Spring 2019

ISyE 415

Introduction to Manufacturing
Systems Design and Analysis

Lecture 3: Metal Casting Processes

Casting
 Casting is a process in which molten metal flows by gravity
or other force into a mold where it solidifies in the shape
of the mold cavity

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Learning Goals
 Understand the principle of casting process and its
categories
 Know the advantage and disadvantages of sand casting,
shell molding, and die casting

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

 Casting
 Origin of Casting:
 Traced back to around 4000 BC, and gold was the first
metal to be discovered and used, which is malleable and
could be hammered into shape at room temperature.
 Copper was the subsequent after hundreds of years,
where casting is needed. Technology was born in
Mesopotamia and quickly spread throughout the rest of
the ancient world.
 Religion provided an important influence: construction
of cathedrals and churches required casting of bells.
 Cannon was another important product associated with
casting. First cast cannon: 1313 in Ghent, Belgium, by a
religious monk.
ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes
Shape Casting
 Advantages
 Used to create complex part geometries, both external and
internal
 Low cost to produce parts to net shape or near net shape
 Performed on any metal that can be heated to the liquid state
 Scalable in size and quantity
 Disadvantages
 Limitations on mechanical properties
 Porosity
 Poor dimension accuracy and surface finish
 Safety hazards

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Terminology
 Foundry: the factory carrying out casting processes
 Mold: contains cavity whose geometry determines part
shape
 Can be open (Figure a), majority is closed (Figure b)

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Casting Methods
 Categorized based on the type of mold
 Expendable mold
 One time use, mold materials may be recycled, e.g., sand
 Permanent mold
 Used over and over, made of metal or refractory material, e.g., die
casting

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Sand Casting (Expendable Mold)
 Most important casting process

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Sand Mold
 Mold consists of two halves:
 Cope = upper half of mold
 Drag = bottom half
 Mold halves are contained in a box, called a flask
 The two halves separate at the parting line
 Mold cavity is formed by packing sand around a pattern,
which has the shape of the part
 When the pattern is removed, the remaining cavity of the
packed sand has desired shape of cast part.

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Core: placed inside the mold cavity to define
the interior geometry of part

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

 Pouring basin or cup: molten metal is poured
here.

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

 Sprue: a passage way for the molten metal to
flow down

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Gates: inlets to the mold cavity
Runner system: channels that carry the
molten metal from the sprue to the mold cavity

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Risers: reservoir for supplying additional molten metal to the casting (open or blind)
Vents: carry gases produced when molten metal comes in contact with sand

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Exercise 1 (Fill the Blanks)

D
A C
F

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Mold Material
 Green sand (clay sand)
 Natural silica sand, clay, additives and water
 Commonly used in machine molding and hand molding
 Reusable, low production cost, short production cycle
 Resin sand
 Synthetic resin added as binder
 Harden fast when heated 1 to 2 minutes
 One-time use, strong and smooth surface
 Other sands

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes 16

 Patterns
 Patterns
 One piece patterns (solid patterns): low cost, low quantity
production
 Split patterns: two piece patterns to make complicated shapes
 Match plate patterns: each half of one or more split patterns are
secured on either side of the plate

solid pattern
match-plate pattern
split pattern
 Sand Cores

(a) Core held in place in the mold cavity by chaplets, (b) possible chaplet design, (c) casting

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Sand Casting Process

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Example
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjQCrL8moqw
 Casting a Bronze Axe Start to Finish

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Solidification Shrinkage  Nearly all metals, the
solid phase has a
higher density than
the liquid phase

 Cavity must be
slightly enlarged to
Initial pouring 10% solidification allow for shrinkage of
metal during
solidification and
cooling
 Risers can be used to
compensate for
shrinkage in casting

80% solidification After solidification

Expendable Mold Casting
 Other expendable mold casting processes:
 Shell molding casting
 Plaster/ceramic mold casting
 Evaporative pattern casting (lost form)
 Investment casting (lost wax)

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Shell Molding Process
 Casting process in which the mold is a thin shell of sand
held together by thermosetting resin binder
 Used for complex shapes requiring high precision: gear housings,
cylinder heads, connecting rods
 Advantages:
 Smoother cavity surface permits easier flow of molten metal and
better surface finish
 Good dimensional accuracy
 Mold collapsibility minimizes cracks in casting
 Can be mechanized for mass production
 Disadvantages:
 More expensive metal pattern
 Difficult to justify for small quantities
 Shell Molding Process

