DEFECTS IN CASTING

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 CASTING DEFECTS
•
Casting defects may be defined as those characteristics
that create a deficiency or imperfection contrary to the
quality specifications imposed by the design and the
service requirements.
•
Defects in castings may be of three basic types
(i) Major defects, which cannot be rectified, resulting in
rejection of the casting and total losses
(ii) Defects that can be remedied but whose cost of repair may
not justify the salvage attempt
(iii) Minor defects, which clearly allow the castings to be
economically salvaged and thereby leave a responsible
margin for profit

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 Reasons for Casting Defects

•
Unsuitable or unsatisfactory raw materials used in
moulding, core making or casting
•
The application of unsatisfactory moulding or casting
practice by the individual worker or incorrect advice by the
supervisor
•
The use of improper tools , equipment, appliances or
patterns
•
Unprofessional management policies relating to the fixing
of incentive plans and setting up of production procedures,
faulty organisation and poor work discipline or lack of
training

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 Types of Casting Defects

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 SHIFT
•
Results in a mis-match of the sections of a casting at a
parting line.
•
Usually easy to identify
•
Defect cannot be rectified if mis-matching is not within the
allowable variation and the casting has to be scrapped
•
This defect can be prevented by ensuring proper alignment
of the pattern or die parts, moulding boxes, correct
mounting of patterns on pattern plates and checking of
pattern flasks, locating pins, etc. before use.

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 WARPED CASTING
•
Warpage is an undesirable deformation in a casting which
occurs during or after solidification.
•
Large and flat sections or intersecting sections are prone to
warpage
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Warpage is due to
1. incorrectly placed rib
2. Too small flasks, which may cause rapid cooling of the
edges or ends of casting
3. Weak flasks, which may allow movement of the sand
mould walls
4. Insufficient gating system, which may not allow rapid
pouring of metal
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Non provision of camber allowance on the pattern
 SWELL
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Swell is an enlargement of the mould cavity by metal
pressure
•
It results in localised or overall enlargement of the casting
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Caused by insufficient ramming of sand and rapid pouring
of molten metal
•
Insufficient weighting of the moulds during pouring may
also cause the cope to lift, giving a swell

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 FIN
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Fin is a thin projection of metal, not intended as part of the
casting.
•
Usually occur at the parting of the mould or core section
•
Fins are raised due to following reasons
a) incorrect assembly of moulds and cores.
b) shorter length of “kiss core”.
c) high metal pressure due to too long sprue.
d) insufficient weighting of the moulds
e) improper clamping of flask

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 BLOWHOLE
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Blowholes are smooth and round holes clearly perceptible
on the surface of the casting
•
Blowholes may be either in the form of a cluster of a large
number of small holes having a diameter of about 3mm or
less or in the form of one large and smooth depression.
•
Caused in a casting by the generation and/or accumulation
of gas or entrapped air in the mould cavity
•
Blowholes are due to following reasons
i. Low permeability of land
ii. High moisture content of sand
iii. Too fineness of sand
iv. Sand is rammed too hard
Insufficient venting
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 PINHOLES
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Pinholes are numerous holes of small diameter, usually less
than 2mm, visible on the surface of the casting
•
Caused by the absorption of hydrogen or carbon monoxide
when the moisture content of sand is high or when steel is
poured from wet ladles or is not sufficiently degasified.
•
This defect can be minimised by using good melting and
fluxing practices, by reducing the moisture content of the
moulding sand and increased its permeability, and by
promoting a faster rate of solidification.

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 GAS HOLES
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Gas holes are those holes that appear when the surface of
the casting is machined or when the casting is cut into
sections.
•
If the core prints are of inadequate size, gas cannot escape
from the mould as fast as it generates in the core. The
accumulation of gas from the core may give rise to gas
holes in the casting.
•
Gas holes may also raised due to the following reason
i. Faulty and poor quality of metal
ii. Lack of controlled solidification
iii. Excessively moist sand

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 SHRINKAGE CAVITY
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Shrinkage cavity is a void or depression in the casting.
•
It is caused mainly by following reasons
I. uncontrolled and haphazard solidification of the metal
II. Wrong location or improperly sized gating system
III. Inadequate risers
IV. Poor design of casting
V. High pouring temparature
•.
The defect can be eliminated by applying the principals of
directional solidification in mould design and by judicious
use of chills, denseners and padding.

