Production Technology 1

ME F243
Dr. Sujith R

BITS Pilani Assistant Professor, BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Hyderabad Campus
sujith@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in
Casting

• Primary manufacturing process

• Melting & solidification

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Advantages of casting

• Size does not matter

• Complex shapes

• Possible to cast a wide variety of materials: Cast Iron

• Losses is minimal

• Production cost is low

• Isotropic properties
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Limitations

• Not all materials can be casted

• Limited dimensional accuracy and surface finish

• More labor intensive

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Foundry industry: Global
scenario

• In 2015, world casting production reached 104.1 million

metric tons

• China is the top producing nation with 44% of total casting

production

• USA & India combined 20% of production

Data retrieved from Foundry informatics center (2017)

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Production of Castings in
India

Data retrieved from Foundry informatics center (2017)

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Sector-wise consumer in
India

Data retrieved from Foundry informatics center (2017)

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Copper frog 3200 BC,
Mesopotamia

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11 cm bronze dancing girl,
3000 BC, Mohenjedaro

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Historical developments

• 500 AD: Cast crucible steel is first produced in India. But,

technology lost until 1750 (Ukku/Wootz)

• 1455: Dillenburg Castle in Germany is the first to use CI pipe to

transport water

• 1480: Birth 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

• 1750: Benjamin Huntsman reinvents the process of cast

crucible steel in England. Since the metal is completely molten,
it also allows for alloy steel production

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Historical developments
1809: Centrifugal casting is developed by A. G. Eckhardt of Soho,
England.
1896: American Foundrymen's Association (renamed American
Foundrymen's Society in 1948 and now called the American Foundry
Society) is formed.
1897: Investment casting is rediscovered by B.F. Philbrook of Iowa. He
uses it to cast dental inlays.
1947: The Shell process, invented by J. Croning of Germany during
WWII, is discovered by U.S. officials and made public.
1958: H.F. Shroyer is granted a patent for the full mold process, the
forerunner of the expendable pattern (lost foam) casting process.
1971: Rheocasting is developed at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT).
1996: Cast metal matrix composites are first used in a production model
automobile in the brake rotors for the Lotus Elise.

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Basic steps in casting

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 Casting terms
Flask: A metal or wood frame in which the mold is formed. It is
referred to by various names such as drag, cope and cheek

Pattern: It is the replica of the final object to be made. The mold

cavity is made with the help of pattern.

Parting line: This is the dividing line between the two molding
flasks that makes up the mold.

Molding sand: Sand, which binds strongly without losing its

permeability to air or gases. It is a mixture of silica sand, clay,
and moisture in appropriate proportions.
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 Casting terms
Facing sand: The small amount of carbonaceous material
sprinkled on the inner surface of the mold cavity to give a
better surface finish to the castings.
Core: A separate part of the mold, made of sand and generally
baked, which is used to create openings and various
shaped cavities in the castings.
Pouring basin: A small funnel shaped cavity at the top of the
mold into which the molten metal is poured.
Sprue: The passage through which the molten metal, from the
pouring basin, reaches the mold cavity. In many cases it
controls the flow of metal into the mold.
Runner: The channel through which the molten metal is carried
from the sprue to the gate.
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 Casting terms
Gate: A channel through which the molten metal enters the
mold cavity.

Chaplets: Chaplets are used to support the cores inside the

mold cavity to take care of its own weight and overcome the
metallostatic force.

Riser: A column of molten metal placed in the mold to feed the

castings as it shrinks and solidifies. Also known as “feed
head”.

Vent: Small opening in the mold to facilitate escape of air and

gases.
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Pattern making

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Pattern

• Replica of the object to be made with some modifications

(metallurgical and mechanical reasons).

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 Functions of a pattern

• Produces a mold cavity

• Core prints might be required if the casting requires a recess

• Runner, gates, and risers used for feeding molten metal in

the mold cavity may form a part of the pattern

• Patterns properly made and having finished and smooth

surfaces reduce casting defects

• A properly constructed pattern minimizes the overall cost of

the castings
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 Pattern materials

• Wood, metals and alloys, plastic, plaster of Paris, rubbers,

wax, and resins

Pre-requisites:
Easily worked, shaped and joined
Light in weight
Strong, hard and durable
Resistant to wear and abrasion
Resistant to corrosion, and to chemical reactions
Dimensionally stable and unaffected by variations in
temperature and humidity
Available at low cost
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Pattern material
characteristics
Characteristic Wood Aluminium Steel Plastic Cast Iron

