13-08-2020

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The information contained in the multimedia content

“SHELL MOULDING AND CENTRIFUGAL CASTING”
posted by Thapar Institute of Engineering &
Technology is purely for education (class teaching)
and informational purpose only and not for any
commercial use.

UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

SHELL MOULDING
AND
CENTRIFUGAL CASTING

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Shell Molding
• It is a process in which the sand mixed with a thermosetting
resin is allowed to come into contact with a heated metallic
pattern plate, so that a thin and strong shell of mould is formed
around the pattern.
• Generally, dry and fine sand (90 to 140 GFN) that is completely
free of the clay is used for preparing the shell moulding sand.
• The grain size to be chosen depends on the surface finish
desired on the casting.
• The synthetic resins used in shell moulding are essentially
thermosetting resins which get hardened irreversibly by heat.
• The resins most widely used are the phenol formaldehyde
resins. Combined with sand, they have very high strength and
resistance to heat.

UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

• Additives may sometimes, be added into the sand mixture to

improve the surface finish and avoid thermal cracking during
pouring.
• Some of the additives used are coal dust, pulverized slag,
manganese dioxide, calcium carbonate, ammonium boroflouride
and magnesium silicofluoride.
• Some lubricants such as calcium stearate and zinc stearate may
also be added to the resin sand mixture to improve the flowability
of the sand and permit easy release of the shell from the pattern.

Shell sand compositions in percentages

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Steps In Shell Molding

STEP 1:
• The first step in preparing the shell mould is the preparation of the
sand mixture. To achieve this, first the sand, hexa and additives, which
are all dry, are mixed inside a Mueller for a period of 1 min.
• Then the liquid resin is added and mixing is continued for another 3
min. Cold or warm air is introduced into the Mueller and the mixing is
continued till all the liquid is removed from the mixture and coating of
the grains is achieved to the desired degree.
• The metal used for preparing patterns is gray cast iron, mainly because
of its easy availability and excellent stability at the temperatures
involved in the process.

STEP 2: a match-plate or cope-and-

drag metal pattern is heated and
placed over a box containing sand
mixed with thermosetting resin.
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STEP 3: The box is inverted so

that sand and resin fall onto the
hot pattern, causing a layer of the
mixture to partially cure on the
surface to form a hard shell.

STEP 4: The box is repositioned

so that loose, uncured particles
drop away;

STEP 5: The sand shell is heated

in oven for several minutes to
complete curing;

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STEP 6: The shell mold is

stripped from the pattern.

STEP 7: The two halves of the

shell mold are assembled,
supported by sand or metal shot
in a box, and pouring is
accomplished.

STEP 8: The finished casting with

sprue is removed.

UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Advantages Of Shell Molding

• The surface of the shell-mold cavity is smoother than a conventional
green-sand mold.
• Finishes of 2.5 µm (100 m-in) can be obtained.
• Good dimensional accuracy is also achieved, with tolerances of 0.25
mm possible on small-to-medium-sized parts.
• The good finish and accuracy often precludes the need for further
machining.
• Collapsibility of the mold is generally sufficient to avoid tearing and
cracking of the casting.

Disadvantages Of Shell Molding

• It has a more expensive metal pattern than the corresponding pattern
for green-sand molding.
• This makes shell molding difficult to justify for small quantities of
parts.
• It is particularly suited to steel castings of less than 10 Kg.

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Centrifugal Casting
• Centrifugal casting refers to several casting methods in
which the mold is rotated at high speed so that centrifugal
force distributes the molten metal to the outer regions of
the die cavity.
• The slag, oxides and other inclusions being lighter, gets
separated from the metal and segregates toward the
centre.
• There are three main types of centrifugal casting
processes. They are:

True centrifugal casting

Semi centrifugal casting

Centrifuging

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True Centrifugal Casting

• In true centrifugal casting, molten metal is poured into a rotating mold
to produce a tubular part.
• Examples of parts made by this process include pipes, tubes, bushings,
and rings.

• Molten metal is poured into a horizontal rotating mold at one end.

• The high-speed rotation results in centrifugal forces that cause the
metal to take the shape of the mold cavity.
• Thus, the outside shape of the casting can be round, octagonal,
hexagonal, and so on. However, the inside shape of the casting is
perfectly round, due to the radially symmetric forces at work.

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Horizontal Centrifugal Casting

Centrifugal force is defined by this physics equation:

where F = force, N; m = mass, kg; v = velocity, m/s and R = inside radius of

the mold, m. The force of gravity is its weight W = mg, where m is given in
kg and g = acceleration of gravity, 9.8 m/s2. The so-called G-factor GF is the
ratio of centrifugal force divided by weight:

Velocity v can be expressed as 2πRN/60 = πRN/30, where the constant 60

converts seconds to minutes; so that N = rotational speed, rev/min.
Substituting this expression into Equation (2),

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Rearranging this to solve for rotational speed N, and using

diameter D rather than radius in the resulting equation,

where D = inside diameter of the mold and OD of the casting, m

• If the G-factor is too low in centrifugal casting, the liquid metal will not
remain forced against the mold wall during the upper half of the
circular path but will “rain” inside the cavity.
• Slipping occurs between the molten metal and the mold wall, which
means that the rotational speed of the metal is less than that of the
mold.
• On an empirical basis, values of GF = 60 to 80 are found to be
appropriate for horizontal centrifugal casting.

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Vertical Centrifugal Casting

• The effect of gravity acting on the liquid metal causes the casting
wall to be thicker at the base than at the top.
• The inside profile of the casting wall takes on a parabolic shape.
• The difference in inside radius between top and bottom is
related to speed of rotation as follows:

where L = vertical length of the casting, m; Rt = inside radius at the

top of the casting, m; Rb = inside radius at the bottom of the
casting, m.
• The equation can be used to determine the required rotational
speed for vertical centrifugal casting, given specifications on the
inside radii at top and bottom.
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• Castings made by true centrifugal casting are characterized by

high density, especially in the outer regions of the part where F
is greatest.
• Solidification shrinkage at the exterior of the cast tube is not a
factor, because the centrifugal force continually reallocates
molten metal toward the mold wall during freezing.
• Any impurities in the casting tend to be on the inner wall and
can be removed by machining if necessary.

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Semicentrifugal Casting
• In this method, centrifugal force is used to produce solid castings,
rather than tubular parts.
• The rotation speed in semicentrifugal casting is usually set so that G-
factors of around 15 are obtained, and the molds are designed with
risers at the center to supply feed metal.
• Density of metal in the final casting is greater in the outer sections than
at the center of rotation.
• The process is often used on parts in which the center of the casting is
machined away, thus eliminating the portion of the casting where the
quality is lowest.
• Wheels and pulleys are examples of castings that can be made by this
process.

UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Centrifuge Casting
• In centrifuge casting, the mold is designed with part cavities
located away from the axis of rotation.
• The molten metal poured into the mold is distributed to these
cavities by centrifugal force.
• The process is used for smaller parts, and radial symmetry of
the part is not a requirement as it is for the other two
centrifugal casting methods.

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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

UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY