6 SPECIAL CASTING

PROCESSES
 Objectives
 Understand the shell moulding as a process
for higher quality castings with thin surface
details.
 Know precision investment casting used for
complex shapes
 Use permanent mould casting for mass
production of relatively simple shapes.
 Apply die casting process for complex parts
 Understand the advantages of using
centrifugal casting process
 Learn the advantages and applications of
various other special casting process.
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 Shell Moulding
 It is a process in which, the sand mixed
with a thermosetting resin is allowed to
come into contact with a heated metallic
pattern plate, so that a thin and strong
shell of mould is formed around the
pattern.
 Then the shell is removed from the
pattern and the cope and drag are
removed together and kept in a flask with
the necessary back up material and the
molten metal is poured into the mould.
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 Shell Moulding
 The synthetic resins used in shell
moulding are essentially thermosetting
resins, which get hardened irreversibly by
heat.
 The resins most widely used, are the
phenol formaldehyde resins.

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 Shell Moulding
 Shell mould castings are generally
dimensionally more accurate than sand
castings.
 A smoother surface can be obtained in
shell castings. This is primarily achieved
by the finer size grain used.
 Draft angles, which are lower than the
sand castings are required in shell
moulds.
 Sometimes, special cores may be
eliminated in shell moulding.
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 Shell Moulding
 Also, very thin sections (upto 0.25 mm) of
the type of air cooled cylinder heads can be
readily made by the shell moulding because
of the higher strength of the sand used for
moulding.
 Permeability of the shell is high and therefore
no gas inclusions occur.
 Very small amount of sand needs to be used.
 Mechanisation is readily possible because of
the simple processing involved in shell
moulding.
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 Shell Moulding
 The patterns are very expensive and
therefore are economical only if used in
large scale production.
 The size of the casting obtained by shell
moulding is limited.
 Highly complicated shapes cannot be
obtained.
 More sophisticated equipment is needed
for handling the shell mouldings such as
those required for heated metal patterns.
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Precision Investment Casting
 This is the process where the mould is
prepared around an expendable pattern.
 Wax pattern is used

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Precision Investment Casting
 Complex shapes, which are difficult to
produce by any other method are possible
since the pattern is withdrawn by melting
it.
 Very fine details and thin sections can be
produced by this process, because the
mould is heated before pouring.
 Very close tolerances and better surface
finish can be produced.

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Precision Investment Casting
 Castings produced by this process are
ready for use with little or no machining
required.
 With proper care it is possible to control
grain size, grain orientation and
directional solidification in this process, so
that controlled mechanical properties can
be obtained.
 Since there is no parting line, dimensions
across it would not vary.
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Precision Investment Casting
 The process is normally limited by the size
and mass of the casting. The upper limit
on the mass of a casting may be of the
order of 5 kg.
 This is a more expensive process because
of larger manual labour involved in the
preparation of the pattern and the mould.

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Precision Investment Casting
 This process was used in the olden days
for the preparation of artefacts, jewellery
and surgical instruments.
 Presently the products made by this
process are vanes and blades for gas
turbines, shuttle eyes for weaving, pawls
and claws for movie cameras, wave
guides for radars, bolts and triggers for
fire arms, stainless steel valve bodies and
impellers for turbo chargers.
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 Permanent Mould Casting
 It uses a metallic mould
 Fine grained grey cast iron is the most
generally used die material. Alloy cast
iron, C20 steel and alloy steels (H11 and
H14) are also used for very large volumes
and large parts. Graphite moulds may be
used for small volume production from
aluminium and magnesium.

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 Permanent Mould Casting
 Because of the metallic moulds used, this
process produces a fine grained casting with
superior mechanical properties.
 They produce very good surface finish of the
order of 4 microns and better appearance.
 Close dimensional tolerances can be
obtained.
 It is economical for large scale production as
the labour involved in the mould preparation
is reduced.
 Small cored holes may be produced
compared to sand casting.
 Inserts can be readily cast in place.
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 Permanent Mould Casting
 The maximum size of the casting that can
be produced is limited because of the
equipment.
 Complicated shapes cannot be produced.
 The cost of the die is very high and can
only be justified for large scale production.
 Not all materials are suited for permanent
mould casting essentially because of the
mould material.

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 Permanent Mould Casting
 Some of the components that are
produced in permanent moulds are,
automobile pistons, stators, gear blanks,
connecting rods, aircraft fittings, cylinder
blocks, etc.

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 Pressure Die Casting
 In die casting, as the metal is forced in
under pressure compared to permanent
moulding, it is also called "pressure
diecasting".

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 Pressure Die Casting
 Hot chamber diecasting
 Cold chamber diecasting
 The main difference between these two
types is that in hot chamber, the holding
furnace for the liquid metal is integral with
the die casting machine, whereas in the
cold chamber machine, the metal is
melted in a separate furnace and then
poured into the die casting machine with a
ladle for each casting cycle which is also
called 'shot'.
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 Pressure Die Casting
 Cold chamber diecasting
 For materials such as aluminium and
brass, their high melting temperatures
make it difficult to cast them by hot
chamber process, because gooseneck of
the hot chamber machine is continuously
in contact with the molten metal.

