DESIGN & FABRICATION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC SAND RAMMMER

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 OVERVIEW
Automation can be achieved through hydraulics, pneumatics, robotics,
electromechanical, etc., of these sources, electromagnetic form an attractive medium for low
cost automation. The main advantage of all electromagnetic systems is; economy and
simplicity. Automation plays an important role in production. To operate this rammer a
240volts DC with 30amps current is needed. A butt which is attached to the ramming bottom
of rammer rod does the operation of ramming. The “metal magnetic force” (MMF) is
generated when power supply is activated around the copper coil winded solenoid. The
rammer is handled by an operator just by moving it over the moulding sand plasticine along
both X and Y -axis as desired. The butt or rammer plate rams sand at places moved and the
sand is uniformly rammed. This rammer reduces the ramming time and labour. Due to this
cost is reduced considerably. So this machine finds vital application in foundries.
Sand moulding is one of the important metals forming process in manufacturing
components for various applications industry. Casting of any size and shape can be made
accurately.
Automation in this field helps to improve the foundry environment and accuracy of
the cast parts. Efficiency of moulding is affected by various parameters like permeability,
collapsibility, adhesiveness etc., so it is a must to avoid defects in casting.
The defects occur in sand castings post a great problem in foundry. On account of
defects more than 10% castings are rejected. Due to improper ramming the following defects
may occur in castings.
1. BLOW HOLES – due to very hard ramming
2. SCAB – due to veeven ramming of sand
3. SWELL – due to very soft ramming
4. METAL PENETRATION – due to soft ramming
5. HOT TEAR – due to hard ramming
6. INCLUSIONS – due to soft ramming
7. DROPS – due to soft ramming

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Even though skilled labour is employed for ramming operation, the packing of moulding will
not be uniform throughout the moulding box.
So we have selected the idea of Design & fabricating of “ELECTROMAGNETIC
SAND RAMER”. This rammer is operated electromagnetically. By using this rammer
moulding sand will be packed evenly or uniformly throughout the box.

The electromagnetic sand Ramer is used for ramming the sand uniformly around the pattern.
To operate this rammer an electromagnetic solenoid is needed. The details have been
mentioned below. A butt which is attached to the bottom of the solenoid rod does the
operation of ramming. The butt rams the sand at places moved and the sand is uniformly
rammed. This rammer reduces the ramming time and labour. Due to this the cost is reduced
considerably. So this machine finds application in foundries.

Casting is a manufacturing process by which a liquid material is (usually) poured

into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to
solidify. The solid casting is then ejected or broken out to complete the process. Casting may
be used to form hot liquid metals or various materials that cold set after mixing of
components (such as epoxy, concrete, plaster and clay). Casting is most often used for
making complex shapes that would be otherwise difficult or uneconomical to make by other
methods.

1.2 Sand casting:

It is also known as sand molded casting, is a metal casting process characterized by

using sand as the mold material. The term "sand casting" can also refer to an object produced
via the sand casting process.

 Sand castings are produced in specialized factories called foundries. Over 70% of all

metal castings are produced via sand casting process.
 Sand casting is relatively cheap and sufficiently refractory even for steel foundry use.
In addition to the sand, a suitable bonding agent (usually clay) is mixed or occurs
with the sand.

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 The mixture is moistened, typically with water, but sometimes with other substances,
to develop the strength and plasticity of the clay and to make the aggregate suitable
for molding.
 The sand is typically contained in a system of frames or mold boxes known as a flask.
The mold cavities and gate system are created by compacting the sand around
models, or patterns, or carved directly into the sand

Casting process involving the use of sand as a moulding medium is known as sand
moulding.

1.3 Machine moulding process:

 Moulding can be done manually or by machine.  Based on the method used to make
mould.  It may be classified into two types known as machine moulding and hand
moulding. 
 Hand moulding is suitable for small size castings. Moreover, skilled worker is needed
to make mould.  It is also a delaying process.
 So, moulding is done by machine with high speed, accuracy and mass production is
possible.  When the moulding is carried out by machine, first the sand is filled in the
box by the machine and it removes the pattern. 

1.4 Sand Rammer:

A sand rammer is a piece of equipment used in foundry sand testing to make test
specimen of molding sand by compacting bulk material by free fixed height drop of fixed
weight for 3 times. It is also used to determine compact ability of sands by using special
specimen tubes and a linear scale.
Mechanism
Sand rammer consists of calibrated sliding weight actuated by cam, a shallow cup to
accommodate specimen tube below ram head, a specimen stripper to strip compacted
specimen out of specimen tube, a specimen tube to prepare the standard specimen of 50 mm
diameter by 50 mm height or 2 inch diameter by 2 inch height for an AFS standard specimen.

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1.5 Conventional Ramming Machine:

The cam is actuated by a user by rotating the handle, causing a cam to lift the weight
and let it fall freely on the frame attached to the ram head. This produces a standard
compacting action to a pre-measured amount of sand as shown in Fig.1.1

Variety of standard specimen for Green Sand and Silicate based (CO2) sand are prepared
using a sand rammer along with accessories. The sand rammer machine can be used to
measure compatibility of prepared sand by filling the specimen tube with prepared sand
so that it is level with the top of the tube.

The tube is then placed under the ram head in the shallow cup and rammed three times.
Compatibility in percentage is then calculated from the resultant height of the sand inside
the specimen tube.