Machinability E G F G G

Wear P G E F E
resistance
Strength F G E G G

Weight E G P G P

Repairability E P G F G

Corrosion E E P E P
resistance

E – excellent G – good F – fair P - poor

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Pattern allowances

1. Shrinkage or contraction allowance

2. Draft or taper allowance

3. Machining or finish allowance

4. Distortion or camber allowance

5. Rapping allowance

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 Shrinkage allowance

Amount the pattern should be made larger than the

casting to provide for the total contraction
Material Dimension Shrinkage allowance
(inch/ft)

Grey Cast Iron Up to 2 feet 0.125

2 feet to 4 feet 0.105
over 4 feet 0.083
Cast Steel Up to 2 feet 0.251
2 feet to 6 feet 0.191
over 6 feet 0.155
Aluminum Up to 4 feet 0.155
4 feet to 6 feet 0.143
over 6 feet 0.125
Magnesium Up to 4 feet 0.173
Over 4 feet 0.155

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Machining or finish
allowance

Metal Dimension (inch) Allowance (inch)

Up to 12 0.12
Cast iron 12 to 20 0.20
20 to 40 0.25

Up to 6 0.12
Cast steel 6 to 20 0.25
20 to 40 0.30

Up to 8 0.09
Non ferrous 8 to 12 0.12
12 to 40 0.16

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Draft or taper allowance

Height of the
Draft angle for Draft angle for
Pattern material given surface
external surfaces internal surfaces
(inch)
1 3.00 3.00
1 to 2 1.50 2.50
Wood 2 to 4 1.00 1.50
4 to 8 0.75 1.00
8 to 32 0.50 1.00
1 1.50 3.00
1 to 2 1.00 2.00
Metal and plastic 2 to 4 0.75 1.00
4 to 8 0.50 1.00
8 to 32 0.50 0.75

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Distortion/Camber
Allowance

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Rapping allowance

• For the easy pattern removal rapping is carried out.

• Leads to enlargement of mold cavity.

• Original pattern dimension is to be reduced to take this

into account.

• Negative allowance.

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Casting process

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Solid/Single piece patterns

• Simple geometries, no withdrawal problems

• Cheapest
• Useful for prototype development and small scale production
• At least one of the face should be flat

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 Split piece pattern

• Contour of the casting is such that withdrawal becomes

difficult

• Depth of casting is too high

• One part in cope and other in drag

• Alignment is critical
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Loose piece pattern

• Preferred where intricate shapes are involved and

pattern removal is difficult

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Gated pattern

• Multiple castings are produced at the same time.

• Used when casting have a complex gating system

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Match plate pattern

• Foundry patterns mounted on a plate (Al or steel)

• Preferred when small castings and high dimensional
accuracy is required
• Several patterns are fixed to a single match plate if they
are sufficiently small in size.
• Improved production rate

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Sweep pattern

• Used for axi-symmetric castings

• Used when a casting of large size is to be produced in a
short time
• Pattern is 2D
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Disposable pattern

Used for intricate shapes and thin castings

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Core

• To produce internal cavities/features

• It is inserted into mold cavity prior to pouring

• May require support to hold the core in position

• Extensions are provided in pattern termed as “prints”

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Requirements of core

• Green strength
• Strong enough to handle the forces of casting
• Permeability
• Collapsibility
• Friability
• Refractoriness
• Smooth surface finish
• Minimum gas evolution
• Higher strength than molding sand since it is subjected
to severe thermal and mechanical stresses.

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Constituents of core

• Cores are made of core sand mixture

• Core sand mixture consists of sand grains (devoid of

clay) and organic binders (collapsibility)

• Binders used are linseed oil, resins, dextrin etc

• Organic binders develop strength by crosslinking

• To achieve this cores are often baked in an oven

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Classification of cores

Based on material
– Sand core
– Metal core (typically CI or steel)
Based on condition of core
– Green sand
– Dry sand

Base on shape and position of core

– Horizontal
– Vertical
– Balanced
– Hanging or cover
– Drop or stop off
– Ram up
– Kiss

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Horizontal and Vertical

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Hanging or cover core

• Core is suspended from the top of the mold

• Cover core stretches vertically

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Balanced core

• Used where casting has an opening only on one side

• Core prints should be sufficiently large

• Chaplets are often provided

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Ram up core

• Placed in the sand along with the pattern before ramming

the mold.

• Used to make internal or external surface details of the

casting.
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Kiss core

• Does not require seats for getting supported

• Multiple holes can be produced in the casting by

positioning a number of kiss cores simultaneously.

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Core prints

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Functions of core prints

• The print must secure and correctly position the cores in

the mold cavity.

