Introduction

• Casting or Foundry is a process of producing metal or alloy parts from

molten metal by pouring it into mould.
• Mould made in a flask that has two part. top part cope and lower part
drag.
• If the flask is made in three parts the centre is called cheek.
Casting Steps
© CASTING

1. Pattern Making
2. Sand mixing and preparation
3. Core making
4. Mould making
5. Melting
6. Pouring
7. Finishing
8. Testing
Dr. R. S. Tajane

9. Heat treatment
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 Steps in making Mould-
• Pattern is place on moulding board.
• Drag box is placed on the board with pin downs.
• Molding sand is then riddle in to cover the pattern with the finger.
• Small mould are pack with hand rammer and mechanical rammer is
used for large mould and high production.
• Pattern is place on moulding board.
© CASTING

• Drag box is placed on the board with pin downs.

• Molding sand is then riddle in to cover the pattern with the finger.
• Small mould are pack with hand rammer and mechanical rammer is
used for large mould and high production.
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Steps in making Mould-
• Surface of the drag box is sprinkled with the parting sand to prevent
the bonding of sand in the cope box.
• Cope is place on the drag.
• Sprue pin is place approximately 1 inch to the one side of the pattern.
• The operation of feeling ramming and venting the Cope proceed in the
same manner in the drag.
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Steps in making Mould-
• Sprue pin is removed and funnel shape opening is scooped called as
pouring basin.
• Cope box is kept aside and pattern is removed from the drag with the
help of draw spike.
• Before closing the mole a small passage known as gate is cut between
the cavity and sprue opening.
© CASTING

• After assembling cope and drag box mold is ready for pouring molten
metal.
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane
Steps in making mould-

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 Pattern Making
Pattern is replica of the object to be cast and is used for
formation of mould.
Pattern differ from casting
• Slightly large
• m/c allowance
• Draft
© CASTING

• Additional projection- core print

• No hole or slot
• Different material
Function of pattern
• Mould preparation
• Seat for core
• Minimize casting defects
• Minimize overall cost of casting
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Pattern Material
• Wood- White Pine, Teak, Maple, Shisham, Cherry
• Metals - Cast Iron, Brass, Aluminum And Its Alloy
• Plaster
• Plastic
• Wax
Factor affecting the selection of pattern material
• Number of casting to be made
© CASTING

• Method of moulding to be used that is hand or machine

• Type of casting method to be used
• Degree of accuracy in dimension and the quality of surface finish
required on the casting
• Design of casting
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Pattern allowances
• Shrinkage allowance
• Machining allowance
• Draft allowance
• Rapping or shake allowance
• Distortion allowance
• Mould wall moment allowance
Pattern colours
© CASTING

• Red - -surface to be machine

• Black- surface to be left un-machine
• Yellow- core print
• Red strips on yellow base- seat for lose piece
• Black strips on yellow base-stop offs
• Clear or no color- parting surface
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Type of patterns
1. Solid or single piece pattern
2. Two piece or split pattern / Multi piece pattern
3. Match plate pattern
4. Gated pattern
5. Skeleton pattern
6. Sweep pattern
© CASTING

7. Loose piece pattern

8. Cope and drugs pattern
9. Follow board pattern
10. Segmental pattern
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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© CASTING
Type of patterns

A- Solid Pattern; B Split Pattern; C- Loose Piece Pattern D – Gated

Pattern; E Match Plate Pattern; D- follow board for wheel pattern
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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Dr. R. S. Tajane © CASTING
Type of patterns

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 Type of patterns
Loose piece pattern
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Type of patterns
Follow board and
Segmental pattern
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Mold Materials
• Mould retain it shape till the metal has solidified
• Permanent mould made of ferrous and its alloy are used for low
melting materials and are also costly)
• Temporary refractory mould (made of refractory sand and resins and
are used for most of the casting)

Selection Criteria
• Cost of material
© CASTING

• Quality of casting required

• Number of casting required
• Shape and size of the casting
• Accuracy of the casting
• Material to be cast etc.
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Moulding Sand
 Easily Available and at low cost
 Riverbeds, lakes, sea, and desert

Types
• Natural Sand- natural sand with 5 to 20% clay and need only 5 to
8% water.
• Synthetic Sand- a natural sand with or without clay, moisture and
© CASTING

binder like bentonite.

