Foundry Engineering [MSE-311 ]

CASTING

Md. Masum Rana

Lecturer, NE,CUET
Foundry:
Foundry is a factory that produces metal castings.
Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into
a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and
removing the mold material 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. In this process, parts of
desired shapes and sizes can be formed.
Foundry Process:
Melting
Melting is performed in a furnace. Virgin material, external scrap, internal scrap, and alloying
elements are used to charge the furnace.

Furnace
Several specialized furnaces are used to heat the metal. Modern furnace types include
electric arc furnaces (EAF), induction furnaces, cupolas, reverberator, and crucible furnaces.
Furnace choice is dependent on the alloy system quantities produced. For ferrous materials
EAFs, cupolas, and induction furnaces are commonly used. Reverberator and crucible
furnaces are common for producing aluminum, bronze, and brass castings.

Degassing
Degassing is a process that may be required to reduce the amount of hydrogen present in a
batch of molten metal. Gases can form in metal castings in one of two ways:
• by physical entrapment during the casting process or
• by chemical reaction in the cast material.
Hydrogen is a common contaminant for most cast metals. It forms as a result of material
reactions or from water vapor or machine lubricants
Foundry Process:
Mold making
The molds are constructed by several different processes dependent upon the type of
foundry, metal to be poured, quantity of parts to be produced, size of the casting, and
complexity of the casting.

Pouring
In a foundry, molten metal is poured into molds. Pouring can be accomplished with
gravity, or it may be assisted with a vacuum or pressurized gas.

Shakeout
The solidified metal component is then removed from its mold. Where the mold is
sand based, this can be done by shaking or tumbling.

Degating
Degating is the removal of the heads, runners, gates, and risers from the casting.
Runners, gates, and risers may be removed using cutting torches, bandsaws, or
ceramic cutoff blades.
Foundry Process:
Heat treating
Heat treating is a group of industrial and metalworking processes used to alter the
physical, and sometimes chemical, properties of a material.

Surface cleaning
After Degating and heat treating, sand or other molding media may remain adhered to
the casting. To remove any mold remnants, the surface is cleaned using a blasting
process.

Finishing
The final step in the process of casting usually involves grinding, sanding, or machining
the component in order to achieve the desired dimensional accuracies, physical shape,
and surface finish.
Casting:
Manufacture of a machine part by heating a metal or alloy above its melting point and
pouring the liquid metal/alloy in a cavity approximately of same shape and size as the
machine part is called casting process. After the liquid metal cools and solidifies, it
acquires the shape and size of the cavity and resembles the finished product required.
The department of the workshop, where castings are made is called foundry.
The manufacture of a casting requires:
(a) Preparation of a pattern,
(b) Preparation of a mould with the help of the pattern,
(c) Melting of metal or alloy in a furnace,
(d) Pouring of molten metal into mould cavity,
(e) Breaking the mould to retrieve the casting,
(f) Cleaning the casting and cutting off risers, runners etc., (this operation is
called ‘fettling’), and
(g) Inspection of casting.
Casting:
• Methods of sand casting
• Design of patterns
• Properties of molding sand
• Core and core making
• Casting in metallic and non metallic moulds
• Die casting
• Centrifugal casting
• Precision investment casting
• Continuous casting
• Defects of casting, causes and prevention
 Casting
Casting is probably one of the most ancient processes of manufacturing metallic
components. Also, with few exceptions, it is the first step in the manufacture of
metallic components. The process involves the following basic steps:

• Melting the metal

• Pouring it into a previously made mould or cavity which conforms to the shape of
the desired component.
• Allowing the molten metal to cool and solidify in the mould.
• Removing the solidified component from the mould, cleaning it and subjecting it to
further treatment, if necessary.

Applications:

• Automobile engine blocks, cylinder blocks of automobile

• Airplane engines, pistons’ and piston rings,
• Machine tool beds and frames, mill rolls,
• Water supply and sewer pipes, sanitary fittings and agricultural parts etc.
 Types of Casting
Common types of casting are:
• Sand mold casting
• Die casting
• Centrifugal casting
• Continuous casting
• Investment casting
Typical Sand Mold
 Pattern

• An approximate duplicate of the final casting used to

form the mold cavity.
• A pattern is an element used for making cavities in
the mould, into which molten metal is poured to
produce a casting. It is not an exact replica of the
casting desired.
• There are certain essential differences. It is slightly
larger than the desired casting, due to the various
allowances (shrinkage allowance, machining
allowance etc.).
 Pattern material
1.Wood
Advantages:
• Light in weight
• Comparatively inexpensive
• Good workability
• Lends itself to gluing and joining
• Holds well varnishes and paints
• Can be repaired easily