• The print must withstand the buoyancy force of the metal

and not get crushed.

• The print should ensure that the core must not shift
during mold filling.

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Chaplets

Image courtesy: wikipedia

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Core design

Net Buoyancy force, N = FB – W = (ρl- ρ)g.V

Load supported by core print, C = 350 A

Unsupported load, U = N – C

If N – C is positive; Chaplets are required

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Chaplets

• In case of positive unbalanced forces chaplets can be

used by increasing surface area.

• Chaplet head will sink into the sand if overloaded

• Typically chaplet area required = Unsupported load X

0.20

• Placement of chaplets to distribute the unbalanced load

is also critical

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Metallostatic force

Is the force because of the head with which the metal is

entering the mold.

Fm = Apρg(H)

Ap is the projected area of the casting

H – head

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Problem

Find the weight that is needed to compensate for the forces

during the pouring in a sand casting of CI pipe of 12.5
cm OD and 10 cm ID with a length of 180 cm. The metal
head is to be 20 cm., while the molding flask used for the
purpose is 200 x 25 x 20 cm in size. The density of core
sand is 1.65 g/cc and liquid metal density is 7.71 g/cc.

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Melting and Pouring

• The melting and pouring technique should provide

molten metal at required temperature and also provide
the material of good quality in the required quantity

• Fluidity and gas solubility, the two conflicting

requirements

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Melting tempertures

Metal/alloy Melting temperature Pouring temperature

(˚C) (˚C)

Gray Cast Iron 1370 1500

Cast steel 1480 1600

Copper 1083 1130

Nickel 1453 1500

Aluminium 660 750

Lead 327 350

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Melting furnaces

• Crucible/Coke fired furnace

• Cupola furnace
• Reverberatory furnace
• Electric arc furnace
• Induction furnace

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Coal fired furnace

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Coke fired furnace

• Primarily used for non-ferrous metals

• Crucible is made of clay/graphite
• Suitable for batch-type foundries
• Also known as pit-furnace
• Possible contamination from coke

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Cupola furnace

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Cupola furnace
• Used to melt iron and ferrous alloys
• The cupola consists of a vertical cylindrical steel sheet and
lined inside with acid refractory bricks.
• There is a charging door through which coke, pig iron, steel
scrap and flux is charged
• The blast is blown through the tuyeres
• Cupolas are provided with a drop bottom door through which
debris, consisting of coke, slag etc. can be discharged at the
end of the melt
• A slag hole is provided to remove the slag from the melt
• Through the tap hole molten metal is poured into the ladle
• At the top conical cap called the spark arrest is provided to
prevent the spark emerging to outside

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Reverberatory Furnace

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Reverberatory furnace

• Used in Cu, Sn and Ni production

• High volume processing rates

• Low operating and maintenance costs

• For duplexing operation with cupola

• Large floor space requirements

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Electric Arc Furnace

Image courtesy: Tata Steel

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Electric Arc Furnace

• Precise control of composition is possible

• Close temperature control is possible

• Higher thermal efficiency

• Chances of carburization of liquid metal

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Induction furnace

Image courtesy: nptel

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 Induction furnace
• Rapid heating is possible

• Non-contact form of heating

• No carburizing during the melting process

• Magnetic stirring of the melt produces excellent uniformity

of the melt composition

• Melting takes less time

• Initial cost is high and not suitable for melting large

quantities of metal
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Heating the metal

Total heat energy is the sum of

1.Heat to raise the temperature to melting point

2.Heat of fusion to convert it from solid to liquid

3. Heat to raise the molten metal to desired pouring

temperature

Q = ρV{Cs(Tm-Ta) + Hf + Cl(Tp-Tm)}

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Assumptions

• Specific heat and other thermal properties of solid metal are

constant and not dependent on temperature, but not
necessarily true if the metal undergoes a phase
transformation

• Same specific heat of metal in both solid and liquid state, not
necessarily true

• Single melting point. But not valid for alloys and hence the
heat of fusion is not as simple as in the expression

• There are no heat losses to the environment which is not

really true.

