SOLIDIFICATION, GATING, RISERING AND CASTING DESIGN One of the most important stages of manufacture of castings is the formation of solid casting from liquid or molten metal phase when poured into mold cavity. The various complex transformations that occur during the process including physical, chemical, metallurgical and geometric changes, influence the quality and cost of the final product -a casting. The understanding of "methoding” or the design of the system which ensures this optimum casting quality to be achieved is very vital in metal casting process. 'Methoding’ or technology’ involves designing pattern equipment and molding process, gating system through which liquid metal is distributed into mold cavity and risering or feeding system which ensure freedom from shrinkage and other solidification oriented defects in the final casting. Obviously this ficld has attracted research at very high level in different institutions all over the world and as it has grown out of practical data, many empirical methods are also in us In general gating system is very critical for cast irons and dross-forming non-ferrous, alloys but not so critical for carbon stec! castings. On the otherhand_ steel castings need extensive risering or feeding system for optimum quality. Most of the principles of feeding of stect can be adopted for aluminium and copper alloy castings also. For grey cast iron, feeding is not eritical Recent developments in methoding practice include various computer programs developed for design of gating and riscring systems like "FEEDER-CALC" by FOSECO, "CRUSADER" by British Stecl Casting Research and Trade Association, "Computer program for methoding” by Ruddle, U.S.A., "Micro methoding" by Melton and Clegg for non-ferrous alloys ete., which have found wide acceptance industries abroad. Even in India a few leading sicel foundries have developed their own computer programs for methoding ‘The other important development in feeding practice is the use of feeding aids tc improve efficiency of feeding and reduce liquid metal requirements, appreciably reducing energy, material and manufacturing cost, This also helped in standardizing122 Solidification, Gating, Risering and Casting Design riser design by providing a few standard riser-sleeves. Similarly refractory-sleeves, ceramic and wiremesh filters in gating system developed are helping greatly in reducing inclusions and improving quality of castings. Good methoding practices can reduce rejection in foundries and save substanti wastage, and ensure profitability for foundries which are otherwise struggling financially Casting design involves considerations to be incorporated in the component design/drawing to make it an effective and economical casting, Even though itis not a compulsory/routine responsibility of casting producer, it is however essential for a foundry engineer to point out unfavourable design aspects and suggest suitable modifications in the casting drawing. All major design organizations, even without casting facilities, route the designed drawings of a cast-component though a foundry specialist for necessary modifications 5.1 Solidification phenomena of common cast metals The casting process is essentially solidification of liquid metal in the motd cavity. Such a phase change from liquid to solid state involves the phenomena like changes uidity, volumetric shrinkage, segregation, evolving of gascs absorbed and the size of grains which have profound influence on the quality of the final casting obtained. A proper understanding of solidification mechanism helps in avoiding major casting defects like misruns, cold-shuts, shrinkage cavities, pin-hole porosity, hot-tears, cracks, distortions and poor mechanical properties. i. The solidification of the casting alloy can be understood well from the study of the relevant phase diagram. Phase diagrams are constructed by plotting the cooling curves of various compositions of the alloy systems together (Fig 5.3). Alloys generally solidify as (a) solid solutions (b)eutectics or (c) combination of both, which are the most common. Information like liquidus (melting) temperature, solidification or freezing range, the different phases present at room temperature as well as at different temperatures for any particular alloy can be obtained from the phase diagram. Alloy systems with larger freezing range have lower Muidity,causing problems in running and gating, Examples of such alloys are carbon stecls with luwer carbon, On the other hand, eutectic system of alloys like ALSi, Cu-Sn (bronzes), and cast irons with higher carbon have high fluidity and so good castabilty ii, During the cooling of a liquid alloy, on reaching liquidus temperature, solid particles or nuclei are first formed. They gradually grow in different directions based on the rate of heat loss, in tree-shaped dendrites, trapping the balance liquid in between their solid branches. The dendrites grow till they touch the adjoining ones, finally forming solid grains or crystals (Fig. 5.1). The impurities are normally pushed to the grain boundaries. The size and type of grains formed depend upon the type of alloy, rate of heat extraction from liquid metal in the mold cavity and the geometry of the casting. As finer grains have superior mechanical properties like tensile srength, toughness and ductility, itis the attempt of every foundry to create conditions favourable to their formation and avoid coarse and columnar grains. The conditions that help in fine equi-axial grain formation are:Temp *€ 1550 1500 1450 1400 1980 1300 1250 1200 Metal Casting ~ Priwiples & Practice 123 a | Solid | ~ Autente) Common Cast Catbon tec | Low carbon Steels lesead| ~ T of r T T Steels Steels | Medium Carbon | igh Carbon | or 02 03 94 05 06 oF o8 % Carcon Fig.5.3 Solidification range of tet effect of C%% 09 / ~ \ va Laue v sors | Nuclius “| a) BES cone | sy, a Fig.5.1. Suges of so14 Solidification, Gating, Riseing and Casting Design a. shorter freezing range - alloy, b. faster cooling of liquid metal as in metal molds/chill, . larger surface area : volume ratio of casting or casting having thin walls, 4. higher pouring temperature, and inoculation or introduction of exiernal nucleating agents into liquid metal like ‘Cai into cast iron or titanium alloys into aluminium and steel ancptere posse tren igus 5 t 3 ht convection n ih are (w Soliication front starting Shrinkage cavity (ai) Thermal contours (iv) Final sod Fig.5.2 Formation of shrinkage cavity ‘Volumetric shrinkage accompanying solidification is a very important consideration in achieving casting soundness, The various factors that influence shrinkage in casting and methods to overcome this problem are discussed in detail later in this Chapter under feeling system/riser design. Fig. 5.2 During solidification from liquid to solid state, certain alloys with long freezing ange tend to develop casting defects like hot-iears and cracks. This happens during. the stage of solidification when the solid dendrites while contracting are still not strong enough to overcome the hindrance offered by non-collapsible cores and mold (Fig. 5.4). At this stage cracks start forming which could develop into serious casting defects later. Some of the measures taken to avoid these include selection of an alloy with smaller solidification range, change in design of casting to more a streamlined section, use of collapsible cores and molds and chills to avoid hot-spots for directional solMetal Casting - Principles & Practice 125 Hot tear Hard non-collapsibie core jeri ira ont be {horse shoe nail (a) Radius Cotapsible core Aiser Padding Internal chils External chi Fig. 5 (A) Hot tears, (B) directional solidification v. During the melting of alloy, due to lack of proper precautions, gases like hydrogen tend to get absorbed into liquid metal. During pouring in mold also, some alloys absorb gases from ladles and mold cavity. As solidification proceeds, these absorbed gases, due to their lower solubility in solid state, get pushed into casting portion which solidify later, like top or heavy section, causing either a mushroomlike growth on cast surface or fine pin-holes all over the region. Precantions against such gas porosity have to be taken mainly in melting, drying of ladles and pouring. For some alloys of copper and aluminium, degassing by specials chemicals is adopled. For very critical castings, vacuum pouring is done for eliminating this problem. vi, Metalmold reaction is another phenomenon that occurs while liquid metal is solidifying in mold cavity for some casting alloy like manganese steels and some copper alloys. The chemical reaction between the basic constituents in the liquid metal and the acidic mold material react to cause poor surface finish on castings. This can be eliminated by suitable mold and core-coatings.126 Solidification, Gating, Risering and Casting Design i. 228 _| SUT Inner padding 4 Abe 130 Exernal chit Fig, 5.5 Chills & Padding for directional solidification of wheel Cop # 620) vii, Dimensional changes, distortion and warpages in castings occuring during contraction of cast metal in the solid state to room temperature also depend upon the solidification characteristics of the alloy, the casting geometry and the temperature gradients in mold during cooling. They can be controlled by proper use of chills and changes in casting design. (Fig 5.5). 5.2. Running and gating system i. Attributes of gating system ‘The objective of a gating system is to facilitate the distribution of molten metal into the mold cavity. A technically ideal gating system must possess the following attributes according to Wallance and Evans: ‘+ itmust introduce metal into the mold cavity with minimum turbulence, * _ itmust prevent slag, dross or inclusion in ladle to reach mold cavity, + itmust avoid aspiration of air and mold gases in metal stream, ‘+ itmust not cause mold or core erosion, * it should create favourable temperature gradients in the casting to help directional solidification, * it should control the rate of filing of mold cavity avoiding cold-shuts due to slow rise as well as erosion due to fastrise and + itshould be economical to mold and to finish after casting.Metal Casting + Principles & Practice 127 Casting Spruo— Funner Sprue - base’ be 28 eos Sprue: Tapered 620/625 (top) CEGZE Runner (2): 28/28 x25 - Ingate (2): 50x12 b—so—4 Fig. 5.6 Components of gating system - Example ii, The components of gating system Pouring basin “Molten metal is received first into this funneltop which should be kepi fll while pouring to avoid aspiration Sprue The most critical component which controls the rate of entry of metal into mold, a tapered cylinder. Runner Channel to distribute metal from sprue to different regions in casting, controlling velocity (ate of low) Ingate Points of metal entry into actual casting/mold cavity. (Fig. 5.6) iii. Types of gating The gating system is named as per the method or location of molten metal entry into casting/mold cavity (op gating parting line gating side/step gating bottom gating and a combination of the above.128 Solidification, Gating, Risering and Casting Design iv, Design of gating system ‘The sequential steps are: a. estimation of optimum pouring time of casting, . calculation of sprue choke-area, selection of gating ratio, 4. selection of type of gating/location and finally €. calculation of runner, ingate sizes. a, Pouring times ‘The pouring time '’is influenced by the fluidity and dross-forming characteristics of metal, casting geometry/wallthickness/modulus, total weight of casting including risers, type of mold material, resistance to erosion, scabbling tendency. Various formulae have been developed by different researchers, important persons being Czikel, Nielsen (cast iron), Ruddle, Pribill (steel), Sobolev, Eastwood etc., for different cast motals/alloys. 