Addis Ababa Science and Technology University

Mechanical Engineering Department

Manufacturing Processes

Chapter 2 Casting

Israel Z.
2022
 Introduction to 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.

• The term casting is also applied to the part that is made by

this process. It is one of the oldest shaping processes,
dating back 6000 years.

• The principle of casting seems simple: melt the metal,

pour it into a mold, and let it cool and solidify; yet there
are many factors and variables that must be considered in
order to accomplish a successful casting operation.
Introduction to Casting
• Casting is one of the oldest shaping process,
dating back to 6000 years.
 Cast automobile parts

Inlet and exhaust manifold

Pipe fittings

Cover plate

Process - Die Casting

 Pulleys
Fittings

Small parts

Process - Die Casting

 Casting Attributes
• Castings offer cost and performance advantages
because of their shape.
• The composition, structure and properties can be
tailored for a specific end product.
• complicated geometry.
• metals that are hard to machine or form.
• internal cavities.
 Casting Disadvantages
• lower strength than formed parts.
• exhibit non uniform properties.
anisotropic-stronger and tougher in one direction than
in another.
• Castings typically have a poor surface finish and poor
dimensional accuracy (except for precision casting
methods).
Steps in Casting
• Pattern and Mold making
• Melting and Pouring
• Solidification and Cooling
• Removal, Cleaning, Finishing and Inspection
Classification of Casting Processes
• Based on the type of the mold used, casting processes
can be classified into two
1. Expendable mold: destroyed to remove the casting.
eg. Sand casting, shell molding, investment casting
2. Permanent mold: used over and over to produce
many castings.
eg. die casting, squeeze casting
Expendable Mold Casting Processes
Sand Casting
• It is an expendable – mold casting process.
• In expendable mold casting, the mold is destroyed to
remove the casting and a new mold is required for
each new casting.
The basic production steps in sand casting
Sand Casting terminology
• The mold consists of two halves: cope and drag
• Cope is the upper half and drag is the bottom half.
• These two mold parts are contained in a box, called flask.
• The two halves of the mold separate at the parting line.
• Core is used for making holes or hollow cavities inside a casting.
Cores can be made of sand, metals, plaster and ceramic.
The gating system is the channel, by which the molten metal flows into the
cavity from outside the mold.
• a downsprue (sprue), the metal enters a runner that leads into the main cavity.
• Riser is a reservoir designed to feed liquid metal to the solidifying casting to
compensate for shrinkage during solidification.
• The cavity in the sand mold is formed by packing
sand around a pattern, and then removing the pattern.
• If the casting is to have internal surfaces (eg. Hollow
parts or parts with holes), a core must be included in
the mold.
• Sand casting requires a pattern
• Wood, plastics and metals can be used to make
patterns.
• Wood is a common pattern material b/c it is easily
worked into shape.

• Metal patterns are more expensive to make, but they

last much longer.

• The selection of pattern material depends on the total

quantity of castings to be made.
• Depending on the geometry of the part, the core may
or may not require supports to hold it in position in
the mold cavity during pouring.

• These supports, called chaplets, are made of a metal

with a higher melting temp. than the casting metal.
 Chaplets: To avoid Core
Shifting

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

• On pouring and solidification, the chaplets become

bonded into the casting.
• The portion of the chaplet protruding from the casting is
subsequently cut off.
 Patterns
• A pattern is a replica of the final product and is used for preparing mold
cavity.
• It is made of wood, metal, plastic or other material.
Pattern Design Consideration
• Pattern always made larger than final
job.
Excess dimensions - Pattern Allowance
 Shrinkage allowance - contraction
of casting
Liquid - pouring temp. to freezing
temp.
Change of phase - Liquid to Solid
Solid casting - freezing temp. to
room temp.
 Draft allowance - to withdraw
pattern from mold
 Machining allowance - for final
shape
 Pattern Geometry

• The choice of pattern depends on the configuration of

casting and number of casting required.

Draft in Pattern
Molds and mold making
• The typical foundry sand is a mixture of fresh and
recycled sand, which contains 90% silica (SiO2), 3%
water, and 7% clay.
• Other bonding agents can be used in place of clay,
including organic resins and inorganic binders,
additives (eg. Sodium silicate and phosphate). to
enhance properties such as strength and permeability
• The grain size and grain shape are the major mold
parameters such as strength and permeability:
• Bigger grain size results in a worse surface finish.

• But Larger grain size ensures better permeability.

• Irregular grain shapes produce stronger mold.

• Quality of the sand mold is determined by its;
1. Strength: the molds ability to maintain its shape and
resist erosion caused by the flow of the molten
metal.
2. Permeability: the capacity of the mold to allow hot
air and gases from the casting operation to pass
through the voids in the sand.
3. Thermal stability: ability of the sand at the surface
of the mold cavity to resist cracking and buckling
upon contact with the molten metal.
4. Collapsibility: ability of the mold to give way and
allow the casting to shrink without cracking the
casting;
It also refers to the ability to remove the sand from
the casting during cleaning.
5. Reusability: can the sand from the broken mold be
reused to make other molds?
• Sand molds are classified as green sand, dry sand or
skin dried molds.
Forms of Mold
Open and Closed Mold

(a) Open mold, simply a container in the shape of the desired part;
(b) Closed mold, in which the mold geometry is more complex and
requires a gating system (passageway)leading into the cavity.
Melting and Pouring
• Furnace selection depends on
 the type of metal,
 the maximum temperature required and
 the rate and the mode of molten metal delivery.
• Before pouring, provisions are made for the escape of
dissolved gases.
• The gating system should be designed to minimize the
turbulent flow and erosion of mold cavity.
• Molten metal is prevented from oxidation by covering
the molten metal with fluxes.
• Ladles which pour the molten metal from beneath the
surface are used.
• The two main consideration during pouring are the
pouring temp. and pouring rate.
.
• Fluidity: Capability of molten metal to fill mold cavities.
 Characteristics of molten metal eg. Viscosity
 Casting parameters eg. Mold material and design
The solidification process
• The properties of the casting significantly depends on the
solidification time/cooling rate.
• Shrinkage of casting:
• Proper care should be taken at the design stage of casting
so that shrinkage can occur without casting defects.