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 POROSITY
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Porosity is due to gas formation and gas absorption by the
metal while it is poured. Metal may dissolve some gas or air
from the mould or core faces. These gases are liberated
later when the metal cools, leaving behind porosity in the
casting.
•
Porosity defect may lead to leaking castings and reduce
pressure tightness.
•
Adequate fluxing of metal and controlling the amount of gas
producing materials in the moulding and core making sand
mixes can help in minimising this defect

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 DROPS
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When the upper surface of the mould cracks and pieces of
sand fall into the molten metal, “drop” occurs
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Drops are due to following reasons
I. Sand having low green strength
II. Soft ramming
III. Insufficient reinforcement of the mould

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 DIRT
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Dirt generally appears in the form of foreign particles and
sand embedded on the surface of casting
•
Causes for this defects may be
a. Crushing of mould due to mishandling
b. Sand wash when the metal is poured because of low
strength
c. Soft ramming
d. Insufficient fluxing of molten metal
e. Presence of slag in the mould due to its incomplete
separation from molten metal.

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 METAL PENETRATION AND
ROUGH SURFACES
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Appears as an uneven and rough surface of the casting.
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It may be caused when
a. Sand has too high permeability
b. Large grain size of sand
c. Low strength of sand
d. Soft ramming

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 SLAG HOLES
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Slag holes are smooth depressions or cavities on the upper
surface of the casting or near it, usually near in-gates.
•
Produced when slag the slag tends to find the way in to the
mould cavity along with the molten metal.
•
Incorrect gating system and poor fluxing of metal are
mainly responsible for this defect.

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 SCABS
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Scabs are sort of projection on the casting which occur
when a portion of the mould face or core lifts and the metal
flows beneath in a thin layer.
•
Scabs can be recognised as rough, irregular projections on
the surface containing embeddec sand
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Scab are of two types
i. Expansion scab
ii. Erosion scab

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 EXPANSION SCAB
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Caused by the expansion of surface layers of the sand
mould.
•
It may occur on any part of the mould, but more often it is
found where the sand gets strongly heated, such as top
face of the mould which gets heated first by the radiation of
heat from the molten metal rising upwards and then by
actual contact with the molten metal.
•
Heating by radiation causes a thin outer layer of sand to dry
up and expand, leaving the interior green. This local
expansion subjects the layer to severe and it eventually
cracks.

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 EROSION SCAB
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An erosion scab may occur where metal has been agitated
or has partly eroded the sand, leaving behind a solid mass
of sand and metal at the spot where erosion took place.
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The sand that is eroded may find its way to the top part of
the mould as dirt inclusion
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Erosion scabs may caused by
i. Hard and uneven ramming
ii. Improper selection of gates
iii. High moisture content in sand
iv. Too low permeability of sand
v. Intermittent pouring of metal
vi. Insufficiently baked cores or moulds.
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 HOT TEARS
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Hot tears are internal or external ragged discontinuities or
cracks on the casting surface, caused by hindered
contraction occurring immediately after the metal has
solidified.
•
Hot tears are produced when
i. Casting is poorly designed
ii. Chills are improperly placed
iii. Mould and core have poor collapsibility
iv. Ramming is too hard
v. Incorrect pouring temperatures
vi. Improper placements of gates and risers
•.
Hot tears can be prevented by
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 COLD CRACKS
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Cold cracks are similar in appearance and formation to hot
tears
•
Breaks are less ragged and the cracks occur at temperature
b.elow430oC.

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 COLD SHUT & MIS-RUN
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A cold shut is a defect in which is formed a discontinuity
due to the imperfect fusion of two streams of metal in
mould cavity.
•
The defect may appear like a crack or seam with smooth
rounded edges.
•
A mis –run casting is one that remains incomplete due to
the failure of metal to fill the entire mould cavity.
•
Reasons for cold shut or mis-run may be
i. Too thin sections and wall thickness
ii. Improper gating systems
iii. Damaged patterns
iv. slow and intermittent pouring
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