Fig.1.1 Manual rammer machine

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1.6 Electromagnetic theory

Danish scientist Hans Christian’s orsted discovered in 1820 that electric currents create

magnetic fields. British scientist William Sturgeon invented the electromagnet in 1824. His
first electromagnet was a horseshoe-shaped piece of iron that was wrapped with about 18
turns of bare copper wire (insulated wire didn't exist yet). The iron was varnished to insulate
it from the windings. When a current was passed through the coil, the iron became
magnetized and attracted other pieces of iron; when the current was stopped, it lost
magnetization.

1.6.1 An Electromagnet

Fig 1.2 shows a simple electromagnet consisting of a coil of insulated wire wrapped around
an iron core. A core of ferromagnetic material like iron serves to increase the magnetic field
created. The strength of magnetic field generated is proportional to the amount of current
through the winding an electromagnet is a type of magnet in which the magnetic field is
produced by an electric current. The magnetic field disappears when the current is turned off.
Electromagnets usually consist of a large number of closely spaced turns of wire that create
the magnetic field. The wire turns are often wound around a magnetic core made from
a ferromagnetic material such as iron; the magnetic core concentrates the magnetic flux and
makes a more powerful magnet.

Fig1.2 Construction of a solenoid

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1.6.2 Electromagnetism
It is a branch of physics which involves the study of the electromagnetic force, a
type of physical interaction that occurs between electrically charged particles. The
electromagnetic force usually shows electromagnetic fields, such as electric fields, magnetic
fields, and light. The electromagnetic force is one of the fundamental interactions in nature.
The other three fundamental interactions are the strong interaction, the weak interaction,
and gravitation.

Fig: 1.3 Magnetic field produced by a

solenoid (coil of wire). This figure
shows a cross section through the center
of the coil. The crosses are wires in
which current is moving into the page;
the dots are wires in which current is
moving up out of the page

Fig 1.3 magnetic field

1.6.3 Physics involved in magnetism

An electric current flowing in a wire creates a magnetic field around the wire, due
to Ampere's law (see drawing below). To concentrate the magnetic field, in an electromagnet
the wire is wound into a coil with many turns of wire lying side by side. The magnetic field
of all the turns of wire passes through the center of the coil, creating a strong magnetic field
there. A coil forming the shape of a straight tube (a helix) is called a solenoid.

The direction of the magnetic field through a coil of wire can be found from a form of the
right-hand rule as shown in fig 1.4. If the fingers of the right hand are curled around the coil
in the direction of current flow (conventional current, flow of positive charge) through the
windings, the thumb points in the direction of the field inside the coil. The side of the magnet
that the field lines emerge from is defined to be the North Pole. Much stronger magnetic
fields can be produced if a "magnetic core" of a soft ferromagnetic material, such as iron, is
placed inside the coil. A core can increase the magnetic field to thousands of times the

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strength of the field of the coil alone, due to the high magnetic permeability μ of the material.
This is called a ferromagnetic-core or iron-core electromagnet.

However, not all electromagnets use cores, and the very strongest electromagnets, such as
superconducting and the very high current electromagnets, cannot use them due to saturation.

Fig 1.4 Current (I) through a wire produces a magnetic field (B). The field is oriented
according to the right-hand rule.

1.6.4 Ampere’s law

The magnetic field of electromagnets in the general case is given by Ampere's Law:

Which states that an integral of the magnetizing field (H) around any closed loop of the field
is equal to the sum of the current flowing through the loop.

Another equation used, that gives the magnetic field due to each small segment of current, is
the Biot–Savart law. Computing the magnetic field and force exerted by ferromagnetic
materials is difficult for two reasons. First, because the strength of the field varies from point
to point in a complicated way, particularly outside the core and in air gaps, where fringing
fields and leakage flux must be considered. Second, because the magnetic field B and force
are nonlinear functions of the current, depending on the nonlinear relation between B and H
for the particular core material used. For precise calculations, computer programs that can
produce a model of the magnetic field using the finite element method are employed.

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1.6.5 Electromagnetic Field (EM)

An electromagnetic field, sometimes referred to as an EM field, is generated when
charged particles, such as electrons, are accelerated. All electrically charged particles are
surrounded by electric fields. Charged particles in motion produce magnetic fields. When
there is a change in velocity of a charged particle, an EM field is produced.

1.6.6 Magnetic field created by a current

The magnetic field created by an electromagnet is proportional to both the number of

turns in the winding, N, and the current in the wire, I, hence this product, NI, in ampere-turns,
is given the name magneto motive force. For an electromagnet with a single magnetic circuit,
of which length, L Core of the magnetic field path is in the core material and length Lgap is in air
gaps, Ampere's Law reduces to:

Where,

 is the magnetic permeability of the core material at the particular B field

used?

 Is the permeability of free space (or air);

This is a nonlinear equation, because the permeability of the core, μ, varies with the magnetic
field B. For an exact solution, the value of μ at the B value used must be obtained from the
core material hysteresis curve. If B is unknown, the equation must be solved by numerical.
However, if the magneto motive force is well above saturation, so the core material is in
saturation, the magnetic field will be approximately the saturation value Bsat for the material,
and won't vary much with changes in NI. For a closed magnetic circuit (no air gap) most core
materials saturate at a magneto motive force of roughly 800 ampere-turns per meter of flux
path.

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For most core materials, .So in equation (1) above, the

second term dominates. Therefore, in magnetic circuits with an air gap, the strength of the
magnetic field B depends strongly on the length of the air gap, and the length of the flux path
in the core doesn't matter much.

1.6.7 Force exerted by magnetic field

The force exerted by an electromagnet on a section of core material is:

The force equation can be derived from the energy stored in a magnetic field. Energy is force
times distance. Rearranging terms yields the equation above.

