Manufacturing Technology

(ME361)- Lecture 5

Instructor: Shantanu Bhattacharya

 Review of previous lecture
• Friction and wear on a atomistic basis.
• Linearity between frictional force and normal reaction
(definition of coefficient of friction).
• Solid solutions definition.
• Equilibrium phase diagrams.
1. For totally miscible liquid and solid phase. solid phase
2. For totally miscible liquid phase and insoluble solid
phase.
3. For totally miscible liquid phase which is partially
miscible in solid phase.
 Control of material properties
• The material properties of metals and alloys can be controlled by various methods to
make the material suitable for a given application.
•These methods include (i) alloying (ii) heat treatment, and (iii) mechanical working and re-
crystallization.

Alloying:
•Alloy steels are broadly classified into two categories, viz., (i) low alloy steels and (ii) high
alloy steels.
•In low alloy steels, the total content of the alloying elements, such as Cr, Ni, Mo, V, and Mn
is kept within 5%.
•Each alloy element imparts a specific property to the original material.
Control of material properties
Control of material properties
 Control of material properties
Heat treatment:
• Control of material properties can also be achieved without the addition of other
elements.
•This is done by subjecting the material to a controlled cycle of heating and cooling.
•To illustrate this, let us take a simple example where austenite steel (above 723 deg. C) is
cooled at different rates. The figure below shows the various structures along with a few
mechanical properties.

• It is thus obvious that by changing only the

rate of cooling, different phases can be
achieved.
•The information on the chang of phase with
the cooling rate can be conveniently displayed
with the help of a time-temperature-
transformation diagram (TTT).
•In such a diagram, the temperature is plotted
along the vertical axis, whereas the abscissa
represents the time on a logarithmic scale.
 Heat Treatment
• When austenite is brought to a temperature
θ1 from θ0 (in zero time) and thereafter held
at θ1 , the transformation to pearlite begins
after a lapse of time t1 as shown by the point
A in the figure.
•Such a transformation taking place at a
constant temperature, is known as an
isothermal transformation.
• The point B indicates a time t2, after which
the transformation is complete.
•The transformations corresponding to other
temperatures, viz., θ2 and θ3 are also shown.
• At about 600 deg. C, the transformation starts after a minimum lapse of time, and this
part of the diagram is called the nose.
•Below this temperature, austenite transforms into Bainite which is an intimate mixture of
ferrite and Cementite. Bainite cannot be produced by continuous cooling.
•When the temperature of isothermal transformation is decreased, the time required for
transformation reduces. This results in a finer grain structure as less time is avialable for
the growth of new nuclei.
•It may be noted that the curve, indicating the beginning of the transformation, does not
exist below about 220 deg. C. Below this temperature, austenite instantaneously starts
transforming into martensite.
 Heat Treatment
• A TTT diagram is quantitatively valid only
when the transformations are isothermal.
•In practical situations of heat treatment
where a continuous cooling is involved, a
modified TTT diagram is used.
•The use of such a diagram can be
explained as follows.
•If the cooling rate is very high, the entire
austenite is transformed into martensite
because the cooling curve does not enter
the pearlite region.
•With a moderate cooling rate (depicted by
cooling curve 2), a portion of austenite is
transformed into pearlite and the rest of it
into martensite.
•The percentage of pearlite depends on
the point of intersection of the cooling
curve and the line AB.
•When this point is nearer A, lesser pearlite is produced. So, when the desired structure is
specified, steel should be heated beyond 723 deg. C (where it is austenitic) and then cooled
in a manner dictated by the TTT diagram.
 Heat Treatment Processes
• Tempering: This refers to secondary heating of martensite obtained by a rapid cooling of
austenite. During this process, no change of phase takes place because the temperature is
never raised beyond the lower critical temperature (723 deg. C). This process hardens the
steel with reduction in strength; also it adds to toughness and ductility. The different
structures, indicated in the figure below result for the dispersion of carbides.

• Annealing: It includes, among others, full annealing,

stress relieving, and process annealing. The general
purposes served by annealing are (1) alteration of
ductility and toughness (2) induction of softness (3)
refinement of grain structure and (4) removal of gases
and stresses.