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 Pressure Die Casting
 Diecasting dies
 The diecasting die consists of two parts, a
cover die which is fixed to the stationary
platen of the diecasting machine while the
other, one called the ejector die, is fixed
to the moving platen.
 Fixed cores are fixed to the die halves.
These are parallel to the die movement.
 Moving cores, are not parallel with the die
movement and hence are to be removed
before the casting is ejected from the die.
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 Pressure Die Casting
 Because of the use of the movable cores, it is
possible to obtain fairly complex castings
than that feasible by permanent mould
casting.
 Very small thicknesses can be easily filled
because the liquid metal is injected at high
pressure.
 Very high production rates can be achieved.
Typical rate could be 200 pieces per hour
since the process is completely automated.
 Because of the metallic dies, very good
surface finish of the order of 1 micron can be
obtained.
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 Pressure Die Casting
 Closer dimensional tolerances of the order of
+ 0.08 mm for small dimensions can be
obtained compared to the sand castings.
 The die has a long life, which is of the order
of 300 000 pieces for zinc alloys and 150 000
for aluminium alloys.
 Diecasting gives better mechanical properties
compared to sand casting, because of the
fine grained skin formed during solidification.
 Inserts can be readily cast in place.
 It is very economical for large scale
production.
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 Pressure Die Casting
 The maximum size of the casting is limited.
 This is not suitable for all materials because
of the limitations on the die materials.
 The air in the die cavity gets trapped inside
the casting and is therefore a problem often
with the diecastings.
 The dies and the machines are very
expensive and therefore, economy in
production is possible only when large
quantities are produced.

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 Pressure Die Casting
 The typical products made by die casting
are carburettors, crank cases, magnetos,
handle bar housings, and other parts of
scooters, motor cycles and mopeds, zip
fasteners, head lamp bezels and other
decorative items on automobiles.

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 Vacuum Die Casting
 The major problem with die casting is the air
left in the cavity when the die is closed. Since
that air cannot escape will end up inside the
casting.
 Also the molten metal when injected
experiences this back pressure in the die
cavity.
 By evacuating the air from the die the metal
enters much faster into the die decreasing
the fill time without any porosity due to the
removal of all the air in the die cavity.
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 Low Pressure Die Casting
 Compressed gas is used to force at a
pressure typically ranging from 0.3 to 1.5
bars to force the molten metal to raise
slowly through the ceramic riser tube that
is connected to the mould.
 Once the mould cavity is filled, the
pressure in the crucible is removed, and
the residual molten metal in the tube
flows back to the crucible.
 After the casting is solidified, the side die
opens and the top die is raised vertically.
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 Centrifugal Casting
 This is a process where the mould is
rotated rapidly about its central axis as
the metal is poured into it.
 Because of the centrifugal force, a
continuous pressure will be acting on the
metal as it solidifies.
 The slag, oxides and other inclusions
being lighter, gets separated from the
metal and segregates toward the centre.

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 Centrifugal Casting
 There are three main types of centrifugal
casting processes.
 True centrifugal casting,
 Semi centrifugal casting, and
 Centrifuging.

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 True Centrifugal Casting
 This is normally used for the making of
hollow pipes, tubes, hollow bushes, etc.
which are axisymmetric with a concentric
hole.
 Since the metal is always pushed outward
because of the centrifugal force, no core
needs to be used for making the
concentric hole.

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 True Centrifugal Casting
 The mechanical properties of centrifugally cast
jobs are better compared to other processes,
because the inclusions such as slag and oxides
gets segregated towards the centre and can be
easily removed by machining.
 Upto a certain thickness of objects, proper
directional solidification can be obtained starting
from the mould surface to the centre.
 No cores are required for making concentric holes
in the case of true centrifugal casting.
 There is no need for gates and runners, which
increases the casting yield, reaching almost
100%.
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 True Centrifugal Casting
 Only certain shapes which are
axisymmetric and having concentric holes
are suitable for true centrifugal casting.
 The equipment is expensive and thus is
suitable only for large quantity production.

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 Semi Centrifugal Casting
 Vertical axis
 More complex shapes
 Core required

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 Centrifuging
 Casting shapes are not axisymmetrical
 Only for small jobs of any shape.
 The jobs are uniformly placed on the table
around the periphery so that their masses
are properly balanced.

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CONTINUOUS CASTING

Continuous Casting
 In this process, the liquid steel is poured
into a double walled, bottom less water
cooled mould where a solid skin is quickly
formed and a semi finished skin emerges
from the open mould bottom.
 The skin formed in the mould is about 10
to 25 mm in thickness and is further
solidified by intensive cooling with water
sprays as casting moves downwards.

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 Squeeze Casting
 The product quality is greatly improved in
this process by solidifying the casting
under heavy pressure to prevent the
formation of shrinkage defects and retain
dissolved gases in solution until freezing is
complete.
 Thus it is a combination of casting and
forging.

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 Summary
 Shell moulding is a special casting process
used for specific applications that require
higher quality castings with thin surface
details. It uses resin coated sand for
making the mould that is strong and
porous.
 Precision investment casting utilizes an
expendable pattern to create really
complex objects without any parting line.
This ensures very high precision and
excellent properties.
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 Summary
 Permanent mould casting utilizes a metallic
mould to prepare the casting. This helps in
lowering costs for mass production at the same
time ensuring a fine grained structure with
improved mechanical properties for the casting.
 Pressure die casting can be utilized for very
complex shapes. This process uses a metallic die
and the molten metal is injected at very high
pressure ensuring the filling of very small cavities
at a fast rate. The resulting casting is completely
filled with smooth finish and fine grained
structure. It is very economical when produced in
large volumes.
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 Summary
 Vacuum diecasting ensures the removal of
entrapped air in the die inside the casting
thereby ensuring a sound casting.
 In centrifugal casting, the mould is rotated at
high speed, which ensures that the slag and
impurities in the molten metal are separated and
removed effectively. This ensures that casting
produced is sound. There are other variations in
this process to cater to the different type of
casting sizes and geometries produced.
 Continuous casting allows for the fast production
of constant cross section shapes in large volume.

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