Chapter-2

Hand tools-Casting
Hand Tools
Hand Tools
Hand Tools
Hand Tools
Moulding Machines
Moulding Machines- Sand slinger
 PATTERN MATERIALS
i) easily worked, shaped, and joined;
(ii) light in weight for facility in handling and working;
(iii) strong, hard, and durable (i.e., of high strength-to-
weight ratio);
(iv) resistant to wear and abrasion, to corrosion, and to
chemical action;
(v) dimensionally stable and unaffected by variations in
temperature and humidity;
(vi) available at low cost;
(vii) such that it can be repaired or even re-used; and
(viii) able to take a good surface finish.
 Wood and Wood products
• It can be easily shaped or worked and joined to
form any complex shape,
• is light in weight,
• is easily available,
• and costs less than other materials.
• The common drawbacks, however, are its
susceptibility to moisture, causing it to swell or
shrink, its poor strength,
• and low resistance to wear.
• Wood, like all living matter, is composed of
cells resembling long thin tubes with
tapered ends.
• The cell walls consist of cellular fibres,
aligned parallel to the axis of the cells, and
bonded together by a complex amorphous
material called lignin.
• Wood contains 50–60% cellulose and 20–
35% lignin.
 Seasoning of Timber

• artificial seasoning
• electrical seasoning

Types of Timber for Pattern

(i) Compressed Wood Laminates
(ii) Laminated Wood Impregnates (Plastic Wood)
(iii) Wooden Patterns with Metallic Coatings
 METALS AND ALLOYS
• Metallic patterns are used where repetitive
production of castings is required in large
quantities.
• The metals commonly used are aluminium
alloys, cast iron, steel and copper-base alloys
such as brass or bronze. High duty iron and
SG iron are also now being increasingly used.
• Owing to its heavy weight, cast iron can be
used only for small-sized patterns.
 METALS AND ALLOYS
• Aluminium make it the most popular choice for
patterns, The best properties are achieved after
solution heat treatment and precipitation heat
treatment.
• Metallic patterns being employed for mass production
are generally required in a large number. They are
therefore prepared by casting from a master pattern,
which may be made in wood, plastic, plaster, or metal.
• After machining and finishing wherever necessary,
these patterns are mounted on pattern plates. Where
patterns are of the split type, each half may be mounted
on separate pattern plates or on either side of the same
plate.
• Metallic pattern plates are usually made in grey cast
iron or cast aluminium alloy.
 Contd
• …
‘Duralumin is best suited after a stress-relieving
treatment. Brass and bronze are excellent
materials for pattern work because of their high
physical strength besides their strong resistance
to deformation and corrosion, ease of production
and joining, and ability to take good fi nish. Their
main limitation is the high price.
• Low-melting-point alloys, such as white metal
and cerro-alloys that contain tin and bismuth,
are also used for dies, which are required for
investment casting, and for moulds, which are
used for making epoxy resin patterns or plaster
patterns. These alloys have a low melting
temperature. Metal electro-deposition or electro-
forming has lately found application for pattern
and die work.
 Plasters
• Gypsum plaster (Plaster of Paris) when
mixed with the correct quantity of water sets
in a given time and forms a hard mass
having high compressive strength.
• Plasters, ordinarily available expand on
solidification.
• By choosing a plaster of proper expansion
rate, it is possible to completely offset the
shrinkage of the casting; then no contraction
need be separately provided for on the
pattern.
 Epoxy Resins
• Epoxy Resins Epoxy-resin patterns have
become very popular because of their
• (i) easily castable nature which renders
machining superfl uous,
• (ii) high strength-to-weight ratio (5.4 compared
to 4.0 of aluminium alloys and 1.2 of cast iron),
(iii) low cost of working,
• (iv) good resistance to wear and abrasion, and
(v) complete immunity from the action of
moisture and the effect of mild heating when in
contact with sand.
• (i) Gel-Coat or Surface-Coat Resin
• (ii) Laminating Resin
• (iii) Casting Resin
 Polyester Resins
• As a cheaper substitute for epoxy resins, fibre
reinforced polyester resins (FRP) are also being
increasingly used. The cost of polyester resins is
less than half that of epoxy resins, and yet, the
patterns produced are rigid, strong and durable.
• Polystyrene Of the thermoplastic variety of plastics
which tend to become soft and subsequently
gasify on heating, the most common is polystyrene
foam, It can be easily shaped, machined, and
fabricated by gluing to form the pattern. The
pattern can be used in the conventional form of
sand casting where it has to be removed from the
mould by withdrawing it, if possible, or else by
burning it with a gas torch or breaking it.
 Pattern Allowances
• Pattern allowances are a vital feature in
pattern design as it affects the dimensional
characteristics of the casting. Thus, when the
pattern is produced, certain allowances must
be given on the sizes specified in the finished
component drawing so that a casting with the
particular specifications can be produced.
The selection of correct allowances greatly
helps to reduce machining costs and avoid
rejections.
 Shrinkage Allowance
All metals used for casting contract after
solidification in the mould, and the pattern must
therefore be made larger than the casting by an