The 1.6 T limit on the field mentioned above sets a limit on the maximum force per unit core
area, or pressure, an iron-core electromagnet can exert; roughly:

In more intuitive units it's useful to remember that at 1T the magnetic pressure is
approximately 4 atmospheres, or kg/cm2.

Given core geometry, the B field needed for a given force can be calculated from (2); if it
comes out to much more than 1.6 T, a larger core must be used.

1.7 Simple solenoid

A common attractive electromagnet is a uniformly-wound solenoid and plunger. The

solenoid is a coil of wire, and the plunger is made of a material such as soft iron. Applying a
current to the solenoid applies a force to the plunger and may make it move. The plunger
stops moving when the forces upon it are balanced. For example, the forces are balanced
when the plunger is centered in the solenoid.

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The maximum uniform pull happens when one end of the plunger is at the middle of the
solenoid. An approximation for the force F is,

Where 
‘C’ is proportionality constant, 
A is the cross-sectional area of the plunger,
 n is the number of turns in the solenoid, 
I is the current through the solenoid wire, and
l is the length of the solenoid.
For units using inches, pounds force, and amperes with long, slender, solenoids, the value
of C is around 0.009 to 0.010 psi. The maximum pull is increased when a magnetic stop is
inserted into the solenoid. The stop becomes a magnet that will attract the plunger, but it adds
little to the solenoid pull when the plunger is far away, but dramatically increases the pull
when they are close. The second term within the bracket represents the same force as the
stop-less solenoid above; the first term represents the attraction between the stop and the
plunger. Some improvements can be made on the basic design as shown in Fig 1.5. The ends
of the stop and plunger are often conical. For example, the plunger may have a pointed end
that fits into a matching recess in the stop. The shape makes the solenoid's pull more uniform
as a function of separation. Another improvement is to add a magnetic return path around the
outside of the solenoid (an "iron-clad solenoid"). The magnetic return path, just as the stop,
has little impact until the air gap is small.

Fig 1.5 The basic solenoid design

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CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 AUTOMATIC PNEUMATIC RAMMING MACHINE

Moulding is one of the important metals forming process in manufacturing

components for various applications in industry. Casting of any size and shape can be made
accurately. Automation in this field helps to improve the foundry environment and accuracy
of the cast parts. Efficiency of moulding is affected by various parameters like permeability,
collapsibility, adhesiveness etc. So it is a must to avoid defects in casting. The defects occur
in sand castings post a great problem in foundry. On account of defects more than 10%
castings are rejected. Even though skilled labor is employed for ramming operation, the
packing of molding sand will not be even throughout the molding box. This rammer is
operated pneumatically. By using this rammer moulding sand will be packed evenly
throughout the box.

Fig 2.1 Proposed Work (Block diagram) & model

Source:

[Proceedings of 09th IRF International Conference, 27th July 2014, Bangalore, India, ISBN: 978-
93-84209-40-7]
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Working:

A proposed layout shows as in Fig 2.1 in which the compressed air goes to the flow
control valve. The flow control valve is used to control the flow of air. It is adjustable one.
We have to adjust the lever, so that the required pressurized air goes to the Solenoid Valve.
In our project, the solenoid valve is used as a direction control valve. This solenoid valve is
controlled by the electronic control timing unit. The ramming time is varied by adjusting the
timing (timer 555 IC) control of the electronic unit. The compressed air goes to the
pneumatic double acting cylinder. The ram is fixed at one end of the pneumatic cylinder. The
compressed air pushes the pneumatic cylinder, so that the piston moves downward by giving
air supply in one direction of pneumatic cylinder. The solenoid valve is changing the air flow
in the opposite direction by the small time delay. In this time the pneumatic cylinder piston
moves upward due to changing of the air flow direction. This air flow direction is controlled
by the solenoid valve.
The piston is machined to the specified to the specified dimension in a lathe and piston
rod is mated (tight fit) in the bore of the piston and then turned in a lathe. Surface grinding is
done on piston and piston rod. The nature of fit between cylinder and piston is Clearance fit –
running fit.

Technical parameters:
Tolerance = 32 ± 0.02
Total stroke length = 135 mm
Working stroke length = 65mm
The diameter of the piston = 32mm

Piston force,
F=PxA
= 106 x 804.352 x10-6
= 804.352 N

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2.2 Rare earth magnet:

© 2008 The Author Journal compilation © 2008 The Society of Resource Geology

Source: Resource Geology Vol. 58, No. 4: 414 – 422

By Takehisa Minowa

Magnetic Materials Research Center, Shin-Etsu Chemical, Echizen, Fukui, Japan

Fig: 2.2 (Left) High-resolution transmission electron microscopy image of Nd2Fe14B;

(Right) crystal structure with unit cell marked.

2.2.1 Neodymium (Nd) magnets:

Rare earth magnets are divided into two categories, that is, the Sm Co-type rare earth
magnets and the NdFeB-type magnets hereinafter referred to as Nd magnets. With regard to
current production, more than 98% of the rare earth magnets are the Nd magnets; it can be
said that a rare earth magnet is synonymous with an Nd magnet. In addition, there are two
types of the Nd magnets: sintered magnets and bond magnets, made by blending resin, plastic
and Nd magnetic particles. Sintered magnets, however, are predominant in production, so
this paper will describe the sintered Nd magnets shown in Fig. 2.2

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Fig 2.3 compositions in neyodemium magnets

As mentioned earlier, the subject of the present paper is the sintered Nd magnet, which is
mainly composed of Nd 2 Fe 14 B 1 inter metallic compounds. A typical composition of the
magnet is shown in Fig. 2.3

Grades
Neodymium magnets are graded according to their maximum energy product, which
relates to the magnetic flux output per unit volume. Higher values indicate stronger magnets
and range from N35 up to N52. Letters following the grade indicate maximum operating
temperatures (often the Curie temperature), which range from M (up to 100 degrees Celsius)
to EH (200 degrees Celsius).

