EM 459:

Manufacturing Processes

Metal Casting

Lecture prepared by: 1

Dr. Tamer Ali Sebaey
Associate Professor of Manufacturing and Design
Department of Engineering Management
 Casting
casting, is the process of pouring molten metal into a mold cavity. Upon solidification, the
metal takes the shape of the cavity.

Metal Casting
Casting represents one of the net-shape manufacturing technologies,

Among the large number of advantages:

Casting can produce complex shapes and can incorporate internal cavities or hollow
sections.

Very large parts can be produced in one piece.

Casting can utilize materials that are difficult or uneconomical to process by other
means.

The casting process can be economically competitive with other manufacturing 2

processes.
 Elements in Casting Molds

Metal Casting
The mold is the whole thing that contain the flask, the molding material, the
3
casting cavity, the sprue, etc.

To open the mold cavity, a pattern may needed.

 Casting Processes Classification
Casting Processes can be classified based on the mold and the pattern. The
major types of molds are:
1. Expendable molds: After the casting has solidified, the mold is broken up to

Metal Casting
remove the casting. The mold is produced from a pattern. It is typically are
made of sand, plaster, ceramics, and similar materials
Expendable molds Permanent pattern as in the sand casting with
wooden pattern.
Expendable-mold, Expendable pattern as in sand casting with foamed
or wax pattern.
2. Permanent molds, which are made of metals that maintain their strength at
high temperatures. As the name implies, they are used repeatedly and are
designed in such a way that the casting can be removed easily and the mold 4
used for the next casting.
 Sand Casting
Is a process at which the mold is expendable and the pattern is permanent

Sand casting consists of:

1. Placing a pattern (having the shape of the desired casting) in sand to make an imprint,

Metal Casting
2. Incorporating a gating system,

3. Removing the pattern and filling the mold cavity with molten metal,

4. Allowing the metal to cool until it solidifies,

5. Breaking away the sand mold to get the product

5
 Sand Casting Mold

Metal Casting
Sprue, Runners, Gates, Pouring cup, Sprue base
and Risers are all together
e called Gating System.
Successful gating system should a) Be able to trap
contaminants and b) Be able to minimize premature 6
cooling, turbulence, and gas entrapment
 Sand Casting Mold
A flask, which supports the mold itself. Two-piece molds consist of a cope on
top and a drag on the bottom.

Metal Casting
A pouring basin or pouring cup, into which the molten metal is poured.

A sprue, is a tapered vertical channel through which the molten metal flows
downward in the mold.

The runner system, which has channels that carry the molten metal from the
sprue to the mold cavity. Gates are the inlets into the mold cavity.

Risers, serve as reservoirs of molten metal to supply any molten metal

necessary to prevent porosity due to shrinkage. Two types of risers-a blind
riser and an open riser.
7
Cores, which are inserts made from sand to create internal holes.

Sprue base: is a deep cup at the end of the sprue and is added to prevent
 Sand Casting
Cores are placed in the mold cavity to form the interior surfaces of the casting and are removed
from the finished part during shakeout and further processing.

Like molds, cores must possess strength, permeability, the ability to withstand heat, and

Metal Casting
collapsibility; hence, cores are made of sand aggregates. The core is anchored with core prints,
which are recesses added to the pattern to locate and support the core and to provide vents for
the escape of gases

8
 Sand Casting
Patterns. are used to mold the sand mixture into the shape of the casting and it is made of
wood, plastic, or metal.

Because patterns are used repeatedly to make molds, the strength and durability of the

Metal Casting
material selected for a pattern must reflect the number of castings that the mold will produce.

Pattern design is a critical aspect of the total casting operation. The design should provide for
metal shrinkage, permit proper metal flow in the mold cavity, and allow the pattern to be easily
removed from the sand mold by means of a taper or draft.

9
 Sprue Design
Any free-falling liquid (such as water from a faucet), the cross sectional area of the stream
decreases as the liquid gains velocity downward. Thus, if we design a sprue with a constant
cross sectional area and pour the molten metal into it, regions can develop where the liquid

Metal Casting
loses contact with the sprue walls.

As a result, aspiration (a process whereby air is sucked in or entrapped in the liquid) may take
place. One of the basic alternatives is used to prevent aspiration is tapered sprue is used to
prevent molten metal separation from the sprue

In order to avoid these problems in the sprue design:

10
 Solidification time
Solidification starts at the walls and by the time, the thickness of the skin increases.

Metal Casting
Solidification time is a function of the surface area and the volume:

The constant C is a function of the mold material, cast material and the temperature.

