Production Engineering

(MDP1108)
Part (1): Metal Casting Technology
 4. Other Casting Processes
I. Metallic Mold Casting (Permanent Mold Casting)

Permanent mold casting is a casting process involving

pouring a molten metal and allowing it to run into a
metallic mold under gravity (usually steel or cast iron
mold).
Process Steps:
1- Preheating the mold to ease the
flow and reduce thermal damage
to the casting.
2- Coating the mold (usually by
spraying) to prevents the casting
from sticking to the mold.
3- Cores (if used) are inserted and
mold is closed. D. Reham Reda
4- Molten metal is then poured into the mold and then
solidified.
5- The mold is opened and the casting removed.
Moving Stationary
section cavity
Hydraulic section
cylinder core

Examples: Automobile piston and antiques, …etc.

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Disadvantages
– Costly mold and used for simpler shapes only.
Advantages
- Better mechanical properties than sand casting; due to
homogeneous and fine grain structure as a result of
rapid solidification (high cooling rate);
- Low shrinkage and gas porosity (casting defects);
- Good surface finish and dimensional control.

 The mold used in the die casting process is called a

die.
 Die casting is a permanent mold casting process in
which the molten metal is injected into the mold cavity
at an increased pressure.
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 Pressure is maintained during solidification, then
mold is opened and part is removed.
 Use of high pressure to force metal into die cavity is
what distinguishes this from other permanent mold
processes.
 Die casting machine is
designed to hold and accurately
close two mold halves and keep
them closed while liquid metals
forced into cavity.
Two main types:
1. Hot-chamber machine in which metal pot is included
with the machine.
2. Cold-chamber machine in which metal is heated in a
separate furnace.
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Advantages Disadvantages
– Die casting is a highly - Only Small parts can be
productive method of produced
casting parts with low - Expensive and large
dimensions tolerance and machinery
high surface quality.

II. Non-Metallic Mold Casting (Expandable Mold

Casting)

 Shell molding is similar to sand casting, but the

molding cavity is formed by a hardened "shell" of sand.
The sand used is finer than in sand casting and is mixed
with a resin.
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Process Steps:
1- First, each pattern half is heated to 175-370°C and
coated with a lubricant.
2- The pattern is clamped to a dump box, which contains
a mixture of sand and binder. The dump box is then
inverted, allowing this sand-resin mixture to coat the
pattern forming a shell around the pattern and then each
pattern half with the surrounding shell is heated in an
oven and then the shell is ejected from the pattern.
3- Two shell halves are joined together and clamped to
form the complete shell mold. If any cores are required,
they are inserted prior to closing the mold. The shell
mold is then placed into a flask and supported by a
backing material.
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4- The molten metal is poured from a ladle into the
gating system and fills the mold cavity.
5- After the mold has been filled, the molten metal is
allowed to cool and solidify into the shape of the final
casting then the casting is removed.
Heated pattern

Sand Dump Shell

with box
resin
binder
Shells Metal shot

Flask

Product
Clamp

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Advantages:
- The process is easily automated and more precise than
sand casting.
-Because of the resin and finer sand, it gives a much
finer surface finish.
-This process is ideal for complex items that are small to
medium sized.
Disadvantages:
– Limited part size.

-The pattern used in this process is made from foam

(such as polystyrene foam, this is the light, white
packaging material which is used to pack electronics
inside the boxes). Foam consists of 95% air bubbles.
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- The pattern itself is made by putting the foam inside an
aluminum mold then heating it; the foam expands to fill
the mold, and takes the shape of the cavity.
- Foam pattern is then placed inside a flask and
surrounded by sand.
- Foam itself evaporates when the liquid metal is poured
on it.

Advantages:
- Very cheap. - Good surface finish.
- Complex geometry. - Simple design process.
- Casting is almost free from defects and inclusions.
Disadvantages:
- Patterns have low strength.
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1- Pattern mold making: A mold is
made of metal or sponge.
2- Wax pattern making: Once the
mold is finished, molten wax is poured
into it and the wax is left to cool and
harden. The wax pattern is then
removed from the mold.
3- Spruing: The wax patterns are
assembled to a central wax sprue with a
treelike structure of wax that will
eventually provide paths for molten
casting material to flow and air to
escape.
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4- Shell mold making. The tree is
dipped into a ceramic slurry, then
into dry crystalline silica sand of a
controlled grain size. The slurry and
sand layer combination is called
ceramic shell mold material. This
shell is allowed to dry, and the
process of dipping is repeated until
well coated. The bigger the piece,
the thicker the shell needs to be.

5- De-waxing. The tree is placed

cup-down in a autoclave, where the
wax melts and runs out and the
ceramic shell mold hardens. The
mold then is ready for casting.
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6- The molten metal is poured into the shell mold by
gravity pouring and is allowed to cool down.
7- After metal solidifies, the ceramic shell is broken off
by hammering, vibration or water blasting.
8- The parts (castings) are cut away from the sprue using
a high speed friction saw. Minor finishing gives the final
parts.

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• Advantages:
– Parts of great complexity can be cast.
– Close dimensional control and good surface finish.
– Wax can usually be recovered for reuse.
– Additional machining is not normally required, this is
a net shape process.

• Disadvantages
– Many processing steps are required.
– Relatively expensive process.