• Special Sand- includes green sand. loam sand. core sand. parting
sand, facing sand, and backing sand
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Characteristic of Moulding Sand
• Flowability or plasticity
• Green strength
• Dry strength
• Permeability or porosity
• Refractoriness
• Adhesiveness
• Cohesiveness
• Thermal stability
• Collapsibility
© CASTING

Constituents of Moulding Sand

1. Sand
2. Additives- coal dust, sea coal, corn flour or cereals, silica flour, wood flour,
pitch, fuel oil, dextrin or molasses
3. Binder- it provides cohesiveness and produces more strength mould, also
improve permeability.
Organic binders generally used for core making-line seed oil, dextrin,
molasses, pitch.
Inorganic binders are clay, sodium silicate, and Portland cement.
Dr. R. S. Tajane

4. Water
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 Sand Preparation and Conditioning
• Mixing of sand, binder, moisture and other additives
• Mixing can be done manually or using mechanical mixture
• Sand Tempering/conditioning is a process where adequate
amount of moisture is added to the moulding sand to make it
workable

Function of Sand Preparation and Conditioning

• To remove impurities from the moulding sand (nails, fins, hard
© CASTING

sand lumps etc.)

• To develop optimum properties in the moulding sand
• To obtain distribution of sand grains throughout the bond
• To add suitable amount of water to activate clay binder
• To deliver sand at suitable temperature
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Sand Testing
• Moisture Content Test
• Clay Content Test
• Permeability Test
• Grain Fineness Test
• Mould Hardness Test
• Refractoriness Test
© CASTING

• Compression Strength Test

Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Sand Testing
• Moisture Content Test

 20 to 40 grams of prepare sand

place in the pan
 Heated by infrared heater for 2 to 3
minutes
© CASTING

 All moisture get evaporated

 Reweighted the sample
 Thus % of moisture content is
weight of moisture divided by total
weight of sample
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Sand Testing

• Permeability Test
It is a property of molding sand which allowed to escape
the water vapor and other gases generated during the
pouring of the molten metal into mold.

Depend on
© CASTING

 Grand size and shape

 Grand distribution
 Binder and its content
 Water amount in the molding
 Degree of ramming
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Sand Testing
• Permeability Test
 2000cc of air present in a bell jar are forced to pass through the
sand specimen
 A pressure on the manometer reading in gm./cm2 is noted
 Time required to escape 2000cc of air through the sand
specimen is also recorded with the stopwatch
 Permeability number is calculated as
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Sand Testing
• Permeability Test
𝑉×ℎ
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑁𝑜. =
𝑎×𝑝×𝑡

Where
V = Volume of air passing through the specimen in CC (standard
© CASTING

volume is 2000cc)
h = Height of the specimen (standard volume is 5.08 cm)
a = Area of the specimen in cm square (standard value is 20.268 cm2)
p = Air pressure in gm/cm2
t = Time for passing 2000cc through specimen

2000 × 5.08 501.282

∴ 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑁𝑜. = =
20.268 × 𝑝 × 𝑡 𝑝×𝑡
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Sand Testing
• Grain Fineness Test
 11 sieve and pan are put in order of course to find on electrical
shaking machine
 Sand sample is wash to remove the clay content and then dried
 Weighted quantity of dried sample is placed in the uppermost sieve
and then shaken for definite period
© CASTING

 Sand in each sieve and pan are weighted separately

 These weights are multiply by standard multiplying factor shown
against each sieves and pan in table
 Sum up these products
 The AFS grain fineness number is calculated as