•Full annealing consists in heating to a suitable temperature, maintaining this temperature

for a definite period of time followed by slow cooling.
•When only the ductility is increased, the process is called annealing, where the maximum
temperature is lower than the critical temperature.
•Stress relieving is similar to process annealing and the temperature does not go beyond
the critical value. At higher temperatures the lattice atoms move to rearrange themselves,
relieving the internal stresses. Also, no change in the microstructure takes place.
 Heat Treatment Processes
• Normalizing: This process is very similar to annealing. Here, the specimen is heated
beyond the upper critical temperature and is cooled in still air rather than inside a furnace.
Therefore, the rate of cooling gets increased and this, in turn, results in slight hardening as
well as loss in ductility unlike in annealing. This process improves strength and
machinability.

•Spheroidizing: This is a special type of tempering where the specimen is reheated to just
below the lower critical temperature. By this process, the carbide in steel is transformed
into globular form. This makes the steel relatively soft, machinable, and suitable for
subsequent hardening treatment.

•Case hardening: For low carbon steels, the noce of the TTT daigram suggests that no
practical cooling rate can achieve direct transformation of austenite into martensite. One
way to solve this problem is to shift the nose to the right through alloying. However, as
hardness is normally required only at the surface of the specimen, alloying of the whole
specimen is not necessary. There are various treatments to impart surface hardness, such
as (i) carburizing (ii) nitriding, and (iii) cyanide hardening [All within the purview of case
hardening]
 Heat Treatment Processes
(i) In carburizing, the specimen is heated beyond the upper critical temperature in a sealed container
having the atmosphere of carbon. The heating is continued for 4-10 hours depending on the depth
of penetration required. As a result, carbon diffuses into the surface layer, making the specimen
harder.
(ii) Nitrogen, in place of carbon, can also be used as a hardening agent. Here, the ammonia atmosphere
is used. Also, the temperature required is about ½-1/3 of that in carburizing. Normally alloy steels
containing chromium, vanadium, molybedenum are subjected to nitriding.
(iii) Using the sodium cyanide atmosphere, both carbon and nitrogen can be effectively used for
imparting hardness. During heating, the nitrides are formed, whereas subsequent quenching results
in carbide formation.
• As already mentioned, higher hardness is normally required at the surface. So, if the surface layer is
quickly heated to a suitable high temperature and then rapidly quenched, the austenite at the surface
gets hardened. The two commonly used methods are (a) flame heating (b) induction heating.
• Flame hardening: In this, an oxyacetylene flame is moved over the
specimen followed by quenching spray. The velocity of the flame and the
material property determine the depth of the layer being hardened. Flame
hardening does not produce any sharp boundary between the hardened
layer and the core; as a result there is no danger of the surface layer
chipping out. The flame should be kept at a sufficient distance from the
sharp corners to avoid overheating.
• Induction hardening: Here, the heating is done by placing the specimen in a high frequency magnetic
field. The depth of penetration decreases as the frequency increases. So, the surface hardening of thin-
walled sections requires high frequency.
 Mechanical Working and Recrystallization
• As already mentioned, the mechanical properties, e.g., strength and hardness, of a polycrystalline
material are also governed by the grain size of the material.
•The figure below shows the nature of variation of two mechanical properties with the average grain
size.
• The grain size can be controlled by mechanical working and
recrystallization. As we have already noted, the effective size of a
grain is decided by the volume to surface area ratio.

• The figure on the right shows how the grains are

deformed by various mechanical working processes.
•Here we can easily see that the effective grain size is
reduced because the surface area of each grain increases,
whereas the volume remains the same.
• It is possible to restore the original grain geometry by heating the material up to a temperature where
the new fine grains are formed.
•The process is called recrystallization and the temperature needed to achieve this is known as the
recrystallization temperature.
•If the material is kept for a considerable period of time at this temperature, the newly formed fine
grains grow in size.
•On the other hand if the material is cooled quickly, the grain size remains small. It should be noted that
in the mechanical working processes, the grains are deformed, whereas in recrystallization, new grains
are formed and their size can be controlled.
CASTING
 Casting Processes
• Casting is one of the oldest manufacturing processes, and is one of the first steps in
manufacturing most products.
•In this process, the material is first liquefied by properly heating it in a suitable furnace and
is then poured into a previously prepared mould cavity where it is allowed to solidify. Finally,
the product is taken off the mould cavity, trimmed, and cleaned to shape.
•The following needs to be explored for a successful casting process:
(1) Preparation of molds and patterns (used to make the mould)
(2) Melting and pouring of the liquefied metal.
(3) Solidification and further cooling to room temperature.
(4) Defects and inspection.