amount known as patternmaker’s contraction.
Generally, the patternmaker is equipped with the
patternmaker’s contraction rule, which is used to
compensate for the shrinkage value. To
compensate for shrinkage, the graduations are
oversized by a proportionate amount, e.g., on a 1-
mm or 1% scale, each 100 cm is longer by 1 cm.
Formation of shrinkage cavity
 Types of Shrinkage of Metals
• Liquid Shrinkage
• Solidification shrinkage
• Solid Contraction: Reduction in metal caused when
metal looses its solid state
• Solid contraction is not compensated by the
liquid metal in the riser.
• Size of the casting would become smaller
• Make the dimensions of the pattern little
larger. This extra dimension is known as
Contraction allowance or shrinkage
allowance
Draft or Taper Allowances
 Machining or Finish Allowance
• Machining or finish allowance is the extra material
added to certain parts of the casting to enable
their finishing or machining to the required size.
The amount of machining allowance to be
provided for is affected by
• (i) the method of moulding and casting used, viz.,
hand moulding or machine moulding, sand casting
or metal-mould casting
• (ii) size and shape of the casting;
• (iii) the casting orientation: greater allowance is
required on the surface at the top in the mould;
• (iv) the characteristics of the metal; and
• (v) the functional requirements of the casting and
the degree of accuracy and finish required.
 Rapping and Shake Allowance
• When the pattern is rapped for easy withdrawal,
the mould cavity gets slightly larger in size. This
also causes the casting size to increase. To
compensate for this growth, the pattern should
initially be made slightly smaller than the
required size.
• In small and medium-size castings, this allowance
may be ignored, but for large-sized castings or
where high precision is desired, this allowance
should be considered. Its value is decided by
experience or by trial as no guidelines can be
made for this allowance.
 Distortion Allowance
• Sometimes castings get distorted during
cooling due to their typical shape U.
• This allowance is considered only for
castings that tend to get distorted and
have an irregular shape
Distortion Allowance
 Constituents of moulding sand
• Silica sand
– Silica sand in form of granular quarts is the main constituent of
molding sand having enough refractoriness which can impart
strength, stability and permeability to molding and core sand.
– Along with silica small amounts of iron oxide, alumina, lime
stone, magnesia, soda and potash are present as impurities.
– The chemical composition of silica sand gives an idea of the
impurities like lime, magnesia, alkalis etc. present.
– The silica sand can be specified according to the size (small,
medium and large silica sand grain) and the shape (angular, sub-
angular and rounded).
• (i) Rounded Grains These grains have the least contact with one another in a
rammed structure, thereby making the sand highly permeable to gases. Sand
having rounded grains, however, lacks strength and does not pack up to the
optimum extent. The binder requirements are minimum.
• (ii) Subangular Grains These grains have comparatively lower permeability and
greater strength than the rounded ones.
• (iii) Angular Grains These grains have defi ned edges, and the surfaces are
nearly flat. They produce higher strength and lower permeability in the mould
than subangular grains. The binder consumption is likely to be high.
• (iv) Compounded Grains In some cases, the grains are cemented together such
that they fail to separate when screened. They may consist of rounded,
subangular, or angular grains or a combination of the three. Such grains are
called compounded grains and are least desirable due to their tendency lo
break down at high temperature.
• In practice, sand grains contain mixed grain shapes, depending on origin. A
subangular-to-rounded grain mixture would be the best combination.
• Moisture
The amount of moisture content in the molding sand
varies generally between 2 to 8 percent.
This amount is added to the mixture of clay and silica
sand for developing bonds.
This is the amount of water required to fill the pores
between the particles of clay without separating
them.
This amount of water is held rigidly by the clay and is
mainly responsible for developing the strength in
the sand.
 The effect of clay and water decreases permeability
with increasing clay and moisture content.
The green compressive strength first increases with the
increase in clay content, but after a certain value, it
starts decreasing.

• Additives
• Additives are the materials generally
added to the molding and core sand
mixture to develop some special property
in the sand.
• Coal dust: Coal dust is added mainly for
producing a reducing atmosphere during casting.
This reducing atmosphere results in any oxygen
in the poles becoming chemically bound so that
it cannot oxidize the metal.
• Dextrin:Dextrin belongs to starch family of
carbohydrates. It increases dry strength of the
molds.
• Pitch
• It is distilled form of soft coal. It can be added
from 0.02 % to 2% in mold and core sand. It
enhances hot strengths, surface finish on mold
• Clay Content Test

– The amount of clay is determined by carrying out the clay

content test in which clay in molding sand of 50 grams is
defined as particles which when suspended in water, fail
to settle at the rate of one inch per min.
– Clay consists of particles less than 20 micron, per 0.0008
inch in dia.
CORE