A large sand casting weighing 680 kg for an air compressor frame

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Pattern and Mould

A pattern is made of wood or metal, is a replica of the final
product and is used for preparing mould cavity
Mould cavity which contains molten metal is essentially a
negative of the final product
Mould material should posses refractory characteristics and
with stand the pouring temperature
When the mold is used for single casting, it made of sand
and known as expendable mold
When the mold is used repeatedly for number of castings
and is made of metal or graphite are called permanent
mould
For making holes or hollow cavities inside a casting, cores
made of either sand or metal are used.

Melting and Pouring

Several types of furnaces are available for melting
metals and their selection depends on the type of
metal, the maximum temperature required and the rate
and the mode of molten metal delivery.
Before pouring provisions are made for the escape of
dissolved gases. The gating system should be designed
to minimize the turbulent flow and erosion of mould
cavity.The other important factors are the pouring
temperature and the pouring rate.

Solidification and Cooling

The properties of the casting significantly depends on
the solidification time cooing rate.
Shrinkage of casting, during cooling of solidified
metal should not be restrained by the mould material,
otherwise internal stresses may develop and form
cracks in casting.
Proper care should be taken at the design stage of
casting so that shrinkage can occur without casting
defects.

Removal, Cleaning, Finishing and Inspection

After the casting is removed from the mould it is
thoroughly cleaned and the excess material usually
along the parting line and the place where the molten
metal was poured, is removed using a potable grinder.
White light inspection, pressure test, magnetic particle
inspection, radiographic test, ultrasonic inspection etc.
are used

Classification of casting processes

(Expandable-mould,
Permanent-pattern Casting)

Use of chaplets to avoid shifting of cores

Possible chaplet
design and casting
with core

Production steps in sand casting including

pattern making and mold making

Variety of patters are used in casting and the

choice depends on the configuration of casting
and number of casting required
Single-piece pattern
Split pattern
Follow board pattern
Cope and drag pattern
Match plate pattern
Loose-piece pattern
Sweep pattern
Skeleton pattern

(a)Split pattern
(b) Follow-board
(c) Match Plate
(d) Loose-piece
(e) Sweep
(f) Skeleton
pattern

Shrinkage allowance
Draft allowance
Machining allowance
Distortion allowance

Major part of Moulding material in sand casting are

1.
2.
3.

70-85% silica sand (SiO2)

10-12% bonding material e.g., clay cereal etc.
3-6% water

Requirements of molding sand are:

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

Refractoriness
Cohesiveness
Permeability
Collapsibility

The performance of mould depends on following factors:

(a) Permeability
(b) Green strength
(c) Dry strength

Effect of moisture, grain size and shape

on mould quality

The quality of casting depends on the method of melting. The

melting technique should provide molten metal at required
temperature, but should also provide the material of good quality and
in the required quantity.

Pouring vessels

Molten metal is prevented from oxidation by covering the molten

metal with fluxes or by carrying out melting and pouring in vacuum
Ladles which pour the molten metal from beneath the surface are
used
The two main consideration during pouring are the temperature and
pouring rate
Fluidity of molten metal is more at higher temperature but it results
into more amount of dissolved gases and high temperature also
damage the mould walls and results into poor surface quality of the
casting
To control the amount of dissolved gases low, the temperature should
not be in superheated range
In ferrous metals, the dissolved hydrogen and nitrogen are removed
by passing CO. In non-ferrous metals, Cl, He, or Ar gases are used.
Therefore, fluidity and gas solubility are two conflicting
requirements. The optimum pouring temp. is therefore decided on the
basis of fluidity requirements.The temp. should be able to fill the
whole cavity at the same time it should enter inside the voids
between the sand particles.

Cooling rate depends on casting material and configuration. It also

depends on volume and surface area of the casting also.
The pouring rate should be such that solidification does not start and
the cavity is completely filled without eroding mould surface and
undue turbulence.
On the basis of experience following empirical relations are developed
for pouring time
K: Fluidity factor
W: Weight In kg
Tp: Poring time in sec

1. Minimize turbulent flow so that absorption of

gases, oxidation of metal and erosion of mould
surfaces are less
2. Regulate the entry of molten metal into the
mould cavity
3. Ensure complete filling of mould cavity, and
4. Promote a temperature gradient within the
casting so that all sections irrespective of size
and shape could solidify properly

A: pouring basin
B: Weir
C: Sprue
D: Sprue well
E: Runner
F: Ingates
G: Runner break up
H: Blind
J: Riser

Pure metal

Alloy

Pure metals solidifies at a constant temp. equal to its

freezing point, which same as its melting point.
The change form liquid to solid does not occur all at
once. The process of solidification starts with nucleation,
the formation of stable solid particles within the liquid
metal. Nuclei of solid phase, generally a few hundred
atom in size, start appearing at a temperature below the
freezing temperature. The temp. around this goes down
and is called supercooling or undercooling. In pure metals
supercooling is around 20% of the freezing temp.
A nuclease, more than a certain critical size grows, and
causes solidification.

By adding, certain foreign materials (nucleating agents)

the undercooling temp. is reduced which causes enhanced
nucleation.
In case of pure metals fine equi-axed grains are formed
near the wall of the mold and columnar grain growth
takes place upto the centre of the ingot.
In typical solid-solution alloy, the columnar grains do not
extend upto the center of casting but are interrupted by an
inner zone of equiaxed graines.
My adding typical nucleating agents like sodium,
magnesium or bismuth the inner zone of equiaxed grained
can be extended in whole casting.