• Although there are several process associated with the casting process the following
common features are valid for the various casting processes in the context of the four
areas just mentioned.
1. The melting temperature of the job and the mould materials,
2. The solubility of and the chemical reaction between the job and the mold materials,
3. The solubility of the atmosphere in the material at different temperatures to be
encountered in the casting operation,
4. The thermal properties such as conductivity and coefficient of linear expansion of both
the mold and job materials.
 Pattern and Mold
• A pattern is the replica of the part to be cast and is used to prepare the mold
cavity.
•Patterns are made of either wood or metal.
•A mould is an assembly of two or more metal blocks, or bonded refractory
particles consisting of a primary cavity.
•The mould cavity holds the liquid metal and essentially acts as a negative of the
desired product.
•The mould also contains secondary cavities for pouring and channeling the liquid
material into the primary cavity and to act as a reservoir.
•A four sided frame in which a sand mould is made is reffered to as a flask.
•If the mould is made in more than one part, the top portion is called the cope and
the bottom one is termed as the drag.
•For producing hollow sections, the entry of the liquid metal is prevented by having
a core in the corresponding portion of the mould cavity.
•The projections on the pattern for locating the core in the mould are called the
core prints. There are diverse types of patterns and moulds depending on the
material, the job and the no. of castings required.
 Pattern allowances
• A pattern is always made somewhat larger than the final job to be produced.
•The excess in dimensions is referred to as pattern allowance. There are two categories
of pattern allowances, viz., the shrinkage allowance and the machining allowance.

•The shrinkage allowance is provided to take care of the contractions of a casting. The
total contraction of a casting takes place in three stages, and consists of:
(i) The contraction of the liquid from the pouring temperature to the freezing
temperature.
(ii) The contraction associated with the change of phase from liquid to solid.
(iii) The contraction of the solid casting from the freezing temperature to the room
temperature.

• It must be noted, however, that its is only the last stage of contraction which is taken
care of by shrinkage allowance.
• Obviously the amount of shrinkage allowance depends on the linear coefficient of
thermal expansion αl of the material.
• The higher the value of this coefficient, the more the value of the shrikage
allowance.
• For dimension ‘l’ of the casting, the shrinkage value is given by αl l (θf-θ0), where θf is
the freezing point and θ0 is the room temp.
 Pattern allowance
•The table on the right gives some
quantitative idea about the shrinkage
allowance and the machining allowance.

•Usually a cast surface is too rough to be

used in the same way as the surface of the
final product.

•As a result, machining operations are

required to produce the finished surfaces.
•The excess in the dimensions of the casting over those of the final job to take care of the machining is
called machining allowance. The total machining allowance also depends on the material and the
overall dimension of the job, though not linearly as the shrinkage allowance.

•For internal surfaces the allowance provided should obviously be negative, and normally the
machining allowances are 1 mm more than those listed in the table.

