Time (min) Fig. 1. Effect of accelerators on the rate of setting of water/plaster slurry. Data from Ref. 3.240 220: @ 200 si ‘The increase in fluidity reported appears to be the result of agglomeration during storage. The importance of a first-in-first-out inventory system is implied, especially when storage is in humid conditions. Water Whiteside® reported a solubility maximum for plaster occurring at 38°C (100°F). This corresponds to a setting rate minimum when the water used for making the water/plaster slurry approximates this temperature (Fig. 3). It can be concluded that choosing a water temperature target of 38°C provides the tendency for least variation of the setting process. Schoen® described the experience of a Canadian sanitary ware plant noting extreme variations in set time behavior traced to the municipal water supply. Two primary water sources were used in varying volumes. One source had a total dissolved solids content of 125 ppm while the other had dissolved solids of about 500 ppm. Feed water to industrial users, therefore, varied between 125 and 400 ppm with no warning. Plaster set time variations at times caused the shutdown on the mold-making operation. Schoen noted that attempting to soften this variable water supply would only create a similar variation in the resulting sodium ion concentration, Figure 4 shows the variations experienced in set time, important to the mold shop, and suction, important to the cast shop because it is linked to casting- SO ee ee { i | [Plaster at 70 deg F | ool ' Pe wh | I t 4, o Set Time (min) Suction (m/min) 4, Relationship of water quality to performance of plaster in the mo! yates camseitiecan aiken ‘Tinian Quen Tiel aeve. The author concludes that the "fit-to-drink rule" (the statement mi a plaster supplier that if the water is fit to drink, it is fit for mold-maki es not hold true. The experiences of a sanitary ware plant in northern Ohio” furt allenged the fit-to-drink rule. In this case, the water was consistent at ab 0 ppm dissolved solids. Few mold shop problems related to set ti tiations were experienced, and none related to the water. The use ionized water to replace the high-dissolved-solids water in mold mak oduced molds with higher casting rate, longer life, better release of the « 2ces from the molds, and more consistent drying behavior during tt vice life. Plant performance improved significantly even though the wa 0. So 140 | sh fa 40-80 «60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 Parts Water/100 Parts Plaster Relationship between casting rate and mold densities for two comnNes, prluvauly wie IeoUIE UL a INUIT UglUy paLacu, 1UW-polucavunty uu iickness. Slip B, however, exhibited changes in casting rate as mold porosity vari ince the developing cast cross section has a higher permeability than slip ip B casts faster but is also subject to variations imposed by the mold f leability. It can be concluded that as plant production cycles become m ipid through faster casting rates, the role of the mold becomes more ¢ \ctor in plant performance as shown by the slopes of the curve in Fig. 5 Water/plaster Tatios can be described. in several ways. ‘The term “con mcy“160} mes ith: urry 140: laste 1 Fi; are 120 nd 8 XPE 400 | i ks % Plaster by woigt 1 i ' | A459 ttio, ; i i i | ith i | | ' jf | 5 1.60 1.65 1.70 1.75 1.80 1.8 Spocitic GravityW"). For each water source, one mold was made at the highest density of | anitary ware use range: 66 parts water and 100 parts plaster (labeled with | uffix "66"). Another mold was made at the lowest density of the range: arts water and 100 parts plaster (suffix "82"). A third mold was made at 1 1idpoint of the range (suffix "74"). The tap water used contained nearly 1 ame dissolved solids content as the low-solids water mentioned by Schoe The water was adjusted to 35°C. Plaster was added slowly to aw amping and allowed to stand for 3 min. The slurry was mechanically mix sing a high-shear stainless blade typical of a Cowles dissolver run at appre iatelv 300 linear feet per minute tip speed. That seed was iust sufficient tesults and Discussion Although the tap water used is not a particularly high-dissolved-so! ‘ater source, there is a measurable effect on the set time of the plaster slu: ‘he high-density molds were nearly equal in the time required to cream of lurry. As the density of the mold is reduced, the difference in setting ti etween deionized and tap water increases. It appears that the presence issolved material in the tap water has an accelerating effect on the set tit Mold absorption rates, as expected, exhibited higher rates as mold dei es decreased (Fig. 7). The high mold density showed little difference veen water sources. The low mold densities showed progressive increase: ae differences based on water source as mold density decreases. Drying rates for all the molds varied only modestly with a slightly teased rate of drying for molds of lower density. If all the molds had ame starting moisture content (Fig. 8), there would be less than 0.5% mc are difference between all four molds shown. This tends to contradict rought process sometimes encountered in a manufacturing plant envir tent. The cast shop staff tends to rely on drying of the molds to control asting rate and firmness of the piece, adjusting the drying conditions 2sponse to current observations of casting performance. The theory seewes ~ w74 Mold Type/Water:Plaster Ratio 082 27 Cammarionn of ahenention rates af tact malde% Free Moisture | 1 - —___} — o 15 20 25 3.0 Hours SNUG WUINY Us SerVIEE IIe. Ine Uata, NUWEVET, MUICALE UML Ie Coen 1 of water and the water/plaster ratio have more influence than drying. The molds used for this project were early in their service life. 1 ying behavior is not expected to change later, however. Thorne? repor © comparison of drying rates of two sanitary ware tank molds, one at | d of its service life (120 casts), the other new (0 casts). Several cycles aking with water and drying in the conditions of an off-hours casting sh th periodic weight recording indicated a nearly identical drying rate (Fig. eces cast from an old mold usually are softer and take longer than th om the new mold. Drying, however, appears to be independent of mold a Lach? described the difference in pore size that occurs during mi tvice life (Fig. 10). After 80 casts, the mold exhibited an increase in volu pores larger than 3 ym and a decrease in pores smaller than that size. T vuld tend to reduce the capillary suction potential, slow the casting rate, ¢ oduce a softer cast, but it does not have a retarding effect on the dry: le. onclusions As industrial plants using slip casting as the forming method progress iter-casting slips, the role of the mold becomes more important in 1 acess. Lower mold densities require more vigilant internal quality cont \ce the sensitivity to variation increases for set time, important in the mc on. and absorntion. important in the cast shon.% Free Water ‘Water, an often-ignored raw material, cannot be taken for granted si ‘old performance is linked to its chemistry. The mold tests performed in sperimental part of this project used laboratory equipment already availa \ most plants and low-cost materials typically on hand, and can be acct lished in a reasonable amount of time. These tests will provide the proc ramon np saneitivities af pasting mith plat i. eerie Tbe bart | B I it z a ' Hi) £ I i stay g al sien’ 2 1 3 | 2 | § | é | : Upd: & ) 218 ') sPts | 10, 45 Pore Diameter arbor @ SSuidat URNA Ce Ca, Sod LRSM Tete fom Doe RJ. Thomas, "Water—Its Processing Consequences," presented at Processing Consequence iw Materials Variables, 1982 Alfred Whitewares Conference, Alfred, NY. iG. Walker, "The Role of the Mould in Casting,” Trans. Br. Ceram. Soc., 64, 233-49 (196 \,.E. Thome, "Mold Conditioning in the Cast Shop,” presented at the 80th Annual Mectin 2 American Ceramic Society, Detroit, 1978. ¥. Lach, "Microstructure of Hydrated Moulding Plaster," Interceram., 3, 31-4 (1985).