4}. Sprue choke-area ‘This is calculated from the principles of fluid flow: Law of continuity: Rate of flow Q= ArVi = A2V2 where As, Az ~ cross sectional areas of channel Vi, Va ~ velocity of fluid, in a system with impermeable walls filled with an incompressible liquid. Bernouille's Theorem: ‘The total energy comprising potential, kinetic and pressure energy at every Point in the gating system is constant megs B mee B In this, the heat losses inthe system are not considered. pressure velocity of flow = J2gh = effective metallostatic head — pouring time {otal liquid metal being poured specific gravity of the metal discharge coefficient 3, — Sprue choke area porgrres ‘Quantity of Liquid metal flowing into casting through sprue: S.VAMeal Casting ~ Principles & Practice 129 ¢. Selection of gating ratio Gating ratio is - sprue choke area (otal runner area : total ingate's arca This is selected depending on the characteristics of molten metal being cast such as fluidity, slag or dross forming tendency, pouring temperature etc... and also on mold material characteristics such as resistance to erosion, scabbing tendency, green sand, CO,, dry sand, shell molded ete. Eg:-For aluminium casting in green sand molds: it ig 1: 2: 4 and for steel in ddry-sand molds: itis 1:2: 15. The system can be pressurized, mildly pressurized or non-pressurized by suitable selection of the above and thus the rate of flow of metal/velocity in different parts of the casting cavity can be controlled. d. Type of gating/location Whether to use top, side, bottom or combinations of these gatings depend upon: (Fig. 5.8 to 5.18) casting configuration ‘method of molding casting wall thickness weight of metal entering mold mold material ¢. Calculation of sprue/runner/ingate sizes This depends upon the characteristics of casting alloy. The method of caleulation for major cast/metals are given in the following pages. v. Gating system for cast iron castings Cast iron “castings being normally of intricate design combined section-sensitivity and chilling tendency of liquid metal pose maximum problems in gating system design a, Pouring time (secs) According to Czikelt = M/E Where M — Modulus of casting = Casting volume Casting surfacearea E— Constant 0,015 to 0.035 For machine tool castings, E= 0.025 According to Nielson, (for castings upto 1000 Kg) 32(W.G)* ~ casting time in seconds W ~ governing wall thickness in mm G~ casting weight, gross, in Kg,130 Solidification, Gating, Risering and Casting Design b. Sprue exit area = —2266 in cm, expxtx dh, G casting gross we ¢ = discharge coefficient 0.8 to 1.2 (intricate to simple) specific gravity of metal = pouring time h = pressure head For short tapered sprue, diameter at entrance = 1.414 x exit diameter and for long sprue, diameter at entrance 1,732 x exit diameter Sprue well base diameter =224xD & Gating Ratio: Sprue exit area ; Total runner arca ‘Total ingate area 6 EKA where K = 1 for single ingate 41 for two ingates 73 for three ingates =2 for four or more ingates + 1:4:4 is also used by some foundries ‘Soboleo’s nomogram for cast iron gating calculation: This nomogram (Fig.5.7) is constructed from the practical data of many ‘east European cast iron foundries of repute and is used widely. The variable parameters to be choosen are: Casting weight in kg (G), decisive wall thickness in mm (), average ferrostatic head in cm(h) and the class of casting intricacy - simple, medium or highly intricate, By joining the appropriate points in the nomogram vertically/ horizantally, the required total ingate area in em? can be directly read. Eg: For a 100 Kg casting weight (A), draw vertical line to intersect wall thickness 20mm line (B). From there draw a horizantal line to intersect 60cm ferrostatic pressure head line at (C). Draw vertical line from (C) to the table-row of medium intricacy class (D) and read the value 19.5em directly as the total ingate area. Each ingate size is decided as per the casting shape by choosing the number of ingates. The value obtained from this method is highly practical and is used to confirm/approximate the total ingate area calculated from other theoretical methods.131 Metal Citing - Principles & Practice om F-tora, g gi al ‘haan AV. FERRO- ‘SPATC PRESS cm i 1 i q i 7A OF INGATES cmt THICKNE Ss ~ my. aL feted al SIMPLE CASTING MEDIUM _INTRICACY t-DECISIVE CASTING WALL G- Wr 3 HIGHLY INTRICATE WALL tHekuess r CASTING KG monogram for calculation of gating for cast irons Fig. 5.7. Sobolev132 Solidification, Gating, Risering and Casting Design Runners (4) Top risers Wire mesh fier: Sprues (2) “ Side risers Ingates (e) Casting Fig. 5.8 Use of filters in gating. vi. Gating system of S.G. iron castings As SG. iron is treated with magnesium in molten state, its affinity towards oxygen is greater and hence, when the metal comes in contact with atmospheric oxygen, it produces slag. The slag and non-metallic particles like magnesium oxide, sulphide and silicate are to be fitered before the metal enters the mold cavity. Pouring time: (According to R.W. White) .97 [Pouring wi. (Kgs.)Metal Casting ~ Principles & Practice 133 Pouring wt, (Ke) b. Choke area (em) = 77 pouring time (6605) Gating ratio: Karsay suggests non:pressurized systems for large and intricate castings where turbulent flow is detrimental for good quolity Pressurized systems are used for less intricate castings Sprue : Runner Gate = 4:8:3 ‘The minimum gate thickness should not be less than. ‘Smm width of ingate = 4 x thickness Sprue area = 4/3 x choke area of ingates The use of metal fiters in gating is illustrated in Fig. 5.8 B for making crank shafts of SG. iron, Internal chil cage support rod Pouring cup Riser insulting sleeve — Riser Spure (cotzactory sleove) 520 o4—1000—+4 Casting External chil (indirect) zt External chil il L | — mould box Internal eh | —Ingates (rettactory tube) P Barrel of rol Ingates at side Runner (etractory tubes) |, Syphon gating Pp Neck of ct Ted Fig. 5.9 Riser/chills/sde gating of roll (Carbon steel for rolling mill)134 Solidification, Gating, Risring and Casting Design Insulating / exo risers, Ordinary nsor a Sprue (re fractory) Pad eae A Rumer Gear whee! casting Open riser sprue ~ Witium core 5 alind risers Gating into oxi Ag rset Pas i Hycraulic eylenaer Aunnee Riser gate * ‘Blind riser “12 ) Open ser] © Open riser") ~ Fig. 5.10 Typical examples of gating and risering.Metal Casting = Principles & Practice 135 Ordinary sora Padding — Orcinary Riser — Round #250) LF.380 | ordinary riser Oval [ 300200) | 350" J Insulating riser Fig. 5.11 Methods of risers and gating for wheel castings136 Solidification, Gating, Risering and Casting Design Exo thermic riser (sleove) 150 x H.100 (inside) Ordinary open riser Casting we | 1200 kg Risers wt 730 kg 3, Risers 180 x 400x504 Sprue : 60 Ingates 2 40x40, {Gross vt. 2000 kg Fig. 5.13 Press roller (med.carbon steel)Metal Casting - Priniples & Practice 137 5 cae | WY Fier nec, Fig. 5.14 Bearing - Housing (med C steel) Risers $06 Blind Risers $60 open Runner 35x 30 Inte nse ‘100 —————+] Fig. 5.15 Gating & risering for ring (C. 8)138 Solidification, Gating, Risering and Casting Design Cove pit ts 20 x25 Runner $50 sprue Combined ae In gate 1220 (Common riser Flow of $20 3) ie) ——]] __& Fig. 5.16 Gating rering of pipe ends (M1) vit. Gating system for steel casting Compared to other cast metals/alloys, design of gating system is less critical and can be done in many methods to suit practices. The important aspects to be borne in mind are: + due to the high pouring temperature (above 1500°C) steel imparts heavy thermal shock while entering mold cavity. due to high density, erosion of mold is heaviest in steel running system. being a pasty-type solidification, fast filing of mold-cavity is essential to avoid laps, cold:shuts etc., in intricate castings. * the location of the ingates should promote directional solidification but not hinder it as steel is prone to severe hot tearing tendency.i» \ ‘ eeu i se) \: = c— 3140 Solidification, Gating, Risering and Casting Design Some of the common practical solutions for the above problems are: ‘+ use of refractory gating/sprue/sleeves in place of normal sand components to minimise erosion, sand wash and entrapment of impurities. * avoiding large fall of metal into mold by adopting bottom, side and step gating for deep castings. Fig. 5.9 * distribution of ingates to avoid heat concentration. ‘+ multiple sprues for large castings for fast filling of liquid metal in the mold cavity. Calculation of gating for steel castings: a. Optimum pouring time (1) WG secs S ~ time coefficient varying from 1.2 to 2.6 ‘W ~ mean wall thickness in mm, G ~ gross wt of casting in Kg. ‘This is cross checked with recommended minimum rate of rise of liquid metal in mold cavity between 1.5 to 0.8 em/seconds. 4. Sprue exit area (cm) G 31-uht G~ gross wt. 1u~ coefficient of flow 0.25 to 0.50 optimum pouring time h ~ mean ferro-static pressure during pouring «. Gating ratio Normally unpressurized system is used. Example: 1:15: 2 or 1:2:2 In steel foundries, the following dia(}) sprues made out of refractory sleeves, are used in practice. For small castings upto 10 Kg. —~ 430 For castings 10 - 300Kg, — 40 For casting 300 - 2000Kg. ~~ 450, $60, and 680 for larger. Hard ramming of molds, avoiding cutting of gating system, bottom-pouring of ‘metal to avoid slag in the system, giving enough flow-offs and risers to prevent build up of back pressure while pouring and fast-pouring are other important, practical considerations. itt. Gating system design for non-ferrous alloys ‘Some of the important consideration are: ‘+ to avoid the production of dross and its passage into casting, the system should be capable of preventing dross or slag present in the ladle from reaching the mold cavity.Metal Casting ~ Principles & Practice 141 ‘+ to avoid the entrapment of air or mold gases in the metal system. + dross inclusions in the casting can be prevented by avoiding turbulent flow of metal from pouring erucible-to the casting cavity and by removing dross from the molten metal before it enters the casting cavity. Perforated metal screens are used in gating system in magnesium foundries for removal of dross. Fig 5.8 A Steps in design ‘Taking simple plate casting as an example for outlining the steps involved in methoding: (Fig. 5.6) ‘© Design the pouring basin which will contain enough metal to keep the gating system full. Pouring basin can have projections to trap slag before entering the sprue. © Decide the pouring time approximately ie., about 50 seconds for castings ‘weighing more than 100 Kg and of the order of 20 to 30 seconds for the smaller castings weighing about 5 Kgs and more. The pouring time selected shall be in such a way that it avoids cold-shuts. + Estimate the total weight of metal to be poured into the casting, For a good radiographic quality casting, the thumb rule is that about 2.5 to 3 times the casting weight are to be poured. a. Metal flow rate Metal flow rate = Night of meal tobe poured ~~ Pouring time Sprue diameter is to be designed to ensure this flow of metal. ~ -Gx1000 pct (28 Hy ‘A. = choke area (sprue area at bottom)cm G = Gasngweight + gating + riser in Kg. 0, = density of molten metal gm/cc effective height of metal head = discharge coefficient (combined discharge coefficient of both gating and molding can be taken as 0.4 for thin walled casting and 0.7 for thick walled casting) t " pouring time in seconds. 5, Feed metal criteria Kn = G/t For magnesium & aluminium alloys, the thumb rule is Kn 0.3 G Kg/Sec. (for aluminium alloy) Kp 0.2 G Kg/Sec. (for magnesium alloy)v2 Solidification, Gating, Risering and Casting Design If these conditions are satisfied then feeding is adequate Normally for a casting weighing more than 35 Kg more than one sprue is to be provided. Sprue height is determined by the mold box height and the diameter of sprue at top is determined by the draft taper requirement. Area at the top of the sprue is normally about three times that of the bottom. A round sprue is easier for molding. Rectangular sprues are preferred for magnesium alloys. Sprue-well is an enlargement at the bottom of the sprue and is provided to reduce the turbulence that occurs in changing the direction of flow from vertical to horizontal sprue base can be either cylindrical or rectangular. depth of sprue well = 1.5 to 2 times runner depth. length of sprue well = 4 x (sprue diameter) Metal screens are to be placed in sprue-well. Wire mesh is provided to trap solid inclusions in the metal, Screens with 25 to 50 percent openings are to be used and are to be given coating to avoid inclusions, Metal is distributed around the mold cavity by horizontal runners starting at the sprue base and entering at a location as low as possible. Runners art extended beyond the last ingate to act as traps to catch dirt and oxide formed in the gating system, Runners’ cross-sectional area is calculated as 2 {o 4 times the sprie choke area. Individual runner area is obtained by dividing this value by the number of runners connected to the sprue. Runner shapes are normally trapezoidal for a smooth flow. All dimensions of the runners cross section are calculated based on the sprue cross sectional area. & Ingate design Ingate area is four times the sprue choke area, Individual ingate areas are calculated by dividing the total ingate area by number of ingates. Space between ingates should be roughly two times the gate width, Light metal alloys like aluminium bronzes and high tensile brasses require bottom gates or (reversed) horn gates High pressurized system is not recommended for these alloys. Cast iron, phosphor-bronze and gun metal are gated by a variety methods including top gating, Alloys susceptible to oxidation and to formation of strong surface films need quiet and progressive mold filing with least division of the liquid ‘metal stream. d. Use of chills Chills are metallic inserts, usually made of C.l. or steel, rammed into the sand mold to increase the heat absorption locally to achieve ‘directional solidification’. This reduces thermal stresses from being created due to uneven‘Metal Casting - Principles & Practice 143 especially in aluminium, copper and steel castings. Chills help in extending feeding distance of risers and reduce the number of feeders required. In ‘castiron, chilling is used to achieve localised fine-grained and harder areas wherever required. Chills help to avoid defects caused by over heating at entry points of ingates in complicated castings. tx, Precautions while designing a gating system ‘+ Avoid sharp corners or sudden changes of section that may lead to turbulence and inclusions, ‘+ Proper proportioning of components of system for ideal distribution of liquid metal to different region