•There is another deviation from the original job dimensions and is intentionally provided in the
pattern; this is called draft. It refers to a taper put on the surface parallel to the direction of withdrawal
of the pattern from the mould cavity which facilitates the easy withdrawal of the pattern (1/2 deg. to 2
deg.)
 Types of Patterns
1. Loose pattern: It is made in one piece, usually from wood, and is used for castings numbering up to
100.
2. Gated pattern: This is simply one or more than one loose pattern with attached gates and runners
and provides a channel through which the molten metal can flow from the pouring sprue to the
mould cavity. This pattern is frequently set on a follow board conforming to the parting surface of
the mould which also helps in easy removel of the pattern after the mould has been prepared.
3. Match plate pattern: This pattern is made in two halves mounted on both sides of a match plate (of
wood or metal) conforming to the contour of the parting surface. The match plate is accurately
placed between the cope and the drag flasks by means of locating pins. For small castings, several
patterns can be mounted on the same match plate.
4. Cope and drag pattern: Here, the cope and drag halves of a split pattern are separately mounted on
two match plates. Thus, the cope and drag flasks are made separately and brought together to
produce the complete mould.
5. Sweep pattern: Normally made of wood, its is used to generate surfaces of revolution in large
castings, and to prepare moulds out of a paste-like material. Here, “sweep” refers to the section
that rotates about an edge to yield circular sections.
6. Skeleton pattern: This consists of a simple wooden frame outlining the shape of the casting. It is
used to guide the moulder for hand shaping the mould and for large castings having simple
geometrical shapes.
 Types of patterns
• While designing a pattern, the parting line should be chosen so as to have the smallest
portion of the pattern in the cope.
•As the molding sand has greater strength in compression than in tension, the heavier
sections of the pattern should be included in the drag. The figure below shows a typical
split pattern (with allowances) for a cast iron wheel.
 Types of Molds
•Molds can be classified on the basis of either the material, i.e., green sand mould, plastic
mould, metal mould, or on the method of making them, e.g., sheel mould and investment
mould.

•Metal moulds are permanent in the sense that a large number of castings can be made
from a single mould; on the other hand, molds of refractory materials can be used only
once.
•Generally the green sand moulds are used which we will be discussing details following
this.

Green Sand Mould:

• The material for a green sand mold is a mixture of sand, clay, water and some organic
additives, e.g., wood flour, dextrin, and sea coal.
•The percentage of these ingredients on weight basis is approximately 70-85% sand, 10-20
% clay, 3-6% water, and 1-6% additives. The ratio may vary slightly depending on whether
the casting is ferrous or non-ferrous.
•Sand is an expensive refractory material, but natural sand may not have all the desirable
properties of a molding material. For example it normally has a higher clay content than
desired.
 Green Sand Mold
• The sand used as a molding material should have a specified clay, water, and additive content; in
addition, it must have a specified grain size distribution.
•The importance of grain size distribution would be clear from the discussion that follows.
•Both the shape and the size of the sand grains vary over a wide range. The grains may be smooth
and round in shape or may have sharp angular corners.
•The bulk density of the sand mix is very low if the grains are of almost equal size with smooth round
shape.
•Such grains result in an increased void and a higher permeability. Higher permeability permits an
easy outflow of the gases which may otherwise be entrapped within the casting.
•The situation gets reversed if the grains are of various sizes and have sharp corners. To study the
grain size distribution the screening test is performed.
•This is done by taking a fixed sample weight of sand and screening it through standard sieves.
•The screening is accomplished by shaking the sieves. The amount of sand that collects in the
different sieves is then plotted. Finally from this plot the grain size distribution and the average grain
sizes are calculated.
•Clay together with water acts as a bonding agent and imparts tensile and shear strength to the
molding sand. The organic additives burn out at high temperatures and make room for the molding
sand to expand, and thus save the mold from crumbling.
 Green Sand Mold
• The success of a casting process depends greatly on the properties of the molding sand. These
include (1)strength (2)permeability (3)deformation (4) flowability and (5) refractoriness.
•Strength refers to the compressive strength and deformation indicates the change in length of a
standard specimen at the point of failure.
•Permeability is expressed as the gas flow rate through the specimen under a specified pressure
difference across it.
•Flow ability refers to the ability of the sand to flow around and over the pattern when the mold is
rammed.
•Refractoriness measures the ability of the sand to remain solid as a function of temperature.
•For a given sand clay ratio, the nature of variation of these properties with water content is shown in
the figure below:
• It is obvious from both the strength and permeability
point of view that there is an optimum water content.
•At a low water content, dry clay powder, being finer than
the sand grains, fill up the void between the sand
particles, and thus reduces the permeability.
•With higher water content, moist clay forms a coating
over the sand particles keeping them further away, thus
enhancing the permeability.
•Beyond the optimum water content, the water itself fills
up the voids and reduces the permeability.