Advanced Techniques

&
Industries
Mechanical Engineering Department
Final year, Production
Lecture #8 V1.1: Metallurgy of casting III
08/12/2013

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Metallurgy of casting
1. Introduction to Metal Castings
2. The Casting Process
3. Cast Materials
4. Casting Quality
5. Casting Design Guidelines
6. Advanced casting techniques for modern industries
This lecture content
5. Casting Design Guidelines1 1. Lost Wax Process/Investment
1. Introduction Casting Plaster
2. Draft Requirements 2. Cintrifugal casting
3. Casting Shrinkage 3. Continueous Casting
4. Fillets and Radii
5. Junction Design
6. Print Requirements
7. Weldment to Casting Conversion
6. Advanced casting techniques
for modern industries

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5. Casting Design Guidelines
1. Introduction
• Consider the tolerancing capabilities (both dimensional and
geometric)
• Consider the draft and the required minimum radii and fillets.
• Limit the shrinkage defects that can form in the casting.
• Gating and risering system is used to fill the part with molten metal
and control the defect level in the finished casting.
• Casting design will determine the amount of feed metal needed in
order to maintain a specified defect quality level.
• Good detailed drawings are an absolute necessity in designing
castings.
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5. Casting Design Guidelines
2. Draft Requirements
Typical Draft Angles
Casting Process Draft Angle
Die Casting 1o- 2o
Ceramic investment Cast 0o - 3o
Silica investment Cast 0o - 3o
Shell Mold 2o - 5o
Sand Casting 3o - 5o
Lost Foam Casting 1o - 2o

 Draft requirement depends on:

• Casting process used
• Length of the feature being drafted. 5
5. Casting Design Guidelines
2. Draft Requirements

Draft for
Sand Casting Assembled Wax
1. Draft will typically start from the parting line
2. Cores may be used if the casting design
requires zero or negative draft angles.
3. Zero/negative draft are achievable in
investment casting.
4. Undercuts are achievable by placing an insert.
5. Assembling two separately molded pieces
together is also achievable. Wax with Insert 6
 5. Casting Design Guidelines
3. Casting Shrinkage “B” Padding Added
Case “A” the feed
“A” Shrinkage Void
metal coming from
the sprue area is
cut off due to
solidification.
“C” Riser Added
 Case “B” adding padding promotes directional
solidification back to the molten sprue or riser.

 Case “C” The defect still occurs end up in the riser.

 Risers require additional metal for the casting
process, removal and additional finishing.
 This tend to increases the cost of the finished Controlling Casting Shrinkage
casting. 7
5. Casting Design Guidelines
4. Fillets and Radii
Generous fillets are trademarks of good design
as it;
 Improve the appearance of the casting
 Distribute strains and reduce as cast stresses
 Help with the pour of the part.
 Adequate fillets reduce the chance of
turbulent flow and less chance of air to oxides
the molten metal . Fillet Sizing
 Sharp interior corners allow the molding sand to superheat causing
rough surfaces.
 Sharp exterior corners may cause hard spots and chill in iron castings.
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5. Casting Design Guidelines
5. Junction Design

Cast Junction Design 9

5. Casting Design Guidelines
6. Print “Drawings” Requirements
Casting drawings will include information about:
• Casting geometry (size, shape, draft, radii, etc..)
• Acceptable tolerance level, defect level, and surface finish.
• Inspection requirements, radiography, magnetic particle inspection,
destructive testing.
• Material will be defined on the print with possibly the mechanical
properties of the material.
• Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing
• The amount of finished stock required. 3mm or 0.125" is typical.
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5. Casting Design Guidelines
6. Print “Drawings” Requirements
Casting drawings will include information about (continue):
• What is critical to your part on the print.
• Good elongation: may require a specific heat treat to the part.
• Good surface finish in an area: define areas that gating and risering
can/cannot be
• Specification of the location and size of the part number, heat lot and
foundry code (raised/recessed pad).
• Machining drawings may include a note on corner breaks required,
surface finish, geometric tolerances, etc.
• Establish datum points at specific locations on a cast surface for the
various datum planes 11
5. Casting Design Guidelines
6. Print “Drawings” Requirements

