A.

Metal Casting: Principles, Processes

and Applications
B. Continuous Casting

1. Fundamentals: Melting - Pouring - Fluidity

and Fluid Flow - Gating system -
Solidification.
2. Processes (Expendable Mould Casting
and Permanent Mold Casting ): Examples
3. Cleaning, Finishing and Tolerances
4. Continuous Casting
5. Defects 6. Inspection and Tests 7. Heat
Treatment
8. Design of Casting 9. Cost Evaluation
References:
[1] Serope Kalpakjian & Steven R. Schmid, “Manufacturing Engineering and Technology”,
Any edition (2001 to 2008), Prentice Hall.

[2] Prof. Karl B. Rundman: Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, Michigan Tech.
University, “Metal Casting”

[3] U.K.Singh. Manish Dwivedi, “Manufacturing Processes”, New Age International

Publishers, 2009.

[4] Jaromir Roučka et al., “Casting Alloy Filtration”, Brono, 2000.

[5] John Campbell and Richard A. Harding, “The Fluidity of Molten Metals”, IRC in
Materials, The University of Birmingham,
[6] B. Borowiecki*, O. Borowiecka, E. Szkodzińka, “Casting defects analysis by the Pareto
method”, A R C H I V ES o f F O U N D R Y ENG IN EER I NG V o l u me 1 1 , S p e c i a l I s s u
e3/2011,33-36
[7] Rajesh Rajkolhe, J. G. Khan, “Defects, Causes and Their Remedies in Casting Process:
A Review”, International Journal of Research in Advent Technology, Vol.2, No.3, March
2014 E-ISSN: 2321-9637, pp.375-383

[8] Castings – System of dimensional tolerances and machining allowance, International

Standard – ISO 8062
 Part 1

General Introduction

Principles of Metal Casting

Melting Processes
 General Introduction

Machines and Power

↓
Manufacturing Processes (such as
Raw Materials → casting , forming , machining ,…..) → Product
Inspection, Tests and Quality Control
↑ ↑
Tools Labor

-Product Design
-Materials Selection

- Manufacturing Processes Sequence

Cost Analysis
……….
 Principles of Metal Casting

- The metal casting is shaping of metals in the liquid state. It occurs by flowing the molten
metal into the mold cavity. The molten metal is allowed to solidify. The solidified part is
known as a casting.

- The most properties of the castings are mainly controlled by the solidification process.

- Some products, hard and brittle materials can be shaped by casting.

- Complex shapes with internal cavities or hollow section of variety of metals (which their
production methods using other techniques are difficult or uneconomical), large parts, and
parts of net – shape can be produced by casting.
Cast metals and foundry products
The metals cast by foundries can be sub-divided into several main groups as shown in
Table below.

Table Different Metals used for Casting Production

Foundry castings are required for a wide range of uses and range in size from components
weighing a few grams to castings produced for ships and off-shore oil rigs, which can weigh
up to 300 tons.

An overview of some of the products produced is given below.

Automotive Parts:
≈ 31% of UK casting output is for passenger vehicles.
≈ 18% is produced for commercial vehicles.

Ductile iron crankshaft

Ductile iron automotive steering knuckle (courtesy of ThyssenKrupp Darcast Ltd.)
(courtesy of William Lee Ltd.)
 Engineering applications:
- 26% of castings produced in the UK.
-Includes energy production, mining, shipping, rail and pipes.

Steel casing for a nuclear power

plant (courtesy of Sheffield
Forgemasters Engineering Ltd.)

Aluminum nickel
bronze propeller

Castings for wind

turbines
Telecommunications, leisure and household items:
-golf clubs
-mobile phone casings
-taps, plumbing fittings
-door handles
-components in domestic appliances

Die cast aluminum Chromium plated die cast brass tap

base plate on iron (courtesy of Pegler Hattersley Ltd.)
Medical implants:
-Femoral hip stems
-Femoral & tibial knee components
-Shoulder, elbow & wrist components
-Surgical staples

Cobalt chrome hip stem (investment cast)

(courtesy of McKenna Precision Castings Ltd.)

Architectural and street furniture:

- lamp posts, benches, railings
-building components

Decorative aluminum cast railing

(reproduction of Victorian design
originally cast in iron)
- Metal casting processes :
a) Expendable mold: (Example: Sand casting[1],…)
b) Permanent mold: ( Examples: Die, squeeze[1],.. )
c) Single – crystal growing: (Single crystals for microelectronics, crystal turbine
blades[1],..)

