Shell Molding

• Shell molding was first developed in the 1940 and has grown significantly
because it can produce many types of castings with close dimensional
tolerances and a good surface finish at low cost.
• Shell-molding applications include small mechanical parts requiring high
precision, such as gear housings, cylinder heads, and connecting rods.
• The process also is used widely in producing high-precision molding cores.
• In this process, a mounted pattern made of a ferrous metal or aluminum is
(a) heated to a range of 175° to 37O°C, (b) coated with a parting agent (such
as silicone), and (c) clamped to a box or chamber.
• The box contains fine sand, mixed with 2.5 to 4% of a thermosetting resin
binder (such as phenol-formaldehyde) that coats the sand particles.
• Either the box is rotated upside down or the sand mixture is blown over the
pattern, allowing it to form a coating.
• The assembly is then placed in an oven for a short period of time to
complete the curing of the resin.
• In most shell-molding machines, the oven consists of a metal box with gas-
fired burners that swing over the shell mold to cure it.
• The shell hardens around the pattern and is removed from the pattern
using built-in ejector pins.
• Two half-shells are made in this manner and are bonded or clamped
together to form a mold.
• The thickness of the shell can be determined accurately by controlling the
time that the pattern is in contact With the mold.
• In this way, the shell can be formed with the required strength and rigidity
to hold the Weight of the molten liquid.
• The shells are light and thin-usually 5 to 10 mm-and consequently, their
thermal characteristics are different from those for thicker molds.
• Shell sand has a much lower permeability than the sand used for green-
sand molding, because a sand of much smaller grain size is used for shell
molding.
• The decomposition of the shell-sand binder also produces a high volume of
gas.
• Consequently, unless the molds are vented properly, trapped air and gas
can cause serious problems in the shell molding of ferrous castings.
• The high quality of the finished casting can reduce cleaning, machining, and
other finishing costs significantly.
• Complex shapes can be produced with less labor, and the process can be
automated fairly easily.
• Shell Moulding
• The essential feature of the resin shell process is the use of thin walled moulds,
in which the external surface follows the contour of the mould cavity.
• The process thus provided a break with concept of a mould as a cavity within a
solid block of moulding material, of a size often determined by that of the
nearest available moulding box.
• The shell mould is extremely light
• easily handled
• the volume of moulding material is only a small fraction of that required in
conventional practice.
Basic operations
• The original production sequence is illustrated Figure
• Plate mounted metal patterns are required, for example of cast iron or light
alloy, fitted with integral gating and feeding systems.
• Each plate is provided with spring loaded ejector pins, the heads of which
normally lie flush with its upper surface.
• The pins are distributed round the periphery of the pattern and are in some
cases joined to a common backing plate.
• A typical pattern assembly is illustrated in Figure .
• In other systems springless ejector mechanisms are employed.
• The complete assembly is preheated to 180–200°C
• its surface treated with a parting medium, commonly a silicone emulsion, at which
stage it is clamped against the open end of a dump box containing the moulding
mixture.
• This consists of a fine, dry sand, for example silica or zircon, with 2–7% of a solid
thermosetting resin binder.
• The resins commonly used are phenol novolaks containing hexamine as a hardener:
• these are designed to set permanently by cross-linking after a brief softening stage.
• Resins of low nitrogen content were also developed to counter specific surface
defects.
• The binder may be present as a powder mixed with the base sand,
• but pre coated sands are usually preferred for their cleanliness, Uniformity and
economy in resin consumption.
• Resins were developed for either hot or solvent coating of the sand grains at the
foundry, but commercially precoated sands also find wide application.
• The dump box is inverted to allow the moulding mixture to fall into contact with
the attached pattern plate
• The heat from the pattern assembly softens the resin to a depth depending on the
dwell time and produces bonding in the heat affected layer.
• This investment operation is usually completed within 30 s,
• dump box is returned to its original position, leaving the bonded layer adhering to
the pattern assembly
• This layer is normally between 5–10mm in thickness.
• An initial melting stage produces a viscous liquid allowing flow and
adhesion between the sand grains
• the depth to which this occurs depends on the temperature gradient in the
moulding material determines the thickness of the shell.
• This is followed by curing, when the full strength of the shell is developed.
• The properties of the resin should give rapid softening to a consistency just
sufficient for flow and adhesion, followed by rapid curing without too great
a further fall in viscosity.
• This minimizes the danger of peel back, where part of the soft shell falls
away with the excess moulding material on reversal of the pattern plate.
• Full and rapid curing requires a higher temperature than that used for
investment.
• The pattern assembly carrying the origin shell is transferred to an oven held
at a temperature of 300–450°C, or exposed to radiant heat from a hood
carrying gas burners or electrical elements
• Hardening proceeds from both surfaces of the shell and is normally
completed within 2min
• The shell can at this stage be pushed away from the pattern assembly by
actuation of the ejector system
• The cured shell is ready for assembly with other shells and cores to form a
complete mould a range of more intricate shells, for the production of
automobile castings, is shown in Figure
• The latitude in resin properties with time and temperature
permits an operating equilibrium to be reached in respect of
pattern plate temperature
• the pattern assembly can thus be returned immediately to
the dump box for the investment of a further shell.
• Pattern plate temperature can be monitored by surface
contact pyrometer.
• An parallel process is followed in the production of shell
cores.
• Moulding mixture is dumped or blown into the preheated
metal corebox,
• surplus mixture being extracted after the appropriate
investment time.
• Where blowing is employed the use of pre coated sand avoids
resin segregation.
