Module II

Metal Casting
By
Dr. Zafar Alam
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines)
Dhanbad
Casting:
• One of the oldest manufacturing process

• In this process, the material is first liquefied by

properly heating it in a suitable furnace. Then
the liquid is poured into a previously prepared
mould cavity where it is allowed to solidify.

• Subsequently, product is taken out of the

mould cavity , trimmed, and cleaned to shape.
• Whole process of producing casting may be
classified into five stages:
 Pattern making: patterns are designed and
prepared as per the drawing of the casting.
 Pattern materials:
1. selection depends on number of castings required
2. possibility of repeat orders
3. surface finish desired in the casting
Moulding and Core making:
 Moulds are prepared in either sand or a similar
material with the help of pattern to produce a cavity
of desired shape.

 For obtaining hollow portions, cores are prepared

separately in core boxes.

 Mould and core are then baked to impart strength

and finally assembled for pouring.
Melting and casting:
 Melted in a suitable furnace.
 Taken into ladles and poured into the mould.
 Castings are finally extracted by breaking the moulds
and send to the cleaning section.

Fettling:
 Direct castings are not fit for immediate use or for
work in the machine shop as they carry unwanted
metal (projections) attached in the form of gate,
risers etc.
Testing and Inspection:
• Before the casting is dispatched from the
foundry it is tested and inspected to ensure
that it is flawless and conform to the
specifications desired.
 Pattern and Mould
Pattern:
A pattern is the replica of the part to be cast
and is used to prepare the mould cavity.

 Primary cavity (mould cavity):

The mould cavity holds the liquid material and
essentially act as a negative of the desired
product.
 Secondary cavities:
The mould also contains secondary cavities for
pouring and channeling the liquid material
into the primary cavity and to act as a
reservoir, if necessary.
Patterns Materials:
 Wood: easily shaped, worked and joined to
form any complex shape. Light in weight,
easily available and less cost. But affected by
moisture (swell or shrink), poor strength, low
resistance to wear
 Metals and Alloys:
where repetitive production of castings is
required in large quantities. Metals commonly
used are Aluminum alloys, cast iron, steel and
copper based alloys such as brass and bronze.
 Prepared by master pattern: wood, plastic,
plaster or metal. Double allowances have to
be made for contraction and machining.
 Plastics and Rubber:
Both thermosetting and thermoplastic
materials are used
 Thermosetting: long lasting and durable
patterns (epoxy, polyester resins).
Thermoplastic type: for short runs or piece
work (polystyrene).
In special cases Silicon rubbers have been
used for making dies.
• Types of patterns:
1. Loose patterns (in one piece, from wood,
casting number up to 100).
2. Gated patterns: one or more than one loose
pattern with attached gate and runners and
provide a channel though with the molten
metal can flow.
3. Match plate patterns: pattern is made in two
halves mounted on both sides of a match
plate (of wood or metal).
4. Cope and drag pattern:
5. Sweep pattern: surface of revolution in large
castings,
6. Skeleton pattern: simple wooden frame
outlining the shape of the casting.
 Pattern Allowances
• “Pattern allowances” is a vital feature in pattern
design as it affects the dimensional characteristics of
the casting.
• A pattern is always made somewhat larger than the
final job to be produced.
• This excess in dimensions is referred to as the
pattern allowance.
• The proper selection of correct allowances greatly
helps to reduce machining cost and avoid rejections.
• The allowances usually considered on patterns and
core boxes are as:
1. Shrinkage or Contraction allowance.
2. Machining allowance.
3. Draft or Taper allowance.
4. Rapping and Shake allowance.
5. Distortion allowance.
1. Shrinkage or Contraction allowance
• All metals used for casting contract after
solidification in the mould.
• The shrinkage allowance is provided to take care of
the contractions of the casting.
• Therefore, patterns must be made larger than the
casting by an amount known as “ Patternmaker’s
contraction”.
• The pattern maker is equipped with a special rule of
scale, called the “patternmaker’s contraction” rule.
• One rule has 2 scales on each side (total 4 in number
for 4 commonly cast metals, steel, C.I, brass and AL.)
• Total contraction of a casting takes place in
three stages:

1). Contraction of liquid from the pouring temp. to the

freezing temp.
2). Contraction associated with the change of phase
from liquid to solid.
3). Contraction of the solid casting from the freezing
temp. to the room temp.
Only the last stage is taken care by the shrinkage
allowance
• The amount of shrinkage allowance depends on the
linear coefficient of thermal expansion αl of the
material.
• The higher the value of this coefficient, the more the
value of shrinkage allowance.
• For a dimension l of a casting the shrinkage
allowance is given by
αl l (θf-θ0)

where θf = freezing point of the material.

θ0= room temp.
2. Machining allowance
• Machining or finishing allowance is the oversize
allowance given to certain part of the casting to
enable their finishing or machining to required size.
• For internal surface, the allowances provided should
be negative.
3. Draft or Taper allowance
• It refers to a taper put on the surface parallel to the
direction of withdrawal of the pattern from the
mould cavity.
• A draft facilitates easy withdrawal of the pattern.
• The average value of the draft is between 1/20 and 20
4. Rapping and Shake allowance

• When the pattern is rapped for easy withdrawal, the

mould cavity gets slightly larger in size.
• To compensate for this growth, the pattern should
initially be made slightly smaller than the required
size.
• In small and medium-sized castings, this allowance
may be ignored, but for large castings or where
precision is desired, this allowance should be
considered.
5. Distortion allowance
• Sometimes castings get distorted during cooling due
to their typical shape.
For example: if the casting has the form of the letter
“U”.
• This allowance is considered only for castings that
tend to get distorted and have an irregular shape.
• It also happens due to internal stresses caused by
unequal cooling rates.
 Types of Moulds
• On the basis of mould material
- Green sand mould
- Plastic mould
- Metal mould
• On the basis of mould making
- Shell mould
- Investment mould
Green sand mould
• The material for a green sand mould is a mixture of
sand, clay, water, and some organic additives, e.g.,
wood flour, dextrin and sea coal.

• The percentage of these ingredients on wight basis is

approximately:
 Sand (specific grain size distribution) = 70-80%
 Clay = 10-20%
 Water = 3-6%
 Additives= 1-6%
• Clay together with water, acts as a bonding agent and
imparts tensile and shear strength to the moulding sand.
• Organic additives burn out at high temperatures and
make room for the moulding sand to expand and thus
save the mould from crumbling.
• The success of a casting depends greatly on the following
sand properties:
i) Strength (compressive strength )
ii) Permeability (gas flow rate through the specimen)
iii) Deformation (change in length of a standard specimen)
iv) Flowability (ability of the sand to flow around and over
the pattern).
v) Refractoriness (ability of sand to remain solid as a
function of temperature)
Core Making
• A core is an obstruction which is placed in the mould
in such a way that the molten metal, when poured
through the gate, will by-pass the portion
obstructed by the core and fill the cavity formed by
the outline of the pattern.
• It is either integrated part of the mould or placed
separately in the mould.
• When it is integrated part of the mould then it is
made of green sand and when placed separately, it is
made of dry sand after baking.
• Sand-mix used for core making consists of the sand
together with a binder which is used to give strength
after baking.

• A natural binder (sometimes called core-gum) is

linseed oil, and a synthetic binder is a synthetic resin.

• In recent development sand is mixed with sodium

silicate solution so that grains are coated and get the
hardness after “ gassing” with carbon dioxide.
Sand Casting Mold

Sand casting mold.

