1.

Casting Processes
7Hrs.
Syllabus:
Introduction to casting processes, Patterns: Pattern materials, types of pattern, allowances
pattern design, Moulding sand, Properties of moulding sands, Core making, Melting practices and
furnaces, Pouring and Gating system design, Numerical estimation to find mold filling time, Riser
design and placement, Principles of cooling and solidification of casting, Directional and
Progressive solidification Estimation of solidification rate, Cleaning and Finishing of casting,
Defects and remedies, Principle and equipments of Permanent mould casting, Investment

casting, Centrifugal casting, Continuous casting

1.1 Introduction:
 Casting is a process in which molten metal flows by gravity or other force
into a mold and solidifies in the shape of the mold cavity. The part produced
is called casting.
 Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a
mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it
cools.
 The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron. However, other
metals, such as bronze, brass, steel, magnesium, and zinc are also used to produce
castings in foundries.
The Casting concept

Basic Process:
– Melt metal alloy
– Pour into mold
– Allow solidification
– Remove from mold
Advantages:
– Many alloys
– Complex shapes
NOTE: not all alloys can be cast
The Casting Process:

Sand Casting Die Casting

Production Steps in Sand-Casting
Sand Mold
 TYPICAL CAST PARTS

The Polaroid PDC-2000

digital camera with a
Typical gray-iron castings used AZ191D die-cast high-purity
in automobiles, including the A cast transmission housing magnesium case.
transmission valve body

A two-piece Polaroid camera case

made by the hot-chamber die-casting
process
 1.2 Pattern Making:
 Pattern is a mirror image or replica of the component that has to be manufactured by casting process.
 It may be also defined as a model around which sand is packed to give rise to a cavity called mold
cavity.
 A pattern is required even if one object has to be cast.
 The materials generally used for pattern are wood, metal or plastics.

Factors to be considered while selecting the pattern:

a) Service requirements, e.g. quantity, quality and intricacy of castings, minimum thickness desired,
degree of accuracy and finish required.
b) Possibility of design changes.
c) Type of molding method and equipment to be used.
d) Possibility of repeat orders.
Use of pattern:
a) To form a cavity of proper shape and size in the molding material so that required casting
is obtained by molten metal.
b) Providing seating surface for the core that are used for making cavity i.e. core prints.
c) Indirectly checks the dimensions and measurements of the casting.
d) Reduces casting defects.
e) Minimizes the cost of casting.
Pattern Material:
Each material has its own advantages, limitations,
and field of application. Some materials used for making
patterns are: wood, metals and alloys, plastic, plaster of
Paris, plastic and rubbers, wax, and resins.
Properties of pattern materials:
a) Easily worked, shaped and joined
b) Light in weight
c) Strong, hard and durable
d) Resistant to wear and abrasion
e) Resistant to corrosion, and to chemical reactions
f) Dimensionally stable and unaffected by variations in
temperature and humidity
g) Available at low cost.
Pattern materials :
1) Wood :
It is the most common material used for pattern making. Generally wood used
are teak, sal, shisam, pine and deodar.
Advantages of Wood :
a) It is cheap and available in abundance.
b) It can be easily shaped into different forms and intricate designs.
c) Its handling is easy because of lightness in weight.
d) Good surface finish can be easily obtained.
e) It can be preserved for a fairly long time by applying proper preservatives
like shellac varnish.

Disadvantages of Wood :
a) It wears out quickly due to its low resistance to sand abrasion. As such, a
wooden pattern cannot stand a long constant use.
b) It is very susceptible to moisture, which may lead to its warping or
splitting. This needs its careful storing in a dry place.
c) Its life, owing to the above reasons, is short as compared to other pattern
materials. This limits its use to such cases only when a small number of
castings are required.
2) Metals :
Metal patterns are used for mass production work. Commonly metals used for
patterns are cast iron, brass, aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy and white
metal.
Advantages :
a) Long life as compared to wooden pattern.
b) No change in shape with moist sand.
c) When stored no warping occurs.
d) Resistant to wear and very strong.
e) Better surface finish with dimensional accuracy.

Disadvantages :
(i) They are costlier than wood.
(ii) For giving different shapes and fine surface finish they need machining.
(iii) Heavier than wood.
(iv) A large number of them have a tendency to get rusted.
3) Plastics :
The plastics used as pattern materials are thermosetting resins. For making the pattern,
first the moulds are made, usually from plaster of Paris. The resin is then poured into
these moulds and heated. At a specific temperature, the resin solidifies to give the
plastic pattern.

Advantages:
a) Lightness in weight.
b) High strength.
c) High resistance to wear.
d) High resistance to corrosion due to moisture.
e) Fine surface finish.
f) Very reasonable cost.

Disadvantages:
a) They are fragile.
b) Not a good abrasion resistant when compared to metal.
c) Sometime narrow section may need metal reinforcement.
4) Wax :
a) The waxes used are shellac, paraffin, bees wax, etc.
b) Wax patterns are exclusively used in investment
casting.
c) Wax pattern is not taken out like other pattern,
instead the mold is inverted then apply heat. The
molten wax is flow out from the mold. The
advantage is that it does not cause any distortion on
mold while removing the pattern. So it provide good
surface finish and dimensional accuracy.
 Types of patterns
1) Solid or single piece pattern
2) Split pattern or two piece pattern
3) Multi piece pattern
4) Match plate pattern
5) Cope and drag pattern
6) Gated pattern
7) Loose Piece Pattern
8) Sweep pattern
9) Skeleton pattern
10) Segmental pattern
11) Shell Pattern
 1) Solid or single piece pattern

 Simplest pattern
 Made in one piece
 Cheapest pattern
APPLICATION:
 Soil tamper
 2) Split or Two piece pattern
 Pattern is split into two piece
 One part is in cope and other is in drag
 Easy withdrawal of pattern.

APPLICATIONS:
 Spindles
 valve bodies
 Small pulleys
 3) Multi-piece pattern
 Pattern is split into more than two parts.
 Facilitates an easy moulding and withdrawal of pattern.
 Pattern may
consists 3,4 or more
numbers depending
on designs
APPLICATIONS:
 Lap joint
 Pin joint
 4) Match plate pattern
 Patterns are made in two pieces one piece mounted on one side and
the other on other side of plate called match plate.
 Plate may carry one or group of patterns mounted on match plate.
 Along with pattern gates and runners are also attached.
 Produces accurate castings at faster rates.
APPLICATIONS:
Generally used for small castings such as piston rings of I.C.
engines and rotor hub.
Match plate pattern continued……….
 5) Cope and drag pattern
 This pattern is made into two halves and both are molded in different
boxes.
 After completion of mold two boxes are assembled to make a cavity.
 It is also known as two piece or split pattern.
APPLICATIONS:
 Flange pipe.
 6) Gated pattern
 This the pattern are usually made of metals.
 In this multi-cavity moulds are produced & the sections connecting different
pattern serves as gate and runner. This facilitates filling the mold in better
manner.
 Can produce many castings at one time and hence saves time as well as cost.
APPLICATIONS:
Used for small
castings such as
corner bracket.
 7) Loose Piece Pattern
 Patterns consists of loose pieces for easy withdrawal.
 These loose pieces form integral part of pattern during molding.
 After mold is complete pattern is withdrawn leaving this loose pieces.
APPLICATIONS:
 Pattern having projections.
 Rotor hub.
 8) Sweep pattern
 It is generally used for preparing large symmetrical castings.
 It is made on wooden board and its sweeps the sand in casting shape
all around the circumference.
 Hence it saves lot of labour and time.
 It is used for production of large circular sections and symmetrical
shapes.
APPLICATIONS:
Symmetrical shapes such as
wheels, rims, large vessels
of cast irons & bell shapes
 9) Skeleton pattern
 Pattern is the Skeleton of desired shape, generally mounted on the metal
base.
 Skeleton is made from wooden strips and is filled with loam sand and
rammed. Extra sand is removed by stickle.
 Cores are required if necessary.
 Applicable for large castings and is very economical as less material costs.
APPLICATION:
Large castings such as turbines, water pipes, L-bends etc.
 10) Segmental pattern
 It is used for preparing circular castings.
 In this type it does not revolve continuously like sweep pattern,
instead prepares the mould by parts.
 It completes one portion of the mold and then moves to next
position to make the next part of the mold and so on till the mold is
completed.
APPLICATIONS:
Used for circular
work like rings, gears,
wheels, rims, pulleys etc.
 11) Shell pattern
A pattern which has Hollow hole in it. only the outer shape is used for making
the mould.
The core is prepared inner surface of the pattern itself.