Neodymium (Nd-Fe B Magnet) Magnet is one of very powerful magnet. Neodymium

magnet is formed by a sintering process with material powder. Neodymium (Nd-Fe-B)
magnet temperature ranges are from 700 to 2000 C, the temperature is lower than alnicos
magnets.

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Grades of Neodymium magnets:

ND-35 ,ND-38 ,ND-40 ,ND-42 ,ND-45 ,ND-48 ,ND-50 ,ND-52 ,ND-35M ,ND-38M ,
ND-40M ,ND-42M ,ND-45M ,ND-48M ,ND-50M ,ND-33H ,ND-35H ,ND-38H ,ND-40H ,
ND-42H ,ND-45H ,ND-48H ,ND-30SH ,NS-33SH ,ND-35SH ,ND-38SH ,ND-40SH ,
ND-42SH ,ND-45SH ,ND-28UH ,ND-30UH ,ND-33UH ,ND-35UH ,ND-38UH ,ND-40UH
ND-28EH ,ND-30EH ,ND-33EH ,ND-35EH ,ND-38EH
 
Features:
 Clean surface
 Super strength
 Super thin available
 
2.3 Create a Magnet using Electricity

Source:-

http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/projects/electromagnet.html

What do you need?

1. Thin wire
2. A long nail = 10p is a good size (10P = 10-penny - 3-inches, the size of the nail *)
3. Two 1.5 volt D-cell batteries, AND/OR a 12-volt lantern battery
4. Wire cutter
5. Masking tape
6. A "knife" switch – you should be able to find this in a hobby shop, electronic
supply or a hardware store. Get a DC (direct current) switch **
7. Electrical tape
8. Some paper clips

Wrap the wire that has been stripped bare very tightly around the nail - at least 50 times as

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shown in Fig 2.4.a Cut the wire leaving a few inches of wire at each end. Tape down the
end of the wire from the top of the nail to the negative pole of the battery. Make sure the
wire is touching the battery end. Open the knife switch and connect the wire from the
bottom end of the nail to the terminal on the knife switch. 

Fig 2.4.a Generating magnetism using batteries

To make poles of magnets cut another short piece of wire and tape the wire to the positive
pole of the battery as shown in Fig 4.2.b Connect the wire from the battery to other
terminals on the knife switch. Close the circuit by closing the knife switch. When you do
that, you create a circuit of electricity that passes through the wire round around the nail.
Touch the point of the nail to a couple of paper clips and watch what happens.

Fig 2.4.b Magnetic power

By using another short piece of wire and tape the wire to the positive pole of the battery
and connect the wire from the battery to other terminals on the knife switch. Close the
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circuit by closing the knife switch. When you do that, you create a circuit of electricity that
passes through the wire round around the nail.

When the electric current passes through the wire round around the nail, it creates a
magnetic field that reaches out in expanding circles. When wire carrying electricity is twisted
into a coil, it is called a solenoid.
The magnetic field twists with the coiled wire, causing the magnetic field lines to
concentrate inside the coil. This creates a powerful magnetic effect inside the coil called an
electromagnet. The magnetic field inside the coil causes the tiny magnetic fields in the metal
of the nail to be aligned in one direction (all the north poles point the same way). These little
fields all pointing in the same direction add to the coil and make the magnet strong enough to
pick up some objects. How many paper clips can you pick up by the electromagnet? What
would happen if you used two batteries and connected them together (make sure you connect
the positive to the negative poles if you're using the two batteries)? Try to see how many
paper clips you can pick up. Now, try using the nine-volt battery. (Connect the positive and
negative terminals like on the regular batteries.) How many paper clips can you pick up? Is
there any relationship between the voltage of the batteries and the number of clips you can
pick up?

2.4 Concept of EMSR:

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It consists of rammer, spring, solenoid, and frame to carry out the ramming process.
A rammer is connected to the frame along with a spring to carry out the retraction after an
each stroke. When electricity is supplied to the coil a magnetic field is developed across the
armature because of current flowing through the coil & causes armature to get energized and
attracted towards the coils. As a result it develops a force & eventually the rammer comes to
downwards and the solenoid assembly acts by circuit breaker for interval ramming process as
show in Fig 2.5 below.

Fig 2.5 Schematic representation of solenoid

The electromagnetic sand rammer can be used in foundry technology industries economically
by controlling the current supplied to produce the magnetic flux.

2.4.1 Factors affecting strength of an Electromagnet:

The strength of an electromagnet is:

1. Directly proportional to the number of turns in the coil.
2. Directly proportional to the current flowing in the coil.
3. Inversely proportional to the length of air gap between the poles.
2.4.2 Methods to Increase the strength of an electromagnet:
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We might expect that more current would make an electromagnet stronger. We would be
right, but there are two ways to increase the current, as

1. We can apply more voltage by adding a second battery.

2. We can add more turns of wire around the Iron core.

Factors affecting the force:

The magnetic force exerted by a simple electromagnet depends on three factors:

i. The amount of electric current in the wire.

ii. The amount of iron or steel in the electromagnet’s core.

iii. The number of turns in the coil.

