DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL AND INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND BUILDENVIRONMENT

Casting Assignment
SURNAME : MABASO
INITIALS : NP
STUDENT NO : 222058693
COURSE : BEng Tech in Mechanical engineering
MODULE : Manufacturing and Material Tech 2A
DATE :

I confirm that this assignment is my own work, is not copied from any other person's work,
and has not previously submitted for assessment either at University of Johannesburg or
elsewhere.

Signed …NP Mabaso…… Date ……………31 March 2022…………………………….

 Mechanical Manufacturing 2A
Casting Assignment

Congratulations on your new job, you have been hired as a Mechanical Engineering
Technologist at casting station at the University of Johannesburg. Now, you have been
given a task to conduct casting experiment with an objective of determining the total
heat required to accomplish the casting. In addition, you are required to determine the
casting mould constant used during casting. This experiment is to be conducted for the
casting of mild steel scrap under the following conditions.
 At room temperature of 25oC.
 The mild steel scrap in the furnace must be heated to 130 oC above melting point,
 The amount of metal to be heated must be 30% more than what is needed to fill
the mould cavity.
 The solidification time is expected to be 20 min.

Given: Properties of mild steel

Density: ρmild steel=2710

( kgm )
3

Specific heat capacity (solid): C 1=0.21 ( kgkJ℃ )

Specific heat capacity (liquid): C 1=0.18 ( kgkJ℃ )
Heat of fusion: h f =389 ( kJkg )
Melting Temperature = 660 0C

Heat required

( )
n
V
Solidification and Cooling, Chvorinov’s Rule: T TS=Cm
A

Required to Calculate: (show all calculations)

Total surface Area of the cast, (m2)

Volume of the cast, (m3)
Volume of metal, (m3)
Mass of metal heated= ρ ❑ V ❑ (kg)
Total Heat required, (kJ)
 casting mould constant (Cm)

Report must consist of

Cover Page (provided)

Table of content

Introduction and Background casting

(Theory from books, journal articles)

Aim and Objectives

List of equipment
(List of all possible equipment used in casting)

Procedure of casting
(Step by step, how do you go about casting)

Results
(All calculation and drawings, typed or hand written)

Discussion and conclusion

(Discuss the results, any possible error that can affect the results, suggestion if any)

References
NB : use Correct cover page, 12 font size, times new romans and 1.5
spacing.

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION.............................................................5
Aim and Objectives................................................................................................................................7
LIST OF EQUIPMENT.......................................................................................................................9
Procedure of casting........................................................................................................................10
Results...............................................................................................................................................11
Discussion..........................................................................................................................................11
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................12
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Casting is one of the soonest metal shaping processes known to man. Pouring molten metal
into a refractory mould with a chamber that corresponds to the desired shape and allowing it
to solidify for a period of time before removing it is typical. When the desired metal object
has formed, it is broken or dismantled from the refractory mould. The solidified object is
referred to as casting. This is also referred to as the foundation process. Pattern creation,
mould construction, and molten metal pouring are all steps in the casting process (Serope
Kalpakjian, 31 Jan 2022). A pattern is a scale model of the object to be cast that is used to
create the cavity into which the molten material will be poured during the casting process. It
gives form to objects that must be cast. Sand casting patterns are typically made of wood,
metal, plastics, or other materials. Patterns are built to strict construction standards so that
they can last a reasonable amount of time, depending on the quality grade of the pattern being
built, and consistently provide dimensionally acceptable castings. (Schmid, 1990). The
patternmaker or foundry engineer positions sprues, gating systems, and risers in relation to
the pattern. When a hole is required, a core can be used to specify a volume or location in a
casting where metal will not flow. Chills are sometimes placed on a patterned surface before
being moulded and then pressed into the sand mould. Chills are heat sinks that enable rapid
cooling of specific areas. Rapid cooling may be required to refine grain structure or to
determine the freezing sequence of molten metal injected into the mould. They do not adhere
because they are at a lower temperature and are occasionally made of a different metal than
what is being poured [ (Rajkolhe, 2014)]. Certain requirements had to be met during mould
construction. Moulding materials are selected based on their processing characteristics. The
most common properties are refractoriness, green strength, dry strength, hot strength, and
permeability. The ability of a moulding material to withstand a metal's high temperature
without fusion is referred to as refractoriness . Greensand is a moisture-containing moulding
sand. The sand you select should be strong enough to hold the shape of the mould you've
constructed. Meanwhile, dry sand is formed once the moisture in the moulding sand has been
completely removed. The strength of the sand required to keep the shape of the mould cavity
is referred to as hot strength. Finally, permeability refers to a cast's ability to release gas
during solidification. Melting practice (pouring molten metal) demanded a high level of
discipline in gating system design as well as risering system application. Pouring time, gating
elements, gating ratios, and the slag trap system are all used, as are solidification behavior
approaches [6].