Datum Points 12
5. Casting Design Guidelines
7. Weldment to Casting Conversion

Weldment Conversion Sample

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6. Advanced casting techniques for modern industries
1. Lost Wax Process/Investment Casting Plaster 1
• Process: became
This process common
dates back tointhe
industrial processing
construction of
during World
the first War II.
pyramids.
•• Finished partsChinese
Historically, and "nearandnet-shape“
Egyptianscomplex,
used thisoften
thin-wall
process in castings, could readily
the production be making
of art put into statues
final
form.
and jewelry of gold, silver and brass.
• Industrialization: become feasible by developing ,
• High-quality specialty plasters are used in a
inorganic, high-temperature ceramic mold binders
wide range of investment castings.
to process applications that include high strength
• The shapes
and&corrosion created by this "lost
resistant materials. wax" process
Arts Crafts
include Plaster
jewelry, dental Metal Casting
appliances, Plaster
military
• Materials: include low/high-carbon alloy steel,
weaponry, jet tool
stainless steel, engines,
steel;machinery components,
aluminum, brass, nickel
components
and cobalt base foralloys
the automotive
are used. industry, etc.
Dental Plaster 15
6. Advanced casting techniques for modern industries
2. Centrifugal Casting
• Centrifugal
Once
Cooling:
Secondary
Due
Process:tosecured,
theThe
Usesprocesses:
high
casting
mold
the
cf, mold
parts
remains
is such
centrifugal is
have
• rotated
Cooling:
spinning
aas
performed
very
machining,
force tofine
about
The
asgrain
form in
the
mold
wide
grinding,
itsmetal
onaxis
remains
variety
the
cylindrical at
cools.
outer
or
high
of
• parts. (300-3000
speeds
spinning
Cooling
sand-blasting,
surface
industries, and
begins
asincluding
the
possess
are
quickly
metalrequired
RPM),
m/c
cools.
at the
• Permanent
typically
Cooling
mold
to
properties
aerospace,
cleanwalls
begins
and
1000
and
industrial,
mold
smooth
30%
RPM.
quickly
proceeds.
made
greater.
the
atfrom
the
• steel, walls
Pouring:
mold
Casting
inner
Casts
marine, diameter
from
castremoval:
and
Molten
iron,
ferrous,e.g.
and
powerof
proceeds
ormetal
After
the
graphite
part.
LCS,
is is
• typically
poured
inwards.
solidification,
Applications:
st.
transmission.
st., anddirectly
used.
CI, the
orinto
from
rotation
the
non-is
• Mold preparation:
rotating
Casting
stopped
Centrifugal
ferrous
Typical parts;
alloys,
removal:
mold,
andcasting
the
bearings,
e.g.
nocasting
After
runners
is used canto
• wallremoved.
etc.
solidification,
be
produce
aluminum,
bushings,
The
coated centrifugal
axi-symmetric
coils,
bronze,
with
thecylinder
arotation
refractory
copper,
forceparts,
is
• ceramic
drives
stopped
Finishing:
such
magnesium,
liners, asthe
nozzles,
cylinders
coating,
and
less
material
and
the
dense
pipes/tubes,
which
casting
nickel.
ortowards
disks,can
involves;
the
be
impurities
which
pressure
removed.
moldarevessels,
application,
walls
typically
or bubbles
aspulleys,
the
hollow.
mold
flow to
fills.
the
rings,inner
rotation,anddrying,
surface.
wheels. and baking.
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6. Advanced casting techniques for modern industries
3. Continuous Casting
• Many
Continuous
Relative to other
casting
different casting
types transforms
isof
distinguished
processes,
continuousmolten from
continuous
metal
casting otherintosolidification
casting
processes solid on
generally
exist. a processes
has a
by
higher
its steady
• Vertical capital
continuous state
machines cost,
basis nature.
andbut
are lower
includes
used operating
a variety
to cast aluminumcost.
of important
and a fewcommercial
other metals for
processes.
• special
The
It is theapplications.
molten
mostmetal
cost-solidifies
and energy- against
efficient
the mold
methodwalls towhile
mass-produce
it is
•• Curved
simultaneously
semi-finished
These processes
machines metal
withdrawn
areproducts
are the
usedmostfrom
for with the consistent
efficient
the bottom
majoritywayoftoof quality
thecasting
mold
solidify
steel inlarge
aat
variety
avolumes
and rateof
require
which
sizes and
of metal
bending maintains
shapes.
into
and the shapes
/simple solid / liquid
or unbending forthe
of interface
solidifyingat
subsequent a constant position with
processing.
strand
time.
•• Horizontal
Cross-sections
Most basiccasting canfeatures
metals be rectangular
are mass-produced (Slabs), foraand
using subsequent
continuous rolling
castinginto
a shorter building is used occasionally
• for
The
flatesprocess
process,(plate
both or
works
includingsheet),
nonferrous best
over square
when
500
alloys and (Bellet)
all
million
steelof tons
itsor
aspects
circular
of steel,operate
for longinproducts,
20 million this steady-
tons of
state
and even
manner.
aluminum, “dog-bone”
and 1 millionshapes,
tons for
of rolling
copper, into I
nickel, or H
and beams.
other
• Finally, thin strip casting is being pioneered for steel and other metals metals in
thelow-production
in world each year. markets in order to minimize the amount of rolling
required.
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6. Advanced casting techniques for modern industries
3. Continuous Casting Methods

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6. Advanced casting techniques for
modern industries
3. Continuous casting

Schematic of continuous casting

tundish, SEN and mold
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An engineer looks into the bottom-
less mold used to continuously cast
steel slabs.
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The steel strand exits the mold
(upper left) and bends as it moves
through the spray chamber.
Normally, the strand cannot be
seen between the support rolls
and fog caused by steam from the
water spray nozzles which cool
the strand surface.
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The hot strand exits the spray chamber Finished slabs stacked up and
ready to be cut into slabs. Note the ready to transport to rolling
colder, darker corners of the slab. operations. 22
• Georgia-Pacific

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MCQ
1. --- --- is a vacancy typically internal to the casting that is caused by
a molten island of material that does not have enough feed metal
to supply it
a) Shrinkage porosity
b) Gas porosity
c) Metallic Inclusion
d) Non metallic inclusion

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MCQ
2. Loose sand in the mold will cause --- --- in the cast.
a) Shrinkage porosity
b) Gas porosity
c) Metallic Inclusion
d) Non metallic inclusion

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26
MCQ
4. & 5 Adequate corner fillets in casting design --- (4) --- the chance
of turbulent flow, accordingly --- (5) --- the chance of air to oxides
the molten metal.
45a) reduce
b) increase
c) not affecting
d) strongly increase

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MCQ
6. High quality specialty plasters are used for --- ---
a) Centrifugal casting
b) Continuous casting
c) Sand casting
d) Investment casting

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