17-08-2020

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content “DIE CASTING AND INVESTMENT CASTING”
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UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

DIE CASTING
AND
INVESTMENT CASTING

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Die Casting
• Die casting is a permanent-mold casting process in which the
molten metal is injected into the mold cavity under high
pressure.
• Typical pressures are 7 to 350 MPa.
• The pressure is maintained during solidification, after which the
mold is opened and the part is removed.
• Molds in this casting operation are called dies; hence the name
die casting.
• The use of high pressure to force the metal into the die cavity is
the most notable feature that distinguishes this process from
others in the permanent mold category.

UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

• Die-casting operations are carried out in special die-casting

machines, which are designed to hold and accurately close the
two halves of the mold, and keep them closed while the liquid
metal is forced into the cavity.
• The general configuration is shown in Figure. There are two
main types of die-casting machines differentiated by how the
molten metal is injected into the cavity:

hot-chamber

cold-chamber

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• Molds used in die-casting operations are usually made of tool

steel, mold steel, or maraging steel. Tungsten and molybdenum
with good refractory qualities are also being used.
• Hot working tool steels are normally used in the preparation of
the dies, die inserts and cores. For zinc alloys, the normal die
material is AISI P20 for low volume and H13 for high volume.
For aluminum and magnesium, H13 and H11 are used. The usual
die materials for copper alloys are H20, H21 and H22.
• Dies can be single-cavity or multiple-cavity.
• Ejector pins are required to remove the part from the die when it
opens. These pins push the part away from the mold surface so
that it can be removed.
• Lubricants must also be sprayed into the cavities to prevent
sticking.
UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

• Because the die materials have no natural porosity and the molten metal
rapidly flows into the die during injection, venting holes and passageways
must be built into the dies at the parting line to evacuate the air and gases
in the cavity.
• The vents are quite small; yet they fill with metal during injection. This
metal must later be trimmed from the part.
• Formation of flash is common in die casting, in which the liquid metal
under high pressure squeezes into the small space between the die halves
at the parting line or into the clearances around the cores and ejector
pins. This flash must be trimmed from the casting, along with the sprue
and gating system.

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Hot Chamber Process

• In hot-chamber machines, the metal is melted in a container
attached to the machine, and a piston is used to inject the liquid
metal under high pressure into the die.
• Typical injection pressures are 7 to 35 Mpa.
• Production rates up to 500 parts per hour are not uncommon.
• Hot-chamber die casting imposes a special hardship on the
injection system because much of it is submerged in the molten
metal.
• The process is therefore limited in its applications to low-
melting-point metals that do not chemically attack the plunger
and other mechanical components.
• The metals include zinc, tin, lead, and sometimes magnesium.

UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Cycle in hot-chamber casting

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Cold Chamber Process

• In cold-chamber die-casting machines, molten metal is poured into an
unheated chamber from an external melting container, and a piston is
used to inject the metal under high pressure into the die cavity.
• Injection pressures used in these machines are typically 14 to 140 MPa.
• Compared to hot-chamber machines, cycle rates are not usually as fast
because of the need to ladle the liquid metal into the chamber from an
external source.
• Nevertheless, this casting process is a high production operation. Cold-
chamber machines are typically used for casting aluminium, brass, and
magnesium alloys.
• Low melting point alloys (zinc, tin, lead) can also be cast on cold-
chamber machines, but the advantages of the hot-chamber process
usually favour its use on these metals.

UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Cycle in cold-chamber casting

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Advantages Of Die Casting

• High production rates possible.
• Economical for large production quantities.
• Close tolerances possible, on the order of 0.076 mm for small parts
• Good surface finish
• Thin sections are possible, down to about 0.5 mm
• Rapid cooling evolves small grain size and good strength to the casting.

Disadvantages Of Die Casting

• The maximum size of the casting is limited to normal sizes of less than
4 Kg.
• It is not suitable for all materials because of the limitations on the die
materials. Normally zinc, aluminium, magnesium and copper alloys
are die casted.
• The dies and the machines are very expensive and therefore economy
in production is possible only when large quantities are produced.
UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Investment Casting
• In investment casting, a pattern made of wax is coated with a
refractory material to make the mold, after which the wax is
melted away prior to pouring the molten metal.
• The term investment comes from one of the less familiar
definitions of the word invest, which is “to cover completely,”
this referring to the coating of the refractory material around
the wax pattern.
• It is a precision casting process, because it is capable of
making castings of high accuracy and intricate detail.
• The process dates back to ancient Egypt and is also known as
the lost-wax process, because the wax pattern is lost from the
mold prior to casting.

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Steps In Investment Casting

• The first step is the preparation of the
pattern. To do this, molten wax which is
used as the pattern material is injected
under pressure of about 2.5 MPa into a
metallic die and has the cavity of the
casting to be made.

• The wax when allowed to solidify would

produce the pattern. The pattern is
ejected from the die as shown in step 2.

• Then the cluster of wax patterns is

attached to the gating system by
applying heat as shown in step 3.

UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

• To make the mould, the prepared pattern is

dipped into a slurry made by suspending fine
ceramic materials in a liquid such as ethyl silicate
or sodium silicate. The excess liquid is allowed to
drain off from the pattern.

• Dry refractory grains such as fused silica or zircon

are “stuccoed” on this liquid ceramic coating (step
5). Thus a small shell is formed around the wax
pattern. The shell is cured and then the process of
dipping and stuccoing is continued with ceramic
slurries of gradually increasing grain sizes. Finally
when a shell thickness of 6 to 15 mm is reached,
the mould is ready for further processing.

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• The next step in the process is to remove the

pattern from the mould which is done by heating
the mould to melt the pattern (step 6). The melted
wax is completely drained through the sprue by
inverting the mould. Any wax remnants in the
mould are dissolved with the help of the hot vapour
of a solvent such as trichloroethylene.

• The moulds are then pre heated to a temperature of

100 to 1000°C, depending on the size, complexity
and the metal of the casting. This is done to permit
proper filling of all mould sections which are too
thin to be filled in a cold mould. The molten metal is
poured into the mould under gravity and under
slight pressure, by evacuating the mould first (step
7).

• The mold is broken away from the finished casting.

Parts are separated from the sprue.
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Advantages Of Investment Casting

• Parts of great complexity and intricacy can be cast.
• Close dimensional control, tolerances of 0.075 mm are possible.
• Good surface finish is possible.
• The wax can usually be recovered for reuse.
• Additional machining is not normally required.

Disadvantages Of Investment Casting

• Because many steps are involved in this casting operation, it is a
relatively expensive process.
• The process is normally limited by the size and mass of the casting.
The upper limit on the mass of a casting may be of the order of 5 kg.

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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