in casting. + Location of gates to avoid hitting of cores, chaplets, chills ete. + Smooth, well-ammed system to avoid loose sand. x Casting defects attributed to improper gating system + Misruns, cold-shuts and laps -too slow a rise of metal, + Sand, slag and dross inclusions - turbulence of metal, + Rough surface, metal penetration - too fast arise of metal. + Localised shrinkage, porosity - improper directional solidification. + Excessively oxidized metal - improper gating ratio + Scabbing -too slow a rate of pouring xi. Calculation of gating system Example (Fig 5.6) a. Casting - plate 500 x 400, 20 mm thick Alloy - alurninium Molding - green sand, in boxes. Pouring - from furnace by hand shank Density -2.4 (Kg/dm*) b. Casting weight Total metal to pour(W) Head of pouring (h) Discharge coefficient (c) Assumed pouring time (t) g SxAKO2N24 =96Kg 9.6 x 2.5 (including runners, risers) = 24 Kg. 150 mm (height of ladle from parting line/cope) 0.5 (relatively thick walled) 15 seconds (upto 20 secs for small castings) {980 x 100 cm/sec? Sprucexit area A = —W*1000- 9 om, pet f2gh. 24x 1000 0.78 Sqm 24x05 x 15x (2x 980 x 100% 15.0144 Solidification, Gating, Risring and Casting Design Minimum sprue exit area necded = 78 Sqmm (= 10 mm dia) considering Practical problems in pouring, dia 20mm spruc is selected. Chosen sprue : 25 at top, tapered to dia 20 mm at bottom, 4. Gating ratio 1: 4 + 4 (for dross-forming alloy) e. Runner size Total runner area =4 x 310 Assuming two runner, ea Assuming tape zidal section w : = I Runner section = 2.5 mm (620) Selected : 28/24 width, 25 height (draft) £.Ingate size Assuming two ingates, each = 620 sq.mm. For avoiding junction hot-spot, thin section w : h= 4:1 is chosen Ingate section = 12 mm height ( 62044 ) 50 mm width g Extension of runner after ingate = 30 (We) 5.3 Risering / Feeding systems Need for Risers: The casting process is essentially a phase transformation of metals from liquid to solid state in a preshaped cavity. This phase-transformation is accompanicd by some volumetric shrinkage in most of the cast metals. In order to produce a sound casting, it is necessary to provide means for compensating volumetric shrinkage. "Risers’ oF "Feeders’ are the reservoirs of liquid metal, provided in the mold, to compensate for the volumetric shrinkage of the casting over the total solidification period Generally volumetric shrinkage in most of the cast-metals is in the range of 1%. For steels, it ranges between 4 to 7%. In addition, in casting of stecl, the dilation of mold due to the high specific gravity of molten steels further increases the need for risers. This additional compensation is upto 3%, depending upon the material and hardness of the mold, i. The basic requirements of a feeding system for a casting a. The feder should be thermally adequate It should freeze later than the casting section it is feeding, 4. The feeder should be volumetrically adequate To furnish the required amount of feed metal, specially in complicated ‘rangey' castingsMetal Casting ~ Principles & Practice 145 . The feeders should have adequate feding range ‘The feeding system should adequately cover the entire casting - the feeding range of the risers provided should cover all parts of the casting (0 eliminate centre-line shrinkage and ensure soundness. ii, Determination of optimum feeder size ‘The theoretical basis for feeder design was provided by N. Chvorinov, in 1910, through a series experiments. He stated that the freezing time of a casting is related to its geometry. — freezing time of casting V_~== volume of casting Ac~ == surface area of casting (S.A.) K ~ indicates the chilling power of the mold Solidification time varies parabolically with volume/S.A. ratio. Heuver, in 1943, introduced the ‘inscribed cricle method! to identify hotspots requiring feeding in complicated casting sections, A circle (representing a sphere) is inscribed in the critical cross-section. Then a number of circles are drawn, gradually increasing in size towards the riser by 10 to 20% in diameter till the bottom of riser. Riser size provided is between 1.5 to 3.0 times the diameter of the biggest circle. (Fig. 5.10 A) ‘The outer points of all circles are joined by a smooth curve to provide pad’, assuring a path for riser metal to reach the "hotspot" efficiently. Even though not very scientific this method is widely used even now in the industry because ofits simplicity and effectiveness. J.B. Caines, in 1948, devised a method based on the premise that when the freezing rate of the riser is the same as that of casting, an infinitely large riser is required. However when the freezing rate of the casting is higher than that of the riser, the riser needs to be large enough to accomadate the amount of shrinkage in the casting, A hyperbolic curve is then fitted between these two extreme limits based on experimental determination of the soundness of the casting made with different risers. The equation of the curve is = 8+ C whe = freezing ratio X= pig tC where X 1s surface area of casting / volume of casting (VC/AC) ‘surface area of riser / volume of riser (VR/AR) Volume of riser (VR) Volume of casting(VC) Y =volume ratio46 Solidification, Gating, Riseing and Casting Design B = Solidification shrinkage C= constant - relative freezing rate of riser and casting. ‘a= constant determined experiementally by freezing characteristics = W012 Forsteels X= 5057 +C C= 1.0 for sand mold To locate the point in the ‘sound region’ of the graph, a number of iterations have to be carried out starting with an approximate value, making this method somewhat tedious. Myskowski, Bishop, Pellinc and Johnson Naval Research Laboratories, US, (1951-56), have modified the Caines method to include the ' Shape-Factor ' (k +W) the length, width and thickness ofthe casting zone to fed. Curves have been drawn for shape factor against volume ratio if casting to riser (Ve/V1). From this, riser volume and hence riser size can be calculated. The curve is only true for values of height : diameter ratio between 0.5 to 1.0. which is given by |. J.F. Wallace in 1960, developed these further and provided curves to directly find riser dimensions. Correction factors for riser-type, joining of thick and thin section etc., were given, R. Wlodawer in 1966, introduced the ‘modulus’ concept, which has the most extensive application in foundries today from Chvorinov's equation, lex] t Volume Cooling surface area OM? "Modulus' (M) ‘Therefore, solidification time When the solidification time and modulus of a casting are plotted on a log scale, we get a straight line relationship. He inforred, afler extensive research and industrial work that modulus of riser should be 1.2 times the modulus of casting for proper feeding. Eg. Calculation of riser size for a bar of infinite length a- width b= depth Consider a unit length 1, The volume V=ab.1=axb fable 5.1 ffor Figure) Cooling surface area = 2a + 2b = 2{a+b) {as no heat dissipates from faces (axb) across the section). ‘Therefore, modulus M. Similarly for a cylindrical riser, feeding the bar, assuming eight D— diameter of the riser, and when H= D,Maal Casting - Principles & Practice 147 Volume of Riser V, = Cooling surface area (neglecting bottom face) =npp.+1D! . SaDt SAn=nDD.+2D2 - Sah VR _ xD} wR. oo) Sax 4/95 ‘Therefore, diameter cylindrical riser = Mr x $ ‘Therefore, modulus of riser M; For effective feeding, as riser also looses heat during solidification along with casting, we have to increase its modulus by 20%. Modulus of riser = 1.2 Mc Therefore, diameter of cylindrical riser = 1.2.x 5 x Modulus of casting, =6x—a0 = 8% Fab) £ Adams and Taylor, in 1993, incorporated solidification shrinkage into Chyorinov's equation and obtained the most efficient riser from the freezing point of view, the one in which solidification ceases simultaneously with solidification in the casting. where B isthe coefficient related to solidification shrinkage and mold dilation & Ruddle in, 1976, modified the above to get the equation D?~KiMa where D diameter of the riser K1, K2 ~ coefficients depending an total volumetric contraction, surface and (op insulation factors or riser, H/D ratio of riser. and a safety factor for criticality of casting, Me ~- casting modulus, and Ve ~- casting volume, This is highly accurate and provides the best theoretical/practical base for risering design as it takes into account both volume effect and modulus effect of casting and other importaint parameters in modern feeding systems application. Ruddle in, 1982, developed a compiter programme using the above equation for feeding system design giving also economic data inthe print-out h. Geometric programming method - R.C. Greese (1971) ‘These are based on the solution of gencralised polynomials from Adam's yylor’srisering equation with heattransfer data and modulus factors.48 Solidification, Gating, Risering and Casting Design Computer solutions are obtained based on the problem of minimising of riser volume subject to the constraint tz > te (Solidification time of riser and casting) ge Ve. SA. where qx and qe are solidification constants for riser and casting and ‘HT is the height of riser. Computer programming technique - Corbett (1983) : In extensive research work by FOSECO, the team developed a computer program for the feeding system based on Heuver's inscribed circle and shape factor method, modi it for different latest feeding aids like insulating and exothermic risers. The program has facilities for graphics, volume and cost calculation in addition to feeder design. Ina specific case, we get H= it, Feeding distance hi ‘Once the optimum riser diameter is decided by any of the above methods, we ave to decide the number of feeders required, depending on the distance each riser can feed on the casting, making the casting sound and free from ‘micro/macro/centre - line shrinkage. ‘The feeding distance of a riser depends upon the casting section itis feeding. From research conducted on different shapes, J.F. Wallace (1961) and his team in Steel Foundry Society in U.S.A., established the following relationships: : Feeding distance in inches oa Without Chill ‘With Chill A) Plate without end effect 3.6 JT or 2T 16 JT -3.2 B) Plate with end effect 116 JF -52 116 JF - C) Bar without end effect (Horizantal) 1.5 6/T+T D) Bar with end effect 6 JT 6/T +T ‘T= thickness of casting in inches fe. The steps involved in designing a risering system are Dividing the casting into suitable zones for feeding depending on its geometry B. Calelating the modulus of each zone. ©. Deciding the size of riser - ordinary or with feeding - aids like insulating, exothermic risers etc. 4. Deciding the number of risers from feeding distance data. ©. Cross check feed-metal availability from risers decided against feed-metal required from volumetric shrinkage - to correct if needed. ». Directional solidification Castings of complicated geometry may solidify at different rates at different positions during cooling, causing stresses which create distortions and cracks. Ifthe cooling of different sections in the casting is so adjusted that solidification startsMetal Casting - Principles & Practice 149 from one end and proceeds to the other end progressively, by proper design of casting sections, use of chills, padding etc, feeding ofthe castings becomes easy and stresses during solidification will be reduced. This controlled solidification proceeding in the directed way across the casting is termed as ‘directional solidification’. (Fig 5.4 B) vi. Types of risers commonly used: a. Top risers (open) b._ Side risers (open) ©. Blind risers (See Fig. 5.10 B, C) a. Top risers are the most common and most efficient risers provided on castings where hotspots are accessible from the top directly. They are easy to mold, easy to fettle and act efficiently by gravitational force. They also help to exhaust mold-gases and indicate filling of mold cavity with metal forming complete casting. Whenever possible top risers are automatically chosen. b. Side risers are provided on casting having hot-spots not accessible for direct top risers. They help in reducing excess metal of padding and reduce felting cost. ©. Blind risers are used to feed localised hotspots which are below parting line and not accessible for top as well as side risers. Some times, when a casting shape has a profile with different heights, the higher spots are fed by open top risers and lower spots by blind risers. Blind risers reduce the requirement of feed-metal which would otherwise need excessive height of open risers. Atmospheric pressure can be made to operate on liquid metal contained blind riser by providing 'William’ or 'Washburn’ core to penetrate solidifying surface skin, Blind risers are exhaustively used for intricate castings like valves needing thorough feeding all over. vii. Riser neck/Connection/Padding For the riser to function properly, the neck or connection of riser to the casting, portion being fed by it is extremely important. In many cases, improper neck causes premature solidification and non-availability of riser foed-metal to reach casting when it is needed. The modulus calculation of neck is necessary in critical cases. Similarly, properly designed riser-pads are essential to connect hotspots of castings to riser and provide a continuous channel adequate to furnish liquid metal flow from riser to casting. This is normally done by Heuver's inscribed circle method. Fig. 5.10 viii. Example of feeding system calculations Cast steel gear wheel rim: Fig. 5.11, Fig. 5.10 (A) a. Divide the casting into suitable zones for feeding depending on geometry:- This being a uniform symmetrical section no division needed b. Calculate the modulus of each zone. axb Modulus of casting Me = 37-250 where a=height ofrim (220) OD= 1000 mm b=width of rim (100) 1D = 800 mm non-cooling web thickness (30)150 Solidification, Gating, Risering and Casting Design Riser size if ordinary sand riser diameter. =5Mg =5x43.3=217 Say, diameter =220 height 220 mm if insulating/sleeve riser (Refer Table 5.2) sleeve diameter = 180 mm height = 200mm Number of risers For critical castings, assuming a circumferential coverage of 50% by risers, m x Meandiameter x 0.5 = x900 x 0.5 = 1414 mm 14g is 26.42 Total coverage by riser Number of risers Approximately say, 6 risers Check for feed metal required Weight of Casting = % x (107-8) x 1 x 78kg. = 220kg. Feed metal volume require = Casting volume x % Volumetric shrinkage $5 98am O00 = 1.98 dr For ordinary sand riser - feeding efficiency - 20% Volume of feed-metal required = 1.98 x ae =9.9dm' Feed metal available from risers = 3 x 2.20? x2.2x6%0.20 = 10.03dm* . As this is found adequate, the final feeding system consist of 6 ordinary risers of diameter 220 mm and height 220 mm or 6 insulating risers of diameter 180 mm and height 200 mm. Weight of 6 ordinary risers 6x Ex22 x72 = 360 = 220. 