Saint Louis University

School of Engineering and Architecture

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Different Processes of Metals

Submitted by:

Andaya, Philip Jacob V.

November 2016
Submitted to:

Engr. Marcelino Lunag Jr.

I.

Casting

Date Submitted:
6

In metalworking, casting involves

pouring liquid metal into a mold, which
contains a hollow cavity of the desired
shape, and then allowing it to cool and
solidify. The solidified part is also
known as a casting, which is ejected or
broken out of the mold to complete
the process. Casting is most often
used for making complex shapes that
would be difficult or uneconomical to
make by other methods
Casting processes have been
known for thousands of years, and
widely used for sculpture, especially in
bronze, jewellery in precious metals,
and weapons and tools. Traditional
techniques include lost-wax casting,
plaster mold casting and sand casting.
The modern casting process is
subdivided into two main categories:
expendable
and
non-expendable
casting. It is further broken down by
the mold material, such as sand or
metal, and pouring method, such as
gravity, vacuum, or low pressure.
A.Expendable mold casting
Expendable mold casting is a generic classification that includes sand, plastic,
shell, plaster, and investment (lost-wax technique) moldings. This method of mold
casting involves the use of temporary, non-reusable molds.
1. Sand casting
Sand casting is one of the most popular and simplest types of casting, and has
been used for centuries. Sand casting allows for smaller batches than permanent
mold casting and at a very reasonable cost. Not only does this method allow
manufacturers to create products at a low cost, but there are other benefits to
sand casting, such as very small-size operations. From castings that fit in the palm
of your hand to train beds (one casting can create the entire bed for one rail car);
it can all be done with sand casting. Sand casting also allows most metals to be
cast depending on the type of sand used for the molds.
2. Plaster mold casting
Plaster casting is similar to sand casting except that plaster of paris is
substituted for sand as a mold material. Generally, the form takes less than a

week to prepare, after which a production rate of 110 units/hrmold is achieved,

with items as massive as 45 kg (99 lb) and as small as 30 g (1 oz) with very good
surface finish and close tolerances. Plaster casting is an inexpensive alternative to
other molding processes for complex parts due to the low cost of the plaster and
its ability to produce near net shape castings. The biggest disadvantage is that it
can only be used with low melting point non-ferrous materials, such as aluminium,
copper, magnesium, and zinc.
3. Shell molding
Shell molding is similar to sand casting, but the molding cavity is formed by a
hardened "shell" of sand instead of a flask filled with sand. The sand used is finer
than sand casting sand and is mixed with a resin so that it can be heated by the
pattern and hardened into a shell around the pattern. Because of the resin and
finer sand, it gives a much finer surface finish. The process is easily automated
and more precise than sand casting. Common metals that are cast include cast
iron, aluminium, magnesium, and copper alloys. This process is ideal for complex
items that are small to medium-sized.
4. Investment casting
Investment casting (known as lost-wax casting in art) is a process that has
been practiced for thousands of years, with the lost-wax process being one of the
oldest known metal forming techniques. From 5000 years ago, when beeswax
formed the pattern, to todays high technology waxes, refractory materials and
specialist alloys, the castings ensure high-quality components are produced with
the key benefits of accuracy, repeatability, versatility and integrity.
5. Waste molding of plaster
In waste molding a simple and thin plaster mold, reinforced by sisal or burlap,
is cast over the original clay mixture. When cured, it is then removed from the
damp clay, incidentally destroying the fine details in undercuts present in the
clay, but which are now captured in the mold. The mold may then at any later
time (but only once) be used to cast a plaster positive image, identical to the
original clay. The surface of this plaster may be further refined and may be
painted and waxed to resemble a finished bronze casting.
6. Evaporative-pattern casting
This is a class of casting processes that use pattern materials that evaporate
during the pour, which means there is no need to remove the pattern material
from the mold before casting. The two main processes are lost-foam casting and
full-mold casting.
7. Lost-foam casting
Lost-foam casting is a type of evaporative-pattern casting process that is
similar to investment casting except foam is used for the pattern instead of wax.
This process takes advantage of the low boiling point of foam to simplify the
investment casting process by removing the need to melt the wax out of the
mold.

8. Full-mold casting
Full-mold casting is an evaporative-pattern casting process which is a
combination of sand casting and lost-foam casting. It uses an expanded
polystyrene foam pattern which is then surrounded by sand, much like sand
casting. The metal is then poured directly into the mold, which vaporizes the foam
upon contact.

