49243 B. C. Chukwudi and M. B. Ogunedo / Elixir Mech. Engg.

113 (2017) 49243-49246

Available online at www.elixirpublishers.com (Elixir International Journal)

Mechanical Engineering
Elixir Mech. Engg. 113 (2017) 49243-49246

Design and Construction of an Aluminium Mould for the Production of a

Motorcycle Brake Lever.
B. C. Chukwudi and M. B. Ogunedo
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imo State University, Owerri, Nigeria.

ARTICLE INFO AB S T RA C T
Arti cl e h i sto ry : This work focused at designing and fabricating of an aluminium mould for the
Received: 24 October 2017; production of motorcycle brake lever. The pattern making, sand mould and the casting
Received in revised form: are the major step used to achieve the work. The thermal stress exerted on the mould
2 December 2017; stood at 0.67GPa which did not exceed the permissible thermal stress for aluminium. In
Accepted: 12 December 2017; the design of the motorcycle brake lever, it was discovered that a force of 0.58N is
required to operate the lever at an effective length of 9cm from the motorcycle head. It
K ey w o rd s shows that the production of motorcycle brake lever can be done locally since aluminium
Aluminium, is largely available in the country and hence recommends that more effort should be put
Mould, in by the Nigerian government for sustainability and development in this area.
Motorcycle, © 2017 Elixir All rights reserved.
Brake Lever,
Casting.

Introduction decreasing order of amount of aluminum casting, are: die

Moulds are made of different shapes and sizes depending casting, permanent mould casting, sand casting (green sand
on the constructional patterns it was set – up for. A mould has and dry sand), plaster casting, investment casting, and
been defined as a pattern constructed for the production of the continuous casting. Other processes include lost foam,
same type of the prototype. Therefore, a mould for a squeeze casting, and hot isocratic pressing, [1]. There are
motorcycle brake lever creates a pattern which activates the many factors that affect selection of a casting process for
brake mechanism, causing the motorcycle to slow down or producing a specific aluminum alloy part. The most important
stop. Brake levers need to possess properties such as factors for all casting processes are feasibility and cost
hardness, stiffness, lightness and resistance because these factors, and quality factors. In terms of feasibility, many
levers support an extreme hand-push operation without aluminum alloy castings can be produced by any of the
breaking or deforming. Since brake levers for motorcycles are available methods. For a considerable number of castings,
an essential item, the lack of local production outfit has made however, dimensions or design features automatically
the importation of these levers paramount, affecting our determine the best casting method. Because metal moulds
economic development in the face of soaring foreign weigh from 10 to 100 times as much as the castings they are
exchange rate. Therefore, packaging and production of brake used in producing, most very large cast products are made as
lever locally using aluminum mould will improve the market sand castings rather than as die or permanent mould castings
system whereby making it less expensive for the users and [2]. Small castings usually are made with metal moulds to
will also enhance job opportunities in our nation. By setting ensure dimensional accuracy.
up aluminum mould industries, the high foreign exchange Quality factors are also important in the selection of a
cost in the importation of moulds and different machines casting process. When applied to castings, the term quality
parts could be saved for the nation. The different machines refers to both degree of soundness (freedom from porosity,
that are usually abandoned due to lack of spare parts are cracking, and surface imperfections) and levels of mechanical
easily moulded and constructed since the material properties (strength and ductility).
construction is known. The needs of setting up of mould However, it should be kept in mind that in die casting,
producing industries will have a positive effect on all facets although cooling rates are very high, air tends to be trapped in
of projects associated with lack of spare parts and accessories. the casting, which gives rise to appreciable amounts of
Hence, the aim of this study is to design and construct an porosity at the centre.
aluminium mould for the production of a motorcycle brake The pattern is the principal tool during the casting
lever. The objectives of the study includes: development of process. It is the replica of the object to be made by the
cost effective and efficient pattern making, sand moulding, casting process, with some modifications. The main
and casting processes, determination of the thermal stresses modifications are the addition of pattern allowances, and the
induced in the mould, determination of the operating force provision of core prints. If the casting is to be hollow,
and effective length of the lever. additional patterns called cores are used to create these
Research Elaborations cavities in the finished product. The quality of the casting
Aluminum is one of the few metals that can be cast by all produced depends upon the material of the pattern, its design,
of the processes used in casting metals. These processes, in and construction.

