Pattern

Design and
Manufactur
e

IPE 205
Manufacturin
g Process I

 Pattern is a replica of the object to be cast, used to

Pattern

prepare the cavity into which molten material will be

poured during the casting process.
Function of the Pattern:
1. A pattern is used to make a mold cavity
2. The pattern is like the original object with
some dimensional allowances.
3. Runner, gates, and risers used for feeding
molten metal in the mold cavity may be a part
of the pattern.
4. Proper patterns with good surface finish
reduce casting defects.
5. A properly constructed pattern minimizes the
overall cost
The imp. Properties which the pattern material must
possess are:
6. Light in weight
7. Strong, hard and durable
8. Resistant to wear and corrosion

Pattern
Materials

The following material are used for making pattern:

Wood
Advantages: (i) Easily available (ii) Cheap (iii) Light in
weight (iv) Easy to work and (iv) Good finish.
Disadvantages: (i) readily affected by moisture (i)
wear out quickly by sand abrasion (iii) warp badly if
not stored properly (iv) less strength, tends to break
on miss-handling (v) shape changes when dries out
and (vi) does not last long
Metals: Aluminium, Cast iron, Brass, White metal etc.
Advantages: (i) no effect of moisture and (ii) no
cracking, bending etc. due to improper storing
Disadvantages: (i) less easy to shape and work (ii)
heavy in weight (iii) costly and (iv) affected by rust
or corrosion
Plastic
Wax
Rubbers

Types of
Patterns

Variety of patters are used in casting and the choice

depends on the configuration of casting and number of
casting required. The type of pattern selected for a
particular casting will depends on the following several
conditions:
Shape and size of casting
Number of casting required
Method of molding used
Difficulty of the molding operation.
Characteristics of castings
Different
types
of
patterns are
Sweep pattern
Single piece pattern
Cope
and drag
Split pattern
pattern
Skeleton pattern
Loose piece pattern
Shell pattern
Gated pattern
Follow
Match plate pattern
board
16/4

Solid Pattern
Single solid piece without any subparts or joints
Most simple of all and is used to make simple shapes
Determining the parting line between cope and drag is
more difficult for the foundry worker.

Split Pattern
Shapes which are more intricate are made out of 2
or more pieces
When placed in the mold properly the plane at which
the two parts are assembled should coincide with the
parting line of the mold
Aligned together with the help of dowel pins
Mold setup is easier since the patterns placement
relative to the parting line of the mold is
predetermined

Match Plate Pattern

Two piece pattern representing the casting, and divided
at the parting line, similar to the split pattern
Each of the parts is mounted on a plate. The plates come
together to assemble the pattern for the casting process
More proficient and makes alignment of the pattern in
the mold quick and accurate
Used in high production industry runs for casting
manufacture.

Cope and Drag Pattern

Two piece pattern representing the casting and divided at

the parting line. Each of the two halves is mounted on a
plate for easy alignment of the pattern and mold.
In match plate pattern the two halves are mounted
together, where as in the cope and drag pattern the two
halves are separate
The cope and drag pattern enables the cope section of
the mold, and the drag section of the mold to be created
separately and latter assembled before the pouring of the
casting.

Gated Pattern
Gated pattern are used for mass production of small
castings. The passage through which the molten metal
flows into the mold is called gate.
In mass production if the gate is made by hand for every
small mold, it will take a lot of time. Therefore, a number
of small castings are produced in a single multi-cavity
mold by joining a number of patterns through gates.

Sweeping
Pattern
The sweep pattern
are used
to prepare mold of
symmetrical and regular shapes particularly in large
sizes.
It could be economical to save the money and efforts
of making the full pattern
A sweep pattern consists of a wooden board fixed to
metal rod. The outer contour of the board is similar to
the contour of the castings.
Cavity in such a case could be made by sweeping the
pattern (which is a part of the full shape) around a
central axis

Loose piece pattern

Loose piece pattern is made of loose component
pieces assembled together by dowel pins.
The whole pattern can be removed from the sand
mold by taking out all the component pieces one by
one.
The main piece is usually removed first, after that the
separate loose pieces, which may have to be turned or
moved before taking out, are removed.

Parting Line

In a two-part mold, the upper half, including the top

half of the pattern, flask, and core is called cope and
the lower half is called drag.
The parting line or the parting surface is line or
surface that separates the cope and drag.
Factors, which determine the number of parting
lines required, are:
Geometry of the component to be molded.
Number of cavities required within the mold
sections.
The nature of the runner system.
The kind of gating required and
The method of ejecting the final product from its
mold

Figure: Guidelines of the parting line

Process of Pattern
Design
Pattern allowances
Shrinkage or contraction
allowance
Draft or taper allowance
Machining or finish allowance
Distortion or camber allowance
Shaking or Rapping allowance
Fillets
Cores

Shrinkage or Contraction Allowance

The molten metal cools and solidifies it will begin to
contract. This means that although the molten metal
completely filled up a mold, by the time the casting was
cold, the casting is smaller than the mold.
Pattern must be made larger than the design drawing.
The difference between the size or dimensions of the
desired casting and the size of the pattern used to
create the mold is called a shrinkage allowance.
A master pattern from which metal patterns are cast
must have double shrinkage allowance.