220 gy + Yield with ordinary risers = 553207 = 220 = 33 Weight of6 insulating risers = 6x 2x18? «20x72 = 220Kg. = 220 __ = syege Yield with insulaing risers = 35220 = ov * Note: As gear wheels are critical casting, higher size risers are designed. For ordinary castings, higher yield of 60-70% is possible. See Fig. 5.11.Metal Casting ~ Principles & Pracice 151 Example of gating and risering systems actually being used to manufacture many typical castings are given in Figures 5.8 to 5.21 For the convenience of users, modulus calculations for common casting shapes are given in Tables 5.1 On the basis of casting modulus, selection of suitable insulating riser-sleeve can be done using Tables 5.2 ‘Advanced risering design using finite clement thermal analysis and details of computer programs for gating and risering are discussed in Chapter 10 under ‘New developentents 10.2! 5.4 Design of castings Design of a component as casting requires close coordination between the mechanical engineer making a functional design from the various stress calculations and the foundry engineer to modify the design to suit foundry process of manufacture for optimum performance and cost. Good knowledge of the capabilities of the casting process in terms of strength, characteristics of the cast metal, dimensional tolerances, surface finish, maximum wall thickness possible and the effect of quantity on cost per piece will be of immense help to the designer. A specialist foundry engineer can also help in design changes for reduction of production problems in molding, core-making, closing as well as quality problems such as cracks, hottears etc. It is also possible to reduce production costs and improve quality of complicated shapes by making composite cast-weld designs where castings of simpler shapes can be welded together to form the final component. i. Selection of casting alloy ‘Apart from sclecting a cast-metal for a component on the basis of mechanical properties such as ultimate tensile strength, clongation, toughness etc., the information of which is available in’ Design Hand-books, the other casting-properties of the metal requiring the design engincers attention are: a, Relation between properties of test-pieces to actual casting; importance of section-sensitivity in metals like cast-iron and testing procedure selection b. Caslability of the metal for the given geometry, like minimum wall thickness obtainable (Eg, steel) and any limitations of size (Eg: malleable cast iron). ¢. Machinability of the material for further processing afler casting and requirement of machining allowances (Eg: cast iron gives minimum problem where as stecl is more difficult to machine) 4d, Special properties like damping capacity, corrosion resistance, wear resistance, bearing properties, heat-resistance etc. Overall prochuction cost. ti. Casting process parameters aa. Dimensional tolerances Dimensional tolerances obtainable on a casting depends on the type of casting process for a given size, Closer dimensional tolerances are possible in the order - dry-sand molding, green-sand molding, air-set sand molding, shell ‘molding, die casting and investment casting. (Table 24,152 Solidification, Gating, Risering and Casting Design 0 440 Soe Open ree ‘120 Two patterns mounted on plate 10x80 100 _| Bind riser lind rer 80x40 Fig, 5.19 Gating & risering of stand (C. .) b. Surface finish Surface finish obtainable on casting depends on the molding process and follows smaller as above (a) on as cast surfaces (Table 2.4, 3.5)Metal Casting Principles & Practice 153 me tg i =) }+ «60-1 Fig, 5.20 Gating & risering of valve body (C.S.) 6 Size of casting ‘There are no limitations of size for sand-molding processes as green sand, dry-sand, COysand or airset sand, whereas large castings cannot be made in processes like investment, die castings or shell-molding. 4. Quality Non-sand casting processes like die-casting quarantee higher quality castings, free from sand-based defects like sand-inclusion, surface defects, blow-holes etc., compared (o sand-molded casting processes.154 Solidification, Gating, Risering and Casting Design unnat Ingates Fig. 5.21 Gating & risering end - cover uantity Generally any casting process is economical when more number of pieces are to be made from a given equipment, Comparctl to ordinary wooden pattern equipment required for sand casting processes, shell-molding, investment and die-casting require much more coslly pattern equipment resulting in prohibitive cost per cach piece if the quantity to be made While ordering the number of pieces to be cast at a time, much reduction in price per casting is possible if more numbers are ordered, keeping near-future requirements into consideration than ordering in small quantities each time.Metal Casting ~ Principles & Practice 155 ‘Table 5.1, Modulus Formulae For Some Common Shapes Shape Dimensions Modulus [eabe Sie=t dL | | é [Cylinder eaee Diameter=D |_DH. Fy, thes" fos si ijl Now Ili = D dhe modules | bis Ber or ae Teegh =U] WL (timed Sie) 64 Width = wi ZW WELT) Sa Enaies Cylinder Diameer=D Da (end terminated by another part [Note : Because radial heat flow | is faster than that from a fat of casting) surface, calculated moduli for| fendless cylinders may be| reduced by muliplying by 0.85 Endless Plate Thickness=T [T (terminated on 2 al sides by + another part of "J casting) ‘ Endless Bar _ TW nds terminated Wed by another part of casting) Annulus © TH %,-Dy) +H” 3et+Ay156 Solidification, Gating, Rising and Casting Design Table 5.2 Insulating sleeve size selection Effective | Casting | Equivalent sand | Estimated | Extimated sleeve |modulus| riser dimensions | weight of metal |weight of metal modulus 1D | Ht | contained in | contained in mm mmm | mm _| sand riser kg. |sleove riser kg. 1. [isof aso] a7 | a2] 198] 1625 34 15S 2150] 200] 402] 335] 195] 2975 477 217 3. |150] 250} 417] 348 | 195] 2025] oa 279 4. [180/200] 465] 388 | 234] 2275) 68.7 313 5. 190/250] 487] 406] 236] 2025] aa 402 6. |10} 300} 503 | 419 | 2346/3575] 1080 492 7, [200] 200] ~506 | 421 | 260) 2275 849 386 8/200} 250] a2} 443} 260} 2925/1091 497 9. | 200] 300} 550} 458 | 260] 3575] 1934 60.7 10. } 250] 300] 662 | 552] 905] a575| 2084 149 11. } 250] 350) 681 | 568 | 925] 4225] 46. ua 12.|250| 400] 696 | 580 | 325| 4975] 2849 129.4 13. [300] 350] 785 | esa | a00! 403, a8. 1540 14.]900] 400] 80.7 | 672 | 390] 468] aoz8 1788 15. | 300] 450] 824 | 687] 390] 53/4474 203.6 16.350] 250] 88.7] 739] 455] 403! 4604 209.6 17,| 350] 400] 915) 763 | 455] 468} 534.7 243.4 18} 350} 450] 937 | 7a] 455] saa G89 272 19. |350| 500] 95.6 | 796 | 455] 508/682 311.0 20. [400 350} 98.3 |—a19 | 520) 403] 601.4 2737 21. | 400} 400} 1017 | 848 | 520] 468} 608.4 3179 122. | 400] 450] 104.5 | 971 | 520) 593) 795.4 362.0 122. }400| 500) 1068 | 89.0] 520] 598| 8023 406.1 24. |400| 550] 108.7 | 906 | 520} 663} 980.4 450.3 25. [450 | 400 | 105.7 | sa | 5625) vaso] 742.1 380.0 26. | 450] 450] 109.1 | 909 | 625} 4875] 8512 4358 l2z. | 450] 500] 112 | 933 | 5625] 5500) 60.4 497 28, | 450] 550} 1144] 953 | 5625] 6125] 1,069.5 476 20.|450| 600} 1164 | 970 | 5625] 6750] 11786 603.4 30. | 800] 450] 1183 | 986 | 625] 4875] 1,050.9 538.1 js1. | 500] 500) 121.7 | 1014 | 625) ss00) 1,185.6 6070 32. | 500] 550] 1245 | 1037 | 625] 6125] 1.3204 6760 13a. | 500] 600 1269 | 105.7 | 625] 675.0 745.0 34. | 500} 650| 1289 | 1074] 625] 7375 . 814.1 35.| 500} 700| 130.7 | 1089 | 625] 8000 882.9Metal Casting ~ Principles & Pracice 157 EAD DESIGN 005 Sesten ACE, “ly 17, al aa (T-t) oO @ ty a t Bw b Be a — Ww Fig.5.22 Casting design examples (i, ii v) iii. Casting Geometry consideration 4. It is advisable to maintain uniform section thickness of casting to the extent possible and avoid abrupt changes. If essential, gradual transition from thinner to thicker section should be done to prevent unfavourable thermal gradients while coolling and stress concentration. (Fig 5.22)158 Salidifcation, Gating, Risering and Casting Design Bad design Good Design Section idiot Norentoen wate sharp comers netion “ Main wall Even ribs - sharp junctions wi) Preventing ib - junction cracks No core No (sot) loose piece (vi) Simpilication of | core / molding Fig.5.23 Casting design examples (v, vi, vi) b. Wherever junction of walls are needed, itis advisable to avoid hot-spots, which ccan be checked by inscribed circles, by staggering them, This also helps in uniform cooling of the casting. (Fig. 5.22)BAD DESIGN \x | Section x x real Core A Ditty 9 Core Seting © Metal Casting ~ Principles & Practice 159 MODIFIED DESIGN Easy to mld - No hot spt Fig.5.24 Casting design examples (A, B, C) Any internal sharp corners cause the sharp sand of mold/core to get overheated creating hot-spots resulting in draw and other defects. Cleaning of such corners becomes very difficult due (0 sand fusion, So, all sharp internal corners should be well-rounded by proper fillets. (Fig. 5.22)160 Solidification, Gating, Rivering and Casting Design aADDESIGN MibireD oESIGN Hot Spot (dieu to mois Easy of moking & Fiserng acu 0 riser t ra wal Wickes Thinner was dificult to riser Easier Fisering; wicsue res sna abr 1) An Sot tad tar ng of Brneon gcse acing Easy macing ‘cracks at flange junctions Fig.5.25 Casting design examples (i i)Metal Casting ~ Principles & Practice 161 d. White providing for cast (cored) holes/cavities in stecl castings, itis better that they have lesser depth than diameter to avoid cleaning problems. Otherwise it may be cheaper to cast them solid and machine them later. e. Provide strengthening ribs, webs and brackets at adjoining walls for the better castabilty and avoiding hotspots. (Fig. §.23) £ In wheeltype castings, while designing spokes connecting the outer rim to inner boss, it is better to provide curved or uneven numbers to reduce the effect of contraction diamettically. (Fig.5.23) iv, Reducing casting process cost/improving quality a. Molding process is usually labour oriented. It is better to reduce skilled operations like molding with loose-picces, undercuts special partings by suitable design changes in the casting (Fig. 5.24, 5.25) b. Core-making incurs additional cost and also causes quality problems. By suitable changes in design, itis possible sometimes to avoid internal/external cores. v. Cast-weld design for economy For complicated shapes of components, it is much cheaper to divide them into simpler parts for making seperate castings. Later they can be welded together to form the final shape, especially for weldable metals like stecl which have poor castability. Cheaper pattern ard molding cos, less quality problems, availability of good welding techiques and possibility of final heat-treatment afier welding together to homogenise properties arc the advantages of this method. It is adopted widely for complicated turbine housing ee Questions 1. Explain the solidification phenomena that affect casting soundness, 2. Explain the formation of casting from liquid metal poured in a mold. What are the conditions that favour the formation of fine equt-axial grins ? 3, Explain the factors that contribute (othe following delets during casting solidification a) shrinkage cavities hot tears 6) cold eracks € warpage/distortion snd ¢) low mechanical properties Whe are the functions of a good running/gating system ? ‘What ae the casting defects atributable to poor gating design ? Sketch the components ofthe gating system with an example. Explain the principles of Mid Now involved in the design of sprue, runner and gating, deriving the expressions. 8, Sketch and mention the applications of the normal types of gating systems used162 Solidification, Gating, Rivering and Casting Design 9. Explain the importance of "gating rato '. Suggest, giving reasons gating ratios used for the following: 2) eastiron in green sand ) steel in dry sand ©) aluminium alloy 10. What are the methods adopted in gating to avoid sag inclusion? 