Casting

2.810
Prof. Timothy Gutowski

Casting since about 4000

BC

Ancient Greece; bronze

statue casting circa 450BC
Iron works in early Europe,
e.g. cast iron cannons from
England circa 1543
2

Outline
Sand Casting, Investment Casting, Die Casting
Basics and countermeasures
Phase Change, Shrinkage
Heat Transfer
Pattern Design
Variations & Developments
Environmental Issues

Casting
Readings;
1.

Kalpakjian, Chapters 10,

11, 12

2.

Booothroyd, Design for

Die Casting

3.

Flemings Heat Flow in

Solidification

Note: a good heat transfer reference can be found by

Prof John Lienhard online http://web.mit.edu/lienhard/www/ahtt.html

Casting Methods

Sand Casting
High Temperature
Alloy, Complex
Geometry, Rough
Surface Finish

Investment
Casting
High Temperature Alloy,
Complex Geometry,
Moderately Smooth
Surface Finish

Die Casting
High Temperature
Alloy, Moderate
Geometry, Smooth
Surface

Sand
Casting

Sand Casting
Description: Tempered sand is packed into wood or metal
pattern halves, removed form the pattern, and assembled with
or without cores, and metal is poured into resultant cavities.
Various core materials can be used. Molds are broken to remove
castings. Specialized binders now in use can improve tolerances
and surface finish.
Metals: Most castable metals.
Size Range: Limitation depends on foundry capabilities. Ounces
to many tons.
Tolerances:
Non-Ferrous 1/32 to 6
Add .003 to 3, 3/64 from 3 to 6.
Across parting line add .020 to .090 depending on size.
(Assumes metal patterns)
Surface Finish:
Non-Ferrous: 150-350 RMS
Ferrous: 300-700RMS
Minimum Draft Requirements:
1 to 5
Cores: 1 to 1 1/2
Normal Minimum Section Thickness:
Non-Ferrous: 1/8 - 1/4
Ferrous: 1/4 - 3/8
Ordering Quantities: All quantities
Normal Lead Time:
Samples: 2-10 weeks
Production 2-4 weeks A.S.A.

Sand Casting Mold

Features

Vents, which are placed in

molds to carry off gases
produced when the molten
metal comes into contact
with the sand in the molds
and core. They also exhaust
air from the mold cavity as
the molten metal flows into
the mold.

See Video from Mass

Foundry

Production sand casting

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Investment
Casting
The investmentcasting process, also
called the lost-wax
process, was first used
during the period 40003500 B.C. The pattern is
made of wax or a plastic
such as polystyrene. The
sequences involved in
investment casting are
shown in Figure 11.18.
The pattern is made by
injecting molten wax or
plastic into a metal die
in the shape of the
object.

11

Investment Casting
Description: Metal mold makes wax or plastic replica.
There are sprued, then surrounded with investment
material, baked out, and metal is poured in the
resultant cavity. Molds are broken to remove the
castings.
Metals: Most castable metals.
Size Range: fraction of an ounce to 150 lbs..
Tolerances:
.003 to 1/4
.004 to 1/2,
.005 per inch to 3
.003 for each additional inch
Surface Finish:
63-125RMS
Minimum Draft Requirements: None
Normal Minimum Section Thickness:
.030 (Small Areas)
.060 (Large Areas)
Ordering Quantities:
Aluminum: usually under 1,000
Other metals: all quantities
Normal Lead Time:
Samples: 5-16 weeks (depending on complexity)
Production 4-12 weeks A.S.A. (depending on
subsequent operations).
Talbot Associates Inc.

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Die Casting

Cold-Chamber

Casting

Cycle in cold-chamber casting: (1) with die closed and ram withdrawn, molten metal is poured
into the chamber; (2) ram forces metal to flow into die, maintaining pressure during the cooling
and solidification; and (3) ram is withdrawn, die is opened, and part is ejected. Used for higher
temperature metals eg Aluminum, Copper and alloys

13

Die Casting

Hot-Chamber

Casting
Cycle in hot-chamber
casting: (1) with die closed
and plunger withdrawn,
molten metal flows into the
chamber; (2) plunger
forces metal in chamber to
flow into die, maintaining
pressure during cooling
and solidification; and (3)
plunger is withdrawn, die is
opened, and solidified part
is ejected. Finished part is
shown in (4).

14

Die Casting
Description: Molten metal is injected, under pressure,
into hardened steel dies, often water cooled. Dies are
opened, and castings are ejected.
Metals: Aluminum, Zinc, Magnesium, and limited
Brass.
Size Range: Not normally over 2 feet square. Some
foundries capable of larger sizes.
Tolerances:
Al and Mg .002/in.
Zinc .0015/in.
Brass .001/in.
Add .001 to .015 across parting line
depending on size
Surface Finish: 32-63RMS
Minimum Draft Requirements:
Al & Mg: 1 to 3
Zinc: 1/2 to 2
Brass: 2 to 5
Normal Minimum Section Thickness:
Al & Mg: .03 Small Parts: .06 Medium Parts
Zinc: .03 Small Parts: .045 Medium Parts
Brass: .025 Small Parts: .040 Medium Parts
Ordering Quantities:
Usually 2,500 and up.
Normal Lead Time:
Samples: 12-20 weeks
Production: ASAP after approval.