Hole

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 Pattern Allowances
To compensate for any dimensional and structural changes which
will happen during the casting or patterning process, allowances are
usually made in the pattern.

1) Shrinkage allowance

2) Draft or Taper allowance

3) Machining or finishing allowance

4) Distortion or Camber allowance

5) Rapping or shake allowance

Shrinkage Allowance

a) Liquid Shrinkage:
Shrinkage Allowance

b) Solid Shrinkage:
Shrinkage Allowance Various Metals
1) Shrinkage Allowance:

 Almost all cast metals shrink or contract volumetrically on cooling.

The metal shrinkage is of two types:

a) Liquid Shrinkage: it refers to the reduction in volume when the

metal changes from liquid state to solid state at the solidus
temperature. To account for this shrinkage; riser, which feed the liquid
metal to the casting, are provided in the mold.

b) Solid Shrinkage: it refers to the reduction in volume caused when

metal loses temperature in solid state. To account for this, shrinkage
allowance is provided on the patterns.
2) Draft or Taper Allowance:

 By draft is meant the taper provided by the pattern

maker on all vertical surfaces of the pattern so that it can

be removed from the sand without tearing away the
sides of the sand mold and without excessive rapping by
the molder
Draft or Taper Allowance:
 Figure shows a pattern having no draft allowance being
removed from the pattern. In this case, till the pattern is
completely lifted out, its sides will remain in contact with
the walls of the mold, thus tending to break it.

Pattern Having No Draft on Vertical Edges

Draft or Taper Allowance:
 The given figure is an illustration of a pattern having
proper draft allowance. Here, the moment the pattern
lifting commences, all of its surfaces are well away from
the sand surface. Thus the pattern can be removed
without damaging the mold cavity.

Pattern Having Draft on Vertical Edges

Draft Allowances of Various Metals
3) Machining or Finish Allowance:
 The finish and accuracy achieved in sand casting are
generally poor and therefore when the casting is
functionally required to be of good surface finish or
dimensionally accurate, it is generally achieved by
subsequent machining. Machining or finish allowances
are therefore added in the pattern dimension. The
amount of machining allowance to be provided is
affected by the method of molding and casting.
Machining or Finish Allowance
 The amount of machining allowance is also affected by the size and
shape of the casting; the casting orientation; the metal; and the
degree of accuracy and finish required.
Machining Allowances of Various Metals
4) Distortion or Camber Allowance:
 Sometimes castings get distorted, during solidification, due to
their typical shape. For example, if the casting has the form of
the letter U, V, T, or L etc. it will tend to contract at the closed
end causing the vertical legs to look slightly inclined.
 This can be prevented by making the legs of the U, V, T, or L
shaped pattern converge slightly (inward) so that the casting
after distortion will have its sides vertical.
 The distortion in casting may occur due to internal stresses.
These internal stresses are caused on account of unequal
cooling of different section o f the casting and hindered
contraction.
Distortions in Casting:
5) Rapping or shake allowance:
 Before the withdrawal from the sand mold, the pattern is rapped all

around the vertical faces to enlarge the mold cavity slightly, which
facilitate its removal. Since it enlarges the final casting made, it is
desirable that the original pattern dimension should be reduced to
account for this increase.

