Chapter 3 part 2

Metal-Casting Processes

Manufacturing, Engineering & Technology, Fifth Edition, by Serope Kalpakjian and Steven R. Schmid.
ISBN 0-13-148965-8. © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved.
 Typical Cast Parts
(c)

(a)

(d)

(b)

Figure 11.1 (a) Typical gray-iron castings used in automobiles, including the transmission valve body (left) and the
hub rotor with disk-brake cylinder (front). Source: Courtesy of Central Foundry Division of General Motors
Corporation. (b) A cast transmission housing. (c) The Polaroid PDC-2000 digital camera with a AZ191D die-cast
high-purity magnesium case. (d) A two-piece Polaroid camera case made by the hot-chamber die-casting
process.
Source: Courtesy of Polaroid Corporation and Chicago White Metal Casting, Inc.
Manufacturing Processes: Casting

Figure I.7a Schematic illustration of various casting processes.

Sand Casting
A large sand casting weighing more than 680 kg for an air compressor frame
(courtesy Elkhart Foundry, photo by Paragon Inc., Elkhart, Indiana).
 Production Steps in Sand-Casting

Figure 11.2 Outline of production steps in a typical sand-casting operation.

Sand Mold
Types of patterns used in sand casting:
(a) solid pattern: For simple shapes, low-quantity production, inexpensive
(b) split pattern: For complex shapes
(c) match-plate pattern: It is secured, Large production
(d) cope-and-drag pattern: For molding machines, Large production
 Pattern Making
• Material selection for optimum usage
– Easily worked, shaped and joined
– Light in weight
– Strong, hard, and durable
– Resistant to wear and abrasion
– Resistant to corrosion and chemical
reactions
– Dimensionally stable and unaffected by
variations in temperature and humidity
A plate can be used to make sure the cope
– Available at low cost and drag side of the pattern match very well.

• Pattern allowances
– Shrinkage or contraction allowance
– Machining or finish allowance: For wooden patterns, designing the pattern a
little larger to be able to machine for smooth surface finish
– Draft or taper allowance: Making vertical walls a little tilted to easily remove the
pattern
Design for Ease of Removal from Mold:
Draft Allowance

Figure 11.5 Taper on patterns for ease of removal from the sand mold.
 Making Casting with Internal Cavity

(a) Core held place in the mold cavity by chaplets,

(b) Possible chaplet (metal supporter) design, and
(a) Core held place in the mold cavity by chaplets,
(c) Casting with internal cavity.
(b) possible chaplet (metal supporter) design, and
Chaplets must be of the with
(c) casting sameinternal
or similarcavity.
material as the metal being cast!
 Sand Cores and Metal Chaplets

Core Core

Figure 11.6 Examples of sand cores showing core prints and chaplets to support cores.
Core prints are geometric features added to the pattern to locate and
support the core.
Sand cores are used to occupy the mold cavity and hence not to fill that
section ( = HOLES and HOLLOW sections).
 Advantages and disadvantages of sand casting
process:

• Advantages:
1. Almost any metal can be caste
2. No limit to part size
3. No limit to part shape
4. No limit to part weight
5. Low tooling cost
• Disadvantages:
1. Some finishing is required
2. Coarse surface finish
3. Wide tolerances
Sand Casting Process
Sand Core Production
 Casting Processes

Figure I.7a Schematic illustration of various casting processes

 Shell-Mold Casting

Figure 11.9 The shell-molding process, also called dump-box technique.

Steps in shell-molding:
(1) a match-plate or cope-and-drag metal pattern is heated and placed over a box containing sand mixed with
thermosetting resin;
(2) box is inverted so that sand and resin fall onto hot pattern, causing a layer of the mixture to partially cure on
the surface to form a hard shell;
(3) box is rotated so that loose, uncured particles drop away;
(4) sand shell is heated in oven for several minutes to complete curing;
(5) shell mold is stripped from the pattern;
(6) two halves of the shell mold are assembled, supported by sand or metal shot in a box, and pouring is
accomplished.
(7) The finished casting with sprue removed.
 Advantages and disadvantages of Shell casting:

• Advantages:
1. Good dimensional accuracy
2. Good surface finish
3. High production rate
• Disadvantages:
1. Part size limit
2. Expensive pattern and equipments
Shell-Mold Casting
 Casting Processes

Figure I.7a Schematic illustration of various casting processes

 Ceramic-Mold Casting
• Uses refractory materials suitable for high-temperature
exposure.
• The slurry is a mixture of fine-grained zircon (ZrSiO4),
aluminum oxide, and fused silica, which are mixed with
bonding agents.
• No moisture!
• Increased strength of the mold
 Ceramic-Mold Casting
Advantages:
•Reusable pattern.
•Complex parts can be produced..
•High dimensional accuracy.
•Excellent surface finish.
•Low cooling rate.