Disadvantages:
• Inherently non uniform in structure
• Posses poor wear and abrasion resistance
• Can not withstand rough handling
• Absorbs and gives off moisture, so that it varies in volume,
wraps and thus changes its mechanical properties
2. Metals
Advantages:
• More durable and accurate in size than wooden
patterns
• Have a smooth surface
• Do not deform in storage
• Are resistant to wear, abrasion, corrosion and swelling
• Can withstand rough handling
Disadvantages:
• Expensive as compared to wood
• Not easily repaired
• Heavier than wooden patterns
3. Plaster gypsum cement
4. Plastic compound
Advantages:
• Facilitates the production process.
• Makes it more economical in cost and labor.
• Plastic patterns are highly resistant to corrosion, lighter and
stronger than wood patterns.
• Molding sand sticks less to plastics than to wood.
• No moisture absorption.
• Smooth surface of patterns.
• Strong and dimensionally stable.
5. Wax
 Pattern allowances
The difference in the dimensions of the casting and the pattern is due
to the various allowances considered while designing a pattern for a
casting. These allowances are discussed below:
1.Shrinkage allowance:
Since metal shrinks on solidification and contracts further on cooling to
room temperature, linear dimensions of patterns are increased in
respect of those of the finished casting to be obtained. This is called the
"shrinkage allowance". It depends on:
• Dimensions of casting
• Design and intricacy of casting
• Resistance of mol to shrinkage
• Molding materials used
• Method of molding used
• Pouring temp of the molten metal
• Shrink rule is used to compensate solid shrinkage
depending on the material contraction rate.
• Cast iron: One foot (=12 inches) on the 1/8-in-per-foot
shrink rule actually measures 12-1/8 inches.
• So, 4 inch will be 4-1/24 inch for considering shrinkage
allowance.
2.Draft or taper allowance:
3. Finishing or machining allowance:
Machining allowance or finish allowance indicates how much larger the rough casting
should be over the finished casting to allow sufficient material to insure that
machining will "clean up" the surfaces. This machining allowance is added to all
surfaces that are to be machined. Machining allowance is larger for hand molding as
compared to machine molding. It depends on:
• Machining operation
• Characteristics of metal
• Methods of castings
• Size, shapes and volumes of castings
• Degree of finish required in castings
• configuration of the casting
4. Shaking or rapping allowance:
To take the pattern out of the mould cavity it is slightly rapped to detach it from the
mould cavity. Due to this, the cavity in the mould increases slightly.
5. Distortion allowance:
This allowance is considered only for castings of irregular shape which are distorted in
the process of cooling because of metal shrinkage.
 Types of patterns
The common types of patterns are:
• Single piece pattern
• Split piece pattern
• Loose piece pattern
• Gated pattern
• Match pattern
• Sweep pattern
• Cope and drag pattern
• Skeleton pattern
• Shell pattern
• Follow board pattern
Single piece pattern:
• This is the simplest type of pattern, exactly like the
desired casting. For making a mould, the pattern is
accommodated either in cope or drag.
• Used for producing a few large castings, for example,
stuffing box of steam engine.
Split pattern:
• These patterns are split along the parting plane (which
may be flat or irregular surface) to facilitate the
extraction of the pattern out of the mould before the
pouring operation.
• For a more complex casting, the pattern may be split in
more than two parts.
Multi Piece Pattern:
Sometimes castings have very difficult and complicated
designs. In such difficult situations multi piece types of
patterns are used. 3 or more patterns are included in
multi piece pattern.
Loose piece pattern:
• When a one piece solid pattern has projections or back
drafts which lie above or below the parting plane, it is
impossible to with draw it from the mould. With such
patterns, the projections are made with the help of
loose pieces.
• One drawback of loose feces is that their shifting is
possible during ramming.
Gated pattern:
• A gated pattern is simply one or more loose patterns
having attached gates and runners.
• Because of their higher cost, these patterns are used for
producing small castings in mass production systems
and on molding machines.
Match plate pattern:
• A match plate pattern is a split pattern having the cope and drags portions mounted on
opposite sides of a plate (usually metallic), called the "match plate" that conforms to
the contour of the parting surface.
• The gates and runners are also mounted on the match plate, so that very little hand
work is required. This results in higher productivity. This type of pattern is used for a
large number of castings.

• Piston rings of I.C. engines are produced by this process.