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Fluidity of metal

The optimum temperature after melting is decided by a

property called fluidity of the material

Fluidity = f(temperature, viscosity, inclusions, freezing

range)

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Gases in metals

In metal castings, the gases,

(i) may be mechanically trapped

(ii) may be generated due to variation in solubility at

different temperature and phases

(iii) may be produced due to chemical reactions

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Gases in metals

Hydrogen and Nitrogen are two common gases

Two groups on basis of hydrogen solubility

– Endothermic (Al, Mg, Cu, Fe and Ni)

– Exothermic (CI, Ti and Zr)

Solubility, S = C exp (-Es/kT)

Es is positive for endothermic

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Solubility of hydrogen in
various metals

Metal Liquid solubility (cc/kg) Solid solubility (cc/kg)

Iron 270 70

Magnesium 260 180

Copper 55 20

Aluminium 7 0.4

Reference: Amitabha Ghosh

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Sievert’s law

• % hydrogen present = K (pH2)^0.5

• % nitrogen present = K (pN2)^0.5

= [(pN2)^0.5] exp [(-ΔG10)/RT ]

• Sources of hydrogen in a melt are

– Furnace dampness
– Air, oil and grease

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Gas removal

Hydrogen removal:
– For non-ferrous metals, Cl, N, He or Ar is bubbled
– For ferrous and Ni based metals, CO is used

Nitrogen removal:
– CO can be used
– Vacuum melting

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Pouring time

Pouring rate should be such that solidification does not

start and the cavity is completely filled without eroding
mold surface and undue turbulence.

On the basis of experience the following empirical relations

are developed for pouring time
Cast iron castings
tp = K(1.4 + T/14.6)W0.5
Steel castings
tp = K(2.4 – 0.4logW)W0.5

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Pouring basin

• Reservoir of the molten metal

2.5 D

D • It is circular or rectangular in shape

• It prevents mold erosion

• Prevents slag from entering the mold

cavity

• Strainer core or ceramic filters can be

used

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Fluid mechanics principles

Bernoulli’s equation
h + p/(ρg) + v2/2g +F = constant

Continuity equation
Q = A1v1 = A2v2

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Assumptions

• The fluid is incompressible

• Flow is steady

• The channel is full. In sand castings liquid metal in the gating

system is always accompanied by mould gases and air

• The walls are impermeable. Sand castings are permeable

• No frictional losses. Interface friction always exists. In addition

molten metal has viscosity

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Reynold’s number

• Reynold’s number, RN = vDρ/μ

• When RN is less than 2000 streamline flow results

• Excess turbulence causes

•Inclusion of dross or slag

•Air aspiration into the mold
•Erosion of the mold walls

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Sprue

• Circular in cross-
section

• Lead the molten

metal from pouring
basin to runner

• Aspiration effect

• Tapered

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Types of pouring

Top pouring Bottom pouring Side pouring system

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Comparison

Top pouring Bottom pouring

Faster pouring rate, less Filling against gravity, quiet
fluidity requirement entry to mould cavity
Favourable thermal Unfavourable thermal
gradient gradient
Severe splashing and Elimination of splashing and
mould erosion mould erosion
Higher casting yield Moderate casting yield

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Time to fill the mold in
Bottom gating

tf = (2Am/Ag) (1/√2g) [√ht -√ht-hm]

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Vena contracta

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Sprue

• Circular in cross-
section

• Lead the molten

metal from pouring
basin to runner

• Aspiration effect

• Tapered

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Runner

• Located in the parting plane

• Connects sprue to the in-gates

• Typically trapezoidal in cross-section

• Runner should flow full for efficient slag trapping

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Chills

• Chills are provided to ensure progressive solidification or

to avoid shrinkage cavities.
• Chills act as large heat sinks.
• Placed near to larger masses making sure that the
cooling rate is equal to that of thin sections.

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Casting yield

Casting yield (%) = (M/m) x 100

M – Actual casting mass

m – mass of the metal poured into the mold

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Pouring time (Empirical)

Grey CI, mass less than 450 kg

Pouring time, t = K (1.41 + T/14.59)√m (s)
K = (fluidity in inches)/40
T = average section thickness, mm
m = mass of the casting in kg

Grey CI, mass greater than 450 kg

Pouring time, t = K (1.236 + T/16.65)(m)1/3 (s)

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Choke area

Typically, choke area happens to be at the bottom of the sprue

First element to be designed in the gating system

Choke area, A = m/(ρtCd√2gHp)

Hp – height of the sprue

Hp = H – 0.5 (h12/h2) p – height of the mold cavity in the cope
c – total height of the mold cavity

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 Gating ratios
Pressurized
Sprue : runner : in-gate :: 1:2:1
Maintains back pressure through out the gating system
Minimize air aspiration even when straight sprues can be
used
Not useful for light alloys due to high turbulence and
dross formation

Non-pressurized
Sprue : runner : in-gate :: 1:4:4
Useful for casting drossy alloys
All parts flow full when tapered sprues are used
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Slag trap systems

• Runner Extension

• Whirl Gate

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