Disadvantages:
•Only small sized parts can be cast.

Applications: Impellers, injection mold tooling, dies.

 Casting Processes

Figure I.7a Schematic illustration of various casting processes

 Permanent Mold Casting
• Permanent mold casting is metal casting process that employs reusable
molds ("permanent molds"), usually made from metal.
• The most common process uses gravity to fill the mold, however gas
pressure or a vacuum are also used.
• A metallic permanent mold is used instead of sand mold.
• Many pieces can be cast using the same mold.
 Advantages and disadvantages of permanent
mold:

• Advantages:
1. Good surface finish
2. Good dimensional accuracy
3. Low porosity
4. High production rate
• Disadvantages:
1. High mold cost
2. Limited pat shape
3. Limited part complexity
4. Not suitable for high-melting-point metals
Permanent mold casting
Permanent mold casting
Low Pressure Permanent mold casting
Low Pressure Permanent mold casting
 Casting Processes

Figure I.7a Schematic illustration of various casting processes

 Die Casting

High – Pressure Die Casting Low – Pressure Die Casting

Another classification done depending melting metal inside the same setup (hot-
chamber die casting) or melting metal somewhere else (cold chamber die casting).

Die Casting

Hot-Chamber Cold-Chamber
Die-Casting Die-Casting
Die Casting
 Hot-Chamber Die-Casting

Figure 11.17 Schematic illustration of the hot-chamber die-casting process.

 Hot-Chamber Die-Casting Machine

800-ton hot-chamber die-casting machine, DAM 8005 (made in Germany in 1998). This
is the largest hot-chamber machine in the world and costs about $1.25 million.
 Cold-Chamber Die-Casting

Figure 11.18
Schematic
illustration of the
cold-chamber die-
casting process.
These machines
are large
compared to the
size of the casting,
because high
forces are
required to keep
the two halves of
the dies closed
under pressure.

Cycle in cold-chamber casting:

(1) with die closed, molten metal is poured into the chamber;
(2) Plunger rod forces metal to flow into die, maintaining pressure during cooling and
solidification;
(3) die is opened, and part is ejected. (Gating system is simplified.)
Die Casting Machines
 Die-Casting

Sand Casting
 Die Casting
Advantages:
•Closer dimensional accuracy and good surface finish.
•Useful for mass production. (One set of die can produce 10,000 castings)
•Less space is required.
•Porosity can be avoided.
•Faster rate of production.
•Semi-skilled workers can do the job.
•Less defects compared to sand castings.
Disadvantages:
•Due to pressurizing with air metal can be oxidized.
•Impurities can form in the cast caused by the plunger.
•Cost of the die is high.
•Not suitable for small scale production
Applications: Carburetor bodies, hydraulic brake cylinders, connecting rods,
automotive pistons, oil pump bodies, aircraft components.
 Casting Processes

Figure I.7a Schematic illustration of various casting processes

 Centrifugal Casting
• As its name implies, the centrifugal-casting process utilizes
inertia (caused by rotation) to force the molten metal into
the mold cavities.
• Centrifugal casting is a casting technique that is typically
used to cast thin-walled cylinders.

Figure 11.20 (a) Schematic illustration of the centrifugal-casting process. Pipes, cylinder
liners, and similarly shaped parts can be cast with this process. (b) Side view of the machine.
 Centrifugal Casting
Classification

• True centrifugal casting

• Semi centrifugal casting

• Centrifuge casting
 Centrifugal Casting
Advantages:
•Formation of hollow cavities without cores.
•No gating system is necessary.
•Cost of production is less.
•Casting is free of gas and shrinkage cavities, as well as the porosity.
•Fine details can be successfully cast
Disadvantages:
•Suitable only for castings with axial symmetry.
•Skilled workers are required for operation.
•Inaccurate internal diameter.
Applications: Cast iron pipes,
bushings, wheels, pulleys,
bearings, parts with axial
symmetry.
 Casting Processes

Figure I.7a Schematic illustration of various casting processes

 Squeeze Casting

Figure 11.22 Sequence of operations in the squeeze-casting process.

This process combines the advantages of casting and forging.
 Squeeze Casting
Advantages:
•Parts of fine details can be produced.
•Shrinkage defects are much less.
•Very high production rates, compared to die casting.
•No gating and riser; hence, more efficient casting yield.
•Produces high quality surfaces.
•The amount of applied pressure is significantly less
than the one used in forging.