Sweep pattern:
• A sweep is a section or board (wooden) of proper contour that is
rotated about one edge to shape mould cavities having shapes of
rotational symmetry.
• This type of pattern is used when a casting of large size is to be
produced in a short time. Large kettles of C.I. are made by sweep
patterns.
Cope and drag pattern:
• A cope and drag pattern is a split pattern having the cope and drag
portions each mounted on separate match plates. These patterns are
used when in the production of large castings; the complete moulds
are too heavy and unwieldy to be handled by a single worker.
Skeleton pattern:
• For large castings having simple geometrical shapes, skeleton
patterns are used. Just like sweep patterns, these are simple wooden
frames that outline the shape of the part to be cast and are also used
as guides by the molder in the hand shaping of the mould.
• This type of pattern is also used in pit or floor molding process.
Follow Board Pattern:
Follow board pattern consists of tool that is a simple wooden
board which is used for several reasons. The wooden board is
used as a base in follow board pattern for molding process. This
pattern is used in processes where casting structures are weak
and they may break after the application of force.
 Properties of molding sand
The success of the casting process depends to a large
extent on the making of a satisfactory mould. For this, the
molding properties of the sand have to be controlled.
These properties include:
Moulding sand should possess the following 6 properties
1. Porosity
2. Flowability
3. Collapsibility
4. Adhesiveness
5. Cohesiveness or strength
6. Refractoriness
1. Porosity or Permeability:
It is the ability of sand by which it allows the gases to
pass through it easily.
Some gases get dissolved in molten metal and when this
molten metal starts to solidify, these dissolved gases
come out of the molten metal and try to escape out of
the moulding sand. If the sand is not enough porous than
these gases will not be able to go out of the mould and
gets trapped into the casting and produces holes and
pores in metal casting. Also if the molten metal comes in
contact with the moist sand, steam or water vapor is
produced. This steam or vapors also results in the
formation of holes in the casting if they do not able to
escape out of the mould. So it is advised to use
sufficiently porous moulding sand to eliminate the
porosity defect in metal casting.
2. Flowability/Plasticity
The ability of moulding sand to behave like a fluid
when it is rammed is called flowability.
Due to this property, the sand can easily occupy the
space in molding box and take up its shape. This
allows the sand to compress to a compact density
and let it pack around the pattern. The sand should
be of high flowability, so that it can be easily
compacted for uniform density and to obtain a
good impression of the pattern in the mould. The
flowability of the sand can be increases as we
increases the clay and water content in the sand.
3. Collapsibility
The ability of the moulding sand to collapse after solidification
of the molten metal is called collapsibility.
After the solidification of molten metal, the sand should get
collapse for free contraction of the metal. If free contraction of
the metal will happen than if eliminates naturally the tearing or
cracking of the contracting metal.
4. Adhesiveness.
The ability of the sand particles to get stick with another body
is called adhesiveness.
The sand should have sufficient adhesiveness so that it can easily
get cling to the sides of the moulding boxes and does not fall out
to the box when it is removed.
5. Cohesiveness or Strength
The ability of the sand particles to stick with each other is called cohesiveness.
The strength of the sand depends upon how cohesive the sand particles are. The sand
should have sufficient strength so that it can easily capable to retain its shape during
conveying, turning or closing and pouring. If it is not of appropriate strength than it
will not be able to hold its shape and the mould may damage during pouring of
molten metal. Low strength sand leads to pouring casting defects in metals. To avoid
pouring defects, the sand should be of sufficient strength to produce mold of desired
shape and also retain this shaped even when the molten metal is poured in the
moulding cavity.

The sand strength can be of two types

(i) Green strength: The strength of sand possessed by it in its green or moist state is
called green strength. The mould with adequate green strength retains its shape and
do not collapse even when the pattern is removed from the moulding box.