 There is no sure way of quantifying this allowance, since it is highly

dependent on the foundry personnel practice involved. It is a

negative allowance and is to be applied only to those dimensions
that are parallel to the parting plane.
Advantages and disadvantages of foundry process:
Advantages:
1) It is one of most versatile manufacturing processes.
2) Casting provide uniform directional properties.
3) Intricate shaped parts can be produced.
4) Very complicated parts can be cast in one piece.
5) Any size of casting can be produced up to 200 tons.
6) Due to small cooling rate from all directions, the properties of
casting are same in all directions.
Disadvantages:
1) It is only economical for mass production.
2) Sand casting process cannot produce parts in accurate sizes.
3) In sand casting process, the surface finish is less.
4) In some casting processes skilled operators are required.
5) Internal defects are not identified easily.
Moulding Sand:

Constituents or Ingredients or composition of Moulding Sand:

1) Silica sand – It is the major constituent of molding sand containing 80 to 90%
silicon oxide.

2) Binder (clay) – The purpose of binder is to provide bonding action and strength.
The binder decreases permeability. Clay is mostly used as a binder. The amount of
clay content varies from 6 to 10%.

3) Water (Moisture)– Water helps clay to develop plasticity and strength. The
water is absorbed by the clay up to a certain limit. The additional water acts as
lubricant to make the sand more moldable but the strength may decrease.

4) Additives – Some more additives are also there to improve the specific
properties like mouldability, collapsibility, surface finish and hot strength of
molding sand. Example – silica flour, wood flour, iron oxide, fuel oil, graphite,
molasses, perlite etc.
 Types of Moulding Sands:
1) Green sand:
 It is a sand used in wet
condition for making the mould.
It is a mixture of silica sand with
15-25 % clay and 6-8 % water.

 Green sand moulds are not dried,

when the metal poured in them in the wet condition.
 Being damp the sand can be easily worked with hand to give it
any desired shape.
 This sand is used for producing small to medium sized moulds
which are not very complex.
2) Dry sand:
 Dry sand is the green sand that dried or baked after
preparing the mould.
 Drying sand gives strength to the mould so that it
used for larger castings.
3) Loam sand:
 Loam sand containing up to 50 % clay which
worked to the consistency of builder mortar.
 This sand used for moulds for making very heavy
castings usually with the help of sweeps and skeleton
patterns.
4) Facing sand:
 Facing sand is the sand which covers the pattern all around it. The
remaining box filled with ordinary floor sand.
 Facing sand forms the face of the mould and comes in direct contact
with the molten metal when it poured.
 High strength and refractoriness required for this sand.
 It made of silica sand and clay without the addition of any used
sand.
 Graphite, mollases, plumbago
etc. added additionally to the
facing sand. Thickness of the
sand layer varies from
20 to 30 mm.
5) Backing (black) sand:
 Backing sand is the bulk sands, used to back up beside the facing
sand and to fill up remaining volume of the flask.
 It consists mainly of old, repeatedly used moulding sand which is
generally black in colour due to addition of coal dust and burning on
contact with hot metal.
 Because of the colour, backing sand also called as black sand.
 The main purpose for the use of backing sand is to reduce the cost
of moulding.
6) System sand:
 This is the sand used in mechanized foundries for filling the entire
flask.
 No separate facing sand in used in a mechanized foundry.
 Sand, cleaned and reactivated by the addition of water and binders
used to fill the flask. Because of the absence of any fresh sand, system
sand must have more strength, permeability and refractoriness
compared to backing sand.
7) Parting sand:
 This sand used during making of the mould to ensure that, green
sand does not stick to the pattern. The cope and drag parts easily
separated for removing the pattern without causing any damage to the
mould.
 Parting sand consists of fine grained clay, free dried silica sand, sea
sand or burnt sand with some parting compounds.
 The parting compounds used include charcoal, ground bone and
limestone, groundnut
shells, talc and calcium
phosphate.
8) Core sand:
 Core sand is the sand used for making cores. This is silica sand
mixed with core oil. That is why it is also called as oil sand.
 The core oil consists of linseed oil, resin, light mineral oil with some
binders.
 For larger cores, sometimes pitch / flour and water used in saving
the cost.
Properties of Moulding sand:
1) Porosity /Permeability:
During pouring and subsequent solidification of a casting, a large amount of gases
and steam is generated. These gases are those that have been absorbed by the metal
during melting, air absorbed from the atmosphere and the steam generated by the
molding and core sand. If these gases are not allowed to escape from the mold, they
would be entrapped inside the casting and cause casting defects. To overcome this
problem the molding material must be porous. Proper venting of the mold also
helps in escaping the gases that are generated inside the mold cavity.

