EXPERIMENT NO.

Aim:-
Demonstration of metal melting, metal pouring, metal casting and casting finishing.

What is casting?
Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mould,
which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified
part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or broken out of the mould to complete the
process.

Melting of metals
The melting process begins with the customer’s metal specification for the casting, which
determines what type of scrap metal will be used to ‘charge’ the furnace.
Once charged, the furnace uses three electrodes, each supplying 6,500 amps of electricity, to
melt the scrap metal.
At various points in the melt process, samples are taken to determine the chemical composition
of the molten metal. Using a Spectrometer as a guide, alloys are added to the furnace to bring
the molten metal in the proper specification.
Once the metal is within the desired specification, and at a temperature near 3,000 degrees F.,
it is poured into a preheated ladle for transfer to the pouring lines.

Pouring of Metals
Molten metal from the smelting furnace is usually poured into a ladle, from which the metal is
then poured from the lip at thetop of the ladle when the ladle is of small capacity. When the
ladle is larger, the metal is poured through a refractory nozzle atthe bottom of the ladle. The
nozzle can be closed from inside the ladle by a refractory stopper. Devices without stoppers are
also widely used. Here, the ladle’s nozzle is closed from the outside by a refractory plate. The
plate, which has an orifice, canbe moved so that the orifice coincides with the nozzle, thus allo
wing the metal to flow out.

Fig. 6.1 Top Pouring

In the steel industry, molten steel is poured from a ladle into moulds, or a process of
continuous steel casting is used. The metal can be poured into the mould either from the top of
the mould or from the bottom through a connecting channel. In thefirst case, the steel is poured
from the ladle directly into the mould (Fig.6.1). After the mould is filled, the ladle opening is
closed and the ladle is moved by crane to the next mould, where the process is repeated.

Fig. 6.2 Bottom Pouring

In bottom pouring, several moulds (from two to 60) can be filled with steel simultaneously. Here,
the moulds are mounted on a stool having channels lined with refractory brick. The steel from
the ladle descends through the fountain into the channels of the stool and then enters the mould
from the bottom (Fig. 6.2). The pouring method used depends on such factors as the steel’s grade
and weight and the intended use of the ingots.
Metal Casting processes
Casting is one of the oldest manufacturing processes. It is the first step in making most of the
products. Following are steps require completing the casting process.
• Steps:
- Making mould cavity
- Material is first liquefied by properly heating it in a suitable furnace.
- Liquid is poured into a prepared mould cavity
- allowed to solidify
- product is taken out of the mould cavity, trimmed and made to shape

Important casting terms

Following are the terms related to casting terminology

Flask: A metal or wood frame, without fixed top or bottom, in which the mould is formed.
Depending upon the position of the flask in the moulding structure, it is referred to by various
names such as drag – lower moulding flask, cope – upper moulding flask, cheek – intermediate
moulding flask used in three piece moulding.
Pattern: It is the replica of the final object to be made. The mould cavity is made with the help
of pattern.
Parting line: This is the dividing line between the two moulding flasks that makes up the mould.
 Fig. 6.3 casting terminology
Moulding sand: Sand, which binds strongly without losing its permeability to air or gases. It is
a mixture of silica sand, clay, and moisture in appropriate proportions.
Facing sand: The small amount of carbonaceous material sprinkled on the inner surface of the
mould cavity to give a better surface finish to the castings.
Core: A separate part of the mould, made of sand and generally baked, which is used to create
openings and various shaped cavities in the castings.
Pouring basin: A small funnel shaped cavity at the top of the mould into which the molten metal
is poured.
Sprue: The passage through which the molten metal, from the pouring basin, reaches the mould
cavity. In many cases it controls the flow of metal into the mould.
Runner: The channel through which the molten metal is carried from the sprue to the gate.
Gate: A channel through which the molten metal enters the mould cavity.
Chaplets: Chaplets are used to support the cores inside the mould cavity to take care of its own
weight and overcome the metallostatic force.
Riser: A column of molten metal placed in the mould to feed the castings as it shrinks and
solidifies. Also known as “feed head”.
Vent: Small opening in the mould to facilitate escape of air and gases.