Applications: Mainly used for aluminum and

magnesium alloys. Automotive parts
 Casting Processes

Figure I.7a Schematic illustration of various casting processes

 Investment (Lost – Wax) Casting

Figure 11.13 Schematic illustration of investment casting (lost-wax) process. Castings by this
method can be made with very fine detail and from a variety of metals. Source: Courtesy of
Steel Founder’s Society of America.
 Steps in Investment Casting
(1) Wax patterns are produced;
(2) Several patterns are attached to a sprue to form a pattern tree;
(3) The pattern tree is coated with a thin layer of refractory material;
(4) The full mold is formed by covering tree with sufficient refractory material
to make it rigid;
(5) The mold is held in an inverted position and heated to melt the wax and
permit it to drip out of cavity;
(6) The mold is preheated to a high temperature, which ensures that all
contaminants are eliminated from the mold; it also permits the liquid
metal to flow more easily into the detailed cavity;
(7) The molten metal is poured; it solidifies; and
(8) The mold is broken away from the finished casting. Parts are seperated
from the sprue.
Investment Casting
Manufacturing of turbine blades:
Investment Casting
Investment Casting Animation
Comparison of Investment-Cast and
Conventionally Cast Rotors
Cooling rate can be controlled!

Figure 11.15 Cross-section and microstructure of two rotors: (bottom)

investment-cast; (top) conventionally cast. Source: Advanced Materials
and Processes, October 1990, P. 25. ASM International.
 Investment Casting
Advantages:
•Excellent surface finish.
•Produces very fine details (Jewelry castings).
•Very thin sections can be made (as thin as 0.75 mm).
•Dimensional accuracy (0.08 – 0.1 mm).
•Complex shapes can be cast.
•No or negligible finishing operations.
•Castings are free from most common defects.
Disadvantages:
•Production of wax patterns make the process expensive.
•Large castings cannot be made.
•Incorporating the cores is difficult.
Applications: Jewelry castings, art castings, milling cutters and other alloys, jet
aircraft nozzles, parts of sewing machines, locks, and rifles, dentistry and
surgical implants.
 Casting Processes

Figure I.7a Schematic illustration of various casting processes

 Lost Foam Casting
(a.k.a. Evaporative Casting)

Schematic illustration of the expendable pattern casting process, also known as lost foam or
evaporative casting.
 Lost-foam Casting

Expended polystyrene casting (a.k.a. Lost Foam) process:

(1) pattern of polystyrene is coated with refractory compound;
(2) foam pattern is placed in mold box, and sand is compacted around the pattern; and
(3) molten metal is poured into the portion of the pattern that forms pouring cup and sprue.
As the metal enters the mold, the polystyrene foam is vaporized ahead of the advancing
liquid, thus allowing the resulting mold cavity to be filled.
Evaporative Pattern Casting of an Engine Block

(a) (b)
Figure 11.12
(a) Metal is poured into mold for lost-foam casting of a 60-hp. 3-cylinder marine engine;
(b) finished engine block.
Source: Courtesy of Mercury Marine.
Lost foam casting animation
Lost foam casting
 Lost-Foam Casting
Advantages:
•Used for precision castings of ferrous and non-
ferrous metals.
•High dimensional accuracy can be achieved.
•Thin sections can be cast.
•Complex shapes can be cast.
•One piece flask, less expensive and easier.
•Fewer steps involved compared to sand casting.
•No need to mix binders or other additives.
•Multiple castings can be combined in one mold.
•The need for skilled labor is reduced.
•Machining is minimized.
•Sand is highly reusable.
•Lower capital investment.

Applications: Crankshafts for engines, aluminum

engine blocks, manifolds etc.
 Casting Processes

Figure I.7a Schematic illustration of various casting processes

 Single-Crystal Casting:
Bridgman Technique

Figure 11.23 Methods of casting turbine blades: (a) directional solidification; (b) method to
produce a single-crystal blade; and (c) a single-crystal blade with the constriction portion still
attached. Source: (a) and (b) After B. H. Kear, (c) Courtesy of ASM International.
Manufacturing Processes

71
 Casting Processes

Figure I.7a Schematic illustration of various casting processes

 Melt-Spinning
• Used for making metallic glasses where you need very high cooling rates!
• The technique for making these alloys involves cooling the molten metal, at rates as
high as 106 K/s, so that it does not have sufficient time to crystallize.

(b)

Figure 11.25 (a) Schematic illustration of melt-spinning to produce thin strips of

amorphous metal. (b) Photograph of nickel-alloy production through melt-spinning.
Source: Siemens AG
 Surface Roughness for Various
Metalworking Processes

Figure 11.12 Surface roughness in casting and other metalworking processes. See
also Figs. 22.14 and 26.4 for comparison with other manufacturing processes.