𝑆𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑠

𝐴𝐹𝑆 𝑔𝑒𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑛𝑜. =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 % 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑕 𝑠𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Sand Testing
• Grain Fineness Test
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Sand Testing
• Grain Fineness Test
Openi
Multip % produc
S. N. Mesh ng in
lier Retained t
inch
1 6 0.1320 3 0.0 0
2 12 0.0661 5 0.0 0
3 20 0.0331 10 0.0 0
4 30 0.0232 20 2.0 40
5 40 0.0165 30 2.5 75
© CASTING

6 50 0.0117 40 3.0 120

7 70 0.0083 50 6.0 300
8 100 0.0059 70 20.0 1400
9 140 0.0041 100 32.0 3200
10 200 0.0029 140 12.0 1680
11 270 0.0021 200 9.0 1800
12 Pan Nil 300 4.0 1200
Total 90.5 9815
𝑆𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑠
𝐴𝐹𝑆 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑛𝑜. =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 % 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑕 𝑠𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒
Dr. R. S. Tajane

9815
= = 108
90.5
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 Sand Testing
• Compression Strength Test
 Molding sand is tested for shear strength, tensile strength compression
strength and bending strength.
 Instrument shown in figure is used for this.
 Different shapes of specimen are required for different tests
Cylindrical shape far sharing, comparison test
'8' ships specimen for tinsel test
© CASTING

Square prism of section area 5 cm2 and length 175 mm for bending
test.
 Manometer has three scale one for compression, second for sharing
and third is common for both tensile and bending test
For compression strength the first specimen is directly mounted on
Instrument. Pressure on it by moving the plunger and strength read
on the manometer at the time of failure of the specimen. That gives
compression strength
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Sand Testing
• Compression Strength Test
For compression strength the first specimen is directly mounted on
Instrument. Pressure on it by moving the plunger and strength read
on the manometer at the time of failure of the specimen. That gives
compression strength
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Core
Core prepared from sand, plaster, metal or ceramic are used to create a
slot or whole in the casting for which no provision made on the pattern.

Characteristic
It should have
 sufficient strength to support itself without breaking
 high permeability and high refractoriness
© CASTING

 smooth surface to ensure smooth casting

 high collapsibility, to assist the free contraction of solidifying metal
 those ingredients which does not generate mould gases
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Core Sand Its Ingredients
• Core sand and moulding sand is same.
• Very low clay content and larger grain size for higher permeability
• It consists of sand, 1% core oil, 1% cereal, and 2.5 to 6% of water
Core sand ingredients are
a) Refractory granules
Dry silica sand, carbon, zircon, olivine, Chamotte
b) Core binders
© CASTING

• Hold sand grand together

• Provide strength and adequate collapsebility to the core
• Make erosion resistance core
Types
Organic binders- core oil, cereal, pitch, wood flour, synthetic
raisins, etc.
Inorganic binder- fire clay, bentonite, silica flour, iron oxide, etc
Other binders- cement, sodium silicate, etc
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Core Sand Its Ingredients
Core sand ingredients are
c) Water
• 3 to 7% water
• Binder and attitude are mixed properly when moisture is present
• Optimum water provides better green strength, edge and scratch
hardness, good tensile strength
© CASTING

• However excessive water provide difficulty in making and baking

core
d) Additives
Similar attitude as used in moulding sand.
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Core making
i. Core sand preparation
same as mold sand preparation
ii. Core making
small core are made manually in hand rammed core box
Mass quantity core on core making machine-
Jolt m/c, shell core m/c, sand slinger, core extrusion m/c
iii. Core baking
© CASTING

iv. Core finishing and dressing

remove fins and other projection
apply cote of refractory material- graphite, silica, zircon flour
may be coated with heat resistance paint
joining different parts by pasting, bolting etc.
v. Setting the core
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Types of cores
a) Horizontal core
Mostly placed at parting line
b) Vertical core
fitted with axis vertical
major portion is in drag
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Types of cores
c) Hanging core
• or cover core
• Support from above and hangs vertically in the mould
• No bottom support
• have a hole for molten metal entry into the mould

d) Balance core
• Supported and balanced from one end
© CASTING

• Should have long core seat

• Some time supported by chaplets
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Types of cores
d) Ram up core
• Placed in sand along with pattern
before ramming the mould
• Used for internal and external
details of casting

f) Drop/stop off core

© CASTING

Used when a hole/recess/cavity

is not inline with parting surface

e) Kiss core
• Not required core seat for support
• Held in position between drag and cope
Dr. R. S. Tajane