15

High Melt Temperature

Chemical Activity
High Latent Heat
Handling
Off-gassing

3000 C

Tungsten Carbide, WC,

Silicon Carbide, SiC

Cubic Zirconia, ZrO2

Molybdenum

2000 C

Alumina Al2O3

Platinum, Pt
Titanium, Ti
IronFE, Plain Carbon Steels, low alloy, stainless
Nickel, Ni
Nickel Allows Silicon, Si

1000 C

0 C

Copper, Cu, Bronze, Brass

Aluminum
Magnesium Nylon
Zinc, Zn
Acetal
PTFE (Teflon)
Tin, Sn
HDPE

16

Mold Filling
Bernoulis Equation:
p v2
h

Const.
pg 2 g
Reynolds Number:

vDP
Re

Short filling times

Potential Turbulence
(see p. 273 Kalpakjian

17

Mold Filling Example

(1 of 2)

18

Mold Filling Example

(2 of 2)

19

Phase
Change
&
Shrinkag
e

20

Solidification of a binary
alloy

21

Composition change
during solidification

22

Solidification

23

Cast structures
Schematic illustration of three
cast structures solidified in a
square mold: (a) pure metals; (b)
solid solution alloys; and
structure obtained by using
nucleating agents. Source: G. W.
Form, J. F. Wallace, and A. Cibula

24

Pop quiz; If you top fill the

mold below, what will the
part look like after
solidification?

25

Can you explain these

features?

26

Heat Transfer Sand

Casting
V
ts
A

27

Heat Transfer Die

Casting
V
ts
A

28

Steady State Conduction Heat

Transfer
Figure 1

29

Steady State Conduction Heat

Transfer
Figure 2

30

Thermal Conductivity k of Various

Materials for Parts and Molds (W/m
K)
Copper

394

Aluminum

222

Iron

29

Sand

0.61

PMMA

0.20

PVC

0.16

dT
q k
dx
31

Film Coefficients W/m2K

Typical die casting

5,000

Natural convection

1 - 10

Flowing air

10 - 50

q h T
32

Transient Heat Transfer

33

Sand Casting

(see Flemings)

34

Sand Casting

(see Flemings)

35

Solidification Time

enthapy

Use Flemings
result here

36

Solidification Time (cont.)

37

Cooling Time; thin slab

38

Cooling time;intersection

V h
1 1

1
A 2
2 L 1

39

Pattern Design
suggestions

40

More
Pattern
Design
suggestion
s

41

And more
Figure 7.2.32
Omit outside
bosses and the
need for cores.
(Courtesy of
Meehanite
Metal Corp.)

Figure 7.2.35
Avoid using
ribs which
meet at acute
angles.
(Courtesy of
Meehanite
Metal Corp.)

42

Die Casting
Solidification
Time
s

Time to form
solid part

43

Time to cool part to the ejection

temperature. (lumped parameter
model)
mC p

dT
AhT T o
dt

let T T o
tf Ah
d
f ti mC p dt

Integration yields

mCp

Ah

ln

f
i

Or for thin sheets of thickness w,

i = Ti + Tsp - Tmold

Tsp = H/Cp

f = Teject - Tmold

wCp
2h

T inject T sp T mold
ln

T
eject
mold

sp means superheat

44

Pattern Design Issues

(Alum)
Shrinkage Allowance .013/1
Machining Allowance 1/16
Minimum thickness 3/16
Parting Line
Draft Angle 3 to 5%
Uniform Thickness

45

Pattern Design
Table 12.1
Normal Shrinkage Allowance for
Some Metals Cast in Sand Molds
Metal
Percent
Gray cast iron 0.83 1.3
White cast iron
2.1
Malleable cast iron0.78 1.0
Aluminum alloys
1.3
Magnesium alloys
1.3
Yellow brass
1.3 1.6
Phosphor bronze1.0 1.6
Aluminum bronze
2.1
High-manganese steel2.6

46

Variations and
Developments
Continuous casting
Lost foam molding
3D Printing of Investment tooling
Direct printing with metal droplets
Uniform metal spray
47

Continuous casting

ref AISI

Steel from the electric or basic oxygen furnace is tapped into a ladle and taken to
the continuous casting machine. The ladle is raised onto a turret that rotates the ladle
into the casting position above the tundish. Referring to Figure 2, liquid steel flows out
of the ladle (1) into the tundish (2), and then into a water-cooled copper mold (3).
Solidification begins in the mold, and continues through the First Zone (4) and Strand Guide (5).
In this configuration, the strand is straightened (6), torch-cut (8), then discharged (12)
for intermediate storage or hot charged for finished rolling.

48

3D Printing
of Investment cast tooling

Spread Powder
Layer

Print Selected Area

Last Layer Printed

Lower Piston

Completed Parts

49

Shell and part (Turbine

blade)

50

Microcasting of droplets

CMU

MIT
51

Environmental Issues
Smelting
Energy
Off-gassing

see AFS webpage on green sand

emissions; http://www.afsinc.org/environmental.html

Cooling water
Waste sand disposal
Off shore locations
52

Metal Smelting; reducing oxides and

sulfides to metal..

http://www.steel.org/learning/howmade/blast_furnace.htm

53

Environmental loads by
manufacturing sector
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0

CO2 (metric ton/$10,000)

Manufacturing industries

Transportation

Electronic

Machinery

Fabricated
Metal

Primary Metal

Plastics and
Rubber

Petroleum
and Coal

Toxic Mat'ls (lb/$1000)

Chemicals

Weight/Dollars

Carbon Dioxide and Toxic Materials per Value of Shipments

EPA 2001, DOE 2001

54

The estimated environmental performance of

various mfg processes (not including auxiliary
requirements)

*Energy per wt. normalized

by the melt energy

** total raw matl normalize

55
by the part wt.

Summary
Sand Casting, Investment Casting,
Die Casting
Basics and countermeasures
Phase Change, Shrinkage
Heat Transfer
Pattern Design
Variations and Developments
Environmental Issues
56