Preventi ng cracks in iron casti ngs

due to rough handling

Is of iron castings. Although

gh the risk of damage during
loading, transportation, in the machine shop
must not be overlooked.
In highly stressed castings even a small externally applied force, for example a
blow from a small hammer can cause fracture.
A casting with marked differences in section thickness is
likely to -. 1tress due to uneven cooling in the mould
r- and may
Cracks caused by rough handling are usually hairline and, therefore, difficult to
;:::.) detect with the naked eye. When high levels of residual stress have contributed to
cracking, the crack may open up.

Handling at knockout
Hammering to remove adhering sand or to remove cores should be
the quality of the moulding and core sands to ensure good break-
be poked out when necessary.
Runners end risers Runners and risers should be designed for easy knock-off
making use of necked-down ingates and risers for heavy sections.
Fle..h Flash requiring removal by hammerIng should be prevented by improvement
of mould assembly practice.
cracking often result from throwing castings from the knock-
out into stillages.Stacking castings In plies can crack those at the bottom of the pile.
Stillages should be positioned as close to the knockout as possible and, where light
castings are concerned, they should incorporate racks.
Knockout time Early knockout can produce warping and
knockout times should be established for complicated castings which
to cracking.

Hammering to remove the flash as shown on the left-hand casting produced the crack in
the
~
 N
£
Effective strength of a casting reduced by
the residual casting stresses contained in It !

STRESS. '/, Int.,nol

St..ss

Fettling
FI..h remov.1 by hammering or chiselling Is a common cause of cracking, particularly
if the flash has solidified white.
He.vy.hotbl..ting, particularly of light castings, can cause warping and cracking.
H..vy c..tings mixed with and failing onto light castings in rotary cleaning units can
result in cracking.
Excess pressure during grinding can result in overheating of casting surfaces and
produce cracks, particularly at edges and flanges.
b-
Handling and transporting
LIfting equipment Lack of adequate lifting and lowering equipment may lead to
castings being dropped. Plan to achieve minimum movement of castings. Place
stillages at convenient positions and plan heights of loading bays relative to lorry
platforms.
Lo.dlng The loading and unloading of castings should be done with care. Castings
should be transported in stillages wherever practicable.
Avoid high st.cks Use stillages and ensure that the load Is distributed as evenly
as possible through the stillage structure and is not applied heavily on individual
castings.

Improving handling facilities

When all the simple precautionshave been taken to preventthe rough handling of
castings, such as restricting the use of hammers, the foundryman then has to decide
on the merits of spending money to improve handling facilities. This may mean impro-
ving layout at knockout and/or Installing different stiliages and lifting equipment. The
cost of these measures may well be Justified in terms of savings in labour and in the
prevention of scrap.

Recommended further reading

ANGUS (H.T.)
'0
Cracking In light castings.
BCIRA Journal of Resaarch and Development, 1949,v. 3, December, pp. 153-178.
8CIRA report 243.
ANGUS (H.T.) and TONKS (W.G.)
The development of Internal stresses leading to the cracking of grey iron castings.
British Foundryman, 1957, v. 50, January, pp. 14-22.
THE INSTITUTE OF BRITISH FOUNDRYMEN
Second report of Sub-Committee T .32. Internal stress In castings.
Proceedings of the Institute of British Foundrymen, 1958,v. 49. pp. A56-A88.
GREENHILL (J.M.) and PALMER (S.W.)
The prevention of cracking In Iron castings during manufacture.
British Foundryman. 1968.v. 62, October. pp. 378-391.
External report 517.
EVANS (E.R.) and WEBSTER (D.McK.)
A cau.e of cracking In bath caatlng..
BCIRA Journal of Research and Development. 1954.v. S. February, pp. 145-1&8. ~
BCIRAreportm.

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