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III. Centrifugal Casting
 Centrifugal casting is a method of casting parts
having axial symmetry. The method involves pouring
molten metal into a cylindrical mold spinning about its
axis of symmetry at high speeds (300 to 3000 rpm).
 The mold is kept rotating till the metal has solidified.
 Mold material may be steels, cast irons or graphite.

Process Steps:
• The mold wall is coated by a refractory ceramic coating.
• Starting rotation of the mold at a predetermined speed.
• Pouring a molten metal directly into the mold.
• The mold is stopped after the casting has solidified.
• Extraction of the casting from the mold.
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 Centrifugal casting
machines may be either
horizontal or vertical-
axis.

 Horizontal axis machines are preferred for long and

thin cylinders (diameter < length), while vertical
machines for rings (diameter> length).

- Fig. presents
horizontal centrifugal
casting machines.
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 Centrifugal Casting - Products
Centrifugal casting technology is
widely used for manufacturing of
iron pipes, bushings, wheels.

 Advantages:
- Different wall thicknesses can be produced from the
same size mold.
- Eliminates the need for cores.
- Impurities and inclusions are thrown to the surface of
the inside diameter, which can be machined away.
- Mechanical properties of centrifugal castings are
excellent because the casting is usually a fine-grained
casting, owing to chilling against the mould surface.
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Disadvantages:
- Limited shapes; only cylindrical shapes can be
produced with this process.
- Size limits are up to 3 m diameter and 15 m length.
- Wall thickness range from 2.5 mm to 125 mm.
- Expensive.

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IV. Continuous Casting
 Continuous casting process is widely used in the steel
industry.
 In principle, continuous casting is different from the
other casting processes in the fact that there is no
enclosed mold cavity.
 The process involves continuously pouring molten
metal into a externally chilled copper mold, hence, can
be easily automated for large size production. As soon as
the molten metal poured into the mold, the outer shell of
the molten metal solidifies by the cold mold wall. In this
soft state, the metal comes out of the mold wall and
directly guided into the rolling mill or can be sheared
into a selected size of billets.
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 Process Steps.
 In continuous casting process, the molten metal is
tapped into the ladle from furnaces. After undergoing
any ladle treatments, such as alloying and degassing, and
arriving at the correct temperature.
 The ladle is transported to the top of the casting
machine. One ladle is in the 'on-cast' position (feeding
the casting machine) while other ladle is made ready in
the 'off-cast' position, and is switched to the casting
position when the first ladle is empty (so the process is
continuous).
 From the ladle, the hot metal is transferred via a
refractory pipe to a holding bath called a tundish. The
tundish allows a reservoir of metal to feed a copper mold
while ladles are switched.
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 The mold is open at both ends and water-cooled to
solidify the hot metal directly in contact with it. It also
oscillates vertically to prevent the metal sticking to the
mold walls.
 In the mold, a thin shell of the molten metal which in
contact to the mold walls solidifies before the middle
section. The product is then exit from the other side of
the mold and directly guided into the rolling mill or
sheared into a selected size of billets or other similar
shapes that can be used for rolling.

 Advantages:
- The process is cheaper than rolling from ingots.
- Good casting surface
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 5. Casting Defects
 Types of Casting Defects.
1. Molding Related Defects.
Flash: resulted from improper closure across
parting plane.
Mismatch: resulted from misalignment and
improper closure along parting line.

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2. Filling Related Defects.
 Incomplete Filling:
- These defects occur due to
improper gating system, slow and
intermittent pouring, poor fluidity
of metal caused by low pouring
temperature.
 Cold shut and misrun.
- A cold shut is a defect formed
due to the imperfect fusion of two
fronts of liquid metal in the mold
cavity, leaving a weak spot.
- Misrun means a part of mold
cavity remaining unfilled. It
appears in thin sections and walls.
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 Gaseous Entrapment:
 Gaseous Entrapment is the
formation of bubbles within the
casting as a result of gases entrapped
during solidification.

 Tiny gas bubbles are called porosities, but larger gas

bubbles are called a blowholes or blisters.
 Gas porosity may present on the surface of the casting
or trapped inside the metal, which reduces strength.
 Blow hole: appears as small round voids opened to the
casting surface.

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 Solid Inclusions:
 Sand inclusion or slag inclusion: inclusions are
particles of foreign material in the solidified metal.

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3. Solidification Related Defects.
 Shrinkage cavities (defects): are cavities that have a
rougher shape and sometimes penetrate deep into the
casting. Shrinkage cavities are caused by lack of proper
feeding, i.e. when feed metal (from riser) is not available
to compensate for shrinkage as the metal solidifies.
 Shrinkage defects can be split
into two different types: open
shrinkage defects and closed
shrinkage defects.
- Open shrinkage defects are open
to the atmosphere.
- Closed shrinkage defects, also
known as shrinkage porosity, are
defects that form within the casting.
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 Hot tear: A hot tear is a crack or fracture formed
during solidification caused by rapid contraction
occurring immediately after the metal solidified.
• They may be produced when the casting is poorly
designed and abrupt sectional changes take place.
• Hot tear may be also caused when the mold and core
have poor collapsibility or when the mold is too hard
causing the casting to undergo severe strain during
cooling.
• Incorrect pouring temperature and improper
placement of gates and risers can also create hot tears.
• Method to prevent hot tears may entail improving
the casting design.

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 End of
Casting Technology Part

With Best Wishes

D. Reham Reda Abbas

D. Reham Reda