 Gating System
• It is channel through which molten metal flows into
cavity from outside of mold

• Consists of a down-sprue through which metal

enters a runner leading to the main cavity

• At the top of down-sprue, a pouring cup is often

used to minimize splash and turbulence as the metal
flows into down-sprue.
 Riser
• It is a reservoir in the mold which is a source of liquid
metal to compensate for shrinkage of the part during
solidification

• Most metals are less dense as a liquid than as a solid

so castings shrink upon cooling, which can leave a
void at the last point to solidify. Risers prevent this
by providing molten metal to the casting as it
solidifies, so that the cavity forms in the riser and not
in the casting
 Pouring the Molten Metal
• For this step to be successful, metal must flow into
all regions of the mold, most importantly the main
cavity, before solidifying
• Factors that determine success
– Pouring temperature
– Pouring rate
– Turbulence
• Pouring temperature should be sufficiently high in
order to prevent the molten metal to start solidifying
on its way to the cavity.
Pouring rate should neither be high (may stuck the
runner – should match viscosity of the metal) nor
very low that may start solidifying on its way to the
cavity

Turbulence should be kept to a minimum in order to

ensure smooth flow and to avoid mold damage and
entrapment of foreign materials. Also, turbulence
causes oxidation at the inner surface of cavity. This
results in cavity damage and poor surface quality of
casting.
Why Sprue cross-section is kept taper
??
• In order to keep volume flow rate (Q=VA) constant.
• In case, cross-section is fixed, increased fluid velocity
due to gravity will increase flow rate. This can cause
air entrapment into liquid metal.
 Pouring, Gating design
• A good gating design should ensure proper
distribution of molten metal in the mould cavity at
the proper rate without excessive temperature loss,
turbulence, gas entrapping gases and slags.
• If the molten metal is poured very slowly, since time
taken to fill the mould cavity will become longer,
solidification will start even before the mould is
completely filled up. This can be avoided by using too
much super heated metal, but in this case gas
solubility will be a problem.
• On the other hand, If the molten metal is poured
very faster, it can erode the mould cavity.
• So gating design is important and it depends on both
the metal and mould composition.
• Gating design is classified mainly into three
categories:
Vertical gating, bottom gating, parting line side gating.
 Elements of a gating system
• The term gating system refers to all passageways
through which the molten metal passes to enter the
mould cavity.
• The gating system is composed of:
 Pouring basin
 Sprue
 Runner
 Gates
 Risers
 Gates
• A gate is a channel which connects runner with the
mould cavity and through which molten metal flows to
fill the mould cavity.
• A small gate is used for a casting solidifies slowly and vice
versa.
• A gate should not have sharp edges as they may break
during pouring and sand pieces thus may be carried with
the molten metal in the mould cavity.
Types
 Top gate
 Bottom gate
 Parting line side gate
Top Gate
• A top gate is made in the cope portion of the mould.
• In a top gate the molten metal enters the mould
cavity from the top.
• Top gate involves high turbulence and sand erosion.
• Top gate produces poor casting surfaces.
Bottom Gate
• A bottom gate is made in the drag portion.
• In a bottom gate the liquid metal fills rapidly the bottom
portion of the mould cavity and rises steadily and gently up
the mould walls.
• As comparison to top gate, bottom gate involves little
turbulence and sand erosion.
• Bottom gate produces good casting surfaces.
• If freezing takes place at the bottom, it could coke off the
metal flow before the mould is full.
• Creates an unfavourable temperature gradient and makes it
difficult to achieve directional solidification.
 Parting line side gate
• Middle or side of parting gating system combines the
characteristics of top and bottom gating systems.

• Gate is provided along the parting line such that

some portion of the mould cavity will be below the
parting line and some portion will be above it.

• The cavity below the parting line will be filled by

assuming top gating and the cavity above the parting
line will be filled by assuming bottom gating.
 Analysis of pouring and filling up mould
(a) Vertical gating
• For analysis we use energy balance equation like
Bernoulli’s equation
 (b) Bottom gating

Applying Benoulli’s equation between point 1 and 3, we get

Further, applying Bernoulli’s equation between point 3 and 4,

with the assumption that is very small and all the kinetic
energy at station 3 is lost after the liquid metal enters the mould,
We can write:
From above equations, the velocity of the liquid metal
at the gate can be found:
At t=0, h=0 and at t=tf (filling time), h=hm.
Integrating above equation between these limits, we have