Complex, 3-D shapes Capabilities

• Near net shape • Dimensions
• Low scrap – sand casting - as large as you like
• Relatively quick process – small ≈ 1 mm or so
• Intricate shapes • Tolerances
• Large hollow shapes – 0.005 in to 0.1 in
• No limit to size • Surface finish
• Reasonable to good surface – die casting 8-16 micro-inches
finish – sand casting - 500 micro-inches

Breakdown of Castings
• Ingots for bulk deformation
processing ≈ 85%
• Cast to near net shape ≈ 15%
Processes Metals processed by casting
• Sand • Sand casting ≈ 60%
• Shell • Investment casting ≈ 7%
• Plaster • Die casting ≈ 9%
• Ceramic • Permanent mold casting ≈ 11%
• Investment • Centrifugal casting ≈ 7%
• Lost foam • Shell mold casting ≈ 6%
• Pressure
• Vacuum Casting Steps
• Die quick route from raw material to finished product
• Centrifugal • Melt metals
• Squeeze • Pour / force liquid into hollow cavity (mold)
• Semi-solid • Cool / Solidify
• Single crystal • Remove
• Directional solidification • Finish
• Slush
• Continuous
Producing a “good” casting requires a design effort to:
1. Create a gating system (pouring basin, sprue, runner) to bring molten metal into
the mold cavity free from entrapped slag, sand or gases.
2. Provide a riser which feeds liquid metal into the casting cavity as the liquid is
cooling and solidifying (all liquid metals will shrink as they cool and most liquid
metals will shrink as they solidify). The riser may have to provide up to 5 - 7% by
volume for the casting as it solidifies.
3. Control heat flow, Q in the above figure, out of the casting so that the last liquid
to solidify is in the riser.
4. Control the rate of heat flow so as to control the nature of the solidified product.
Metal castings form integral components of devices that perform useful
functions for human beings, an idea shown schematically below:

The cast component has a shape, size, chemical composition and metallurgical
microstructure which is determined by engineering decisions arrived at by:

A. Design Engineers (Mechanical Engineers)

B. Pattern Makers (Skilled craftsman, CAD)
C. Casting Engineers ( Metallurgical Engineers)
D. Manufacturing Engineers (Mechanical, Metallurgical Engineers)
The engineering professionals that carry out this process work together,
sharing information so that the casting will perform as intended in a timely
and cost-effective manner. It should be noted that the casting may only be a
small part of the useful device (usually in more sophisticated devices like an
automobile where there may be hundreds of components), or it may be the
entire device (simple device like a frying pan).
 • Raw material (charge)
Melting – scrap, alloying materials

• Atmosphere
– Air (oxygen), vacuum, inert gas (argon)

• Heating
– External - electric, gas, oil
– Internal - induction, mix fuel with charge

• steel making in blast furnace -mix coke with steel

• Furnace material - refractory

– high melting point metals, ceramics

Heat to melt
H = ρV [cs (Tmelt − Tinitial )+ H f + Cl (Tpour −Tmelt)]

H = heat [J], ρ = density, V = volume, c = specific heat (s = solid, l = liquid),

Hf = heat of fusion
Example:

Calculate the heat required to raise the temperature of a 120 kg aluminum billet from
20 °C to 50 °C above its melting point.

• density = 2700 kg/m3

• melting point = 660 °C

• heat of fusion = 396 kJ/kg

• specific heat of liquid = 1.05 kJ/kg-K

• specific heat of solid = 0.9 kJ/kg-K

H = 120 * [0.9 * (660-20) + 396 + 1.05 * [(710-660)]

= 123 MJ = 1.17 x 105 BTU

 Melting of Metals and Alloys
Melting is accomplished in metal casting facilities by combustion of fossil fuels or by the
use of electrical energy. The most common melting furnaces in foundries include
the cupola (cast iron), electric induction (cast iron, steel, aluminum), electric
arc (steel), and gas fired crucible furnaces (aluminum and other non-ferrous)
[2].

- The cupola, a stack furnace described in the next section, utilizes metallurgical
coke as the fuel.

- Electric induction furnaces provide power to the metal charge by inducing eddy
currents in that charge with a high power, high frequency alternating current.

- Electric arc furnaces heat directly by striking an arc between graphite

electrodes and the charge in the furnace.

- Gas fired crucible furnaces usually involve combustion of natural gas

immediately outside a crucible containing the charge
For melting cast iron, cupola (Fig. ) in its various forms is
extensively used basically because of its lower initial cost and
lower melting cost.

Cupola Furnace

Fig. : Cross-section
of a Cupola
- Cupola consists of a steel shell with its interior lined with heat
resisting fire bricks.
- It consists of drop door at the bottom after closing of which a
proper sand bed could be prepared. This sand bed provides the
necessary refractory bottom for the molten metal and the coke.
- Immediately, above the sand bed is the metal tapping hole which is
initially closed with clay called “bot” till the molten metal is ready
for tapping.
- Above the metal tap hole normally in a position opposite to it is the
slag hole through which the slag generated during the melting
process is tapped.
- Above the slag hole is the wind box which is connected to the air
blowers supplying the requisite air at a given pressure and quantity.
The air enters the cupola through the tuyeres.
- A little above the charging platform is the charging hole in the shell
from where the charge consisting of a combination of pig iron, coke
and fluxes, is put into the cupola.
- The refractory lining above the charge door need not necessarily
be as that below, since it is not exposed to much heat, as
represented in Fig.