Steps in shell molding: (1) a match-plate or cope-and-drag metal pattern is heated and placed over a box
containing sand mixed with thermosetting resin; (2) box is inverted so that sand and resin fall onto the hot
pattern, causing a layer of the mixture to partially cure on the surface to form a hard shell; (3) box is
repositioned so that loose, uncured particles drop away; (4) sand shell is heated in oven for several minutes to
complete curing; (5) shell mold is stripped from the pattern; (6) two halves of the shell mold are assembled,
supported by sand or metal shot in a box, and pouring is accomplished. The finished casting with sprue removed
is shown in (7).
Example
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28_I7Bdz4yY&index=
7&list=PL3AFB507B668AF162
 Shell molding
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFITqk2KTjw
 Lost foam casting
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrUsaGussfc
 Investment casting

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Permanent Mold Casting
 Economic disadvantage of expendable mold casting: a new
mold is required for every casting
 In permanent mold casting, the mold is reused many times
 Molds used for casting lower melting point alloys are commonly
made of steel or cast iron
 Molds used for casting steel must be made of refractory material,
due to the very high pouring temperatures

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Permanent Mold Casting
 Advantages of permanent mold casting:
 Good dimensional control and surface finish
 Rapid solidification caused by metal mold results in a finer grain
structure, so castings are stronger
 Limitations:
 Generally limited to metals of lower melting point
 Simpler part geometries compared to sand casting because of need
to open the mold
 High cost of mold

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Permanent Mold Casting
 Steps in permanent mold casting
 (1) mold is preheated and coated for lubrication and heat
dissipation
 (2) cores (if any are used) are inserted and mold is closed
 (3) molten metal is poured into the mold, where it solidifies
Die Casting
 A permanent mold casting process in which molten metal
is injected into mold cavity under high pressure
 Pressure is maintained during solidification, then mold is
opened and part is removed
 Molds in this casting operation are called dies; hence the
name die casting
 Use of high pressure to force metal into die cavity is what
distinguishes this from other permanent mold processes

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Die Casting
 Advantage of die casting:
 High production rate possible
 Economical for large production quantities
 Close tolerances possible
 Good surface finish
 Thin sections are possible
 Rapid cooling proves small grain size and good strength to the
casting
 Limitation of die casting
 Generally limited to metals with low melting points (non-ferrous)
 Shape restriction (the part geometry must allow for removal from
the die cavity)
ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes
 Hot Chamber Die Casting
• A metal shaping process in which metal is melted in a container, and a
piston injects liquid metal under high pressure into the die till solidification
occurs
• High production rates
(900 injections/hr)
• Dies are usually cooled by
oil or water
• Applications limited to
low melting-point metals
that do not chemically
attack plunger and other
mechanical components
• Casting metals: zinc, tin,
lead, and magnesium Illustration of the hot-chamber die-casting process.
Hot Chamber Die Casting
 Hot-chamber die casting cycle:
 (1) with die closed and plunger withdrawn, molten metal flows
into the chamber
 (2) plunger forces metal in chamber to flow into die, maintaining
pressure during cooling and solidification.
 (3) plunger is withdrawn, die is opened, and casting is ejected
 Cold Chamber Die Casting
• Molten metal is poured into unheated chamber from external melting container,
and a piston injects metal under high pressure into die cavity
• High production but not
usually as fast as
hot-chamber machines
because of pouring step
• Casting metals: high
melting-point metals, e.g.,
aluminum, brass, and
magnesium alloys

Illustration of the cold-chamber die-casting process.

Cold Chamber Die Casting
 Cold-chamber die casting cycle:
 (1) with die closed and ram withdrawn, molten metal is poured into
the chamber
 (2) ram forces metal to flow into die, maintaining pressure during
cooling and solidification
 (3) ram is withdrawn, die is opened, and part is ejected

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Videos
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj_mjjUQad8
 Die casting

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Summary

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes

Exercise 2
 What casting methods should be used if the product
requires
 Low cost, low production rate?
 Good surface finish, high production rate?
 Good dimensional accuracy?

ISYE 415 - 03 Metal Casting Processes