CO

OURSE: METAL
M C
CASTING
Module
M No
o. 6: PATT
TERNS
Leccture No-2
Patterrn types and Design Coonsideration
ns

Gated Pa
attern

Many tim
mes it is dessired to prod
duce the mulltiple small pparts in onee go. In suchh case, small part
cavities are
a created in one mou
uld and these cavities ar
are joined byy the system
m of runnerss and
gates. Th
his arrange helps
h to achiieve higher productivity
p y. Such typee of pattern system is knnown
as gated pattern.
p A ty
ypical gated pattern is sh
hown in Fig.66.2.1.

Sweep Pattern
P

For axi-ssymmetricall castings su

uch as bellss, the full ccavity of thee casting caan be createed by
sweeping
g the pattern around the spindle. Thee pattern is a part of the ffull shape off the end prooduct.
Such pattterns are kn
nown as sw
weep pattern and are preeferred for pproducing laarge symmeetrical
shaped caastings. A ty
ypical sweep
p pattern is sh
hown in Figg.6.2.2.
 n Pattern
Skeleton

As the name
n of the pattern sugg
gest, this typ
pe of patternn are made of strips off wood or pllastic.
These strrips are used
d for building
g the Skeleto
on of the pat
attern giving the correct shape and siize of
the patterrn. Around and
a inside Sk
keleton of paattern moldi ng sand is ppacked. This type of patteern is
used for very
v large caasting. A typ
pical Skeleto
on pattern is shown in Fiig.6.2.3.
Loose Piiece Pattern
n

mes loose pieces need to be

Sometim b added with the patterrn. These looose piece hellp to facilitatte the
pattern withdrawal
w frrom the mou
uld. This typ
pe of patternn is used wheen the castinng has projecction,
or underccuts. the projjections and
d undercuts may
m create hhindrance in the withdraw
wal of the paattern
from the mould. Hen
nce loos piecce pattern iss sued in succh cases. A typical loose piece patteern is
shown in
n Fig. 6.2.4.
Pattern Design
D Con
nsiderations

Pattern Allowances
A

The liquiid metal on solidificatio

on undergoes various tyype of shrinkkages. this sshrinkage maay be
because of
o metal chaaracteristics and also maay be becausse of patternn, gating, andd risering deesign.
The shrin
nkage affectss the dimenssional accuraacy needed iin the final ccasting. Hencce, in order tto get
a correctt casting, varrious allowaance called pattern
p allow
wances needd to put on thhe pattern bbefore
making the mold and
d subsequentt pouring in the
t mould caavity.
Similarly
y the pattern
n allowancees are also need to bee provided on the coree patterns. The
allowancces usually considered on
n patterns an
nd core boxees are as folloows:

1. Shrin
nkage or con
ntraction allo
owance

2. Draftt or taper allo

owance

3. Mach
hining or finish allowancce
4. Distortion or camber allowance

5. Rapping allowance

Shrinkage or Contraction Allowance

The metal when solidifies shrinks volumetrically. The metal shrinkage is of two types:

i. Liquid shrinkage:

After pouring the liquid metal in a mould, metal starts solidifying. When metal solidifies
from liquid state to solidus temperature, there is reduction in volume of the liquid metal.
This reduction is known as liquid shrinkage. The reduction in volume is compensated by
the riser, which stores liquid metal and the metal in riser remains liquid later than that of
metal in cavity.

ii. Solid shrinkage:

Once the casting is solidified in the mould cavity, the contraction in volume, when the
temperature of the casting moves from solidus to room temperature, of the casting occurs.
This contraction in volume is taken care by providing the shrinkage allowances in the
pattern.

The rate of contraction with temperature is dependent on the material. For example steel
contracts to a higher degree compared to aluminum. To compensate the solid shrinkage, a shrink
rule must be used in laying out the measurements for the pattern. The various rate of contraction
of various materials are given in Table 6.2.1.

Material Dimension Shrinkage allowance

(mm/mm)

Grey Cast Iron Up to 610 mm 0.010

610 mm to 1220 mm 0.009
 over 1220 mm 0.007

Cast Steel Up to 610 mm 0.021

610 mm to 1830 mm 0.016
over 1830 mm 0.013

Aluminum Up to 1220 mm 0.013

1220 mm to 1830 mm 0.012
over 1830 mm 0.010

Magnesium Up to 1220 mm 0.014

Over 1220 mm 0.013

Table 6.2.1 Rate of Contraction of Various Metals