In more sophisticated electromagnets, the shape, size, material in the core and winding
pattern of the coil also have an effect on the strength of the magnetic field produced.

2.5 Comparison of electromagnetic sand rammer over other techniques:

Current technology in process of mould making includes the use of pneumatic sand
rammer & hydraulic molding machine.

The main drawbacks of these technologies is that both of them which we found in
pneumatics and hydraulics are bulky units due to followings,

1 Hydraulic systems;

 Relatively low accuracy (compared to electrical systems with speed reduction)

 Need to power pack and hosing
 Expensive and needs too many accessories

2 Pneumatic systems;

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 No control on the position

 A bit noise, specially the compressor
 Have too many accessories like, regulation valves, filters, lubricators etc.

3 Electromagnetic systems;

 Perfect protection and reduction in cost

 Reduction in the service-interruption time
 Any current values can be available by selecting the number of turns of current coil.
 It is constant regardless of the rated current.

CHAPTER 3

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SCOPE OF PRESENT WORK

3.1OBJECTIVES
Followings are the objectives of EMSR,
 Design of electromagnetic sand rammer.

The design is based on electromagnetic principle of operation. That is, a conductor

carrying electric current generates a magnetic field around it. The system was designed
keeping the electromagnet central and making provisions for movement of the
electromagnet in 3 axes. This was accomplished by providing guide bars for the
individual movements. The electromagnet or solenoid is hallow and consists of two
bushes at each end to allow for the reciprocation of the ram. A spring is provided for the
retraction of the ram at end of working stroke.

 Fabrication.

If we consider the fabrication, it can be classified into three sections based on manufacturing
as follows;

1. Frame fabrication:- Arc welding and drilling

2. Machining of all accessories like, bushes, Guidebars, solenoid core, armature, anchor
plate, spacer sleeves, rammer etc.

3. Timer circuit which is readily made by SES technologies, mathikere Bengaluru.

The machine tools used in fabrication of our EMSR are:

a. Lathe

b. Milling machine.

c. Surface grinding machine.

d. Cylindrical grinding machine.

e. Drilling machine.

f. Welding transformer

 Electrical actuation testing.

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The solenoid is connected to DC power source for testing and also actual working.
The DC power supply is taken from a rectifier connected to a single phase 240 V AC
outlet.
The current draw was calculated to be 29 amps.

3.2METHODOLOGY
Some of important methodologies included in the fabrication of EMSR
are as follows;
 Design the prototype model of EMSR using CATIA v5/AutoCAD:
The above software’s were used for the design of the all components of sand rammer.

 Selection of materials and Fabrication of components:

Appropriate materials were selected for the fabrication based on the purpose of each
component.
All the components were fabricated by machining and welding.

 Selection of electrical and electronic accessories

The major electrical component in the project is the electromagnet which is also
called solenoid. The solenoid consists of steel core with copper wire wound on it.

The electronic components are capacitor and rectifier for rectification of AC.
Other electronic accessories include Timer circuit, relays, transformer, and
connecting wires of appropriate gauges.

 Assembly.
EMSR assembly consists of Frame as a main component to holds all accessories
together like guide bars, guide bush, anchor plate, rammer, solenoid, spring etc...

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3.2.1 Mold Hardness:

The mold hardness test provides a conventional measurement for relating in the AFS
2” height x 2” dia. specimen to properties in the mold. Fortunately the mold hardness test is
an indirect measurement of bulk density of particular sand. In addition green properties are
related to mold hardness in a way similar to that of bulk density. Hence t can be recognized
that mold hardness starting at about 60and increasing to 95 means that the bulk density of the
sand is increasing from the lower to higher values, and strength properties are also
increasing. Comparison between laboratory specimens and mold then requires that specimen
be prepared over a wide hardness range so that any mold hardness measured in a mold can be
compared with equivalent hardness in the specimen. The Fig 3.1is for example shows how
mold hardness and green compressive strength are related over the hardness range of 60 to
0.5 MH for new sand mixtures containing 3, 6, 8, and 12 percent bentonite.

Fig 3.1 Compression strength v/s Avg .mold hardness

The graph shows a progressive increase of green compressive strength with mold hardness.
The graph also demonstrate that green compressive strength at a given mold hardness
depends on clay content in unsaturated sands.

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In clay saturated sands green compressive strength reaches a maximum value at any
given mold hardness and is not further increased by increasing clay content. The upper curve
in figure therefore represents the maximum MH-GCS relationship for all clay-saturate sands,
regardless of clay type.
To correlate specimen properties with the mold, the hardness of the mold is
measured. Since most molds are no uniform in hardness, resigns must be taken on the parting
surface and on vertical surfaces at varying distance from the parting to gain a picture of
degree of mold-hardness variation within the mold. As in the case of specimen, when the
mold is rammed to high density, it will be uniformly hard. The object of good molding
technique is to activate uniform and high mold hardness throughout the mold. The practical
molding problem involved in obtaining uniformly high mold hardness will not be considered
here. It must be recognized; however that uniform properties and behavior cannot be
expected from a well-formulated synthetic molding sand, or any other sand, if it is not
molded to a reasonably high and uniform density and mold hardness.