(ii) Dry strength: The strength possessed by the sand in its dry or baked state is called
dry strength. Enough dry strength allows the sand to withstand erosive forces due to
molten metal and helps to retain its shape.
6. Refractoriness
The ability of the moulding sand to withstand the
high temperature of the molten metal without
fusing into it is called refractoriness.
The moulding sand must have enough
refractoriness property to produce excellent quality
of casting free from defects. The sand with lack of
refractoriness melts and gets fuse in the casting and
spoils the quality of the cast metal. The
refractoriness is the measure of sinter point of the
sand not its melting point.
This is all about the six properties of moulding sand.
Every types of moulding sand used in the casting
process must have these six properties. If you find
anything missing comment us.
Molding sand:
The Moulding sand is also known as foundries sand, this sand is
commonly used for making moulds. Natural sand located on the
bed and banks of rivers gives a larger source, although high-
quality silica sand is also mined. The sand is chemically Si02,
silicon dioxide in a granular manner. Ordinary river sand contains
a percentage of clay, moisture, non-metallic impurities and
traces of magnesium and calcium salts besides silica grains. After
appropriate treatment, this sand is used to make a mould
Types of Moulding Sand:
Following are the 8 different types of moulding
sands:
1. Greensand
2. Dry sand
3. Loam sand
4. Facing sand
5. Backing sand
6. System sand
7. Parting sand
8. Core sand
1. Green Sand:
Green sand is a sand or sandstone which has a
greenish colour. it is a mixture of silica sand with
18% to 30% clay, having total water of 6% to 8%. It
is soft, light and porous with clay and water
furnishing the bond for green sand.
In green sand, It is slightly wet when squeezed by
hand. It has the ability to maintain the shape and
impression given to it under the pressure. The
green sand can be easily available and it has a low
cost. The mould that is prepared in this sand is
called green sand mould. It is commonly used for
the production of ferrous and non-ferrous castings.
2. Dry Sand:
The Green sand that has been dried or backed after the mould is made
is called dry sand. They are suitable for large castings. Moulds
prepared in dry sand are known as dry sand moulds. If we talk about
the physical composition of dry sand, it is similar to green sand except
for water.
3. Loam Sand:
The sand with 50% of clay is called loam sand. They are also suitable
for large castings. It is a mixture of sand and clay and water is present
in such a quantity that it forms a thin plastic paste. In these types of
sand, moulding patterns are not used.
4. Facing Sand:
It forms the face of the mould. The facing sand is used directly next to
the patterned surface and comes into direct contact with the molten
metal when the molten metal is poured into the mould. It has high
strength and refractivity as it comes in contact with molten metal. It is
made of clay and silica sand in addition to unused sand.
5. Backing Sand:
The backing sand is also called floor sand used to back up
the facing sand. It is an old and frequently used moulding
sand is used for backing purpose. It is sometimes called
black sand because of the addition of coal dust and
burning due to in contact with the molten metal.
6. System Sand:
In mechanical sand preparation and handling units, facing
sand is not encountered. The sand that is used is cleaned
and reactivated by adding water, binder and special
additives. And the sand we get it is called system sand.
The system sand is used to fill the entire flask in the
mechanical casting where machine moulding is
employed. The mould made of this sand has high
strength, permeability and refractivity.
7. Parting Sand:
The parting sand is used to avoids sticking of green
sand to the pattern. And also it allows in easy
removal of cope and drag. This parting serves the
same purpose as dust. It is pure clay free silica sand.
8. Core Sand:
The core sand is the sand for making cores. It is also
called oil sand because it is a mixture of silica sand
and core oil. Core oil is a mixture of linseed oil,
resin, light mineral oil and other binding materials.
For the sake of economy, pitch or flour and water
can be used to make large cores.
CORES
Types of cores
Chaplets
 Types of Casting
Common types of casting are:
• Sand mold casting
• Die casting
• Centrifugal casting
• Continuous casting
• Investment casting
Die Casting:
Die casting is a manufacturing process in which molten metal is
poured or forced into steel molds. The molds—also known as
tools or dies—are created using steel and are specially designed
for each project. This allows each component to be created with
accuracy and repeatability. There are two main types of Die –
Casting machines:
1. Hot-chamber machine.
2. Cold-chamber machine.
Hot-Chamber Die Casting:
Metal is melted in a container, and a piston injects liquid metal under high pressure
into the die
High production rates - 500 parts per hour not uncommon.
Applications limited to low melting-point metals (approximately 400 C) that do
not chemically attack plunger and other components due to the hot metal that is
.
poured in to them. Casting metals: zinc, tin, lead, and magnesium
Cold-Chamber Die Casting:
Molten metal is poured into unheated chamber from external
melting container (ladle), and a piston injects metal under high
pressure into die cavity at pressure as much as ( 10 times ) than
that in the Hot – Chamber process. High production but not
usually as fast as hot-chamber machines because of pouring
step. Casting metals: aluminum, brass, and magnesium alloys.
 Types of Casting
Common types of casting are:
• Sand mold casting
• Die casting
• Centrifugal casting
• Continuous casting
• Investment casting
Centrifugal Casting:
Centrifugal casting or rotocasting is a casting technique that is typically used to cast
thin-walled cylinders. It is typically used to cast materials such as metals, glass, and
concrete. A high quality is attainable by control of metallurgy and crystal structure.
Unlike most other casting techniques, centrifugal casting is chiefly used to
manufacture rotationally symmetric stock materials in standard sizes for further
machining, rather than shaped parts tailored to a particular end-use.
 Types of Casting
Common types of casting are:
• Sand mold casting
• Die casting
• Centrifugal casting
• Continuous casting
• Investment casting
Investment Casting:
Investment casting, also known as precision casting or lost-wax casting, is a
manufacturing process in which a wax pattern is used to shape a disposable ceramic
mold. A wax pattern is made in the exact shape of the item to be cast. This pattern is
coated with a refractory ceramic material.
Continuous Casting:
Continuous casting, also called strand casting, is the process
whereby molten metal is solidified into a "semifinished" billet,
bloom, or slab for subsequent rolling in the finishing mills.
Thank You