7/25/2020

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The information contained in the multimedia

content “SAND TESTING AND MACHINE MOULDING”
posted by Thapar Institute of Engineering &
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and informational purpose only and not for any
commercial use.

UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

SAND TESTING AND

MACHINE MOULDING

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Grain Fineness Number Testing

• Grain size of the sand is designated by a number called “GRAIN FINENESS
NUMBER” that indicates the average size as well as properties of smaller
and larger grains in the mixture.
• A sand sample devoid of moisture and clay are placed in the top sieve of a
sieve shaker, which contains a series of sieves one upon the other with
gradually decreasing mesh sizes.
• The sieves are shaken continuously for a period of 15 min. After this
shaking operation, the sieves are taken apart and the sand left on each of
the sieve is carefully weighted.
• The amount retained on each sieve is multiplied by the respective
weightage factor, summed up, and then divided by the total mass of the
sample. Mathematically the same can be expressed as.

Mi = multiplying factor for the ith sieve

fi = amount of sand retained on the ith sieve
Pi= % of sand retained on the ith sieve
UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

AFS Sieve numbers and their Indian equivalents with sizes

Sieve analysis

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Clay Content Test

• The clay content of the moulding sand is determined by dissolving or washing
it off the sand.
• To determine the clay percentage, a 50 gram sample is dried at 105° to 110°C
and the dried sample is taken to 1 litre glass flask and added with 475 ml of
distilled water and 25 ml of a 1% solution of caustic soda (NaOH 25 gms per
liter). This sample is thoroughly stirred.
• After stirring for 5 minutes, the sample is diluted with fresh water up to 150
mm graduation mark and the sample is left for 10 minutes to settle. The sand
settles at the bottom and the clay particles washed up from the sand would be
floating in the water.
• 125 mm of this water is siphoned off the flask and it is again topped to the
same level and allowed to settle for 5 minutes.
• The above operations is repeated till the water above the sand becomes clear.
This means that all the clay from the moulding sand has been removed.
• The sand is removed from the flask and dried by heating. The difference in
weight of the dried sand and 50 gram original sample, multiplied by 2, gives
the clay percentage in the moulding sand.
UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Moisture Content Test

• To test the moisture of moulding sand, weighed test sample of 50 g is dried at a
temperature of 105°C to 110°C for 2 hours, by which all the moisture in the
sand would have been evaporated.
• The sample is then weighed. The weight difference in grams when multiplied by
2 would give the percentage of moisture contained in the moulding sand.
• An instrument called moisture teller utilizes calcium carbide to measure the
moisture content. A measured amount of calcium carbide in a container along
with a separate cap consisting of measured quantity of moulding sand is kept in
the moisture teller.
• Care has to be taken before closing the apparatus that carbide and sand do not
come into contact. The apparatus is then shaken vigorously such that the
following reaction takes place:

• The acetylene (C2H2) coming out will be collected in the space above the sand
raising the pressure. A pressure gauge connected to the apparatus would give
directly the amount of acetylene generated which is proportional to the
moisture present.

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Permeability Test
• The permeability number is defined as the volume of air in cc that will pass
per minute under the pressure of 1 gm per cm2 through a specimen which is
1 cm2 in cross-sectional area and 1 cm deep.
• The permeability apparatus uses a standard rammed 5.08 cm diameter by
5.08 cm height test piece.
• The permeability number is calculated using the following formula:

Where
V = volume of air = 2000 cc
H = height of the sand specimen = 5.08 cm
A = cross-sectional area of the specimen = 20.268 cm2
T = time for 2000 cc of air in seconds
• Since V, H, A are constant, this formula reduces to

UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Compression Strength Test

• The green compressive strength (kgf/cm2) of the
foundry sand is the maximum compressive strength a
mixture is capable of developing when moist.
• The rammed sand specimen of dimensions 5.08 cm
high and 5.08 cm in diameter is placed with the end
that was uppermost in ramming against the upper
plate of the universal sand strength machine.
• The machine is so constructed that it registers a continuously increasing load
until rupture of the specimen takes place.
• The load is applied at the rate of 0.25 kgf/cm2 until the specimen breaks.
• The value of compression is read directly on the green compression scale of
the testing machine. The green strength of sands is generally in the range of
0.31 to 1.63 kgf/cm2.
• Dry compressive strength can also be carried with the standard specimens
dried between 105° to 110°C for 2 hours. The strength greatly increases with
drying. The range of dry compression strengths found in moulding sands is
from 1.43 to 18.35 kgf/cm2.
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Shatter Index Test

• Shatter index test is a measure of sand toughness and
collapsibility.
• In this test, a standard specimen of 5.08 cm diameter and
5.08 cm height, free falls through 1.83 m (or 2 m) onto steel
anvil which is mounted in the center of the 10 mm mesh
sieve.
• Weight of the sand passing through the sieve is obtained
and the weight of remaining sand on the sieve is calculated
by subtracting this weight from the total weight of the
specimen.
• Shatter Index can be calculated by the following formula

UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Introduction to Machine Moulding

• The moulding processes is classified as hand moulding or machine
moulding according to whether the mould is prepared by hand tools or
with the help of moulding machines.
• The use of machine moulding is advisable when large number of
repetitive castings are to be produced.
• The dimensions of machine-cast castings are more accurate and it is
possible to produce castings to close tolerances.
• Therefore machine moulding leads to the reduction in the weight of the
castings and the saving of the material.
• Overall machine moulding offers higher production rates and better
quality castings in addition to less heavy castings and at a lower cost.
• A moulding machine essentially performs two important functions,
namely packing of the sand and drawing of the pattern.
• Moulding machines are classified according to the method of compacting
the moulding sand and the method of removing the pattern.

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Squeezer Machine
• In the top squeeze method, moulding sand in
the flask is squeezed between the machine
table and the overhead squeeze board either
pneumatically or hydraulically until the mould
attains the desired density.
• The principle of operation of a top squeezer
machine is highlighted by the figure. The
pattern (2) is placed on the mould board, which
is clamped on the table (1). The flask (3) is then
placed on the mould board and the sand frame
(4) on the flask.
• The flask and the frame are filled with the
moulding sand and leveled off. Next the table is
raised by the table lift mechanism against the
platen (5) on the stationary head (6). The
platen enters the sand frame up to the dotted
line and compacts the moulding sand. After the
squeeze, the table returns to its initial position.
UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

• The principle of operation of a bottom

squeezer machine is highlighted by the
figure. The pattern (2) is placed on the mould
board, which is clamped on the table (1). The
flask (3) is then placed on the frame (7) and
filled with sand. Next the squeeze head is
brought against the top of the flask and the
table with the pattern is raised upto the
dotted line and supported by the stationary
head (6). After the squeeze, the table returns
to its initial position.
• The main limitation of the squeezer method is
that, the sand is packed more densely on the
top of the mould from which pressure is
applied and the density decreases uniformly
with the depth. At the parting plane and
around the pattern, the density is found to be
the lowest.
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Jolt Machine
• In the jolting method, the flask is filled with the moulding sand and then
the table supporting the flask is mechanically raised and dropped in
succession. Due to the sudden change in the inertia at the end of each fall,
the sand gets packed and rammed and this action of raising and sudden
dropping of the table is called “jolting”.

• The principle of jolt moulding machine is shown in above figure. The table
(1) along with the platen and flask (3), filled with moulding sand, is raised
to 30 to 80 mm at short intervals by the plunger (8) when compressed air
is admitted through the hose (9) and channel (10).
UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

• The air is next released through the opening (11) and the table drops
down suddenly and strikes the guiding cylinder (12) at its bottom. This
sudden action causes the sand to pack evenly around the pattern. Springs
(13) are used to cushion the table blows and thus reduce noise and
prevent destruction of the mechanism and foundation.
• The drawback of this method is that the sand is rammed the hardest at
the parting plane and around the pattern and remains less dense in the
top. This necessitates hand ramming of the mould at the back after the
jolting action is completed. These machines are preferred for horizontal
surfaces.

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Jolt-Squeeze Machine
• In order to overcome the drawbacks of
the squeeze and jolt principles of
ramming of the sand, a combination of
squeeze and jolt action is often employed.
• A jolting action is used to consolidate the
sand on the face of the pattern and it is
followed by the squeezing action to
impart the desired density throughout
the mass of the sand.
• The jolt-squeeze machine is so connected
that both the squeeze and jolt actions can
be obtained one after the other.
• A high pressure jolt-squeeze machine is
capable of producing moulds of
maximum hardness, rammed uniformly
throughout the flask.

UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Straight Draw Moulding Machine

• In the straight draw moulding machine, pattern (1) is fixed on the pattern
plate (3) on the table (5) and the flask or moulding box (2) is placed over
it and filled with sand.
• It is then roughly rammed round the edges of the box. The squeeze head
is next swung over in position and squeezes the mould. The flask is ten
lifted from the pattern by the stripping pins (6).

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Stripping Plate Moulding Machine

• The principle of a stripping plate moulding machine is shown in figure.
The stripping plate (4) is arranged between the flask (2) and pattern plate
(3).
• The stripping plate has a recess whose contours equal those of the pattern
(1).
• When the mould is ready, the pattern is withdrawn from the mould
downwards through the stripping plate, which supports the mould when
the pattern is removed.

UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Turn Over Moulding Machine

• This is used for large size, high moulds having parts which might easily
break away.
• The flask (2) rests on the pattern plate (3) during the moulding
operation.
• Then the flask together with the work table (5) is rotated by 180° and
pins (6) lift the table (5) together with the pattern (1) out of the mould.

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• Rao, P.N., Manufacturing Technology Volume 1, McGraw Hill

Education (India) Private Ltd.
• Groover, M.P., Principles of Modern Manufacturing, John Wiley
and Sons (2011).

UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

THANK YOU

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