B.Non-expendable mold casting

Non-expendable mold casting differs from expendable processes in that the
mold need not be reformed after each production cycle. This technique includes at
least four different methods: permanent, die, centrifugal, and continuous casting.
This form of casting also results in improved repeatability in parts produced and
delivers Near Net Shape results.
1. Permanent mold casting
Permanent mold casting is a metal casting process that employs reusable
molds ("permanent molds"), usually made from metal. The most common process
uses gravity to fill the mold. However, gas pressure or a vacuum are also used. A
variation on the typical gravity casting process, called slush casting, produces
hollow castings. Common casting metals are aluminium, magnesium, and copper
alloys. Other materials include tin, zinc, and lead alloys and iron and steel are also
cast in graphite molds. Permanent molds, while lasting more than one casting still
have a limited life before wearing out.
2. Die casting
The die casting process forces molten metal under high pressure into mold
cavities (which are machined into dies). Most die castings are made from
nonferrous metals, specifically zinc, copper, and aluminium-based alloys, but
ferrous metal die castings are possible. The die casting method is especially
suited for applications where many small to medium-sized parts are needed with
good detail, a fine surface quality and dimensional consistency.
3. Semi-solid metal casting
Semi-solid metal (SSM) casting is a modified die casting process that reduces
or eliminates the residual porosity present in most die castings. Rather than using
liquid metal as the feed material, SSM casting uses a higher viscosity feed
material that is partially solid and partially liquid. A modified die casting machine
is used to inject the semi-solid slurry into re-usable hardened steel dies. The high
viscosity of the semi-solid metal, along with the use of controlled die filling
conditions, ensures that the semi-solid metal fills the die in a non-turbulent
manner so that harmful porosity can be essentially eliminated.
4. Centrifugal casting
In this process molten metal is poured in the mold and allowed to solidify while
the mold is rotating. Metal is poured into the center of the mold at its axis of

rotation. Due to centrifugal force the liquid metal is thrown out towards the
periphery.
5. Continuous casting
Continuous casting is a refinement of the casting process for the continuous,
high-volume production of metal sections with a constant cross-section. Molten
metal is poured into an open-ended, water-cooled mold, which allows a 'skin' of
solid metal to form over the still-liquid centre, gradually solidifying the metal from
the outside in. After solidification, the strand, as it is sometimes called, is
continuously withdrawn from the mold. Predetermined lengths of the strand can
be cut off by either mechanical shears or traveling oxyacetylene torches and
transferred to further forming processes, or to a stockpile. Cast sizes can range
from strip (a few millimeters thick by about five meters wide) to billets (90 to 160
mm square) to slabs (1.25 m wide by 230 mm thick). Sometimes, the strand may
undergo an initial hot rolling process before being cut.
II.

Forging
Forging is a manufacturing process
involving the shaping of metal using
localized compressive forces. The
blows are delivered with a hammer
(often a power hammer) or a die.
Forging is often classified according to
the temperature at which it is
performed: cold forging (a type of cold
working), warm forging, or hot forging
(a type of hot working). For the latter
two, the metal is heated, usually in a
forge. Forged parts can range in
weight from less than a kilogram to
hundreds of metric tons. Forging has
been done by smiths for millennia; the
traditional products were kitchenware, hardware, hand tools, edged weapons, and
jewellery. Since the Industrial Revolution, forged parts are widely used in
mechanisms and machines wherever a component requires high strength; such
forgings usually require further processing (such as machining) to achieve a
finished part. Today, forging is a major worldwide industry.
1. Drop forging
Drop forging is a forging process where a hammer is raised and then "dropped"
onto the work piece to deform it according to the shape of the die. There are two
types of drop forging: open-die drop forging and closed-die drop forging. As the
names imply, the difference is in the shape of the die, with the former not fully
enclosing the work piece, while the latter does.
2. Roll forging

