CASTING PROCEDURES

AND
CASTING DEFECTS
Presented by: Dr. Shailja katiyar
JR-1
Dept. of prosthodontics
Steps involved in the
casting
CASTING:-
Is defined as something that has been cast in a mold, an
object formed by the solidification of a fluid that has been
poured or injected into a mold. (GPT-8)
Sprue former:
A wax, plastic or metal used to form the channel or channels which
allows molten metal to flow into a mold to make casting.

Advantages of hollow sprue former:

• It increases the contact area.
• It holds less heat than the solid sprue former.
• Reservoir: Reservoir is a small amount of additional wax
added to the sprue former 1mm below the wax pattern.
Sprue former length:
The length of the sprue former - it keeps the wax pattern 6mm from the
casting ring liner
Sprue former position:
 The ideal area- point of greatest bulk in the pattern.

The point of attachment should permit stream of metal to be directed to all

parts of the mold without having to flow opposite the direction of casting force
Attached 45 degrees to the walls of mold, which decreases the
turbulence of molten alloy
 Spruing

Direct Indirect
Vents:
• Vents are the additional sprues placed at thin or thick wax patterns to improve
the quality of the casting.
Auxillary sprue
• For large casting an additional auxillary sprue may be placed for filling the
mold.
• Usually 14 to 16 gauge sprue are used
Crucible former
They are available as: Rubber, Metallic and Plastic

They are of two types:

1) Steep sided cone- to cast metal using centrifugal casting force
2) Shallow cone- cast metal using stream or air pressure
Casting rings
• Casting rings are used to confine the fluid investment around the wax
pattern while the investment sets.
They are available as:
1) Shapes - Round
- Oval

2) Complete rings –
Rigid - Metal
- Plastic
Flexible – Rubber

3) Split rings - Metal

- Plastic
Ring less casting system:
- plastic rings which is conical in shape with tapering walls are used.
- Used for traditional gold-base alloys.

Flexible rings Split casting rings

Casting ring liner
Materials used are:
- Asbestos liner
- Cellulose liner
- Ceramic liner
- Combination of ceramic and cellulose liner
Function of casting ring liner:
• Allow uniform expansion.
• In case of wet liner technique hygroscopic expansion.
• Thickness of the liner should be less than 1mm.
Investment mixing:
1. Hand mixing
2. Vacuum mixing

Bubble free casting with different technique-

17% - open investment

95% - vacuum investment
 Accelerated casting
method
(J Prost dent. 66:
155,1991)

To reduce the total time, Alternative Accelerated casting technique is proposed

that uses phosphate bonded investment which sets in 15 mins and then 15 min

burn out is done at 815°c.

• This method is used for preparing post and core restorations

 Casting machines
1.Air pressure casting machines:

Alloy is melted in situ in crucible hollow of

the ring, followed by applied air
Pressure.

2. Centrifugal casting machine:

Alloy is melted in a crucible, and forced in

to mold by centrifugal force
Electrical resistance - heated
casting machine :-

• It is used to melt ceramic alloys. Here the

alloy is automatically melted in graphite
crucible.

• The crucible in the furnace is always against

the casting ring. So the metal
button remain molten slightly longer and
ensures complete solidification.
Direct-current arc melting machine:-
• Produce between two electrodes: the alloys and the water cooled
tungsten electrode.

• > 4000°C – alloy melts very quickly.

• High risk of over heating of the alloy.

4. Induction melting machine:
• Metal is melted by an induction field that developed with in the crucible
surrounded by water- cooled metal tubing.
 Casting force:

This can be done by use of following different types of forces

• Vacuum force

• Air or Gas Pressure

• Centrifugal force
Sufficient mass of alloy must be present to sustain adequate casting
pressure
• 6g is typically adequate for premolar and
anterior casting
• 10g is adequate for molar casting
• 12 g is adequate for pontic
 INTRODUCTION

• 2 CLASSIFICATION OF DEFECTS-

• A) Defects in the wax pattern

• B) Defects in the investing procedure
• C) Problems in burnout procedure
• D) Problems during casting procedure
 Introduction

• In dentistry the lost-wax casting technic was not popular until 1907
when W.H. Taggart introduced his technic and casting machine. Today
the lost-wax technic is common practice and is used for a variety of
casting operations
Defects in Wax Pattern

1. Distortion
2. Surface roughness and irregularities
3. Air bubbles
4. Water film
Defects in Burn out Procedure:

1. Rapid Heating Rates

2. Under heating
3. Prolonged heating
Rough surface on casting

• Due to prolonged overheating of gypsum bonded investment.

