Faculty of Manufacturing

Lecture on
BFF2423 Manufacturing Processes
METAL CASTING:
DESIGN, MATERIALS AND ECONOMICS

Mebrahitom Asmelash (PhD)

Office: DG3, (ext) 5850
E-Mail Address:
mebrahitoma@ump.edu..my
Chapter Outline
1. Introduction
2. Design Considerations in Casting
3. Casting Alloys
4. Economics of Casting

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Introduction

 Successful casting practice requires proper control of a

large number of variables

 Flow of the molten metal in the mold cavities, the

gating systems, the rate of cooling, and the gases
evolved would influence the quality of a casting

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Design Considerations in Casting

 All casting operations share the characteristics of

phase change and thermal shrinkage during the
casting cycle
 But each process will have its own design
considerations
 Sand casting will require mold erosion and sand
inclusions in the casting
 Die casting will not have this concern
 Defects frequently are random and difficult to
reproduce

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Design Considerations in Casting:
General Design Considerations for Castings

 2 types of design issues in casting:

1. Geometric features and tolerances incorporated into
the part
2. Mold features that are needed to produce the desired
casting

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Design Considerations in Casting:
General Design Considerations for Castings

Design of Cast Parts

 Corners, angles, and section thickness
 Flat areas
 Shrinkage
 Draft
 Dimensional tolerances
 Lettering and markings
 Finishing operations

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Design Considerations in Casting:
General Design Considerations for Castings

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Design Considerations in Casting:
General Design Considerations for Castings

Locating the Parting Line

 Parting line is the line or plane separating the upper
(cope) and lower (drag) halves of molds
 Parting line should be along a flat plane rather than be
contoured
 Location is important as it influences mold design, ease
of molding, number and shape of cores required,
method of support and the gating system
 Parting line should be low for less dense metals and
located at mid-height for denser metals

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Design Considerations in Casting:
General Design Considerations for Castings
Locating and Designing Gates
 Multiple gates are preferable
 Gates should feed into thick sections of castings
 A fillet should be used
 Gate closest to the sprue should be placed sufficiently
far away from the sprue
 Minimum gate length should be 3 to 5 times the gate
diameter
 Curved gates should be avoided

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Design Considerations in Casting:
General Design Considerations for Castings

Runner Design
 Runner is a horizontal distribution channel that accepts
molten metal from the sprue and delivers it to the gates
 It is used to trap dross and keep it from entering the
gates and mold cavity

Designing Other Mold Features

 Goal in designing a sprue is to achieve the required
metal flow rates while preventing excessive dross
formation

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Design Considerations in Casting:
General Design Considerations for Castings
Designing Other Mold Features
 Goal in designing a sprue is to achieve the required
metal flow rates while preventing excessive dross
formation
 Turbulent flow rates should be avoided
 A pouring basin is used to ensure uninterrupted metal
flow into the sprue
 Filters are used to trap large contaminants and more
laminar flow
 Chills used to speed up solidification of the metal

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Design Considerations in Casting:
General Design Considerations for Castings
Establishing Good Practices
 High-quality molten metal is essential for producing
superior castings
 Pouring of metal should not be interrupted
 Stress relieving necessary to avoid distortions of
castings in critical applications

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Design Considerations in Casting:
Design for Expendable-mold Casting
 Expendable-mold process cool much slower than die
casting
 Important design considerations are:
1. Mold Layout
- must be placed logically and compactly with gates
2. Riser Design
- consideration in size and placement of risers
3. Machining Allowance
- require for additional finishing operations

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Design Considerations in Casting:
Design for Permanent-mold Casting
 Designs may be modified to eliminate the draft for
better dimensional accuracy
 Die-cast parts are net shaped to remove gates and
minor trimming to remove flashing and defects
 They do not require a machining allowance

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Design Considerations in Casting:
Design for Permanent-mold Casting
EXAMPLE 12.1
Illustrations of Poor and Good Casting Designs
Examples of undesirable and desirable casting designs

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Design Considerations in Casting:
Computer Modeling of Casting Processes

 Casting involves complex interactions among material

and process variables
 A quantitative study of these interactions is essential to
the proper design and production of high-quality
castings
 Studies consist of heat flow, temperature gradients,
nucleation and growth of crystals, formation of dendritic
and equiaxed structures, impingement of grains and
movement of the liquid–solid interface during
solidification
 Commercial software programs are Magmasoft,
ProCast, Solidia and AFSsolid
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
Casting Alloys:
Nonferrous Casting Alloys
Aluminum-based Alloys
 Have a wide range of mechanical properties
 High electrical conductivity and good atmospheric
corrosion resistance
 Nontoxic, lightweight and have good machinability
 Used in automobiles components

Magnesium-based Alloys
 Lowest density, have good corrosion resistance and
moderate strength
 For automotive wheels and housings
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
Casting Alloys:
Nonferrous Casting Alloys
Copper-based Alloys
 Good electrical and thermal conductivity, corrosion
resistance, nontoxicity and wear properties

Zinc-based Alloys
 Low-melting-point alloy group, good corrosion
resistance and fluidity
 Used in die casting, for parts with thin walls and
intricate shapes

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Casting Alloys:
Nonferrous Casting Alloys
Tin-based Alloys
 Low strength, good corrosion resistance
 Used for bearing surfaces

Lead-based Alloys
 Have applications similar to tin-based alloys
 Toxicity of lead is a major drawback

High-temperature Alloys
 Cast these alloys for nozzles and various jet- and
rocket-engine components
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
Casting Alloys:
Ferrous Casting Alloys
Cast Irons
 Possess desirable properties, such as wear resistance,
high hardness and good machinability
 Cast iron refers to a family of alloys
 Classified as gray cast iron (gray iron), ductile (nodular
or spheroidal) iron, white cast iron, malleable iron, and
compacted-graphite iron

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Casting Alloys:
Ferrous Casting Alloys
Cast Irons
a. Gray cast iron
 Have few shrinkage cavities and low porosity
 Various forms of gray cast iron are ferritic, pearlitic and
martensitic
 High damping capacity has made gray iron a common
material for machine-tool bases
 Graphite in the form of flakes.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Casting Alloys:
Ferrous Casting Alloys
Cast Irons
b. Ductile (nodular) iron
 Used for machine parts, housings, gears, pipe

c. White cast iron

 Extreme hardness and wear resistance
 For rolls for rolling mills and railroad-car brake shoes

d. Malleable iron
 For railroad equipment, fittings and components

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Casting Alloys:
Ferrous Casting Alloys
Cast Irons
e. Compacted-graphite iron
 Has properties between those of gray and ductile irons
 Easy to cast and has consistent properties throughout
the casting and better machinability
 Used for automotive engine blocks and cylinder heads

Cast Steels
 Can be welded, subsequent heat treatment must be
performed to restore the mechanical properties of the
casting
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
 Casting Alloys:
Ferrous Casting Alloys
Cast Stainless Steels
 Have long freezing ranges and high melting
temperatures
 Have high heat and corrosion resistance
 Good for chemical and food industries

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Casting Alloys

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Casting Alloys

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Casting Alloys

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Casting Alloys

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Economics of Casting
 Cost of each cast part (unit cost) depends on several
factors, including materials, equipment, and labor
 Each of individual factors affects the overall cost of a
casting operation

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Economics of Casting
 Costs are involved in melting and pouring the molten
metal into molds and in heat treating, cleaning, and
inspecting the castings
 Labor and skills required is also a consideration
 Equipment cost per casting will decrease as the
number of parts cast increases
 High production rate can justify the high cost of dies
and machinery

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd