ENG 222: WORKSHOP TECHNOLOGY

FOUNDRY
Foundry is a plant where jobs are prepared by melting metals with a foundry furnace, and pouring the molten metals
into moulds to form castings after solidification. Cast iron and aluminium are the most commonly processed metals in
a foundry.

 FOUNDRY FURNACE
Foundry furnace, which is also known as casting furnace is used to melt metals in a refractory-lined vessel that holds
both the material to be melted and the energy needed to melt it.

The type of foundry furnaces that are most commonly used are:

(1) Induction furnace: It uses alternating electric current to melt metals to a desired temperature.
(2) Electric arc furnace: It uses electric arc to generate the heat needed to melt the metal. Electrodes are placed
into the metal to be melted and an electric arc is passed between the electrodes to melt the metal.
(3) Crucible furnace: It is made of refractory materials like ceramic. Heat source is introduced to the crucible to
melt the metal inside it. It is mainly used for melting non-ferrous metals like aluminium, bronze etc. because
of their low-melting temperatures, and also for making jewelleries.
(4) Cupola furnace: It is a long chimney-like furnace that is cylindrically shaped, and uses coal coke as a source of
heat to melt metals.

 CASTING
Casting is the process of pouring molten metal into a mould cavity, which conforms to the shape of the cavity after
solidification. The solidified object, which is called casting, is taken out from the mould either by breaking or taking the
mould apart. Casting can be used to create complex internal and external part geometries using any metal that can be
heated to its liquid phase.

Types of casting process are:

(1) Sand casting (Green sand casting): It uses a mould that is made of moist sand mixed with clay agents
(bentonite clay of about 5 to 11%) to make it bond naturally. The term “green” is not about its colour, but
moisture texture in the sand. It is used to manufacture large components like auto engine blocks, pistons etc.
Here, the mould cannot be reused.
(2) Shell mould casting: It is similar sand casting, but it uses finer sand mixed with resin that is hardened into a
shell to form the mould cavity.
(3) Plaster casting: It is similar to the sand casting process but it uses a mixture of gypsum (plaster of Paris),
strengthening compound, and water in place of the sand. It is used to form prototypes of machine parts.
(4) Die casting: It is a method of moulding materials under high pressure, and it usually involves non-ferrous
metals and alloys, like aluminium, copper, zinc, tin, etc. It involves forcing the molten metal into a mould cavity
under high pressure or under gravity. Here, the mould is reusable.
(5) Centrifugal casting: It uses water-cooled mould, which is rotated around its central axis at high speed while
liquid metal is fed in. It is used to produce long, cylindrical parts such as cast iron pipe.
(6) Permanent mould casting: It is a low-pressure process with pouring usually done by hand using multiple
moulds on a turntable. It is similar to die casting and centrifugal casting in the sense that the mould, which is
made of metal, is reusable.
(7) Investment casting (Lost-wax casting): It is also called semi-permanent mould casting. It uses a disposable wax
pattern to cast parts, and cement concrete, which can be used to produce a few number of castings, is used
as the mould material.
CASTING COMPONENTS

(1) Flask: A metal or wood frame without a fixed top or bottom in which the mould is formed.
(2) Mould Cavity (Pattern): It is replica of the part to be cast, or the hollow mould area in which metal solidifies
into a part. It is made of wood, metal, plaster of Paris, plastic or wax. The mould is made by packing moulding
sand round the pattern. When the pattern is removed, its imprint forms the mould cavity. Patterns made of
wood are easy to make but are not dimensionally stable. Patterns made of metal are more expensive but are
more dimensionally stable and more durable. Types of pattern are:
(i) Single-piece or Solid pattern: It is made of single piece without joints or parting lines. It is used to make
simple shapes and flat surfaces.
(ii) Two-piece or Split pattern: It is made in two pieces which are joined at the parting line by means of dowel
pins.
(iii) Cope and drag pattern: It is made up of two halves, which are mounted on different plates. In this case,
cope and drag part of the mould are prepared separately.
(iv) Three-piece or multi-piece pattern: It is used to make complicated shapes which cannot be made by
single-piece or two-piece pattern because of the difficulty in withdrawing the pattern.
(v) Loose-piece pattern: It is used when pattern is difficult to withdraw from the mould.
(vi) Match plate pattern: It is made in two halves, which are mounted on the opposite sides of a wooden or
metallic plate know as match plate. This pattern is used in machine moulding.
(vii) Gated pattern: It is made of metals. It is expensive and usually used for small castings.
(viii) Sweep pattern: It is used for forming large circular moulds of symmetric kind by revolving a sweep
attached to a spindle.
(ix) Segmental pattern: It is generally used for circular castings like wheel rim, gear blank etc.
(3) Pouring Cup: A pouring basin or cup with which the molten metal is poured into a mould cavity.
(4) Sprue: A vertical channel or passage through which the molten metal flows down to the mould cavity.
(5) Runner: A horizontal channel or passage through which the molten metal flows down to the mould cavity.
(6) Core: It is placed in the mould to form hollow regions of various shapes and sizes.
(7) Core Box: It is a die used to produce cores.
(8) Cope: It is the top half of any part of two-piece mould.
(9) Drag: It is the bottom half of any part of two-piece mould.
(10) Parting Line/Parting Surface: An interface that separates the cope and drag of a two-piece mould.
(11) Vent: It is placed in moulds to carry off gases produced when the molten metal comes into contact with the
sand.
(12) Riser: It supplies additional metal to the casting as it shrinks during solidification.
STEPS IN CASTING PROCESS

(1) Making mould cavity (pattern) with the desired shape and size
(2) Melting process to provide the molten metal
(3) Pouring process to introduce the liquid metal into the mould
(4) Solidification process to produce the casting
(5) Removing the casting from the mould
(6) Cleaning the casting

CASTING DEFECTS

A casting defect is an undesired irregularity in a metal casting process. Five types of casting defects are:

(i) Gas porosity defect: It occurs when gas bubbles are trapped inside the metal. Three types of gas porosity
defect are pin holes, blow holes, and open holes. To prevent gas porosity defect, make sure the moulding sand
is dry and permeable; do not ram the sand in the mould too much; provide enough vents for gas to escape.
(ii) Shrinkage defect: It occurs when metal alloys shrink as they cool. Three types of shrinkage defect are open
shrinkage, closed shrinkage, and warping. To prevent shrinkage defect, make sure that there is even supply
of liquid metal into the mould cavity; pour the liquid metal at a lower temperature; provide risers to supply
molten metal to the runners and gate system.
(iii) Mould material defect: It is caused by mould material and mould design problems. Seven types of mould
material defect are cuts and washes, swells, drops, runout, fusion, metal penetration, and rat tails. To prevent
mould material defect, ensure mould receives enough ramming; make sure the metal being poured is not too
hot.
(iv) Pouring metal defect: It occurs when temperatures are too low during the pouring process. Three types of
pouring metal defect are cold shot, cold shut, and misruns. To prevent pouring metal defect, avoid sections
that are thin enough to solidify before the metal can fill larger cavities; the dating system should be designed
in order to transport the molten metal faster; ensure that the molten metal stays warm enough to completely
conform to the inside of the mould.
(v) Metallurgical defect: It occurs when there are problems in the metal of a casting. Three types of metallurgical
defect are slag inclusion, hot tears, and hot spots. To prevent metallurgical defect, slag must be removed
before pouring the molten metal; designing the mould to cool casting evenly.

Two possible solutions to casting defects are repairing the defective part and re-melting/re-casting.