3.2.2 Mold Hardness Test

 The mold hardness test is similar to the Brinnel hardness test used on metal
castings, where a ball or point is pushed into the mold surface to measure
‘pushback’ resistance.
 A handheld mold hardness tester Fig 3.2 is used to show the penetration of the
ball or point—the softer the mold, the greater the penetration.
 The mould hardness test indicates the resistance of the mould to damage as the
metal contacts the mould surface. An arbitrary AFS hardness scale 0-100 is
calibrated on the dial gauge.
 Usually the mould hardness ranges in between 60-90 in industrial practice.

Fig 3.2 Mould hardness tester

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3.3 SPECIFICATIONS

3.3.1 Materials Required:-

1. M.S for Frame, Solenoid, Armature, and Guide bars etc.
2. Stainless steel for Ram plate & Rammer rod.
3. Bronze for Rammer rod bushings and guide bushes.
4. M.S for Anchor plate.
5. Hardware’s like spring & fasteners.
6. EN-Series steel for Bushings.
3.3.2 Design specifications:-
1. Total stroke length = 30mm.
2. Height of the frame = 422mm.
3. Stiffness of spring = 30N/mm.
4. Height of the spring = 120mm.

3.4 Functional specification:

Flow Diagram of EMSR

SOLENOID CIRCUIT RECTIFIER

BREAKER

ARMATURE

RAMMER

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3.4.1 Functions of components used

1. Rectification:
Rectification is the process converting AC to DC.

Fig 3.3 Full wave bridge rectifier

 The rectification is carried out by full wave bridge rectifier as shown in Fig 3.3.
 The output of this rectifier is a pulsating DC.
 The pulsating DC is converted to smooth DC by connecting a capacitor in parallel to
the output.

2. Timer circuit

Main purpose to timer circuit is to actuate the solenoid valve at regular interval of time to
achieve proper ramming at the desired intervals as shown in Fig 3.4

Fig3.4 Timer circuit

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3. Solenoid control

 The solenoid is responsible for reciprocating motion of the Ram. It is electrically

powered. The electrical power is used to actuate the solenoid.
 Current technology in process of mould making includes the use of pneumatic sand
rammer & hydraulic moulding machine.
4. Armature

Armature is a Ferro magnetic material which is responsible for the movement of the ram.

5. Rammer

 It consists of rammer plate, spring, solenoid, and armature to carry out the ramming
process.

 A rammer is connected to the frame along with a spring to carry out the retraction
after an each stroke.

6. Resistor:

The function of resistor is to provide a means of current metering. Resistance and current
are inversely proportional. As the resistance changes current also changes inversely.

The resistor which is used in EMSR project is of a fixed value type i.e. 5 ohms which is
made of KANTHAL wire of 11 gauges.

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3.5 Extension springs

Definition

Extension springs are springs which absorb and store energy by offering resistance to a
pulling force. Various types of ends are used to attach the extension spring to the source of
the force.

Initial tension

Most extension springs are wound with initial tension. This is an internal force that holds the
coils tightly together. The measure of the initial tension is the load necessary to overcome the
internal force and just start coil separation. Unlike a compression spring, which has zero load
at zero deflection, an extension spring can have a preload at zero deflection. This built in load
called initial tension, can be varied within limits, decreasing as the spring index increases.

Fig. 3.5 Length (L) of the spring V/S Load (P)

Fig. 3.5 illustrates this fact (initial tension). Note that there is a range of stresses (and,
therefore, force) for any spring index that can be held without problems.

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DESIGN & FABRICATION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC SAND RAMMMER

CHAPTER 4

DESIGN COSIDERATIONS &ANALYSIS

4.1 Bill of Materials (BOM):

Final assembly includes with the following parts,

SL.N
O DESCRIPTION SIZE QTY. REMARKS
1   Leg pad 55 x 55 x30 4 M.S
2 L- angle 1 500 x 50 x 50 2 M.S
3 L - angle 2 490 x 50 x45 2 M.S
4   Leg 372 x 50 x 50 4 M.S
5  Support leg 50 x 50 x 50 4 M.S
6 Vertical guide bar dia.20 x 442 4 M.S
7   Horizontal guide bar dia.18 x 380 4 M.S
8  Bush for vertical bar dia.25 x 50 4 Pb.
9   Bush for horizontal bar dia.25 x 50 4 Pb.
10  Guide bush holder (x-axis) 60 x 40 x 35 4 M.S
11  Guide bush holder (y-axis) 60 x 40 x35 4 M.S
12   LM bush 50x 35 x 25 4 En-8
13   Bronze guide bush dia.50 x 8 2 Pb.
14 Spring retainer dia.25 x 222 1 M.S
15 Spring (Rammer) 20D X 16d x 2 1 std.
16 Anchor plate 160 x 160 x 25 1 M.S
17   Spacer sleeve dia.15 x 100 4 M.S
18   Rammer rod dia.20 x 255 1 S.S
19   Key for Rammer assembly 180 x 5 x 5 1 M.S
20   Solenoid dia.90x 130 1 M.S
21 Armature dia. 50 x 35 1 M.S
23 Rammer plate 100 x 100 x25 1 M.S
24   Timer circuit embedded system on req. 1 Electricals
25 Allen screws on req.  -- std.
26 CSK screws on req.  -- std.
27 Hex. Nuts on.req.  -- std.
28 Capacitors on.req. 2 std.
29 Resistor on.req. 3+1 KANTHAL
30 Washers on.req. --  std.