Density: ρmild steel=2710

( )
kg
m
3

Specific heat capacity (solid): C 1=0.21 ( kgkJ℃ )

Specific heat capacity (liquid): C 1=0.18 ( kgkJ℃ )

Heat of fusion: h f =389 ( kJkg )

Melting Temperature = 660 0C

Heat required

( )
n
V
Solidification and Cooling, Chvorinov’s Rule: T TS=Cm
A
Aim and Objectives

To determine the overall required energy for casting and the casting mould constant used
during casting.
LIST OF EQUIPMENT

1.Low-frequency furnaces
2.High-frequency furnaces
3. Flan resin sand continuous mixer
4.Mould dryer
5. Shake-out machine
6.Five dimensions trimming machine
7. Sand rebounding device
8. Optical emission spectrometer
9. Electron microscopic
10.Dust collector
11.Turning compressor
Procedure of casting

1. The pattern is chosen, and the drag part of the pattern was placed in the center of the flask
with a gate, and the runner is properly positioned according to the molten metal flow
direction.

2. A fine parting powder has been sprinkled over the pattern to make sure that it can be easily
replaced from the sand without adhering to the pattern.

3. In the drag, the moulding sand was indeed riddled to a depth of about 2cm. This sand
was carefully packed around the pattern with fingers.

4. The moulding sand was heaped in the drag and carefully rammed with the rammer. A
striking bar was used to remove the excess sand.

5. The entire drag was and placed the cope portion (flask) over it.

6. The cope half of the pattern was placed over the drag pattern, matching the guide pins, and
apply parting sand to the parting surface. The sprue pin and riser pin are correctly positioned.

7. In the cope, the moulding sand was sieved to a depth of about 2cm. Additional sand is
added and compacted with a rammer.

8. The sprue and riser pins have been removed, and a pouring basin has been created. The
cope and drag are split in half and their parts are facing up.

9. The pattern is carefully removed in halves with draw spikes. The cut gate and drag runner
cavities are repaired and cleaned.

10. The core was set in place. The two mould halves were screwed together and clamped
together.
Results

Total surface Area of the cast,(m2) 0.04m2

Volume of the cast,(m3) 0.004m3

Volume of metal,(m3) 0.00079m 3

Mass of the metal heated= pV (kg) 2.14 kg

Total Heat required,(kJ) 917,08kJ/kg

Casting mould constant(C m) 2000

Discussion

We have discovered several flaws in our casting product. The flaws are porosity and cavities.
Dissolved gases, shrinkage, or a combination of the two can cause porosity in a casting.
Shrinkage can cause porous regions to form in hardened metal castings. When thin sections
of a casting harden faster than thicker sections, molten metal can flow into the thicker,
unsolidified regions. Because the surfaces of the thicker region solidify first, porous zones
may emerge at their centers as a result of contraction. Porosity reduces a casting's ductility
and strength, as well as its surface polish, potentially making it permeable and jeopardizing a
cast pressure vessel's pressure tightness. High melting point, non-uniform cooling rate, and
Porosity is caused by factors such as sand with low permeability. There are several ways to
avoid the casting flaw. The first flaw, porosity, can be avoided by melting the metal at the
proper temperature, uniformly cooling it, and using a permeability-rich sand. Another flaw is
the formation of cavities due to shrinkage. Adding padding to the shrinking portion of the
casting is one solution to this problem. It promotes solidification towards the molten sprue or
riser. As the casting cools, a molten route remains open, supplying liquid and heat. Another
method for reducing the shrinkage cavity is to add a riser near the shrinkage defect. Risers
require more metal during the casting, removal, and finishing processes. All of this tends to
raise the price of the finished casting.

Conclusion

The product was successfully cast by sand-casting the mould, removing the pattern, melting
the aluminium metals, pouring them into the mould through the sprue, and pouring a cup. The
finishing work should be completed before removing the gate and runner. Porosity and
cavities, on the other hand, are two flaws that have occurred in our products. These flaws,
however, can be reduced or avoided with proper mould design and preparation, as well as
pouring processes. Blow, scar, blister, scab, wash, misrun, cold shut, and other flaws are
examples of defects.
References
Rajkolhe, R. (2014). Defects Causes and Their Remedies in Casting process. International Journal of
Research in advent Technology, 375-383.

Schmid, P. P. (1990). Manufacturing Processes for Engineering Material 8 edition. John wiley and
sons.

Serope Kalpakjian, S. S. (31 Jan 2022). Manufacturing Engineering and Technology in SI units,Global
Edition. Pearson Education Limited.
Calculations