• Prevention- use correct heating cycle for burnout procedure. Do
not heat above 1290F (700C)
 Classification

According to Anusavice
• Distortion
• Surface roughness and irregularities
• Porosity
• Incomplete or missing details

Based on location
• Internal
• external
According to Rosensteil
• Roughness

• Nodules

• Fins

• Incompleteness

• Voids or porosity

• Marginal discrepancy

• Dimensional inaccuracies
Distortion

• Any marked distortion of the casting is probably related to a

distortion of the wax pattern.
• Distortion increases as the thickness of the pattern decreases.
• The less the setting expansion of the investment, the less the
distortion
Surface Roughness, Irregularities,
and Discoloration
Surface roughness is defined as relatively finely spaced surface
imperfections whose height, width, and direction establish the
predominant surface pattern.

Surface irregularities are isolated imperfections, such as nodules,

that are not characteristic of the entire surface area.
Surface irregularities on an
experimental casting caused by
air bubbles (A),
water film (B),
inclusion of foreign bodies(C).
Air Bubbles

• Small nodules on a casting are caused by air bubbles that

become attached to the pattern during or subsequent to
the investing procedure.
• The best method to avoid air bubbles is to use the vacuum
investing technique
• If a manual method is used, various precautions can be
observed from the investment mix before the investing. use of
a mechanical mixer with vibration both before and after mixing
should be practiced routinely.
• Wetting agent;
• A wetting agent may be helpful in preventing the collection of
air bubbles on the surface of the pattern.
• The wetting agent be applied in a thin layer.
Air-dry the wetting agent, because any excess liquid dilutes the
investment, possibly producing surface irregularities on
the casting
 Water Films

 Wax is repellent to water, and if the investment becomes separated from

the wax pattern in some manner, a water film may form irregularly over the
surface.

 Appears as minute ridges or veins on the surface.

 If the pattern is slightly moved, jarred, or vibrated after investing, or if the

painting procedure does not result in an intimate contact
 of the investment with the pattern, such a condition may result.

 A wetting agent is of aid in the prevention of such irregularities. Too high a

L/P ratio may also produce these surface irregularities
 Rapid Heating

 May result in fins or spines on the casting.

 Also, a characteristic surface roughness may be evident because of flaking of the
investment when the water or steam pours into the mold.
 The mold should be heated gradually; atleast 60 min should elapse during the
heating of the investment-filled ring from room temperature to 700° C.
 The greater the bulk of the investment, the more slowly it should be heated.
 Underheating

• Voids or porosity may occur in the casting from the gases formed
when the hot alloy comes in contact with carbon residues.
Occasionally, the casting may be covered with a tenacious carbon,
coating that is virtually impossible to remove by pickling.
Porosities in noble metal alloy castings may be classified as follows:

I. Solidification defects
A. Localized shrinkage porosity
B. Microporosity
II. Trapped gases
A. Pinhole porosity
H. Gas inclusions
C. Subsurface porosity
III. Residual air
 Localized shrinkage

 generally caused by premature termination of the flow of

molten metal during solidification.
 If the
 sprue freezes in its cross-section before this feeding is
completed to the casting proper, a localized shrinkage void will
occur in the last portion of the casting that solidifies
 Localized shrinkage porosity due to
delayed solidification

The porosity in the pontic area

• caused by the ability of the pontic

to retain heat because of its bulk

• It was located in the heat center of

the ring
This problem can be solved by attaching one or more small-
gauge sprues

• These small chill set sprues ensure that solidification

begins within the sprues, andthey act as cooling pins to carry
heat away from the pontic
 Suck-back porosity

It often occurs at an occlusoaxial line angle or incisoaxial line

angle that is not well rounded.