• The accuracy and self-venting character of the hollow cores
led to their extensive use in fields outside that of shell
moulding: a sectioned core was illustrated in Figure
Section through a hollow shell core
• In closing, the shells are mutually aligned either by integrally moulded male and
female dowels or by loose metal peg registering in moulded recesses in both shells.
• Assemblies are held together for casting by spring clips, bolts or adhesive.
• Alternatively, moulds may simply be weighted or held in clamping fixtures.
• They may be oriented either horizontally or vertically for casting.
• In the process as originally developed, moulds were packed in steel shot for casting
to reinforce the thin walls against distortion.
• It was later found that many castings could be produced without this complication,
although heavier castings are then exposed to the danger of swelling.
• Thicker shells and local reinforcement with metal strips can reduce this tendency,
whilst some foundries use sand as a packing medium.
• In this case additional support can be provided by the application of a vacuum to
the container, a feature , which has the further advantage of removing fume
evolved on casting.
• Despite the low breakdown temperature of the resin binder, the cast shape is
established before the mould disintegrates; cleaning operations are relatively
simple.
• Thermal reclamation of the base sand can be achieved by burning off unchanged
resin:
• this becomes economically important where zircon or other special base sands are
employed.
Production systems
• The outstanding production characteristic is the simplicity and speed of the
basic moulding sequence coupled with the ease of handling and storage of
shells.
• This eliminates the need for skilled operations and makes the process
adaptable to widely varying degrees of mechanization.
• For small production runs from a large variety of pattern plates, manual
operations can be based on a single dump box station and oven or can be
integrated into a pattern flow system.
• using multistation manual working and oven conveyors.
• The next stage is the incorporation of dump boxes in simple hand operated
machines which coordinate the production sequences for two pattern plates
and eliminate heavy lifting in the production of larger shells.
• A more refined and semi-automatic two station machine is controlled by
manually operated valves but is also available in a fully automatic version.
• Fully automatic machines can be based either on the continuous working of one or
two large pattern plates or on a multistation principle in which numerous plates are
indexed through successive operations and can be readily interchanged with others
without interrupting the production cycle.
• Heat for investment and curing is provided by gas fired or electric ovens or hoods
and in some cases by heating elements beneath the pattern plates.
• Core making can be similarly mechanized: a two station machine for the production
of large cores and embodies a fully automatic sequence of clamping, shooting,
rocking, curing and ejection stages.
• Most shell moulds are produced as two part moulds as previously described.
• In one variation of the technique, however, small components are mass produced
on the stack moulding principle, using double sided shells obtained by pressing the
moulding material between two heated platens.
• Some modern machines are designed for either mould or core production,
enabling single or double sided shells as well as cores to be produced by blowing.
• In this case the moulding mixture is blown into the space between the heated
pattern plate and a matching contoured blow head mounted on the machine.
• The pattern plate with its adhering layer is then pressed against a heated
contoured head.
• Using this type of technique, shells can be provided with ribbed backs if required
for strengthening purposes.
Characteristics of shell moulded castings
• Close control can be exercised over the few production variables in shell
moulding, principally the temperature and time cycles in investment and
curing
• the human factor is thus minimized and a high standard of reproducibility
attained.
• Castings are notable for the intricate detail which can be reproduced.
• This arises from the sharp precision of the shells themselves and their
extreme permeability to displaced air, derived from the small thickness of
moulding material.
• The absence of air cushioning, combined with the smoothness and low heat
diffusivity of the shells, facilitates flow through thin sections and sharp
delineation of surface detail, even in metals of moderate fluidity.
• This is seen in the clarity of raised lettering.
• Application to thin sections is typify in cast iron holloware, in which general
wall thicknesses in the range 1.9–2.3mm have been attained.
• The castings in Figure 9.10 demonstrate the ability to form thin fins and
other detail susceptible to misrun in sand casting.
• Holes of diameter as little as 3mm can be cast if required.
• Not only is the sharpness of the shell cavities transmitted to the castings, but
accuracy across the joint lines is ensured by precisely moulded location systems
and coreprints
• A minimum of draft taper is required, less than 12° being usual and as little as 1 in
1000 attainable if necessary.
• The enhanced accuracy and finish as compared with sand castings may eliminate
the need for machining in certain cases, but reduced machining allowances or their
replacement by small grinding allowances are the most usual benefits from a
change to shell moulding.
• The process is most adaptable to castings which are relatively shallow in a direction
normal to the parting line.
• The process is suited to ferrous and non-ferrous alloys over weight ranges normally
associated with light machine moulding, most output being of castings in the range
0.1 to 10 kg; much heavier castings have been produced in individual cases.
• Certain alloys, however, are susceptible to surface defects, especially carbon and
low alloy steels, in which “orange peel” or pinholing can be encountered.
• Stainless and other high alloy steels are less prone to surface defects, although
surface carbon absorption has been detected and could diminish corrosion
resistance in some circumstances.
• In assessing the process, a significant factor is that production costs are only
marginally higher than those in sand casting
• whilst fixed costs of plant and handling installations can be considerably lower
• Initial pattern costs are, however, high and method
alterations during the development stage costly
• the process is therefore unsuitable for small quantities
of castings unless there is no practical alternative.
• One possible solution to this difficulty, however, lies in
the availability of a rapid prototyping route directly
relevant to shell moulded castings, in which resin
bonded shells can be produced directly from a CAD file.
• The high cost tooling problem is also greatly reduced
with the use of the cold shell process route.
• Shell moulding is suited to the quantity production of
relatively intricate small castings where the cost of
investment casting cannot be justified.
High definition ferrous castings produced by the shell moulding
process
Shell moulded castings in non-ferrous alloys