11. Calculate sprue diameter minner and ingate section for the following : Refer figures 2.13 to 215. (5 items) 12, Whatis the basic fanetion ofa riser in a casting? 13, State the basic requirements for effective function ofa riser. 14, State and explain any three commonly used methods for calculating riser size 15. What are the types of risers? give an application ofeach type. 16. Explain the purpose of directional solidification and how its achieved by chills and padding. 17. Design/caleulate riser sizes for the following: Refer figures 2.13 to 2.15, (5 items) 18. What is the importance of improving * yield ' of castings. Mention the methods adopted for yield improvement. 19. Write notes on: a) Feeding aids b) Chvorinov's rule ©) Riser modulus d)_ Riser location ©) Blind riser and f) Riser-gating. 20, Sketch risering and gating systems normally used for common castings like: gearwheel, bearing sleeve, valve-body and bearing support, 21. Dilforentiate between dendrite, nucleus and crystal / grain, 22. Suggest methods to get uniform grain-size in a casting having thick and thin sections. 29. Explain through sketchos how casting design can be modified @) toavoida core 1b) to simplify molding ©) toavoid hotspot 4) wavoid stress concentration ant ©) toavoid hot tear. 24. What isthe minimum wall thickness economically feasible For commonly cast metals 2) In geven sand, b) Shell molding and c) Pressure die-casting. 25. State the surface finish achievable with common sand molding processes. Compare it with that of ce cating 26. State the important considerations while designing a component to be manufactured by casting process, with example ebFINISHING OPERATIONS Alter the liquid metal poured into mold solidifies, the casting is formed. However, it is not in a condition for immediate use. A number of finishing operations have to be carried out before the casting is despatched. 6.1 Finishing operation of castings in a foundry involve: clearing sand and adheri mold, ‘material on casting surface afler shake-out from. cutting/removing extra portions on casting like sprue, runners, risers, chills etc, blast cleaning, grinding the casting surface outside and inside to remove projections like fins, bulges, rough surfaces, metal penetration etc., heat treatment of casting which is essential for dimensional stability and long life through stress relief as well as improvement in mechanical properties, and salvaging casting from minor defects by welding and hand-grinding and to bring the dimension within the limits given in component drawing inclusive of allowances. ‘The practical considerations in finishing of casting are: Being the last operation in the long cycle of rasting production in the foundry, financially it is the most critical section for realising the value of the effort spend Finishing operations are very labour-intensive and timectaking creating bottleneck in most foundries for timely delivery ‘The working conditions in finishing are generally bad with poor light, dust, heat and heaps of castings lying all over the floor. Poor handling164 Finishing Operations arrangements for the heavy and odd:shaped castings cause frequent accidents. Maintenance of the equipment is difficult causing frequent breakdowns. The overall productivity is very low. + Due to the indecision of managers on rejection of castings, delays occur. Difficult castings normally iend (o go into heaps without getting finished, causing problems in. delivery. Belated decisions to reject cause further delays in making the replacement, starting again from the first stage. + Being the last stage, all the defects and poor quality work of earlier stages like molding, melting, closing etc., get accummulated in the finishing section and cause problems for productivity-improvement measures like incentive bonus schemes implementation. i. Separating castings from the mold ‘After pouring, sufficient time should be allowed for cooling depending on casting geometry, section thickness, weight, composition of cast metal and mold material. The time varies from about one hour for smal, light casting to 8 to 24 hours for large castings. Complicated heavy castings from alloys with high solidification shrinkage and hot-tearing tendency should be kept for longer periods without disturbing the mold. Plate-type ausicnitic manganese steel castings are an example of such items. The separation of castings from mold can be done manually by crane or by vibrating shake-out or knockout grid. (Sce Fig. 8.3) Castings in machine-molded and medium size boxes can be easily separated by the vibrating table, which retains mold-boxes and castings on the top, allowing sand to fall down into pit ii, Cleaning of sand from the casting surface For cleaning sand adhering to the casting, pncumatic chipping is very effective, ‘The pneumatic or air operated tools are popular in finishing operations Small and simple castings can be cleared of adhering sand by "tumbling" in rotating cylindrical barrels. These are however now obsolete due to the excessive noise they create, low cleaning efficiency and damage to thin edges. iii, Removal of runners/risers ‘The runners, gating system and risers attached to the casting can be removed by hammering or knock-out for britle metals like cast iron, For ductile non-ferrous alloy, saw-culting manually or by machine are used. This can be also done by high speed pmeumatc grinders using deprened centrecating discs of 180230mm. ameter. For steel casting, gas-cutting with oxy-acctylene torch is normally done for removing gating and risers. It is a cheap and fast process but involves heavy local heating and metallurgical changes. Arc-air gauging torches are very effective for fast and smooth parting, especially for alloy stecl castings. This docs not cause any serious metallurgical changes in local areas cut. An important practical consideration after removal of gates and risers from casting i properly segregate them as per the composition of the cast-metal so thatMetal Casting Principles & Practice 165 there is no mix up when they are sent back for remelting, This is done by making suitable marks on them with a paint in # code. Knock off cores For easy removal of risers from castings, which are relatively britle befor heat treatment, special cores with a small opening are provided between riser and casting. These cores are made with zircon, olivine or ceramic material with strong bond and dried well to avoid blow-holes. The thickness and size of pening in the core depend upon the casting metal and criticality ofthe casting. Thickness of the cores vary between 8 to 20 mm depending on riser dtamet The area of opening in the core is normally 40-65% of the area of riser (sectional) above neck. The cores are located by pattern-print and secured by nails in mold. Knock-off/wash burn cores help risers to be hammered off easily without gas-cutting in low alloy/manganese steels and without arc-cutting in high alloy (nickel/chrome) steels, saving cost and time of finishing. in, Blast-cleaning of castings Cleaning castings from the adhering sand on the outer and inner surfaces can be done fast by blasting different materials with force against them, by different techniques a. Compressed air and sand-blasting This is a very effective method for cleaning small castings in both ferrous and non-ferrous casings. It is done in an enclosed chamber where castings are on a rotatable tray. Air guns located at the top of the chamber are directed and ‘manipulated forcing air and sand from different directions to clean the surface, ‘The used sand is recovered and recirculated. This method is relatively cheap ‘and gives smooth surface finish. b. Shot-blasting ‘This is a very popular method for cleaning small and medium size (upto 2 tonnes piece weight) castings in cast irons and steels. Steel shot or grit is divected from centrifugal impellers at a high speed and force towards castings placed on a tray in an enclosed chamber. The tray is rotated slowly by a motor {o expose different faces of the castings for cleaning. The shot, after impact cleaning, is collected from the perforated table by a screw conveycor, screened tand sent up by a bucket elevator to the impellor for recirculation from the top. Different capacities of the equipment are available, including those with 2 spare table which can be used to load and ready castings, while another load is ling shot-blast inside the chamber. c. Hydro-blasting For cleaning very large castings (above 5 tons each) water at high pressure (4 to 10 atm) through nozzles is used, The castings are loaded on a trolley or a ‘wagon travelling on rails and enter the hydrobiast enclosure, which is open from the top. A number of water guns from either side force water at high pressure in different directions (o clean the inner and outer walls of the casting, ‘An overhead crane is used to turn and manipulate the castings resting on the166 Finishing Operations wagon on through the open top to expose all surfaces for cleaning. This is a specialised and costly equipment, used only in very large, heavy ferrous foundries. 2. Surface grinding Large castings are finished by grinding with swing-frame or snagging grinders. These have a large rotating grinding wheel (about 300mm. diameter) supported on a swinging frame operated from a distance by a handle. These can grind flat and inclined faces very fast, with high metal-removal rate. Suitable choice of size of frame, horse-power of motor, type of grinding wheel, handling system for positioning castings at the machine, space for manipulation and protection all around against flying sparks of ground metal are important for achieving high productivity from swing-frame grinders. Finish-grinding of small castings is done on pedestal grinders with single or double wheels having stationary platform. The grinding wheels are larger than 500 mm. in diameter. The castings are pressed against the wheel manually on the surface needing grinding, For medium and large castings, final finishing of pockets, curved faces etc., is carried out by electric or pneumatic hand-grinders using grinding wheels of about 150 mm diameter. Deeper (cavities) can be given a smooth finishing using die/pencil grinders operated pneumatically. Grinders are widely used for fettling, with a wide variety of designs and weights available for different duties. A wide selection of wheel sizes and speed is available for pneumatic grinders. Removing metal at the quickest possible rate is the main objective of grinding which means a careful wheel and speed selection 6.2 Heat-treatment of castings i. Objective Heat-treatment is an essential phase of the casting manufacture. The objectives of heatreatment of casting are (o relieve the thermal/contraction stresses set up during cooling of liquid metal while forming castings so that warpage, distortions, dimensional changes, ‘racks or premature failure in service are avoided. b. to improve mechanical properties like tensile strength, toughness etc., by refining grain size and suitable changes in the structure of the cast metal © to improve machinability of hard cast metals by softening. ti. Stages Heat-treatment is a solid state transformation and is carried out at temperatures well below the melting point of the casting metal. Generally the operation is carried out as followsMetal Casting - Principles & Practice 107 a. heating the casting at a controlled rate in an oven to the required transformation temperature range depending on the composition, of intricacy casting geometry and necessary changes in structure. b. holding or soaking for sufficient time, generally for about one hoxt for each 25 mm, wallthickness of the casting, at the transformation temperature for the entire section to undergo structural change uniformly, and c. controlled cooling in a single stage or more, so as to retain the desired micro-constituents in the structure for achieving the aimed properties. iti, Heat treatment ovens Heat-treatment for castings is carried out in ovens or furnaces which are chambers made of steel plate and inside with refractory bricks to withstand the high temperatures. Heating is done by oikfired burners, gas burners or electric heating elements. The design of the furnace should take care of proper location of heating system in walls/roof for uniformly heating the castings without cold spots or burning/overheating in regions. The other important features of the heat-treatment furnace are the control of heating/cooling through manual/semi-automatic/ automatic heatinput system, guided by thermocouple pyrometers at different locations of the furnace. An essential feature in modern heat-treatment furnaces is the temperature-recorder which provides un actual heat-treatment cycle on graph-sheet for later verification and record. The handling system for loading Castings and quick removal from the heat is also important. The atmospheric control inside the furnace to avoid excess air 10 prevent oxidation/burning of casting surface is also important iv. Heat-treatment of grey cast iron castings Normally critical grey iron castings are heattreated only for stress relief to