Roll forging is a process where round or flat bar stock is reduced in thickness
and increased in length. Roll forging is performed using two cylindrical or semicylindrical rolls, each containing one or more shaped grooves. A heated bar is
inserted into the rolls and when it hits a spot the rolls rotate and the bar is
progressively shaped as it is rolled through the machine. The piece is then
transferred to the next set of grooves or turned around and reinserted into the
same grooves. This continues until the desired shape and size is achieved. The
advantage of this process is there is no flash and it imparts a favorable grain
structure into the work piece.
3. Automatic hot forging
The automatic hot forging process involves feeding mill-length steel bars
(typically 7 m (23 ft) long) into one end of the machine at room temperature and
hot forged products emerge from the other end. This all occurs rapidly; small
parts can be made at a rate of 180 parts per minute (ppm) and larger can be
made at a rate of 90 ppm. The parts can be solid or hollow, round or symmetrical,
up to 6 kg (13 lb), and up to 18 cm (7.1 in) in diameter. The main advantages to
this process are its high output rate and ability to accept low-cost materials. Little
labor is required to operate the machinery.
4. Upset forging
Upset forging increases the diameter of the workpiece by compressing its
length.[15] Based on number of pieces produced, this is the most widely used
forging process.[15] A few examples of common parts produced using the upset
forging process are engine valves, couplings, bolts, screws, and other fasteners.
5. Press forging
Press forging works by slowly applying a continuous pressure or force, which
differs from the near-instantaneous impact of drop-hammer forging. The amount
of time the dies are in contact with the workpiece is measured in seconds (as
compared to the milliseconds of drop-hammer forges). The press forging
operation can be done either cold or hot
III.

Rolling
In metalworking, rolling is a metal forming process in which metal stock is
passed through one or more pairs of rolls to reduce the thickness and to make the
thickness uniform. The concept is similar to the rolling of dough. Rolling is
classified according to the temperature of the metal rolled. If the temperature of
the metal is above its recrystallization temperature, then the process is known as
hot rolling. If the temperature of the metal is below its recrystallization
temperature, the process is known as cold rolling.

In terms of usage, hot rolling processes more

tonnage than any other manufacturing process,
and cold rolling processes the most tonnage out of
all cold working processes. Roll stands holding
pairs of rolls are grouped together into rolling mills
that can quickly process metal, typically steel, into
products such as structural steel (I-beams, angle
stock, channel stock, and so on), bar stock, and
rails. Most steel mills have rolling mill divisions
that convert the semi-finished casting products
into finished products.
IV.

Extrusion
Extrusion is a process used to create
objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile. A
material is pushed through a die of the
desired cross-section. The two main
advantages of this process over other
manufacturing processes are its ability to
create very complex cross-sections, and to
work materials that are brittle, because
the material only encounters compressive and shear stresses. It also forms parts
with an excellent surface finish.
Extruded aluminium with several hollow cavities;
joined with special connectors.

T slots allow bars to be

Drawing is a similar process, which uses the tensile strength of the material to
pull it through the die. This limits the amount of change which can be performed
in one step, so it is limited to simpler shapes, and multiple stages are usually
needed. Drawing is the main way to produce wire. Metal bar and tube are also
often drawn.
Extrusion may be continuous (theoretically producing indefinitely long
material) or semi-continuous (producing many pieces). The extrusion process can
be done with the material hot or cold. Commonly extruded materials include
metals, polymers, ceramics, concrete, play dough, and foodstuffs. The products of
extrusion are generally called "extrudates".
Hollow cavities within extruded material cannot be produced using a simple
flat extrusion die, because there would be no way to support the center barrier of
the die. Instead, the die assumes the shape of a block with depth, beginning first
with a shape profile that supports the center section. The die shape then
internally changes along its length into the final shape, with the suspended center
pieces supported from the back of the die. The material flows around the supports
and fuses together to create the desired closed shape.
The extrusion process in metals may also increase the strength of the material.
V.

Sintering

Clinker nodules produced by sintering

Sintering
happens
naturally
in
mineral deposits or as a manufacturing
process used with metals, ceramics,
plastics, and other materials. The atoms
in the materials diffuse across the
boundaries of the particles, fusing the
particles together and creating one solid
piece.
Because
the
sintering
temperature does not have to reach the
melting point of the material, sintering is
often chosen as the shaping process for
materials with extremely high melting
points
such
as
tungsten
and
molybdenum. The study of sintering in
metallurgy powder-related processes is
known as powder metallurgy. An
example of sintering can be observed when ice cubes in a glass of water adhere
to each other, which is driven by the temperature difference between the water
and the ice.[citation needed] Examples of pressure-driven sintering are the
compacting of snowfall to a glacier, or the forming of a hard snowball by pressing
loose snow together.
VI.