- To operate the cupola, first, the drop doors at the bottom are
closed and a sand bed with a gentle slope towards the hole is
rammed.
- Then a coke bed of suitable height is prepared above the sand
bottom and ignited through the tap of hole or any other hole.
- When the coke bed is properly ignited, alternate layers of charge,
flux and coke are alternately fed into the cupola through the
charge door maintaining the necessary proportions and rate of
charging.

- The charge is then allowed to soak in the heat for a while, and the
air blast is turned on.
- Within about 5 to 10 minutes, the molten metal is collected near
the tap hole.
- When enough molten metal is collected in the well of the cupola,
the slag is drained off through the slag hole before opening the tap
hole.
- The molten metal is collected in the ladle and then transported to
the molds into which it is poured with a minimum time loss.

- The charge consisting of a combination of pig iron, coke and fluxes,

is put into the cupola.

- The charge needed to produce cast iron, essentially consists of pig

iron, cast iron scrap when alloy cast iron is needed [3].

- The fluxes are added in the charge to remove the oxides and other
impurities present in the metal.

- The flux most used is limestone (CaCO3) in a proportion of about 2

to 4% of the metal charge. Some of the other fluxes that may also
be used are dolomite, sodium carbonate and calcium carbide.
Induction Furnace
The electric induction furnace uses electric currnt. In this case, it is
easy to achieve melt composition and the inherent induction
stirring provides excellent metal homogeneity. Induction furnaces
are ideal for melting and alloying a wide variety of metals with
minimum melt losses; however, little refining of the metal is
possible. The induction melting is more sensitive to quality of
charge materials when compared to cupola or electric arc furnace,
limiting the types of scrap that can be melted.
Induction Furnace
-A current is passed through a water-cooled coil near or around the charge
- Eddy currents are produced in the charge material in response to the coil current
- Heat is generated through ohmic heating in the material
Applications: Melting of cast iron, steel , aluminum

Induction Furnace
Electric Arc Furnace
Steel automobile shredded scrap with high residual elements and virgin iron raw
materials, such as direct reduced iron, are difficult to melt efficiently in a cupola or
coreless induction furnace. Cupola melting requires clean steel scrap and coke, materials
that are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. Electric arc furnaces are well suited
for these purposes. Almost 87% of the electric arc furnaces are used to melt steel (or iron
and steel) and 13% to melt iron.

Electric arc furnace uses electrodes that are lowered to strike an arc on the cold scrap;
the electrical system automatically controls the level of the electrode, lifting and
lowering each individual electrode according to the electrical settings. The arc provides
heat by radiation and current resistance (through the metal) to melt the scrap. An
intrinsic advantage of electrical heating is the lower metal loss.
Summary:
Electric Arc Furnace
- A current is passed from separate electrodes creating arcs
- Heat is transferred from the arc into the charge material
- Current: DC or AC
Applications: Melting of cast iron and steel
- Gas fired crucible furnaces usually involve combustion of natural gas immediately outside
a crucible containing the charge

Applications: Melting of aluminum and other non-ferrous

Gas fired crucible

Example: Tilting Crucible Furnaces KB, Gas or Oil Fired, for Melting and Holding

Melting system with two furnaces

KB 360/12 and work platform

KB../12 with maximum furnace chamber temperature of 1200 °C for aluminum or zinc
Crucible of isostatically pressed clay-graphite or SiC with higher thermal conductivity
up to KB 240
3 x K 300/12 with work platform for melting of aluminum
FURNACES FOR MELTING DIFFERENT MATERIALS:
1. Grey Cast Iron
(a) Cupola
(b) Air furnace (or Reverberatory Furnace)
(c) Rotary furnace
(d) Electric arc furnace

2. Steel
(a) Electric furnaces
(b) Open hearth furnace

3. Non-ferrous Metals
(a) Reverberatory furnaces (fuel fired) (Al, Cu): (i) Stationary, (ii) Tilting,
(b) Rotary furnaces: (i) Fuel fired, (ii) Electrically heated
(c) Induction furnaces (Cu, Al): (i) Low frequency, (ii) High frequency.
(d) Electric Arc furnaces (Cu)
(e) Crucible furnaces (AI, Cu): (i) Pit type, (ii) Tilting type, (iii) Non-tilting or bale-out type
(iv) Electric resistance type (Cu)
(f) Pot furnaces (fuel fired) (Mg and AI): (i) Stationary, (ii) Tilting