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49244 B. C. Chukwudi and M. B. Ogunedo / Elixir Mech. Engg. 113 (2017) 49243-49246
According to [3], functions of a pattern include:  Linear expansion: Compared with other metals, aluminum
 A pattern prepares a mould cavity for the purpose of has a relatively large coefficient of linear expansion. This has
making a casting. to be taken into account in some designs.
 A pattern may contain projections known as core prints if  Machining: Aluminum is easily worked using most
the casting requires a core and need to be made hollow. machining methods – milling, drilling, cutting, punching,
 Runner, gates, and risers used for feeding molten metal in bending, etc. Furthermore, the energy input during machining
the meld cavity may form a part of the pattern. is low.
 Patterns properly made and having finished and smooth  Conductivity: Aluminum is an excellent conductor of heat
surfaces reduce casting defects. and electricity. An aluminum conductor weighs
 A properly constructed pattern minimizes the overall cost approximately half as much as a copper conductor having the
of the castings. same conductivity.
Pattern Material may be constructed from variety of  Reflectivity: Another property of aluminum its ability to be
materials. Each material has its own advantages, limitations, a good reflector of both visible light and radiated heat.
and field of application. Some materials used for making  Corrosion resistance: Aluminum reacts with the oxygen in
patterns are: wood, metals and alloys, plastic, plaster of Paris, the air to form an extremely thin layer of oxide. This layer is
plastic and rubbers, wax, and resins. In a study on dense and provides excellent corrosion protection. The layer
manufacturing processes, [4] opines that for a pattern to be is self-repairing if damaged.
suitable for use, the pattern material should be: Materials and Method
 Easily worked, shaped and joined The choice of material for the construction of the mould
 Light in weight is aluminium, because factors that determine the selection of
 Strong, hard and durable mould construction materials such as cost, stability, ductility,
 Resistant to wear and abrasion strength, availability, good machinability, corrosion
 Resistant to corrosion, and to chemical reactions resistance etc. [6], favour the choice of aluminium.
 Dimensionally stable and unaffected by variations in Pattern Making
temperature and humidity The pattern used to prepare the mould cavity for the
 Available at low cost purpose of making a casting was made of cream hardener and
Casting in metal moulds filler.
This uses a metal mould instead of sand. The moulds are The cream hardener and filler were mixed together in
made of steel or cast iron. The mould can be of solid type or equal ratio, in order for it to solidify and take the shape of a
split type. In the split type mould casting removal is easy. The rectangle. Then an electric discharge machine (EDM) was
moulds are coated with ceramic based coating agent. The used to form the shape of a motorcycle brake lever in the
mould is dried and preheated before molten metal is poured. pattern according to the dimension and design of the lever.
The crucible is removed from the furnace and the dross is After this was achieved, sandpaper was used to smooth the
removed. The melt temperature is taken and the melt is surface of the pattern.
poured in the mould cavity. After solidification the casting is
removed.
Shrinkage happens because during solidification there is
a volume contraction. The shrinkage area is machined away
by cutting on a power saw and the rest of the casting can be
used. In die casting molten metal is injected into the mould
under high pressure resulting in a better part with good
dimensional accuracy.
Properties of Aluminium Moulds
Moulds made of aluminum possess special properties.
The properties of aluminum mould are low density, low Figure.1. Pattern for motorcycle brake lever.
weight, high strength, easy machining, excellent corrosion
resistance, superior malleability, and good thermal and
electrical conductivity are amongst aluminium’s most
important properties.
The properties of aluminum mould are therefore related
to the properties of the aluminum used for the construction
work. Properties of the aluminium mould according to [5]
include:
 Weight: One of the best known properties of aluminum is
that it is light, with a density one third that of steel, 2,700
kg/m3. The low density of aluminum account for it being Figure 2. Diagram of a motorcycle brake lever.
light weight but this does not affect its strength.
 Strength: Aluminum alloys commonly have tensile
strengths of between 70 and 700MPa. The range for alloys
used in extrusion is 150 – 300MPa. Unlike most steel grades,
aluminum does not become brittle at low temperatures.
Instead, its strength increases. At high temperatures,
aluminium’s strength decreases. At temperatures
continuously above 100°C, strength is affected to the extent
that the weakening must be taken into account. Figure 3. 3D model of a motorcycle brake lever.
49245 B. C. Chukwudi and M. B. Ogunedo / Elixir Mech. Engg. 113 (2017) 49243-49246
Sand Moulding Mass of the brake lever is
Among the sand casting processes, moulding is most M ( )
often done with green sand. Green sand also known as Therefore, force applied on the brake
tempered or natural sand was used in sand moulding W
preparation. A box of Length 34m and width 27m was Force applied on the brake is 0.58N, Since F = W.
selected which can accommodate the pattern, riser, gating EffectiveLength ( )
system and also allow some space around it for ramming of
sand. After the mould is achieved, the cope is then clamped m
with drag and the mould is ready for pouring of the molten Effective Length ( )
metal. Thermal stress in the Mould
From equation 2,

Where 0.000023 m/m , E is

68.3GPa
453

Therefore,
Deformation due to temperature changes

Figure.4. Sand mould.