Pure metal
Mechanism of Solidification

• Pure metal solidifies at a constant temp. equal to its

freezing point, which same as its melting point.
• The process of solidification starts with nucleation.
• In pure metals supercooling is around 20% of the
freezing temp.
• A nuclei, more than a certain critical size grows, and
causes solidification.
Removal, cleaning, finishing & inspection
• After the casting is removed from the mold;
 it is thoroughly cleaned and
 the excess material removed using a portable
grinder.
Fettling process
• After the casting has solidified and been removed from
the mold, additional steps are usually required.
• These operations include
1. Trimming
2. Removing the core
3. Surface cleaning
• Inspection(White light inspection, pressure test, magnetic
particle inspection, radiographic test, ultrasonic
inspection etc. are used)
1. Repair (if required) and
2. Heat treatment
• Steps through 1-5 are collectively referred to in foundry
work as “cleaning”.
Shell molding
• Is a casting process which uses an expendable mold of a
thin shell, typically 9mm, made of sand held together by a
thermosetting plastic resin.
• Parts produced by shell molding includes gears, valve
bodies, bushings and cam shafts.

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.
7. The finished casting with sprue is removed.
Shell molding
Advantages of shell molding process
• The surface of the shell mold cavity is smoother than
a conventional green sand mold. (better surface finish
on the final casting).
• Good dimensional accuracy is achieved, with
tolerances of  0.25mm possible on small to medium
sized parts.
• Collapsibility of the mold is generally sufficient to
avoid tearing and cracking of the casting.
• mechanized for mass production and is very
economical for large quantities.
Disadvantages of shell molding
• More expensive metal pattern than the corresponding
pattern for green sand molding.
• This makes shell molding difficult to justify for small
quantities of parts.
Investment casting
• A pattern made of wax is coated with a refractory
material to make the mold, after which the wax is
melted away prior to pouring the molten metal.

• It is a precision casting process, because it is capable

of making castings of high accuracy and intricate
detail.
• It is also known as the lost wax process, because the wax
pattern is lost from the mold prior to casting.

• In high production, several patterns are attached to a

sprue, also made of wax, to form a pattern tree.

• Complex machinery parts, blades and other components

for turbine engines, jewelry and dental fixtures can be
produced.
Steps in investment casting
1. Wax patterns are produced.
2. Several patterns are attached to a sprue to form a
pattern tree.
3. The pattern tree is coated with a thin layer of
refractory material.
4. A full mold is formed by covering the coated tree
with sufficient refractory material to make it rigid.
• Coating with refractory is usually accomplished by
dipping the pattern tree into a slurry of very fine
grained silica or other refractory (almost in powder
form) mixed with plaster to bond the mold into
shape.
• The small grain size of the refractory material provides
a smooth surface and captures the intricate details of
the wax pattern.
• The mold is allowed to air dry for about eight hours to
harden the binder.
5. The mold is held in an inverted position and heated to
melt the wax and permit it to drip out of the cavity.
6. The mild is preheated to a high temp., which ensures
that all contaminants are eliminated from the mold.
It also permits the liquid metal to flow more easily into
the detailed cavity. The molten metal is poured; it
solidifies.
7. The mold is broken away from the finished casting.
Parts are separated from the sprue.
Investment casting
Advantages of investment casting

• Parts of greater complexity and intricacy can be cast;

• Close dimensional control with tolerances of ±0.075mm;
• Good surface finish;
• The lost wax can be reused;
• Additional machining is not normally required;
• All types of metals, including steels, stainless steels, and
other high temperature alloys, can be investment cast.
Limitations of investment casting

• Relatively expensive process, b/c many steps are involved;

• Investment castings are normally small in size,
• Preferred for casting weight less than 5 kg, maximum
dimension less than 300 mm, Thickness is usually
restricted to 15mm
Permanent Mold Casting Processes
• In permanent mold casting a metal mold constructed
of two sections that are designed for easy, precise
opening and closing is used.

• These molds are commonly made of steel or cast iron.

• The cavity, with gating system include, is machined
into the two halves to provide accurate dimensions
and good surface finish.

• Cores can be used in permanent molds to form

interior surfaces in the cast product.
• If withdrawal of a metal core would be difficult or
impossible, sand cores can be used, in which the casting
process is often referred to as semipermanent mold
casting.
Advantages of permanent mold
• Good surface finish
• Close dimensional control
• More rapid solidification caused by a metal mold results
in a finer grain structure, so stronger castings are
produced.
Limitations of permanent mold
• Limited to metals of lower melting points.
• Used for simple part geometries compared to sand
casting because of the need to open the mold.
• Expense of mold.
Steps in permanent mold casting: (1) mold is preheated and
coated with lubricant for easier separation of the casting; (2)
cores (if used) are inserted and mold is closed; (3) molten metal
is poured into the mold; and (4) mold is open and finished part
removed. Finished part is shown in (5).
• Casting Defects
• There are numerous opportunities in the casting
operation for different defects to appear in the cast
product.
• Some of them are common to all casting processes:
Inspection Methods
1. Visual inspection: to detect obvious defects such as
misruns, cold shuts, and severe surface flaws;
2. Dimensional measurements to ensure that tolerances have
been met; and
3. Metallurgical, chemical, physical, and other tests
concerned with the inherent quality of the cast metal