In alloys, such as Fe-C, freezing and solidificaion occurs

overa wide range of temp. There is no fine line of
demarcation exists between the solid and liquid metal.
Here, start of freezing implies that grain formation
while progressing towards the center does not solidify the
metal completely but leaves behind the islands of liquid
metals in between grains which freeze later and there is
multidirectional tree like growth.

Once the material cools down to freezing

temperature, the solidification process for the
pure metals does not require a decrease in
temperature and a plateau is obtained in the
cooling curves, called thermal arrest. The
solidification time is total time required for the
liquid metal to solidify.
Solidification time has been found to be directly
proportional to volume and inversely
proportional to surface area.

Location of Risers and Open and

Closed Risers
Top riser has the
advantage of
additional pressure
head and smaller
feeding distance over
the side riser.
Blind risers are
generally bigger in
size because of
additional area of
heat conduction.

The shrinkage occurs in three stages,

1. When temperature of liquid metal drops from pouring to
zero temperature
2. When the metal changes from liquid to solid state, and
3. When the temperature of solid phase drops from freezing to
room temperature

The shrinkage for stage 3 is compensated by providing

shrinkage allowance on pattern, while the shrinkage
during stages 1 and 2 are compensated by providing risers.
The riser should solidify in the last otherwise liquid metal
will start flowing from casting to riser. It should promote
directional solidification. The shape, size and location of
the risers are important considerations in casting design

1.

2.
3.

4.
5.

Casting is taken out of the mould by shaking and the

Moulding sand is recycled often with suitable
additions.
The remaining sand, some of which may be embedded
in the casting, is removed by means of Shot blasting.
The excess material in the form of sprue, runners, gates
etc., along with the flashes formed due to flow of
molten metal into the gaps is broken manuaaly in case
of brittle casting or removed by sawing and grinding in
case of ductile grinding.
The entire casting is then cleaned by either shot
blasting or chemical pickling.
Sometimes castings are heat treated to achieve better
mechanical properties.

Defects may occur due to one or more of the

following reasons:
Fault in design of casting pattern
Fault in design on mold and core
Fault in design of gating system and riser
Improper choice of moulding sand
Improper metal composition
Inadequate melting temperature and rate of pouring

Casting defects
Surface Defect Internal Defect
Blow
Blow holes
Scar
Porosity
Blister
Pin holes
Drop
Inclusions
Scab
Dross
Penetration
Buckle

Visible defects
Wash
Rat tail
Swell
Misrun
Cold shut
Hot tear
Shrinkage/Shift

These are due to poor design and quality of sand molds and
general cause is poor ramming
Blow is relatively large cavity produced by gases which
displace molten metal from convex surface. Scar is shallow
blow generally occurring on a flat surface. A scar covered
with a thin layer of metal is called blister. These are due to
improper permeability or venting. Sometimes excessive gas
forming constituents in moulding sand

Drop is an irregularly-shaped projection on the cope

surface caused by dropping of sand.
A scab when an up heaved sand gets separated from the
mould surface and the molten metal flows between the
displaced sand and the mold.
Penetration occurs when the molten metal flows between
the sand particles in the mould. These defects are due to
inadequate strength of the mold and high temperature of the
molten metal adds on it.
Buckle is a vee-shaped depression on the surface of a flat
casting caused by expansion of a thin layer of sand at the
mould face. A proper amount of volatile additives in
moulding material could eliminate this defect by providing
room for expansion.

The internal defects found in the castings are mainly due to

trapped gases and dirty metal. Gases get trapped due to hard
ramming or improper venting. These defects also occur when
excessive moisture or excessive gas forming materials are used
for mould making.
Blow holes are large spherical shaped gas bubbles, while
porosity indicates a large number of uniformly distributed tiny
holes. Pin holes are tiny blow holes appearing just below the
casting surface.
Inclusions are the non-metallic particles in the metal matrix,
Lighter impurities appearing the casting surface are dross.

Insufficient mould strength, insufficient metal, low

pouring temperature, and bad design of casting are some
of the common causes.
Wash is a low projection near the gate caused by erosion
of sand by the flowing metal. Rat tail is a long, shallow,
angular depression caused by expansion of the sand.
Swell is the deformation of vertical mould surface due to
hydrostatic pressure caused by moisture in the sand.
Misrun and cold shut are caused by insufficient superheat
provided to the liquid metal.
Hot tear is the crack in the casting caused by high residual
stresses.
Shrinkage is essentially solidification contraction and
occurs due to improper use of Riser.
Shift is due to misalignment of two parts of the mould or
incorrect core location.

Casting with expendable mould:

Investment Casting

Advantages and Limitations

Parts of greater complexity and intricacy can be cast
Close dimensional control 0.075mm
Good surface finish
The lost wax can be reused
Additional machining is not required in normal
course
Preferred for casting weight less than 5 kg, maximum
dimension less than 300 mm, Thickness is usually
restricted to 15mm
Al, Cu, Ni, Carbon and alloy steels, tool steels etc.
are the common materials

Permanent mould casting: Die casting

Graphite+oil

In Die casting the molten metal is forced to flow

into a permanent metallic mold under moderate
to high pressures, and held under pressure during
solidification
This high pressure forces the metal into intricate
details, produces smooth surface and excellent
dimensional accuracy
High pressure causes turbulence and air
entrapment. In order to minimize this larger
ingates are used and in the beginning pressure is
kept low and is increased gradually

Centrifugal Casting

A permanent mold made of metal or ceramic is rotated at high speed

(300 to 3000 rpm). The molten metal is then poured into the mold
cavity and due to centrifugal action the molten metal conform to the
cavity provided in the mould.
Castings are known for their higher densities in the outer most
regions.
The process gives good surface finish
Applications: pipes, bushings, gears, flywheels etc.

Comparison of Casting Processes

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