Fig .4.1 Different Assembly Views of EMSR

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DESIGN & FABRICATION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC SAND RAMMMER

Fig 5.2 Catia Model of EMSR

4.3 Calculation

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1. Current drawn,

We know that,

Current = voltage/resistance

i. e. I = V/R

= 232/8

= 29 amps

2. Calculations for EM force

Force generated at the center of the coil when current is passed through it is given by an
equation,

F = [µ0 x (N x I) ² x A] ÷ (2 L²)

Where,

µ0 = 4π ×10-7 Weber/amp-m

I = 29 amps (actual current drawn by solenoid)

A =Area of cross section of armature = 0.00113 m2

L = 0.04 m (stroke length or gap b/w solenoid and armature)

N= 890turns (number of copper wire turns on solenoid body)

By substituting in formula,

F = [4π ×10-7 × (890 × 29)² × 0.00113] ÷ (2 × 0.04²)

On simplification, F = 295N

Thus, 890 turns of coil generates 295 N of force when 29amps of current is passed
through it.

CHAPTER 5

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DESIGN & FABRICATION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC SAND RAMMMER

FABRICATION OF EMSR

Fig 5.1 Actual model

Fabrication of EMSR model is very simple and easy to machine the all accessories
with an optimum cost. The basic fabrication methods involved into which are turning,
drilling, tapping, milling, surface grinding, cylindrical grinding and welding. While doing
fabrication some of important specifications were maintained as per the design to bear a
precision work such as tolerances, GD&T’s, etc.

The machine tools used in fabrication of our EMSR are:

1. Lathe
2. Milling machine.
3. Surface grinding machine.
4. Cylindrical grinding machine.
5. Drilling machine.
6. Welding transformer

If we consider the fabrication, it can be classified into three sections based on manufacturing
as follows;

1. Frame fabrication:- Arc welding and drilling

2. Machining of all accessories like, bushes, Guidebars, solenoid core, armature, anchor
plate, spacer sleeves, rammer etc.
3. Timer circuit which is readily made by SES technologies, mathikere bengaluru.

CHAPTER 6

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DESIGN & FABRICATION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC SAND RAMMMER

TESTING & EXPERIMENTATION

In the EMSR we made lot of R&D’s nothing but analysis for an execution of results in such a
way that by experimenting on the model in order to meet our needs & purpose.

Fig. 6.1(a) Battery Fig.6.1 (b) Solenoid Fig. 6.1 (c) Force
Measurement

(TRIAL # I):
Above set of components shows as in Fig.6.1 (a, b, c) these were used to conduct an
electromagnetic force test. Followings were the technical data’s applied on experiment,
1. Size: - 25mm diameter and 100mm length
2. Force generated: - 6 kg or 59 N
3. Media: - electrical power (12volts60Ah battery) ~12.6amps
4. No. of coils/turns & length of wire used: 91turns & 5 meters
5. Diameter of copper coil: - 0.8mm

(TRIAL # II):
During the second trial by increasing the no.of coils and input voltage as well as coil
parameters for the same solenoid again we got the following outcomes:
1. The solenoid contained 750 turns of 1.6 mm dia. copper wire.
2. Power source used was a 26 Volts battery.
3. The resistance of the coil was measured to be 4 ohms.
4. Current draw was calculated to be 6.5amps.
5. The force was measured using an equation.
6. Force generated during test was found to be 110 N approx.

(TRIAL # III):

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Finally, the test conducted with standard parameters as per our design specifications shown
in Fig. 7.1 to get some more appropriate results as follows;

1. The solenoid contained 890 turns of 1.6 mm dia. copper wire.

2. Power source used was a 215Volts.
3. The resistance of the system (solenoid & resistor in series) was measured to be
8ohms.
4. Current draw was calculated to be 29amps.
5. The force was measured using an equation.
6. The force by calculation was found to be approximately 295 N approx.

Along with the above particulars we made some extraneous things which are;
 We used two100watts resistors which were connected in series to have 32ohms.
Similarly we tried for another resistor of 300watts which was 17ohms but both of
didn’t serve the intended purpose.
 We choose to build our own resistor 9KW as per the calculation, but we are able to
build a 6KW resistor using KANTHAL wire of 11 gauge.
 In addition to resistor we used two neodymium magnets (N42) of size,47 OD x18 ID
x 8t
 A timing circuit was designed for rammer automation.

Fig 6.2 Testing of EMSR with timer circuit.

CHAPTER 7

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RESULTS & DISCUSSIONS

Once the assembly has been completed the main objective which is to know the force
generation. To know the practical aspects on our EMSR there were series of test was
conducted on the model and finally which got the followings;

 An operator can himself ram the sand without wasting time & effort.
 An electromagnetic sand ramming tool was successively operated by electromagnetic
principle by inducing magneto-motive force (MMF), to enhance our objective.
 It is innocuous compared to other present available mechanisms and technology, as
those methods are either costly or complicated to install.
 The rammer of EMSR can cover the sand area of 300mm x 300mm in size of the sand
mould.
 The design is simple.
 Traverse movements as well as vertical movements can be achieved very easily
 An average force of approximately 300N is sufficient to ram the green sand of the
sand mould uniformly.
 We can vary the force by using a larger magnet and by increasing the number of turns
of copper wire (coil) also. Resulting that increase in current draw and magnetic field
strength.

CHAPTER 8

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DESIGN & FABRICATION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC SAND RAMMMER

CONCLUSION
A detailed study of literature was initially carried out and the limitations of existing sand
rammers functions were observed. Deliberate efforts are made to resolve the existing
problems to enhance indigenous development of new technology in the foundry industries.
Some of the improved features in the newly designed and fabricated EMSR are;

 Uniform ramming of sand can be obtained

 Ramming time can be improved greatly.
 Skilled labor is not required.
 Compact and easy to operate.
 Equipment can be moved easily from one place to another or portable one.
 Maintenance cost is relatively less, than other available techniques.

