ME 461 Manufacturing Processes

Laboratory 1: Sand Casting Lab – Fall 2019

Introduction

The purpose of this laboratory is to introduce the students to sand casting operations.
Students will prepare the sand, melt the aluminum, make the mold, pour the molten metal
into the cavity, remove the casting, and conduct finishing.

Objectives

The students will

 see how common materials can be used to create a functional mold
 address process improvements
 experience with following procedures

Materials Sand, Aluminum 319

Equipment
 Flask
 Tampers
 Pots, sieve
 Thermometer

Procedure

1) Preparation:
Foundry sand is used in this lab.

2) Melting:
A lift-out crucible furnace will be used to melt the aluminum. The heat energy
required is the sum of the heat to raise the temperature to the melting point, the heat
of fusion to convert it from solid to liquid, and the heat to raise the molten metal to
the desired temperature for pouring. Determine the required energy in your lab using

H  V C s (Tm  To )  H f  C l (T p  Tm ) (1)

, where H (J, Btu) is the total heat required to raise the temperature of the metal to the
pouring temperature,   2.70 g / cm3  0.098 lb / in.3 is the density for aluminum,
and C s  0.87906 J / g  C  0.21 Btu / lbm  F is the weight specific heat for the solid
metal. The melting temperature of aluminum is Tm  660  C  1220  F , To is starting
temperature, Hf = 389.3 J/g is heat of fusion for aluminum, C l is the specific heat for
the molten aluminum (it can be assumed to be the same as for solid aluminum), Tp is
the pouring temperature, and V (cm3, in.3) is the volume of the metal being heated.
(more exact data for your aluminum alloy is available at www.matweb.com)

3) Mold Making:
The flask is assembled and turned upside down for the drag side to be packed first.
Before starting to pack the sand, a thin layer of talcum powder mixed with sand is
applied to the pattern plate using a small sieve. This helps to prevent sticking to the
pattern plate. The sand is then scooped into the drag and packed using a large temper.
The packing should continue until the drag is completely filled. The drag side should
then be leveled using a tamper, and a bottom board should be placed on top.

The entire flask assembly is then flipped over and rested on the bottom board. The
cope side is removed and the pattern plate is tapped to loosen the sand on the opposite
side. The cope is then reassembled onto the flask, and a mixture of talcum powder
and sand is now applied. The sprue is placed in position, and then the sand mixture is
packed in the cope in a similar fashion to that used for the drag. During packing of the
cope, the sprue should be periodically rotated to loosen it and facilitate its removal.

When the cope is filled and leveled, the sprue should be removed, and excess sand
brushed off. The cope and pattern plate are simultaneously lifted straight up and
separated from the drag. A bottom board is placed on top of the cope, so it can be
flipped over and set down. Both sides of the mold are inspected. A very small
toothbrush is used to brush away sand from unintended area. The cope and drag are
then reassembled without the pattern plate.

4) Pouring:
Pressure is put on the flasks by holding them tightly together and then the melted
aluminum is slowly poured into the sprue until it is approximately one inch from the
top. The melted aluminum is added at brief intervals until the level in the sprue ceases
to drop. Pressure on the flasks is released only after the aluminum begins to harden in
the sprue. Since the aluminum needs to harden, the final two steps are done later.

5) Removing:
After the aluminum has completely hardened, the mold can be broken.

Record the following during the lab

Aluminum alloy no: ………….

Starting temperature To …………………………………………………………………………..
Pouring temperature Tp…………………………………………………………………………..
Length of downsprue: …………
Cross-sectional area at the base of the sprue: …………
Volume of mold cavity: …………
Determine velocity of the molten metal at the base of the sprue, volume rate of flow,
and time required to fill the mold.

Determine the total solidification time TST from Chvorinov’s rule:

2
V 
TST  Cm  
 A
, where Cm is the mold constant, V is the volume of the casting, and A is the surface
area of the casting.

The mold constant can be determined from the following equation:

   ( H f  C l (T p  Tm )) 
2
1
Cm   
4  Tm  To  k mold  moldC mold

, where k mold = 0.6 W/mK is the thermal conductivity of the mold,  mold = 1500 kg/m3
is the density of the mold, and C mold = 1,160 J/kgK is the specific heat for the mold.