prevent distortion in service. No major changes in mechanical properties occur in these castings. For castings like surface plates, natural ageing is sometimes adopted by leaving casting outside for a few weeks. Critical machine tool castings. arc however stress relieved in heattreatment furnaces by controlled heating to a temperature of 200 to 400°C and slow heating. Fig 6.! (A) gives the microstructure of grey cost iron Heat-treatment of white iron - Malleabilisation It is essential to heat-treat white cast iron to change the structure and breakdown the cementite for depositing graphite as temper carbon agglomerates, converting into malleable castiron, ‘The resulting stguctural changes cause reduction in hardness, brittleness and achieve desired tensile strength and ductility indicated by elongation and bend test on specimen. Black-heat malleable cast iron is produced by heating to 840-950°C for 50 to 120 hours under reduced atmosphere of furnace to obtain a structure of ferrite and temper carbon, having an almost black fracture. White-heat malleable cast iron is produced by heating it to temperature of about 900-1000°C for 70-100 hours in contact with oxidising material like iron-ore which causes reduction of carbon,168 Finishing Operations there by improving ductivity. The fracture is shining-white, Pearltic malleable iron is produced by first malleabilising at about 950°C to dissolve carbide, deposit temper carbon and then reheating to dissolve the carbon at austentic transformation range (900-1000°C). Final treatment by faster cooling produces pearlitic matrix Fert White) Graphite Fakes (Black) CGuey cast von Peatite (Grey) “ raphe epherors « (82) Spreridat Graphite Cast ton (Ferre mats) ‘oo " veosaean 1 "Graph os ot OS Maieabie cast ron {Pearte mots) foo (oy «co Fig. 6.1(a, b, ¢) Micro structures of cast metalsMetal Casting ~ Principles & Practice 169 vocation sreect Annealing Stage i! Short cycle 93 418.) e [ AN eect ha § on (Intermediate Cootng) 0 10 2 3% 40 50 Compositon 24% 31-13% Nin 08% max S&P -01% max Fig, 6.2 Malleabilisation cycle (White cas iron) containing temper-carbon aggregates which develops high strength and toughness, The heat-treatment cycles and micro-structures are given in Fig, 6.2, Fig 6.1c. Due to the time and cost involved in malleabilisation and difficulty in achieving the structure in thicker (above 25 mm) sections as well as the comparatively lower mechanical properties, this process is no longer popular. S.G. iron is replacing malleable iron. vi. Heat treatment of S.G. Iron castings Spheroidal or nodular cast irons can be heat-ireated not only for stress relief but for improvements in tensile strength, wear resistance, ductility and toughness. The heat-treatment depends on the original structure and desired properties and arc carried out on lines similar to carbon steels through annealing, normalising, hardening and tempering. Fig. 6.1b shows typical microstructure of pearlitic nodular cast iron.170 Finishing Operations 20 60 80 100 300 400 500 600 700 Stress rateving tomp. (°C) Fig. 6.3 Effect of HT. on properties of steel castings vii. Heat-treatment of steel castings Steel castings have to be heat-treated without fail before being despatched for the use of the customer, as the high pouring temperatures induce heavy stresses in ‘castings which have (0 be relieved. (Fig. 6.3) Metallurgically, steels are most amenable to heat-treatment to achieve substantial improvements in mechanical propertics like tensile strength, clongation, impact strength, hardness, wear resistance etc. A description’ of the various heat-treatments steels with their Properties are given in Table 6.1. It is necessary to refer to the iron-carbon equilibrium diagram to understand the phase changes that occur at different lemperaturcs for various composition of-carbon stecls. This diagram is useful to select the temperature ranges for treatment like annealing and normalising. For hardening/quenching to obtain superior microstructure and properties, itis necessary (0 refer (o the Time-Temperature Transformation diagram for the particular composition of stecl. In the case of alloy steels, the individual alloying clements influence the structure, changing the temperatures of transformation as well as strengthening individual phase like ferrite, austenite or iron-carbide. For alloy stcel heat-treatment cycle separate diagrams have to be referred. Some of the common heat-treatments employed for stecl castings, the purpose and method are given in Table 6.2, Figs. 6.4 & 6.5.Metal Casting - Principles & Practice m1 + Teme = TIME WN HOURS 1. Momogenising 2 Normaliing 3. Anneaing (Globular peste) 4. Ful stess reife anneal §. Tempering (ater quenchingleachining} Fig. 6.4 Common heatireatment cycles for carbon steels, Heating rate 100-CIM max 850-880 Quencring 600-650" 600-650°0, Fumace cooling | 400% ' Hardening Tempering ‘Air Cooling ——> time Fig (.5 Hardening & tempering for low alloy steel castingsthing Operations Finis m ‘Paonpomnuy S958 ‘sour uo pue Temp nur jo “dusay Wo 40 207em wy wossiounny £2 ue aumeu uo yuopusdap snip} payeaata ayn tio o078 Jo Re | ‘ue ‘ayes Susjooo or aanystog| pue ‘ovr 2 nba-uou dq SumaypBuang -e 30 aonuay aap ur aq Ue Tuyo “quatiaj9 SuiZojje pue woques ‘uorsnyyp arajdines anauyoe oF poreBaufas ain jo uc | aumpnsysoxoiu atp Jo Burzeds| Suoy Ap pq vo spuadap aun Surpo e ue anupuap jo won | uoneauasowop “deayp seg Bunswo| pai foy12 mo] pue uogsed 20) poXojdurg “paonponur aq Kew ssoupiey pue yBuans soySipy 2 jenpisoy ‘Buyeouue soy 29) Auquqeusypew pur ssouyo0n proud “| are po ojdura sasrmesodusay suman res8 jo wuaurouyss poouinot Surzyous0N sBunseo jars Kole uogie> 19} paojdusa SinoransORIw pauisop sanpoxd of ssouysinoy axoidus of 3 sossans aaaypas 0, “P| yeunypew 10} uayos 0], | (Bujooo aoeusny pur Suneay-oy) sAisas pur 4q saseyd passadsip jo uonn Suyeouuy ediouud ayy st asmezodusoy, ‘wo04 0} Buy $Sunseo a4 jo: G moqe Joy asmesoduin, ‘2.099 moqe or asmesodiuay a a8IEY “e 4 JO Ys Jo woneurun “9 suowsuaunp jo uonesmqeg “4 ‘san [eUsDIUL Jo eAOWDY “2 sayy ut sururey suopeiodo apd quounvan ray, sage pu asodind upeyy, sSunseD joarg or payddy suaunvasy 9H 1'9 a1qeE,173 Metal Casting - Priniples & Practice povaduisew oq ue> yo ut | poypuonb Ayeussou st yep fons ayes ayesopous ee (re u “aay pue wp pas ayp 1no-48nony ame: 2] Sunaduoneyy| “6 sup uonsunoysuen| aamesoduiay own] aues ow ut Ayensn azmesoduioy wueysu0> Ur poveorpur se sonsuareseyp| ‘ee pourewurew yeq e 4g] ssouysinoy yo 2 ‘vonewoysuen uo sossans Sunppuonb Jo Jouepioay -q paseq aq nw Suuaduinsne] 96 uasmaq suoneuuojsuen aseyd juapuadap-own _ 2 838 Jo woHDa}o5 ay, oyna | Pajonuos aseyd puoras jo uonnyog -e wonnjos} “Ssouyinoy saoiduy Jo vonesnp pue ‘Gop aseasour oy, -q ip uodn puadap yaays sadusa aves ggqenns | ywounean Suruapsey says uonendioaid 40 sonmodoid peoey>au Aq saimonuys wunysqqynba-uow ___ pur amonursoson ou | JoSuuaysnos pur Suuayog -e] —— Suuoduay| 9 sew, suoperodo apo wounvan 189} paye pur asodind [resuaean TH | ON syeusy jonesado aq wo sage ew joodk ligm4 Finishing Operations Table : 6.2 Typical Heat Treatments for Steel Castings Type of steel Composition Heatireatment [Carbon sel [Carbon (6}-0.1570/38) [anneal from 920°C (Manganese (osm) 1.00 max.) 2/CS.hightensile JC 40/50 normalize from 830°C strength temper a 600°C. 3.|Low alloy steet Jc-0.1070.20 JA) normalize from 940°C (itigh UTS and Mn-0.60/1.00 temper at 720°C toughness) S:0.50.max |B) normalize from 950°C | ° water quench 900°C V-0.30/0.40 ea | Naas compe a 4.|Nihard types 1C.2.8073.20 | normalize 750°C (8 hes. soaking) (ear resistant C1.) |S+-1.50/2.00 | | Cr7.5079.00 Ni5.50/6.50 | 5 |Staintess steels 0.08 max water quench from 111°C Gri8% NiO (6. [Heat resistant stels [Above 12% Ni ‘ot required unless asked for by the purchaser [7.|Austeniticmanganese [1 10 1.4% C heat in two stages to 1100°C water steel 10 0 14% Mn quench within 30 seconds Fig. 6.5 C 18. Abrasion resistant ste! |C 0.5.0.6 )Normalise by heating to 860°C and for crushing rollers |Cr-3.0 air cool (BHN 280) Mo -0.4 i) Rough machine ii) Heat to 860°C , hold and oitquench | {BIIN 550). Rate of heating 50-80"C/br upto 680°C Jv) Tempering (150-250"C) within 2 hours (BIIN 500) viii. Heat-treatment of non-ferrous alloys Most of the non-ferrous alloys attain superior mechanical properties by solution. heat-treatment and age-hardening, The solution heat-treatment of aluminium alloys containing copper (upto 6%) involves heating to a temperature between 450 to 550°C to dissolve the hard © phase (intermetallic compound of Al and Cu) by holding and then rapid cooling by quenching in water. Ageing or precipitation hardening consists of reheating of the solution heat-treated castings (0 a temperature range of about 180 to 250°C followed by slow cooling. This causes a very favourable dispersion of the brittle "0" phase in the microstructure causing substantial increase in tensile strength, for instance from 200 MPa. to nearly 400 MPa in case of Al - 4% Cu alloy. Other alloys that are given this heat-treatment are ALMg, ALSi, AlZn, ALMg.Si, and ALMg-Cu. (Fig, 6.6.F)Metal Casting - Priniples & Practice 175 Copperbase casting alloys containing zinc (brasses), in (Bronzes) along, with other alloying elements like lead, nickel, aluminium, silicon etc, which have a tendency for segregation or cored:-structure are given homogenisation treatment by heating to suitable elevated temperature and. holding, causing equalisation of structure by diffusion to improve toughness and ductility. Fig. 6.6. Some copper alloys like Cu-Be can attain betier propertics by solution and_ precipitation hardening. - Aipna (a) phase Alpna-Be'a Brass ee are —- Beta (p) phase Evtoctic ofa 5 —— a ve i Soliant ‘Stiga estat Se umnium- Seon Alloy (12% Sin Fig. 6.6 (4, e, ) Micro structures of cast metals1%6 Finishing Operations Fig. 6.7(A) H. T. Log Sheet (Front) [Rate of heating Heat treatment Log-Sheet [CS / MS / LAS / HAS / AC/ Cu Metal | Heat No. Date [To be charged at Furnace No. Raise temp to Time ‘TEMPARATURE Pyrometer 1 | Pyrometer’ Hold for {Cool charge (a) Inside Fee (2) open air (3) quench oil/water (4) water/air spray [Rate of cooling {SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS Charged Discharged Hrs. taken [DateMetal Casting - Principles & Practice m7 Fig, 6.7(B) H. T. Log Sheet (Back) Charge Details Patt. No. | Heat No. Qy. We per pe [Total Wt Kg] Test pes. Kg. | | | | | [Total No. of test pes. charged - Nos. Total change 7 Kgs Rejection Nos Re heat treatment Kg [Good production Kee178 Finishing Operations ix, Casting defects due to improper heat-treatment a. Warpages, distortion, dimensional changes, cracks Reasons: Non-uniform temperature distribution in heat-treatment furnace, improper loading of castings in furnace with inadequate supports for long/thin parts, poor casting design, too severe quenching. b. Burning, surface damages Reasons: Too high temperature, non-uniform heating due to improper burner location, too long a soaking, oxidising atmosphere. in . farnace due to excess air/leakages. © Cracks in austenitic manganese steel castings (1.0% carbon 10-12% manganese) Reasons: Too fast a rate of heating, not attaining austenitic temperature (1000°C) before quenching, delay in water-quenching causing drop in temperature (maximum time 30 seconds), insufficient volume of quenching water, improper heat-transfer to water (tiring of water helps) 4. Temper brittleness/Sigma phase formation in stainless and other alloy stecls cause cracks and lowering of toughness if correct tempering temperature is not maintained. % Practical aspects to be observed during heat-treatment a. Frequent calibration of temperature-indicating/recording devices and checking uniformity of temperature in different portions of the heat-treatment furnace along with checking of furnace atmosphere (measurement of CO-content) are the other steps to prevent defective heat-treatment. b, To check the effect of heat-treatment, itis essential to keep test pieces of the same composition as the casting and subject them to the same heattreatment cycle before testing for properties like tensile strength, elongation, bend or impact. 