Casting Finishing
After the solidification of the casting, the mould is knocked out and solidified casting is taken out
of the moulding sand. At this juncture the cast product is attached with risers, and gates. Many
times the moulding sand also get adhered to the casting as some of the sand gets fused with the
molten metal. The cleaning of castings refers to the removal of gates, risers and sand. The
cleaning operations usually performed on a casting are given below:
1. Removal of gates, in-gates, riser, feeder etc.

There are various methods of removal of unwanted metallic parts from the solidified cast
product. In case of brittle material, the gates, risers, and feeder can be removed by impact
 force. Other processes that may be used to cut off the metallic parts include band saws,
grinding machine, shearing machine, cutting torches, etc.
2. Surface cleaning

As the temperature of molten metal is usually high, sand particles near the surface of the
casting gets fused and adheres to the surface of the casting. The cleaning of the surfaces both
interior and exterior thus becomes necessary. Some of the most common methods of removal
of sand are tumbling, and sand or metallic shot blasting.
3. Trimming

Trimming operations involves the removal of fins, gates and risers appendages, metallic
chaplets, etc. These unwanted material is removed by using hammer and chisel called as
chipping process, or by pneumatic chipping hammers or by the use of grinders.
4. Finishing

The finishing at this stage refers to the final cleaning. The castings after the removal of gates,
risers, fins, chaplets, adhered sand is washed and then depending upon the requirements of
the end product final finish is provided by machining, polishing, buffing, chemical treatment
etc.

Casting Defects
A properly designed casting, a properly prepared mould and correctly melted metal should
result in a defect free casting. However, if proper control is not exercised in the foundry-
sometimes it is too expensive - a variety of defects may result in a casting.

Blow:
Blow is relatively large cavity produced by gases which displace molten metal form.

Fig. 6.4 Blow

Drop:
Drop or crush in a mould is an irregularly shaped projection on the cope surface of a casting. This
defect is caused by the break-away of a part of mould sand as a result of weak packing of the
mould, low strength of the moulding sand, malfunctioning of moulding equipment, strong jolts
and strikes at the flask when assembling the mould.

Fig. 6.5 Drop

Penetration:
It is a strong crust of fused sand on the surface of a casting which results from insufficient
refractoriness of moulding materials, a large content of impurities, inadequate mould packing
and poor quality of mould washes.
When the molten metal is poured into the mould cavity, at those places when the sand packing
is inadequate, some metal will flow between the sand particles for a distance into the mould wall
and get solidified. When the casting is removed, this lump of metal remains attached to the
casting. Of course, it can be removed afterwards by chipping or grinding.

Fig. 6.6 Penetration

Blow holes:
Blow holes, gas holes or gas cavities are well rounded cavities having a clean and smooth surface.
They appear either on the casting surface or in the body of a casting.
These defects occur when an excessive evolved gas is not able to flow through the mould. So, it
collects into a bubble at the high points of a mould cavity ad prevents the liquid metal from filling
that space.

Wash:
A cut or wash is a low; projection on the drag face of a casting that extends along the surface,
decreasing in height as it extends from one side of the casting to the other end. It usually occurs
with bottom gating castings in which the moulding sand has insufficient hot strength, and when
too much metal is made to flow through one gate into the mould cavity,

Fig. 6.7 Wash

Shrinkage:
A shrinkage cavity is a depression or an internal void in a casting that results from the
volume contraction that occurs during solidification.

Fig. 6.8 Shrinkage

Shift:

Mould shift refers to a defect caused by a sidewise displacement of the mould cope relative to
the drag, the result of which is a step in the cast product at the parting line. Core shift is similar
to mould shift, but it is the core that is displaced, and the dis-placement is usually vertical. Core
shift and mould shift are caused by buoyancy of the molten metal

Fig. 6.9 Shift

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