2) Flowability:
Flowability or plasticity is the property of the sand to respond to the moulding
process so that when rammed it will flow all around the pattern and take the desired
mould shape. High flowability of sand is desirable for the sand to get compacted to
a uniform density and to get good impression of the pattern in the mould.

3) Collapsibility:
The molding sand should also have collapsibility so that during the contraction of
the solidified casting it does not provide any resistance, which may result in cracks
in the castings.
Properties of Moulding sand continued………
4) Adhesiveness:
It is the important property of the moulding sand and it is defined as the sand
particles must be capable of adhering to another body, then only the sand should
be easily attach itself with the sides of the moulding box and give easy of lifting
and turning the box when filled with the stand.

5) Cohesiveness:
The sand particles should have ability to stick together. Cohesion must be retained
when the mould is filled with molten metal and it should not wash away during
pouring. Cohesiveness depends upon the shape and size of grain. It also depends
upon distribution of binding material in the sand.

6) Refractoriness:
It is the ability of the molding material to resist the temperature of the liquid
metal to be poured so that it does not get fused with the metal. The refractoriness
of the silica sand is highest.

7) Chemical resistivity:
The sand should not chemically react with the molten metal so that it can be used
for long time to make mould.
 Core:
A core is a device used in casting and moulding processes to produce
internal cavities. The core is normally a disposable item that is
destroyed to get it out of the piece. They are most commonly used in
sand casting, but are also used in injection moulding.
Types of cores:
The cores used in foundries are classified
according to their material and shape and position in the
mold. The common types of cores are:
classification according to classification according to
their material their shape and position

a) Sand Core : a)Horizontal core

i)Green Sand Core b) Vertical core

ii)Dry Sand Core c) Balanced core

i)Core Sand Core d) Hanging core

2) Chill or Metal Core e) cover core

a)Horizontal core:
 The most common type.
 Usually in a cylindrical form laid horizontally in the mold.
 Ends of core rest in seats provided by the core prints on pattern.
 Horizontal core may be made in one piece using a split core box, or
in two halves
using a half core
box.
b) Vertical core:
 The core is placed a long a vertical axis in the mould.
 The ends of the core at top and the bottom fit into the seats provided in the
cope and drag halves of the mold.
 Both horizontal and
vertical cores are used
more frequently than
other cores in the foundry
work. For this reason they
are called stock cores and
are kept ready in various
diameter sand lengths.
C) Balanced core:
 Balanced core is suitable when the casting has an opening only on
one side and only one core print is available on the pattern.
 Core print in such cases should be sufficiently large to support the
weight of the Core, which extends into the mold cavity, and it
should be able to withstand the force
of buoyancy of the melt
surrounding it.
 To support core in
mold cavity, chaplets
are often inserted.
d) Hanging Core:
 If the core hangs from the cope and does not have any support
at the bottom in the drag, it is referred to as a hanging core.
 In this case, it may be necessary to fasten the core with a wire
or rod, which extends through the cope to a fastening on the
top side of the cope.
e) cover core:
 Cover core is used when the entire pattern is rammed in
the drag and the core is required to be suspended from
the top of the mold.
 Unlike the balanced core, which extends horizontally in
the mold cavity, the cover core stretches vertically
downwards.
Methods of Core Making (Steps):
-Preparation of Core Sand Mix
-Core Making
Core Drying or Baking
-Core Finishing
Melting Practices and Furnaces:
1) Cupola Furnace:
Cupola Furnace Continued…..
 Gating System:
-Gating systems are channels through which molten metal flows into the die cavity.
-The primary purpose is to ensure a smooth and complete flow between the ladle and the cavity of
the mold.

Elements of Gating system:

a) Pouring Basin
b) Sprue
c) Sprue Well (choke)
d) Runner
e) Ingate
f) Riser
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