• Number of holes in casting

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 Core Boxes
Used to produce core by filling sand into core box and then
ramming and baking
Types
i. Half core box
ii. Dump core box
iii. Split core box
© CASTING

iv. Strickle core box

v. Gang core box
vi. Loose piece core box
vii. Left and right core boxes
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Core Boxes
Types
i. Half core box
• number of half core are made
• two half of core is cemented to get cylindrical core
ii. Dump core box
• or slab core box
• Same as half core box however it produce full core at a time
© CASTING

• used for rectangular, square, or trapezoidal cores

Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Core Boxes
Types
iii. Split core box
• Core box have 2 or more parts for easy removal of core
• Parts (core box) are assemble together using dowels and then sand
is rammed to create one piece core
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Core Boxes
Types
iv. Strickle core box
• Sand is rammed in dump core box
• Top surface of core is produced using strickle board by removing
excess sand
• strickle board is made up of wood
• Less costly method
© CASTING

v. Gang core box

It has no. of cavities and
produces more than one
core at a time
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Core Boxes
Types
vi. Loose piece core box vii. Left and right core boxes
• Similar to half core box • Used for producing pipe
bend
• Half of the core is made in
each core box
• Two halves are baked and
© CASTING

joint together to form full

core
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Core Prints
Extra projection on the pattern which create seat in the mould for the core.

Types
1. Horizontal core print
2. vertical core print
3. balance core print
4. cover core print
© CASTING

5. wing core print

Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Getting System
It a channel to convey the molten metal from pouring basin to mould
cavity. It has various component as given below
i. Pouring cups/basin
ii. Sprue
iii. Runner
iv. Gates
v. Riser etc.
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Getting System
i. Pouring cups/basin
• First portion of getting system
• Act as reservoir
• Slag and impurities are floating on molten metal and preventing to
enter into sprue.
• Allow to enter only clean metal into sprue.
ii. Sprue
© CASTING

• It is a vertical passage made generally in the cope using tapered

sprue pin. It is connected at bottom of pouring basin.
• It is tapered with its bigger end to receive the molten metal and the
smaller end is connected to the runner.
• It helps to feed molten metal without turbulence to the runner
which in turn reaches the mold cavity through gate.
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Getting System
iii. Runner
• It is a channel which connects the sprue to the gate for avoiding
turbulence and gas entrapment.
iv. Gates
• It is a small passage or channel being cut by gate cutter which
connect runner with the mould cavity and through which molten
metal flows to fill the mould cavity.
• It feeds the liquid metal to the casting at the rate consistent with
© CASTING

the rate of solidification.

• More than one gate may be used to feed fast
• Located on a portion of casting for easy detaching purpose
Choke
• It is that part of the gating system which possesses smallest cross
section area.
• It control the flow rate of the metal and hold back slag and foreign
particle
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Getting System
v. Gates
Types
1. Parting line gates
2. Top gates
3. Bottom gates
4. Side gates
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Getting System
vi. Riser
• It is a passage in molding sand made in the cope portion of the
mold.
• Molten metal rises in it after filling the mould cavity completely.
• The molten metal in the riser compensates the shrinkage during
solidification of the casting thus avoiding the shrinkage defect in
the casting.
• It also permits the escape of air and mould gases.
© CASTING

• It promotes directional solidification too.