Machining
Machining is any of various processes in which a piece of raw material is cut
into a desired final shape and size by a controlled material-removal process. The
processes that have this common theme, controlled material removal, are today
collectively known as subtractive manufacturing, in distinction from processes of
controlled material addition, which are known as additive manufacturing. Exactly
what the "controlled" part of the definition implies can vary, but it almost always
implies the use of machine tools (in addition to just power tools and hand tools).
Machining is a part of the manufacture of many metal products, but it can also
be used on materials such as wood, plastic, ceramic, and composites. A person
who specializes in machining is called a machinist. A room, building, or company
where machining is done is called a machine shop. Machining can be a business, a
hobby, or both. Much of modern day machining is carried out by computer
numerical control (CNC), in which computers are used to control the movement
and operation of the mills, lathes, and other cutting machines.

VII.

Metal fabrication
A set of six-axis welding robots
Metal fabrication is the building of metal structures by cutting, bending, and
assembling processes. It is a value added process that involves the construction
of machines and structures from various raw materials. A fab shop will bid on a
job, usually based on the engineering drawings, and if awarded the contract will
build the product. Large fab shops will employ a multitude of value added

processes in one plant or facility including

welding, cutting, forming and machining.
These large fab shops offer additional
value to their customers by limiting the
need for purchasing personnel to locate
multiple vendors for different services.
Metal fabrication jobs usually start with
shop
drawings
including
precise
measurements then move to the
fabrication stage and finally to the
installation
of
the
final
project.
Fabrication shops are employed by
contractors, OEMs and VARs. Typical
projects include loose parts, structural
frames for buildings and heavy equipment, and stairs and hand railings for
buildings.
VIII. Welding
In a sense, welding may be considered to be a fabrication technique. In
welding, two or more metal parts are joined to form a single piece when one-part
fabrication is expensive or inconvenient. Both similar and dissimilar metals may
be welded. The joining bond is metallurgical (involving some diffusion) rather than
just mechanical, as with riveting and bolting. A variety of welding methods exist,
including arc and gas welding, as well as brazing and soldering. During arc and
gas welding, the work pieces to be joined and the filler material (i.e., welding rod)
are heated to a sufficiently high temperature to cause both to melt; upon
solidification, the filler material forms a fusion joint between the work pieces.
Thus, there is a region adjacent to the weld that may have experienced
microstructural and property alterations; this region is termed the heat-affected
zone (sometimes abbreviated HAZ). Possible alterations include the following:
1. If the work piece material was previously cold worked, this heat-affected
zone may have experienced recrystallization and grain growth, and thus a
diminishment of strength, hardness, and toughness. The HAZ for this situation is
represented schematically in Figure 11.9.
2. Upon cooling, residual stresses may form in this region that weaken the
joint.
3. For steels, the material in this zone may have been heated to temperatures
sufficiently high so as to form austenite. Upon cooling to room temperature, the
microstructural products that form depend on cooling rate and alloy composition.
For plain carbon steels, normally pearlite and a proeutectoid phase will be
present. However, for alloy steels, one microstructural product may be
martensite, which is ordinarily undesirable because it is so brittle.
4. Some stainless steels may be sensitized during welding, which renders
them susceptible to intergranular corrosion, as explained in Section 17.7. A
relatively modern joining technique is that of laser beam welding, wherein a
highly focused and intense laser beam is used as the heat source. The laser beam
melts the parent metal, and, upon solidification, a fusion joint is produced; often a
filler material need not be used. Some of the advantages of this technique are as
follows:

(1) it is a noncontact process, which eliminates mechanical distortion of the

workpieces; (2) it can be rapid and highly automated; (3) energy input to the
workpiece is low, and therefore the heat-affected zone size is minimal; (4) welds
may be small in size and very precise; (5) a large variety of metals and alloys may
be joined using this technique; and (6) porosity-free welds with strengths equal to
or in excess of the base metal are possible. Laser beam welding is used
extensively in the automotive and electronic industries, where high quality and
rapid welding rates are required.