6.3 Salvaging of defective castings An important activity in the finishing section is to repair castings with minor/salvageable defects. The method of salvaging alier identifying the area and extent of defects depends upon the casting metal and ils criticality. For less important castings in grey cast iron, filing up minor blow-holes, pin-holes, shrinkage ete, by a filler under pressure to seal may be adopted. For critical castings in other non-ferrous metals and steels, removal of the defective portions, building it up by suitable welding Process, finishing the surface by hand-grinding, final inspection followed by heat-treatment to homogenise the casting and relieve local welding stresses have to be done for proper salvage operation. It is essential to maintain a complete record of salvaging operation on critical castings by the quality control section for the customer's approval and future reference. The format for such a report is given in Table 6.3Metal Casting Priniplee & Practice 179 Table/Format 6.3 Casting Salvage Record [KY Zomdy Casing salvage record Casting Nome Seder Ret Drawing No. ‘Sketch Showing Delect Location [Casting Serial No. |e | Defect Location Sie of Deve Natur of Dee Weling Technique Post Inspection Customer Inspection ema Finishing /C. ‘Quali Control /e. Customer Representative a Typical procedure for repair-welding of critical steel castings a, Base metal preparation for repair Defects are to be removed completely by arc-air gouging, grinding or machining or by combination of these operations, Defect removal to sound base metal should be assured by the use of die-penetrant test. b. Base preparation for welding ‘The area w be welded should be radiused and rounded avoiding all sharp comers, Poncil grinder may be used to remove any burrs formed.180 Finishing Operations c. Pre-heating ‘Where the defects extend to more than 50% of wall thickness or more than 25mm depth, itis desirable to presheat the region around the welding area to 100 to 200°C. 4. Welding electrodes Standard low-hydrogen heavy coated welding electrodes may be used for welding. Electrodes should be thoroughly dried before use. Use of D.C. welding is advised ¢. Welding technique Surface to be welded should be dried and cleaned thoroughly. It is preferable to use smaller diameter electrodes to minimise the heat and distortion and maintain short arc length. Weaving if any, should be limited to 2 to 3 times the electrode wire diameter. All slag should be removed between passes with a hammer and a stainless steel wire brush before the subsequent layer is welded. Care should be taken to see that the work is done by the qualified welders and the weld is free from porosity, under-cutting, lack of penctration or any other defects ff Testing of the weld area ‘After welding is completed, the weld are should be lightly ground and checked aguin by die-penetrant or magnetic particle for the existence of any defects. {g. Post-weld heat-treatment Depending on the carbon equivalent of cast metal and the depth of defect welded, stress relief tempering may be required. ii. Welding of austenitic manganese steel (Hadfield) castings This steel containing 1.0 to 1.4% carbon and 11 to 14% manganese attains high toughness and work hardening properties by a special heat-treatment, These castings are heated to 1050°C and water-quenched very fast (within 30 seconds). If the cooling rate is not sufficiently fast the cast metal develops iron carbide and martensite phases which are brittle instead of austenite. This may also cause cracks in thicker areas during service and while welding. During fusion welding for salvaging defective areas, the casting gets reheated and being austenitic, Hadfield steel is very sensitive to heating. Above 350° C, manganese carbide gets precipitated at grain boundaries and heat affected zone of welding, making them very brittle. It is essential to keep the temperature of the casting well below 280°C during repair by continuous cooling and keeping in a water bath while welding, Preheating should be totally avoided for this steel. Welding electrode, containing chrome (upto 14%,) nickel (upto 10%) and molybdenum give good weld,‘Maal Casting ~ Principles & Practice 181 ‘The electrode coating should be of ‘low hydrogen’ type and electrode should be dried well before use. Welding is recommended with DC reversed polarity using minimum specified current, shortest possible arc and ensuring fast rate of cooling. tt, Instructions for welding critical steel castings @. Check the Carbon Equivalent (CE ) as per Winterton’s formula Mn , YN , WCr_ %Mo _ %V Comes 6 * 20 10 50 10 ICE. islessthan 0.40 - no precautions are needed 040-048 weldable with ordinary electrodes, pr-heat 90:200°C 0.48 -0.55 wweldable with low hydrogen electrodes, pre-heat 200-370°C. above 0.55 difficul to weld, only austenitic electrodes, higher pre-heat, 4. Preheating of the casting while welding helps reduce the temperature difference between the weld metal and the unaffected base metal (heat-affected zone). Higher C.E. steel, thicker wall of casting, larger deposit of weld, and more complicated castings require higher pre-heating temperature. Pre-heating is done with gas or electric heating locally and the casting is kept covered with asbestos cloth. Temperature measurement on casting during welding is done by marking with "thermo chalks" which change colour on attaining a specified temperature. 6 Postweld heat treatment is essential for higher C.E. stecls as well as critical castings and heavy welds. This helps in removing the residual stresses produced by local contraction of weld metal during cooling: For critical castings, itis necessary to transfer to post-weld heat-treatment furnaces immediately after ‘welding, without allowing (0 cool. Otherwise cracks, distortion and sometimes hhydrogen porosity such as pin-holes may occur. General stress. relief temperature is 600 to 650°C. No preheat or postweld heat-treatment should be done for austenitic manganese steel castings as they will reverse to martensitic state on heating, ae Questions Briefly explain the stages in finishing castings after pouring. ‘What are the advantages of pneumatic tools in finishing castings? Explain the operation of pneumatic chipper and han grinder. ‘What are the different methods of separating runners and risers from castings? Explain the principle of shot-blasting and sand-blastng,192 Finishing Operations With a sketch explain snagging or swing frame grinding of heavy castings. ‘What are the considerations to salvage a defective casting instead of rejecting it? How is salvage welding done on castings with minor defects? Explain the operations in salvage welding of stel castings 10. What is the purpose of heat-treatment of castings ? 11, Explain briefly the common heat ret 2)steel_ b) copperalloy <) malleabl nt procedures for castings of iron and) alluminum 12, Differentiate between a) annealing, t) normalising, and e) tempering of easings 13, Briefly explain the various stages in finishing/fetting of the following castings, after pouring insand molds: 2) small grey cast iron auto castings 'b) heavy machine toolbeds in eas iron 6) malleable icon pipe-fitings 4) SG. iron crank shalis 6) cast steel valves ‘heavy turbine housings in low alloy steel 8) austenitic manganese steel liner plates ‘gum metal bearing sleeves ‘i duraumin castings 14. Mention the common mechanical equipment used in fetling and finishing castings. eeINSPECTION AND QUALITY-CONTROL 7.1 Specifications for castings Before a casting is taken up for manufacture, i is necessary for the foundry to study the specifications, expected properties and acceptance standards. Otherwise it will result in rejection of castings by customer, delay in execution, and avoidable arguments and ‘misunderstanding between the foundry and customer. Normally a few or all of the following will be required in castings as part of specifications ‘a, chemical analysis and allowable level of impurities b, mechanical properties c dimensional tolerances 4. freedom from injurious defects - external/internal In addition, depending on the criticality of the casting in service, the following additional conditions may be imposed. e. surface finish of casting £ destructive testing of a few samples In the case of critical castings like ack links and armour plates of defence armoured vehicles or for naval/aircralt parts certain percentage of sample castings in teach lot are subjected to actual load test until they are destroyed. This test will conclusively predict the quality level of castings to withstand service. This is obviously used for very limited items. pressure testing non-destructive tests for surface-flaws non-destructive tests for internal soundness acceptable level of different defects procedures for salvaging acceptable defects by welding, H.T. etc. Hdentification method for each casting history with the melt, test-pieces, heat-treatment ete194 Inspection and Quality-Controt The details of each of the above are given in the corresponding ASTM, IS, DIN or other International standard specifications. As a part of the acceptance standard for carbon steel castings for pressure applications the following are the specifications: a. Chemical analysis Percentage ranges of carbon, manganese, silicon and maximum allowable sulphur and phosphorous, for steel. 4. Mechanical properties Tensile strength, yield strength, percent elongation, hardness, reduction of area, impact strength, angle of bending. Heat-treatment is also specified sometimes to achieve these properties on standard test pieces cast along with the casting. Hardness is tested directly on large castings using Poldi portable tester. Other properties are tested on testpieces only. ¢. Dimensional tolerance Whatever tolerances the designer has specified for fitting dimensions, they have to be achieved. Even for untoleranced dimensions, depending on the class of castings and over all size, the dimensions should be within the tolerances specified in standard 18-4897. d, Internal/external defects Internal defects like shrinkage, blow-holes, cracks etc., beyond certain specified limits are not allowed in castings of specified class, Salvaging minor defects is allowed. ¢. Surface finish of castings In cases like valve castings, the internal/external surfaces, unmachined should be within 3 to 10 jm, ff Pressure testing Hydraulic pressure tes to twice the normal service pressure. & Surface defects Surface defects to be checked by magnetic particle testing. 4h, Internal soundness to be inspected by + ultrasonic flaw detection procedure to a specified class and + radiography as per the specified standard. i. Welding procedure ‘The acceptance level of defects to be welded by qualified welders as per given procedure of weld-preperation, welding rods, pre-heating, and post-weld heat-treatment Ji: Casting history record Complete record of casting history should be maintained for identification of casting with melt, tested properties and salvaging procedures.Metal Casting ~ Principles & Practice 105 78 Inspection of castings involves the following methods, depending upon the criticality of service requirements: Inspection of castings i, Visual inspection ii, Dimensional checking. iii, Surface flaw detection iv, Internal flaw testing “The other supplementary testing as per specifications involve: vy. Chemical analysis vi, Mechanical properties vii, Metallurgical structure i. Visual inspection In this, each casting is examined visually for any defects or Naws on outer andl Visible inner surfaces after proper cleaning. Obvious defects like surface roughness, metal-penetration, pin-holes, surface shrinkage, crossjoint, bulge, broken portions, cold shuts, scabs ¢aa be observed and d Sometimes a magnifying glass can be used. ‘sion regarding acceptance can be taken ii, Dimensional checking tis necessary to check important dimensions for castings keeping them on surface table. The basic steps are: properly locating the casting, establishing reference surfaces, marking the centre lines and measuring each dimension with reference to the drawing. Much skill and experience is needed to do this as casting dimensions differ much from the drawing dimensions. Casting has additional machining allowances, drafV/taper for molding, padding, fillets for easy castability For complicated castings "proof machining” of reference surface is done, taking @ small cut on machine so that it can be used as base for marking other dimensions. "Proof machining" also helps in checking the soundness of casting slightly below the skin in critical areas, revealing the quality, so that further operations can be carried out with confidence For mass production, dimensional checking can be carried out by the use of gauges for critical fiting dimensions. This is a very fast and reliable method. Simple "gornogo gauge’ for casting wall thickness is easy to make and use, The dimensional report should be properly completed for sample castings. iit. Surface flaw detection Certain surface defects on castings, normally invisible to the naked eye can be clearly revealed by the following techniques, which are very popular a. Dye-penetrant testing In this method the surface of the casting to be tested is cleaned, lightly grinded by hand and dried. A "penetrant’ which is a volatile chemical containing a coloured dye is uniformly applied to the casting surface by spraying, brushing or immersion, Sufficient time must be allowed for the fine186 Inspoction and Quality-Control flaws on the surface to absorb the penetrant. ‘The excess penetrant is then removed by organic chemical liquids (Solvents) called "removers". A “developer” which is a dry white absorbant powder like chalk or suspension of the powder in a volatile spirit, is then employed to bring out the defect clearly against contrasting background. ‘The coating of the “developer” should be uniform and thin so that it does not mask the defects. Sometimes uorescent penetrants are used which reveal minor flaws under ultraviolet illumination. Dye-penetrant testing method has the following advantages: + itis very cheap. + ittcan be done fast. + itcan be done on magnetic or non-magnetic castings. + if done properly it can reveal surface defects like cracks, pin-holes, cold-shuts, laps etc. + if tested on proof machined surfaces, dye-penetrant testing is very reliable for revealing dangerous defects. * this is a very common test for portion of castings salvaged