• Indicates that mould cavity is completely filled.
Types Based on location
Top Riser –dead/cold riser located at the top of casting
Side riser – live/hot riser located between runner and casting
Other type
Open riser – open to atmosphere
Blind riser – close at the top and surrounded by moulding sand
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Getting System
v. Riser
Types Based on location
1. Top Riser
2. Side riser
Other type
1. Open riser and
2. Blind riser
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Chaplets
• Chaplets are metal distance pieces inserted in a mould either to
prevent shifting of mould or locate core surfaces.
• chaplets are made of parent metal.
• Its main objective is to impart good alignment of mould and core
surfaces and to achieve directional solidification.
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Chills
In some casting, it is required to produce a hard surface at a particular
place in the casting.
At that particular position, the special mould surface for fast extraction of
heat is to be made.
The fast heat extracting metallic materials known as chills will be
incorporated separately along with sand mould surface during molding.
After pouring of molten metal and during solidification, the molten metal
solidifies quickly on the metallic mould surface in comparison to other
© CASTING

mold sand surfaces. This imparts hardness to that particular surface

because of this special hardening treatment through fast extracting heat
from that particular portion.
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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Dr. R. S. Tajane © CASTING
Chills

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© CASTING
Metal Melting Furnace

Melting furnaces
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Metal Melting Furnace
Types
1. Crucible furnaces
a. Cock fired furnace
b. Oil and gas fire furnaces
2. Cupola furnace
3. Electric Arc furnace
© CASTING

a. Direct Arc Furnace

b. Indirect Arc Furnace
c. Coreless Induction Furnace
4. Resistance furnace
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Metal Melting Furnace
Types
1. Crucible furnaces
a. Cock fired furnace
b. Oil and gas fire furnaces

Crucible
Containing
metal
© CASTING

Chimney
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Metal Melting Furnace
2. Cupola furnace

Platform/
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Metal Melting Furnace
Cupola Furnace
2. Cupola furnace
Construction
1. Cupola is a cylindrical shell
constructed from boiler plate (6 to 10
mm thick), is open at both its top and
bottom and is lined with firebricks
and clay
2. At bottom it is supported on cast iron
legs
© CASTING

3. The bottom opening door swings out

of the way after the melting operation
is over and thus the contents left in
the cupola drop down through the
opening
4. Air from the blower comes through
the blast pipe and enters wind box
which surrounds the cupola and
supplies air evenly
5. There is a tap hole from where the
molten metal is taken out to pour onto
Dr. R. S. Tajane

the moulds
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 Metal Melting Furnace Construction
2. Cupola furnace 6. The fire in the cupola is also ignited
through tap hole
7. Opposite the tap hole and a little
higher is the slag hole. Slag being
lighter than metal floats over the
molten metal and is removed from
slag hole
8. Cupola remains either open or has a
© CASTING

metal shield or a spark arrester at its

top
9. In addition, cupola is provided with a
charging platform and a charging
door at suitable heights to feed the
charge in the cupola
10. Cupola capacities vary from 1 to 15
tonnes of melted iron per heat
11. The height of the cupola is commonly
Dr. R. S. Tajane

about 6 meters
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 Cupola Furnace
Cupola Operation
1. Preparation of cupola (including repairs)

2. Lighting the fire in the coke bed

3. Charging of cupola
© CASTING

4. Melting

5. Slagging and metal tapping

6. Dropping down the cupola bottom

Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Cupola Furnace-Cupola Operation
1. Preparation of cupola (including repairs)
• The bottom door is dropped down to open
• The contents (unburned coke, slag, metal) in the cupola left from
previous melting operation are dumped under the furnace are
removed
• Slag, coke and iron sticking’s to the side walls of the furnace are
chipped off
• Damaged firebricks are replaced by new ones
© CASTING

• The damaged furnace refractory lining is patched and repaired.