• The entering metal impinges onto the mold surface at this

point and creates a higher localized mold temperature in this
region, known as a hot spot
MICROPOROSITY AND PINHOLE POROSITY

Microporosity occurs from solidification shrinkage but is generally

present in fine-grain alloy castings when the solidification is too rapid for
the microvoids to segregate to the liquid pool.
• Such phenomena can occur from rapid solidification if the mold or
casting temperature is too low.
• This type of defect is not detectable unless the casting is sectioned
 Pinhole and the gas inclusion porosities

These are related to the entrapment of gas during solidification.

both are characterized by a spherical contour, but they are
decidedly different in size.
 The gas inclusion porosities are usually much larger than the
pinhole porosity
• Many metals dissolve or occlude gases while they are molten.
For example,
both copper and silver dissolve oxygen in large amounts in the liquid
state.
Platinum and palladium have a strong affinity for hydrogen as well as
oxygen.
On solidification, the absorbed gases are expelled and pinhole
porosity results
A BLACK-COATED NOBLE METAL ALLOY CASTING
FROM SULFUR CONTAMINATION OR OXIDATION
Subsurface porosity may be caused by the simultaneous nucleation of
solid grains and gas bubbles at the first moment that the alloy freezes at the mold
walls.

can be diminished by controlling the rate at which the molten metal enters the
mold

Entrapped-air porosity or Back pressure

porosity
• occurs on the inner surface of the casting,
• produce large concave depressions
The entrapment is frequently found in a "pocket“ at the cavity surface of a
crown or mesioocclusal-distal casting
CASTING DEFECTS BY RUDD
AND MORROW

Incomplete casting:
-Inadequate spruing
-Alloy not hot enough
-Mold too cold
-Ingate obstructed
-Insufficient casting force
 Rounded margins

Incomplete burnout of
wax pattern
Insufficient heating of
alloybefore casting
• Margins melted while
attaching pattern to
sprue or former
• Improper length/diam
of sprue restricts flow
of alloy into mold
metal freezes before
margins are complete
 Porosity

Improper sprue
former, size, length or
placement
 Rough surface on casting
Excess moisture on
pattern
• Water powder ratio
too high in mixing
investment
• Too much casting
pressure causing
investment
breakdown from force
of alloy
 Pits in casting

Debris in mould
• Dirty wax
• Loose debris in crucible
• Mold temperature too hot
 Fins on casting

Overvibration during investment or

disturbing ring during set

Heating ring too rapidly causes

moisture in mold to form steam and
rupture out mold
Bubbles or nodules on casting

Investment not mixed

under enough vacuum
to remove entrapped
air bubbles
 Surface treatment
• Pickling consists of heating the discolored casting in an acid.
For gypsum bonded investments the best pickling solution is 50%
hydrochloric acid solution. It aids in the removal of any residual
investment as well as of the oxide coating.
• Disadvantage is that acid fumes are likely to corrode laboratory
metal furnishings. Never the casting be held with steel tongs so
that both the casting and the tongs come in contact with the
pickling solution, as this may contaminate the casting.
Gold based and palladium based metal ceramic alloys and base
metal alloys are bench cooled to room temperature before the
casting is removed from the investment. Castings from these alloys
are generally not pickled, and when it isrecommended for certain
metal –ceramic alloys, it is only to selectively remove specific
surface oxides
 CONCLUSION

An unsuccessful casting results in considerable trouble and loss of

time, in almost all instances, defects in casting can be avoided by
strict observance of procedures governed by certain fundamental rules
and principles. Seldom is a defect in a casting attributable to factors
others than the carelessness or ignorance of the operator. With
present techniques, casting failures should be the exception,
not the rule..
 REFERENCES
 SCIENCE OF DENTAL MATERIALS---ANUSAVICE—11TH EDITION

 CONTEMPORARY FIXED PROSTHODONTICS ---STEPHEN F.

 ROSENSTIEL---2ND EDITION

 DENTAL LABORATORY PROCEDURES---RHOADS.RUDD.MORROW

SCHILLINBURG .

 FUNDEMENTALS OF FIXED PROTHODONTICS