It can be concluded that there is a close agreement between the flow ability and green
permeability values obtained from EMSR within the limits of experimental errors and
fabrication defects. It can therefore, be concluded that the locally fabricated rammer is of
good standard and can be used for various sand moulding process in foundry. It is pertinent
to bring, therefore the design of this rammer to foundry industries for production and
commercialization.
Advantages of EMSR

 The force exerted for ramming can be increased uniformly with considerable
decrease with time.
 The rammer can be handled by an operator without feeling nervousness
 No separate skills is required to operate this rammer
 The operation is quick hence it is a time saving one.
 The operation is easy and consumes less cost
 Improved uniformity can be obtained in turns that quality of casting is possible.
 Due to the above reasons it finds its extensive application in manufacturing
industries even in small scale also.

Drawbacks

 The initial investment is high when compared to hand ramming.

 Current drawn is high.
 Heating of copper windings

CHAPTER 9

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DESIGN & FABRICATION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC SAND RAMMMER

SCOPE FOR FUTURE WORK

To improve the EMSR model further and to have hands on experience, some of the
additional improvements can be done to obtain the perfect results. In order to improve the
rammer followings are key points in which area the development of project can be made.

 The equipment can be improvised by incorporating some another techniques to

cross slide as well as vertical (up & down) movements.
 Automation of X, Y, & Z axis movements
 A damper can be used to eliminate spring oscillations after retraction of rammer
takes place
 Another solenoid can be used in the place of permanent magnet/s (logic with dual
solenoid)
 Use of electromagnetic principle with less power consumption and thereby
improving application of equipment into small scale foundry industries (SSI’s).
 Use of additional accessories like bearing, servomotors or other mechanical
means to serve our purpose
 Increase in height of rammer to easily facilitate the mould box beneath the tool
 Main scope which will be a power requirement i.e. to say, equipment should
operate at low current and high force arrangements it means increase in voltage
if possible.
 Provision to ram cope and drag simultaneously.
 Power screws coupled to servomotors can be used in place of vertical guide bars
to achieve vertical movement effectively.
 Try to achieve the sand mould hardness by ramming, to meet the standard value
of mould hardness (70-90).

APPENDECIS

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COST ESTIMATION

 PART I: - Cost of Raw Materials (steel like,SS,En-8,M.S ):-3420/-

RATE TOTAL
SR.NO. ITEM DESCRIPTION TYPE DIA. LENGTH QTY WEIGHT
/ KG COST

1 SOLENOID M.S 115 145 1 5+2 45 280

2 BUSHINGS M.S - 50x40 8 5.03 “ 230

3 GUIDE BARS M.S 30 460 8 16.4 “ 750

4 LM BUSHING En-8 - 50x40x25 4 1.6 60 96

5 Anchor plate M.S - 165x165x25 1 4.85 45 220

6 SPACER SLEEVES M.S 15 115 4 0.65 45 50

7 SPRING HOLDER M.S 30 225 1 0.4 100 40

8 OTHERS M.S - 480X35X20 2 3 45 155

RAMMER ROD & 265 &

9 S.S 20 1+1 2.5 255 645
PAD 100sq.x25

 Part II Cost of Raw Materials(4940)/-

1. Copper (for solenoid winding): 3kg (600/kg):-1800/-
2. Phosphorous Bronze (for wear bushes): 3.14(1000/kg):-3140/-

SR.NO. ITEM DESCRIPTION QTY RATE TOTALCOST

1 Springs ,Neodymium magnet 9+2 100+500 900+1000

2 ALLEN +CSK SCREWS 136 Upon size 900

3 Resistors 2+2 Upon watts 1250

4 Capacitors, 2 Upon range $s 700

5 Rectifier, heat sink, fan 3+1+2 -- 900

6 Cables ,Timer circuit 2+1 Upon sq.mm+ 860+4000

 PART III -- Cost of STD Items :- 10,510 /-

PART I:---
3420/-

PART II --- 4940/-

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DESIGN & FABRICATION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC SAND RAMMMER

PART III -- 10,510/-

Machining cost 5,000/-

Gross cost,
23,870/-
TOTAL:-

Net COST = GROSS COST+ OVERHEAD CHARGES

= 23,870 +1500

Therefore, total estimated cost = Rs.24, 370/-

Estimation
5000 3420

Raw materials
4940 Alloys
Standard items
Machining cost

10510

REFERANCES
1. Heald, M.A., ‘‘Magnetic braking: improved theory,’’ American Journal of Physics,
Vol. 56, No. 6, pp. 521–522, 1988.

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DESIGN & FABRICATION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC SAND RAMMMER

2. International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology

(IJIRSET)

3. Principle of metal casting, TATA Mc-graw hill company, copyright @1955,1967,26th

reprint-2003,pp.112-113

4. Casting technology & casting alloy,@2005,by:A.K.Chakrabati,pp.19,20,24-25.

5. Electromagnetism, by: Hilary D.Brewster, 2010.

6. Proceedings of 09th IRF International Conference, 27th July-2014, Bangalore, India,

ISBN: 978-93-84209-40-7.

7. http://www.daycounter.com/Calculators/Magnets/Solenoid-Force-calculator.phtml

8. Rare Earth Magnets: Conservation of Energy and the Environment

-Resource Geology Vol. 58, No. 4: 414 – 422.
9. Magnetic Materials Research Center, Shin-Etsu Chemical, Echizen, Fukui, Japan.

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