by welding, b. Magnetic particle inspection This method is used for detecting discontimuties in ferrous/magnetic castings. The steps involved are, preparation of the surface to be tested by proper cleaning or machining, establishing a suitable magnetic field in the area to be tested, applying magnetic particles to the surface, examining the test object surface for accumulation of the particles and evaluating the defect. Magnetization is done using electric current, either circular or longitudinal, from a storage battery or rectifier. Magnetic particles are normally fine iron filings, either dry or suspended in a liquid like kerosene. If the magnetised arca of the casting has any crack, it creates leakage flux lines which attract magnetic particles. Thus a cluster of magnetic particles indicate discontinuity in this part Particle accumulation parallel to the lines of force indicates smaller defects whereas accumulation of particles at right angles to the lines of force indicates heavy /deep sub-surface defects. For better evaluation, Muorescent coatings are given to the magnotic particles, which are later viewed under sensitive ultraviolet rays. Itis advisable to demagnetise the casting alter the test The advantages of this method are: + itis very fast, ‘+ cheap for magnetic materials, ‘+ reliable for surface and sub-surface defect evaluation, and + can be used extensively for ingots, shafis, rolled items, before and after proof machining to find major flaws. ‘The limitation of this testing is that it cannot be used for non-magnetic materials and equipment is relatively costly compared to dye-penetrant testing kit iv, Internal defects inspection Non-destrictive testing of castings for internal soundness normally use radiography and/or ultrasonic scanning methods.Metal Casting» Principles & Practice 197 a. Radiographic flaw detection of castings Radiography is a non-destructive testing technique in which radiation of high energy and high penetrating power is employed (o test the object Normally X-rays and y-rays are used for testing castings in radiography. Properties of X- rays and y- rays: + they travel in straight lines and effects like reflection and refraction are negligible. + they have high penetrating power which increases with inereasing quantum energy. + they are absorbed by some materials to extents varying with the energy of radiation, properties and thickness of the absorbing material. + they can ionize matter. This results in effects like Muorescence, chemical (photo) effects and can be biologically hazardous. This is an extremely important precaution before using radiography, Generation of X-rays: Electric energy is used to create thermo-ionic omission of electrons from @ heated filament cathode in an evacuated tube, The electrons are accelerated by a high potential difference between the anode and cathode. X-rays are produced by the striking of clectrons upon a target, usually tungsten, at the anode. The cost of the equipment depends upon the energy level y= rays are produced by radioactive isotopes during their continuons emission process. It is spontancous and is not allected by variables like temperature or pressure. The normal isotopes used in radiography of castings are Iridinm-192 and Cobalt-60. The radioactive isotopes are relatively cheap, they do not require external energy for actuation. But their strength decay with time as indicated by their halFlite period, beyond which they can not used, Constant evaluation of y-ray source strength is needed to get a proper radiograph. For example, the half-life period of Iridium-192 is about 80 days where as for Cobalt-60, it is about 4 years. Film radiography: Film radiography i the most popular method of getting a permanent record of the radiation coming ont of the tested casting after penetration ‘Typical set up consists of (Sce Fig, 7.1) + asource of X-ray or y-ray, + amask/diaphragm for controlling the X-ray cone, ‘+ intensifying screens to reduce scatter, + the casting to be tested, and a film holder conta ing the photographic film. ‘The important parameters which control the quality of @ radiography include the film characteristics, geometrical arrangement of the radiation source, object and film, the energy level or source strength and exposure time,188 Inspection and Quality-Control Operating contrat Radiography camera acography source ‘penci ‘Aperture / focus “5 Radiographic tim. t— Casting “Lead ined gasket - holder Work - table Lead lining chamber Fig. 7.1 Arrangement for y-ray radiography To know the sensitivity of the radiography, wire or hole penetrameters (image quality indicators) of various sizes are used which introduce artificial defects of known sizes in the radiograph to find the smallest size of defect that can be evaluated. Practical aspects in radiography: ‘The sensitivity of the radiography is indicated by the features of the Penetrameter as seen on the radiograph. The essential requirements are theMetal Casting ~ Principles & Practice 189 images of the identifying numbers, the outline of the penetrameter. The penetrameter should be placed on side nearest to the radiation source so that the plane of the penetrameter is approximately normal to the direction of the beam. At least one penetrameter per exposure shall be used. ‘The following information shall appear on the radiograph: a. Job number ie., serial number given for the part as per radiographic details register b. Segment number as per sketch of part c. Image quality indicator. Evaluation of defects of castings: Specified areas of castings are covered as specified in the drawing with mutual understanding between the contracting partes. Evaluation of defects shall be carried out as per ASTM or IS for castings. Defects like hottears, cracks, deep shrinkage, severe and distributed blow-holes revealed in radiography in critical areas call for rejection of castings. Localised defects in less critical areas may allowed to be welded and retested after welding and stress relief. Radiographic technique giving details of film, distance, screen, exposure with additional particulars such as melt number and foundry name shall be submitted. All the radiographs shall be clearly identified with a serial number which can be linked up with the casting which bears the same serial number as that of radiographs. ‘The radiograph numbers shall be punched just below the heat numbers and encircled by white paint and the location numbers shall be legibly painted ‘on the castings with white paint ‘Advantages of radiography: ‘© radiography can be used for metals of any composition or structure. + it provides a permanent record (radiograph) of the tested casting with proper identification + depending on the source strength, sensitivity of testing can be adjusted for different materials, + the test procedure and interpretation of the test results is relatively simple and non-controversial. + the test can be carried out by operators of normal calibre unlike for ultrasonic testing. «itis advantageous to do initial scanning by ultrasonic testing which is cheap land fast and later probe suspected areas by radiography for accurate and clear evaluation of defects in the casting.190 Inspection and Quality-Contral Disadvantages: ‘+ higher energy radiation involves serious havards for life. + the cost of protective equipment, concrete structure ete., are very high ‘even though the testing cost very less. * itis not portable and requires costly handling of castings. + range of testing is limited compared to ultrasonic method + source strength deteriorates with time. Ultrasonic Inspection: Use of high frequency sound waves in frequencies of 1 MIlz to 4 MHz for detecting the internal defects in castings provides a cheaper, safer, faster and more sensitive method ot inspection compared to the hazardous radiography. In this method a transducer is used to convert electrical energy into sound energy through crystalline matcrials possessing electric properties ‘The ultrasonic waves are made to travel into the casting wall being tested. ‘The ultrasonic wave passing through the wall, produces two echoes, one corresponding to the front face and the other for the back-wall, the two echoes being spaced at an interval proportional to the thickness of the wall, If any defect exists inside the material, a part or whole of the energy, depending upon the type and sie of law:is reflected. The reflected ultrasonic impulse is converted back into electrical pulses by the reverse Piezo-electric cffect (production of electric charge on its surface when subjected to external mechanical pressure). It is displayed on the visual display screen of a cathode-ray tube (Sce Fig, 7.2) ‘The quality of ultrasonic inspection depends upon propogating the pulse of energy from the transmitting probe into the component being tested and retrieving the reflected echo pulse. Ullrasonic energy, except at very low frequencies, can not pass through air and needs some form of intimate coupling between the probe and the surface of the casting being tested. With manual oF hand-held systems, this coupling is obtained through a layer of grease or other semi-fluid and requires much skifl to keep the contract consistent. In an automatic inspection system, both the probe and the component to be tested are immersed in a bath of water (treated suitably). Ultrasonic energy passes readily through the liquid and into the casting giving better coupling consistency. " In "A-Scan” presentation technique, a cathode ray tbe in which the horizontal axis represents the distance or time and vertical axis represents pul amplitude is used to located and assess the size of internal flaw. "Attenuation the loss of intensity of energy of the ultrasonic wave during its passage through the media due to the combined effects of absorption, beam spread and Scattering is compensated by an instrument control which enables amplification applied to a received signal to be adjusted (gain control).Metal Costing ~ Principles & Practice 191 Probe WT a OM, 1-Defect LZ Test casting Power Pulser Ampitier source Tine base [Aenuation (sweep) Gain Distance {geoth) axis Size of defeat Yeans Front wal Back wall echo Detect echo ~ a ay CRT Screen Visuel spay Fig. 7.2 Ultrasonic flaw detection (Schematic diagram} The quantification of the flaw is done by various methods. In common practice, whenever the defect echo exceeds a definite “percentage of the backwall echo from within critical region of the casting, as agreed upon by the purchaser and manufacturer, the material may be rejected. The use of suitable calibration test blocks and DGS (Distant-Gain-Size diagram) with a generalised family of curves representing the amplitude echoes in 'd! (decibles) versus the distances of flaw from various sizes of equivalent flaws can give very accurate quantification of defect. ‘The performance of an ultrasonic instrument varies with usage due to changes in the characteristics of the electronic components in the circuit. The192 Inspection and Quality-Contral probe system may also undergo charges due (o variations in crystal mounting or wear of probes. To maintain the sensitivity of the instrument and testing system within narrow limits, standard calibration blocks of metal of special size and shape containing suitably located reflecting surfaces (artificial defects) to calibrate, control and verify the adjustments involved during actual inspection are used on a common basis. The following system can be carried out for calibration of an ultrasonic unit and the connecting probes with reference locks: + check of linearity of ime base and amplification ‘+ calibration of range for both normal beam and angle beam (shear wave) ‘+ determination of the position of probe index ‘+ approximate estimation of dead-zone iy Advantages of ultrasonic testing (compared to Radiography): + the cost of testing is very low as no films, developing or special chambers are involved. + setting up of working sensiti + itis very fast, the result being available instantaneously without the necd to process or view separately. Highly suitable for on-line automatic inspection ‘of mass production items. + itcan be used for almost any metallic/non-metallic object. + iis portable and can be easily carried even to inaccesible testing sites. (Radiography cannot be carried-out outside) ‘+ itis absolutely safe, No hazards of radiation or chemicals, ‘+ itis highly sensitive. Even class I radiography cannot reveal defects below 24% of thickness, whereas by suitable adjustment of sensitivity, ultrasonic testing can reveal defects even lower than 0.1% of thickness + there is no limitation of thickness for testing unlike in radiography. Testing can be done on thickness from a few mm to a few metres accurately. ‘+ no problems of decay of source as faced in radiography. Disadvantages: ‘* the interpretation of results requires skill and knowledge. ‘+ the dead zones, equipment characteristics, selection of probes influence the exact location and evaluation of defects. ‘+ calibration to evaluate the defect size has to be done on suitable calibration blocks in advance for each material. + unfavourable casting geometry due to outer contours, complex shapes and defect orientations with respect to the scanning direction cause difficulties in interpretation of results.