Shrinkage allowance for metal casting varies by the

type of metal.
Shrinkage allowance for metal casting is linear
meaning that these allowances apply in every
direction.
Other factors on which shrinkage in the casting
depends:

Dimension of the casting

Design and intricacy of castings
Resistance of mold to shrinkage
Molding material used
Method of molding used
Pouring temperature of the molten metal.

Table: Rate of Contraction of Various Metals for Shrinkage Allowanc

Material

Dimension

Grey Cast Iron

Up to 2 feet
2 feet to 4 feet
over 4 feet

Shrinkage
allowance (inch/ft)
0.125
0.105
0.083

Cast Steel

Up to 2 feet
2 feet to 6 feet
over 6 feet

0.251
0.191
0.155

Aluminum

Up to 4 feet
4 feet to 6 feet
over 6 feet

0.155
0.143
0.125

Up to 4 feet
Over 4 feet

0.173
0.155

Magnesium

Machining or Finishing Allowance

Machining allowance is the amount by which
dimensions on a casting are made oversize to provide
stock for machining
This added amount of extra material depends
Machining operation
Characteristics of metal
Methods of casting
Size and shape of the casting
Degree of finish required in casting
Metal
Cast iron

Cast steel

Non ferrous

Dimension (inch) Allowance (inch)

Up to 12
0.12
12 to 20
0.20
20 to 40
0.25
Up to 6
0.12
6 to 20
0.25
20 to 40
0.30
Up to 8
0.09
8 to 12
0.12
12 to 40
0.16

The casting shown is to be made in cast iron using a

wooden pattern. Assuming only machining allowance,
calculate the dimension of the pattern. All Dimensions
are in Inches

For dimension
0.20 inch
For dimension
0.20 inch
For dimension
0.12 inch
For dimension
0.12 inch

18 inch, allowance =
14 inch, allowance =
8 inch, allowance =
6 inch, allowance =

Draft or Taper Allowance

The pattern needs to incorporate suitable allowances for draft,

which means that its sides are tapered so that when it is pulled
from the sand, it will tend not to drag sand out of place along with
it. Its value lies between 0.50-30 depending upon the size of the
external faces. The amount of the draft needed depends on the
following factors:
Shape of the pattern
Length of the vertical side of the pattern
Method of molding
Intricacy of the pattern
A pattern having no draft allowance being removed from the
mold. 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.

A pattern having proper draft allowance, 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
material

Wood

Metal and
plastic

Height of the
given surface
(inch)

Draft angle
(External
surface)

Draft angle
(Internal
surface)

1
1 to 2
2 to 4
4 to 8
8 to 32
1
1 to 2
2 to 4
4 to 8
8 to 32

3.00
1.50
1.00
0.75
0.50
1.50
1.00
0.75
0.50
0.50

3.00
2.50
1.50
1.00
1.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
1.00
0.75

Distortion or camber Allowance

It is found that big castings tend to warp or distort during

the cooling period due to their size, shape and type of
metal. Uneven shrinkage also causes distortion. To
overcome this effect, the pattern is made initially
distorted in opposite direction. Such an allowances
depends on the judgment and experience of the pattern
maker who knows the shrinkage characteristics of the
metal.

16/22

Shaking or Rapping
Allowance

When the pattern is rapped or shaken for easy

removal from the cavity, it is found the cavity in the
mold is slightly increased in size. To compensate this
increase, the pattern should be initially made slightly
smaller. In small and medium sized castings, this
allowance can be ignored, but in large sized castings
or in those that must fit together without machining
or where high precision is required, shaking allowance
is provided by making the pattern slightly smaller.

Fillets
The sharp edges are rounded for the process of
molding and filling
They vary in size from 3 to 25 mm (1/8 to 1 in.) radius
depending on size, shape and material of the casting.

Cores
Cores form the internal geometry of a casting.
Cores are also used for producing complex features
which cannot be produced otherwise.
Cores are placed in the mold, and remain there
during the pouring phase of the manufacturing process.
The metal casting will solidify around the core.
Cores must be strong and permeable

 Sometimes a reinforcing material will be placed in a sand

casting core to enhance strength.
Core may be manufactured with vents to facilitate the
removal of gases.

Core prints are used to support the core inside the

mold cavity. The core print is an added projection on
the pattern and it forms a seat in the mold on which
the sand core rests during pouring of the mold.

The core print must be of adequate size and shape so

that it can support the weight of the core during the
casting operation. Depending upon the requirement a
core can be placed horizontal, vertical and can be
hanged inside the mold cavity.

Core Design Analysis

To make the core stay in place during the process of
molding assembly, the print must balance the body.
While the process of mould filling is working, the print
must not shift.
Minimized diversion of the core is to be achieved.
Maximized heat transfer from the core print to the
mould is required.
The inner gases should be allowed to be produced
within the core to flee away to the mould.
To prevent incorrect units, uneven holes should have
full proof prints.

Pattern Design Suggestions

Pattern Design Suggestions