Molten aluminium metal alloyed with silicon is poured
into the cavity in the sand mould. The aluminium mould is
formed when the molten metal solidifies, machining of the
mould is carried out properly. After then, testing of the
aluminium mould is done by melting aluminium at a
temperature of 680oC and then poured into the mould which
has been pre-heated to avoid sputtering of the molten metal.
Solidification of the molten metal in the mould gives the
product.
Design Analysis
Effective Length ( )
This is the distance from the motorcycle head to the
applied force that will cause a turning effect on the lever.
= (1)
Stresses in the Mould Figure 6. Pouring of the molten metal into the mould.
Thermal Stress
The thermal stress induced in the aluminium mould
during casting is given by:
( – ) (2)
Where is the thermal stress in MPa
E is the modulus of elasticity of the aluminium material
68.3GPa
Is the coefficient of thermal expansion in m/m
0.000023 m/m
Are the initial and final temperatures of the
mould, respectively in
Deformation due to temperature changes
(3)
Results and Discussion
Operating force and Effective Length of the Brake Lever Figure 7. Product formation after solidification.
Discussion
This project was fabricated successful taking into
consideration the entire safety requirements for its safe
operation. The project designed a permanent mould using
aluminium. The motor lever was design to be operated by a
force of 0.58N at an effective length of 9cm. To achieve this,
a permanent mould of area and a volume of
was sand casted. The study shows that thermal
Figure 5. vertical force loading diagram of lever. stresses are set up in the mould as a result of temperature
Considering the diagram in figure 5, F=W at equilibrium. gradient. The thermal stress associated with the casting of the
Where F= force applied on the brake. brake lever is 0.67GPa as a result of this, the deformation
Mass of the brake lever, M experienced by the mould is 0.0024m.
49246 B. C. Chukwudi and M. B. Ogunedo / Elixir Mech. Engg. 113 (2017) 49243-49246
This deformation was not adequate to alter the dimension As a result of the negligible deformation induced by the
of the motorcycle brake lever because the thermal stress thermal stress, the aluminium mould is expected to have a
induced was not beyond the permissible thermal stress for very long service life and be able to withstand high working
aluminium which is 43.5GPa. temperature by the reason of it been alloyed with silicon.
Conclusion References
The study carried out a design and construction of [1.] Shepel S.V. Numerical simulation of filling and
aluminium mould for the production of motorcycle brake solidification of permanent meld castings. Journal of Applied
lever. In order to achieve this, a pattern was constructed Thermal Engineering, 2002, 22: 229−248.
according to the specification of the motorcycle brake lever [2.] Speyer, R.F., 1994, "Thermal analysis of materials",
drawing. The pattern was made with cream hardener and Marcel Dekker.
filler, after which the mould was casted. Aluminium-Silicon [3.] Garg, S.K . Workshop Technology: Manufacturing
alloy was used as a material for the mould. The reason for the Processes, Third Edition; 2009.
alloy was to create a difference in the freezing/solidification [4.] Bawa, H S (2004). Manufacturing Processes – I. Tata
temperature between the aluminium mould and aluminium McGraw-Hill. pp. 1–12.
motorcycle brake lever, so that removal of the cast [5.] Ndaliman M.B., Pius P.A., Behavior of Aluminum Alloy
motorcycle lever from the mould can be achieve. The study Castings under Different Pouring Temperatures and Speeds,
revealed that the thermal stress of the mould did not exceed LEJPT, 2007, 11, p. 71-80.
the permissible thermal stress for aluminium thereby leading [6.] Polmear, I. J. 1995. Light Alloys: Metallurgy of the Light
to a negligible deformation in length of the mould. The mould Metals (3rd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-340-
produces a light motorcycle brake lever that could be 63207-9.
operated by a force of 0.58N at an effective length of 9cm.