Thus, cube-shaped product will solidify faster than in a spherical mold of the same volume.

For this reason, the optimum shape of the riser is spherical as it has the maximum volume to
surface area ratio. But due to complexity of generating spherical riser, the most common used 11
riser is cylindrical.
 Common Casting defects

Metal Casting
These defects can be minimized or eliminated by proper design and preparation of molds and 12
control of pouring procedures
 Permanent-mold Casting Processes
In permanent-mold casting (also called hard-mold casting), two halves of a mold are made from
materials with high resistance to erosion and thermal fatigue, such as cast iron, steel, bronze,
graphite, or refractory metal alloys.

Metal Casting
In order to increase the life of permanent molds, the surfaces of the mold cavity usually are
coated with a refractory slurry (such as sodium silicate and clay) or sprayed with graphite every
few castings. These coatings also serve as parting agents and as thermal barriers, thus
controlling the rate of cooling of the casting.

Mechanical ejectors (such as pins located in various parts of the mold) may be required for the
removal of complex castings; ejectors usually leave small round impressions.

The process is used mostly for aluminum, magnesium, and copper alloys because of their
generally lower melting points.

Permanent-mold casting produces castings with a good surface finish, close dimensional
tolerances, uniform and good mechanical properties, and at high production rates.
13
 Permanent-mold Casting Processes
Centrifugal-Casting Process

The centrifugal-casting process utilizes inertial forces (caused by rotation) to distribute the
molten metal into the mold cavity.

Metal Casting
Because of density differences, lighter elements (such as dross, impurities, and pieces of the
refractory lining) tend to collect on the inner surface of the casting. Consequently, the
properties of the casting can vary throughout its thickness.

14

T.IE Ett caa

 Fayed's
Permanent-mold Casting Processes
of

Centrifugal-Casting Process
d
A

Metal Casting
(a) Wheels with spokes can be cast by this process.

(b) The molds are placed at the periphery of the machine, and the molten metal is forced into
15
the molds by centrifugal force.
 Castability of Metals
Castability (Fluidity) is the ability of the molten metal to flow easily
without premature solidification to properly filling of the mold cavity

Metal Casting
within the minimum time, cost and defects.
Poor castability leads to casting defects such as incomplete filling or
misruns especially in thinner sections of a casting.
Because castability depends mainly upon the viscosity of molten
metal, it is clear that higher temperature improves castability of
molten metal and alloys, where as presence of impurities and non
metallic inclusions adverse it.
From the quality point of view, a very castable part design is easily
16
developed, needs minimal tooling costs, requires minimal energy, and
has few rejections. or defects
 O
Factors Affect Castability
Characteristic of molten metal:

As the viscosity increases the castability decreases,

Metal Casting
Any Insoluble particles, inclusions decreases the castability,

Long freezing zones results in low castability. it means low

Fluidity
Casting properties:

Gating system design affects the castability,

Superheat improves the fluidity, which improve castability.

Mold material should have low thermal conductivity and fine

surface for better castability,
17
Slower rate of pouring lower the castability,
 Castability of Ferrous metals
Grey cast iron:-

It is the most fluid of all ferrous alloys and it has the high castability of

Metal Casting
all other ferrous metals.

Cast steels:-

Because of high temperature required to melt cast steels up to about

16500c (30000 ) are difficult to cast.

Stainless steels:-

These have long freezing zone & high melting temperature, which
reduce its castability.
18
 Castability of Non-Ferrous metals
Aluminum based alloys:-

Generally considered to be very castable due to its low pouring

Metal Casting
temperatures due to low melting temperature.

Copper and its alloys:-

To some extend, it is similar to aluminum however, the higher cost of

the copper results in lower castability, as compared to aluminum.

Zinc-based alloys:-

Very castable, commonly used in die casting. Low pouring temperatures

due to low melting temperature. Good fluidity for ease of casting
19
 Sand Casting Process Design
The sand casting process involves several element that need design before to start the
casting process itself.

Metal Casting
f
A designer needs to know the dimensions of the cope, drag, riser, sprue gates and core.

The mold cavity is usually generated by the pattern. The pattern also need to be designed.
20
 Select the Parting Line
Parting line is the line between the upper and the lower flasks.

The line is important and the guidelines to select it are:

Metal Casting
If possible, put all the casting in the lower flask (Drag),

The pattern should clear the mold without destroying the sand.

Is better to be flat surface.