IX. Thermal Processing Of Metals

Annealing (metallurgy)
It has been suggested that this article be merged with Annealing (glass).
(Discuss) Proposed since June 2015.
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this
article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be
challenged and removed. (June 2012)
Annealing, in metallurgy and materials science, is a heat treatment that alters
the physical and sometimes chemical properties of a material to increase its
ductility and reduce its hardness, making it more workable. It involves heating a
material to above its recrystallization temperature, maintaining a suitable
temperature, and then cooling.
In annealing, atoms migrate in the crystal lattice and the number of
dislocations decreases, leading to the change in ductility and hardness.
In the cases of copper, steel, silver, and brass, this process is performed by
heating the material (generally until glowing) for a while and then slowly letting it
cool to room temperature in still air. Copper, silver and brass can be cooled slowly
in air, or quickly by quenching in water, unlike ferrous metals, such as steel, which
must be cooled slowly to anneal. In this fashion, the metal is softened and
prepared for further worksuch as shaping, stamping, or forming.

Precipitation hardening
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this
article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be
challenged and removed. (February 2010)
Precipitation hardening, also called age hardening, is a heat treatment
technique used to increase the yield strength of malleable materials, including
most structural alloys of aluminium, magnesium, nickel, titanium, and some
stainless steels. In superalloys, it is known to cause yield strength anomaly
providing excellent high-temperature strength.
Precipitation hardening relies on changes in solid solubility with temperature to
produce fine particles of an impurity phase, which impede the movement of

dislocations, or defects in a crystal's lattice. Since dislocations are often the

dominant carriers of plasticity, this serves to harden the material. The impurities
play the same role as the particle substances in particle-reinforced composite
materials. Just as the formation of ice in air can produce clouds, snow, or hail,
depending upon the thermal history of a given portion of the atmosphere,
precipitation in solids can produce many different sizes of particles, which have
radically different properties. Unlike ordinary tempering, alloys must be kept at
elevated temperature for hours to allow precipitation to take place. This time
delay is called "aging". Solution treatment and aging is sometimes abbreviated
"STA" in metals specs and certs.
Note that two different heat treatments involving precipitates can alter the
strength of a material: solution heat treating and precipitation heat treating. Solid
solution strengthening involves formation of a single-phase solid solution via
quenching. Precipitation heat treating involves the addition of impurity particles to
increase a material's strength.Precipitation hardening via precipitation heat
treatment is the main topic of discussion in this article.

Quenching
In materials science, quenching, a type of heat treating, is the rapid cooling of
a workpiece to obtain certain material properties. It prevents low-temperature
processes, such as phase transformations, from occurring by only providing a
narrow window of time in which the reaction is both thermodynamically favorable
and kinetically accessible. For instance, it can reduce crystallinity and thereby
increasing the hardness of both alloys and plastics (produced through
polymerization).
In metallurgy, it is most commonly used to harden steel by introducing
martensite, in which case the steel must be rapidly cooled through its eutectoid
point, the temperature at which austenite becomes unstable. In steel alloyed with
metals such as nickel and manganese, the eutectoid temperature becomes much
lower, but the kinetic barriers to phase transformation remain the same. This
allows quenching to start at a lower temperature, making the process much
easier. High speed steel also has added tungsten, which serves to raise kinetic
barriers and give the illusion that the material has been cooled more rapidly than
it really has. Even cooling such alloys slowly in air has most of the desired effects
of quenching.
Extremely rapid cooling can prevent the formation of all crystal structure,
resulting in amorphous metal or "metallic glass".
If the percentage of carbon is less than 0.4 percent, quenching is not possible.

Tempering (metallurgy)
Differentially tempered steel. The various colors produced indicate the
temperature to which the steel was heated. Light-straw indicates 204 C (399 F)
and light blue indicates 337 C (639 F).

Tempering is a process of heat treating, which is used to increase the

toughness of iron-based alloys. Tempering is usually performed after hardening, to
reduce some of the excess hardness, and is done by heating the metal to some
temperature below the critical point for a certain period of time, then allowing it
to cool in still air. The exact temperature determines the amount of hardness
removed, and depends on both the specific composition of the alloy and on the
desired properties in the finished product. For instance, very hard tools are often
tempered at low temperatures, while springs are tempered to much higher
temperatures.

Videos:
How its made - Metal Casting
Metal Process

How its made- Sintering

How its made Steel Forgings

Tempering process

How

How its made Rolling

How its made Hard metal machining
How its made Extrusion Processes
How its made The steel heat treatment

its

made-