• Eroded refractory lining at the combustion zone is filled with a
pneumatically operated gun which blows refractory patching
mixture at sufficient velocity so that it sticks properly with the
lining
• Once the furnace lining is reconditioned, the bottom opening door
is closed and duly supported
• A layer of tempered sand (about 10 cm) sloping towards the tap
hole is rammed over the bottom. The slope provides better metal
Dr. R. S. Tajane

flow
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 Cupola Furnace – 2. Lighting the fire in the coke bed
Cupola Operation
• Cupola is started
• For starting, soft and dry pieces of
wood are placed on the sand bed
rammed above the bottom opening
door
• Coke is placed over the wooden pieces
and the wooden pieces are ignited
either through a tap hole or through
© CASTING

some other opening, level with the

bottom
• Air necessary for combustion of coke
enters from the tuyeres.
• When the initial coke is burning well,
an additional amount of the same is
added to the desired height
• Coke is added through the charging
door and the coke bed height can be
measured from the charging door
Dr. R. S. Tajane

using a chain or a rod

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 Cupola Furnace - Cupola Operation
3. Charging of cupola
• After the coke bed is properly ignited,
the cupola is charged from the charging
door
• Charging of cupola means adding
alternate layers (charges) of limestone
(flux), iron (metal) and coke (fuel) upto
the level of charging door

4. Melting
© CASTING

• After the cupola is fully charged, a

soaking period of about 30 minutes to
one hour is given to permit the charge to
preheat. Blowers are not started during
the soaking period, the air only enters
through tuyere peep holes and the spout
opening
• At the end of the soaking period, the
blast is turned on. The coke becomes
fairly hot to melt the metal charge
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Cupola Furnace - Cupola Operation
4. Melting
• After the cupola is fully charged, a soaking period of about 30
minutes to one hour is given to permit the charge to preheat.
Blowers are not started during the soaking period, the air only
enters through tuyere peep holes and the spout opening
• At the end of the soaking period, the blast is turned on. The coke
© CASTING

becomes fairly hot to melt the metal charge

• After the air blast has been on for about 10 minutes, molten iron
starts accumulating in the hearth and appears at the tap hole
• The tap hole is closed with the plug and the molten iron is allowed
to collect for about five minutes
• Adequate care and precautions are required to prevent the first
iron from freezing in comparatively colder tap hole
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Cupola Furnace - Cupola Operation
5. Slagging and metal tapping
• After enough molten iron has collected, the slag hole is opened; the
slag comes out of the slag spout is collected in the container and
disposed off
• The plug inserted in the tap hole is knocked out and the first
molten iron which is often cold is cast into pigs rather than ladled
and poured into the molds
• As the air blast continues, melting progresses and the molten iron
© CASTING

is tapped for pouring into the molds

• The cupola charge consumes with the passage of time and thus
additional charge of limestone, iron and coke is dropped through
the charging door at a rate at which the charge consumes so that
cupola remains always full of charge
• The tap hole which normally remains closed with a plug is opened
intermittently and the molten iron is allowed to flow into the ladle
• Thus, ladles of iron can be withdrawn at regular intervals of time
till the end of the heat. The length of heat may be 16 hours or less
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Cupola Furnace - Cupola Operation
6. Dropping down the cupola bottom
• Near the end of the cupola heat, charging of cupola is stopped
• All the contents in the cupola are allowed to melt till one or two
charges are left above the coke bed
• At this stage, air blast is shut off, the prop under the bottom door is
knocked down and the remains in the cupola are either dropped
© CASTING

down onto the floor or into the bucket

• The dropped cupola remains are quenched with water
immediately and the metal and coke are recovered from the same
for use in next heats
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Cupola Furnace- Zones of Cupola
1. Well