Let's apply the criteria herein:

This selection satisfies the first role but is

not satisfying the second, as the pattern 21
will destroy the sand when being taken This selection is accepted for all the
out from the mold. criteria listed above.
Select the Parting Line

Metal Casting
22
Select the Parting Line

Metal Casting
23
 Pattern Allowances
Pattern is the workpiece plus the allowances and the core print

Workpiece (Final Casting)

Metal Casting
Pattern:

Draft allowance

Core Print
24
Machining +
Shrinkage allowance
 Pattern Allowances
Machining
Machining is usually needed after the sand casting in order to get the
required surface finish.

Metal Casting
The amount of material to be removed is function of:

The position of the surface (top, side or down)

The degree of surface finish I, II or III

The machining allowance of steels:

Max. Dimension Surface Nominal Dimension, mm

mm position 121 - 260 261-800
I II I I I I II III I II III
Top 3.5 4.5 5.0 - - - - - -
Bott. Side 3 4 4.0 - - - - - -
121-260 Top 4 5oooo 5 4 6 6 - - -
Bott. Side 3 4 4 3.5 4 4.5 - - --
261-500 Top 5 6 6 5 7 8 6 7 8
Bott. Side 3 5 5 4 5 6 4 6 6
501-800 Top 5 7 7 6 8 8 7 9 10 25
Bott. Side 4 5 5 4.5 6 6 5 6 7
 Pattern Allowances
Draft
Draft allowance is designed to facilitate the process of taking out the pattern from the sand
mold and to leave the mold cavity without any damage.

Metal Casting
The draft (sometimes called tapper) allowance is usually between 1 3 º.

It affects the dimensions parallel to the parting line and appears on the surfaces
perpendicular to the parting line.

26
 Pattern Allowances
Core print
Core prints are used to serve this purpose. 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.

Metal Casting
The core print must be of adequate size and shape so that it can support the weight of the core
during the casting operation.

For horizontal cores, the right and the lift core prints have the same length l.

For the vertical cores the length of the bottom core print is h1 where as, the top one is 0.6 h1.
Core Diam., Core Length, mm
mm
51:150 151:300 301:500 501:750

h1 l h1 l h1 l h1 l h1 l

20 15 25 25

26: 50 20 20 40 35 60 45 70 60

51: 100 25 25 35 40 50 50 70 70 100 90

101:200 30 30 30 50 40 55 60 80 90 100

201:300 35 35 40 60 50 90 80 110 27
301:400 40 40 40 80 50 100 70 120

401:500 40 40 40 110 50 120 60 130

 Pattern design
a) Design the pattern needed to produce the casting shown in Fig. (all surfaces will be machined to
surface finish II)

Metal Casting
as

a
b) If the sprue diameter at the top is 40 mm and the pouring cup height is 30 mm, find the
diameter of the sprue at the parting line given that the flask height is 120 mm. 28

21647
 machine
D
20
Nominal shrinkge adidatnce
dimention allawnce accaunce 20 finna'ention
0200 7 5 212 0.02 0 216.24
0140 7 5 152 0.02 0 155.04
080 5 5 70 0.02 O 71.4
280 TB 6 6 292 0.02 0 297.84
SO TB 6 5 61 XO 02 O 62.22
280 PL 6 6 292 0 02 2 108.12tanz 305.4

D iner hole 71.4

70 70 445.4
Len 305.4
e
 20 20

235 5 4 244 0 02 0 248.88

60 5 3 68 0.02 0 69.36
25 5 5 15 0.02 0 15.3
0380 4 4 388 0.02 O
0280 4 4 288 0 02 O
0 180 4 4 188 0 02 0
070 3 3 64 0 02 0 65.28
0380 PL 4 4 388 0.02 4 34 68292 4006
0180
441188 0.0214 82.11
2031
core dim
core 0 65.28
Core 2 248.88 50 0.6650

328.88

t.EE
 300 11
1 St 30
280 7 6 292 0015 0 297.39
200 0 200 0.015 0 203
100 65 5 90 0.015 0 91.35
300 6 6 312 0.015 0 316 68
50 6 0 56 0.015 0 56.84
300 PL 6 6 312 0.015 2 148.192930 332.21

coreding
core D 91.35
332.21 70 70
core
472.21

000

too
 2 20
100 7 5 112 002 O 114.24
40 7 5 52 0.02 O

20 O 20 0.02 O
520 6 6 532 0.02 O
440 0 440 1.02 O
120 0 120 002 O
60 Sts SOXO.DZ O
520 PL 6 6 532 0.02 2 57.12
tan 20