2. Superheating, combustion or oxidizing zone

3. Reducing zone or protective zone

4. Melting zone
© CASTING

5. Preheating zone

6. Stack zone
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Metal Melting Furnace
Types
2. Electric Arc furnace
a. Direct Arc Furnace
b. Indirect Arc Furnace
c. Coreless Induction Furnace
Direct Arc Furnace
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Metal Melting Furnace- Electric Arc furnace
a. Direct Arc Furnace- Construction
• It consists of a heavy steel shell lined with refractory brick and silica
for acid lined surfaces and magnesite for basic lined surfaces
• The roof of the furnace consists of a steel roofing in which silica bricks
are fixed in position
• Depending upon whether it is a two phase or three phase electric
furnace, two or three graphite electrodes are inserted through the holes
in the roof into the furnace
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Metal Melting Furnace- Electric Arc furnace
a. Direct Arc Furnace- Operation
• The interior of the furnace is preheated before placing the metal charge
in the furnace
• The furnace is charged either by swinging over the roof or through the
charging door
• Once the cold charge has been placed on the hearth of the furnace,
electric arc is struk between the electrodes and the surface of the metal
charge by lowering the electrodes down till the current jumps the gap
between the electrode and the charge furnace
© CASTING

• The arc gap between electrode and the charge is regulated by

automatic controls which raise or lower the electrode and maintain
desired arc gap by maintaining constant arc voltage.
• Three arcs burning simultaneously produce a temperature about
11000°F
• Before pouring the liquid metal into the ladle, the furnace is tilted
backward and the slag is poured off from the charging door
• The furnace is then tilted forward and the molten metal is emptied into
ladles
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Metal Melting Furnace- Electric Arc furnace
a. Direct Arc Furnace- Advantages
• Analysis of melt can be kept to accurate limits
• Thermal efficiency is high as about 70%
• Easy control on the furnace atmosphere above the molten
metal
• Close temperature and good heat control
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Metal Melting Furnace- Electric Arc furnace
b. Indirect Arc Furnace
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Metal Melting Furnace- Electric Arc furnace
b. Indirect Arc Furnace- Construction
• It consists of a barrel type shell made up of steel plates, having
refractory lining inside
• It has three openings, two for two graphite electrodes and the
third is the charging door for feeding the metal charge into the
furnace
• It have the charging door and pouring spout
© CASTING

• Furnace is mounted on the rollers which are driven by a

rocking drive unit to rock the furnace back and forth during
melting
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Metal Melting Furnace- Electric Arc furnace
b. Indirect Arc Furnace- Operation
1. First of all, pig iron is charged into the furnace
2. Above pig iron, scrap is placed
3. With electric power on, graphite electrodes are brought nearer till
the current jumps and the electric arc is set up between them
4. The heat generated is responsible for melting the charge
5. As soon as some metal is melted, the furnace is set to rock to and
© CASTING

fro
6. Rocking of furnace and adjustment of arc gap between the
graphite electrodes is automatically controlled
7. When the melting is complete, the furnace is tilted mechanically
farther than the rocking, to permit liquid metal to flow out of the
pouring spout into the ladle
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Metal Melting Furnace
Types
2. Electric Arc furnace
c. Coreless induction furnace
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Metal Melting Furnace- Electric Arc furnace-
Coreless induction furnace- Construction
A high frequency induction furnace consists of a refractory crucible
placed centrally inside water cooled copper oil and packed into position
by ramming dry refractory (insulation) tightly between the crucible and
the copper coil which is precovered with wet refractory dried into a hard
mass
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Metal Melting Furnace- Electric Arc furnace-
Coreless induction furnace- Operation
1. Steel scrap is placed in the furnace as metal charge
2. A high frequency current is passed through the water cooled copper
coils which acts as the primary of a transformer and the metal charge
becomes the secondary
3. Heavy alternating secondary currents thus induced in the metal
charge by electromagnetic induction create heat because the metal
charge offers resistance to the passage of secondary currents.
© CASTING

4. This heat developed in the skin of metal charge reaches inside by

conduction and melts the charge
5. The secondary current associates with it a magnetic field which
provides a magnetic stirring action on the molten metal, speeds up
the melting process and mixes up the metal charge uniformly. The
time taken by the charge to melt is short
6. Once melted, the metal is deoxidized and poured into the ladle either
by tilting the furnace or by lifting away the furnace shell along with
the coils.
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Casting Processes

a. Pressure Die Casting

b. Centrifugal Casting
c. Investment Casting
d. Continuous Casting
e. Permanent Mold Casting
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Casting Processes- Pressure Die Casting
Molten metal is force at pressure to fill the die. metal is solidify under
pressure to get the casting.
Two types based on location of melting pot
Hot Chamber Die Casting and
Cold Chamber Die Casting
• In hot chamber melting pot is include in the machine
• Cold chamber melting furnace is separated from the machine and
© CASTING

brought in a ladle to fill the cylinder of machine.

Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Casting Processes- Pressure Die Casting
Hot Chamber Die Casting
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Casting Processes- Pressure Die Casting
Cold Chamber Die Casting
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Casting Processes- Centrifugal Casting
• Molten metal is poured into highly rotated mould
• Centrifugal force pushes molten metal towards outward that is inner
surface of the mould with high pressure.
• Producers uniform wall thickness during solidification. 2
𝐹= 𝑚𝑣
𝑟
• Impurities being lighter remains at inner surface on the casting.
• Produce casting with a greater accuracy and better physical property.
© CASTING

• Used for production of symmetrical shape casting.

Types
 True Centrifugal Casting
 Semi Centrifugal Casting
 Centrifuging
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Casting Processes- Centrifugal Casting
 True Centrifugal Casting
• Axis of rotation of the mould and casting are inline.
• Rotation may be horizontal, vertical or inclined
• No need of core to produce central hole
• Moulding flask is properly rammed with the sand and balance
dynamically to reduce vibration during the process
• The mould is mounted between the role to rotate
© CASTING

• Molten metal poured into the revolving mould

• Centrifugal force pushes molten metal outward towards the wall of the
mould
• Amount of metal poured determines the thickness of the casting
• Outer surface of the mould is water cool for quick solidification.
• Casting machine is mounted on a wheel with pouring ladle which has
a long spouse for easy pouring of molten metal.
• Used for sewage pipes, pipes, gun barrel, liner bushes etc.
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Casting Processes- Centrifugal Casting
 True Centrifugal Casting
© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Casting Processes- Centrifugal Casting
 Semi Centrifugal Casting

• Mold is completely filled with

the molten metal which is
spinning about its vertical
access.
• Rotational speed is smaller than
the true centrifugal casting
© CASTING

• mould may have rise or core.

• Molten metal is poured through
the central sprue
• Speed of rotation is low,
centrifugal force and pouring
pressure produce
• Impurities are not collected at
the center
• Core is used to form required
inner feature of the casting
• Used for production of this
Dr. R. S. Tajane

police gears spoke wheel etc.

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 Casting Processes- Centrifugal Casting
 Centrifuging
• Mould cavities are located around
the outer portion of the mould
having Central sprue and radial
gates for feeding shown in figure
• Centrifugal force produces sufficient
pressure to forced the metal into
cavity
© CASTING

• Axis of rotation will not match or

coincide with the axis of casting
• It is also called as pressure casting
• It is also used for unsymmetrical
objects
• Dry Send core may be used for
producing internal feature of the
casting.
• Used for bearing cap, small brackets
Dr. R. S. Tajane

etc
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 Casting Processes- Investment Casting (Lost-wax casting)
Steps:
1. Die making
2. Wax pattern and gating system
3. Assembling the wax pattern
4. Precoating
5. Investing
6. Wax melting
© CASTING

7. Pouring
8. Cleaning and inspection

Advantage:
• Better dimensional accuracy and close tolerances
• Better surface finish
• Complicated shapes and complex contours
• Extremely thin section (0.75mm) can be casted
• Sound casting
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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 Casting Processes- Investment Casting (Lost-wax casting)
Limitations :
• Size of the casting is small
• Mould used for single purpose
• High cost
• Time consuming
Applications:
• Aerospace industries
© CASTING

• Parts of food and beverage machinery.

• Comp and data processing equipment
• Nozzles, blades etc. of gas turbine
• Costume jewellery
Dr. R. S. Tajane

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© CASTING
Dr. R. S. Tajane
Casting Processes- Continuous Casting

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