23ARE112

Manufacturing Process -I

Casting Defects

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 Last class - Recap
• Solidification of Casting
– Cooling curve – Pure metal and alloy

– Solidification Time - Chvorinov's Rule

– Solidification - NUCLEATION and GROWTH

• Heterogeneous Nucleation - Equiaxed Grains

• Homogenous Nucleation - Columnar Grains

• For alloy - Dendritic grain structure

• Columnar and dendritic grain structures – undesirable in most situations – Adding

Nucleating agents to produce equiaxed grain structure

– Directional Solidification
• Risers, chills, blind risers, exothermic material, Modify the casting
 Classification of Casting Defects
1. DEFECTS DUE TO EVOLUTION OF GASES
(Blowholes, Pin hole porosity, Dispersed shrinkage, Blister etc.,)
2. DEFECTS DUE TO POURING OF THE MELT
(Mis-run, Cold shut, Inclusion, etc.,)
3. DEFECTS DUE TO METALLURGICAL FACTORS
(Hot tears)
4. DEFECTS CAUSED BY MOLDING MATERIAL
( Scab, Metal penetration, Flash, Run-out, Lug etc.,)
5. DEFECTS CAUSED DUE TO OTHER FACTORS
( Mismatch, Hot cracking, etc.,)
6. DEFECTS DUE TO SHRINKAGE
(Shrinkage cavity)
 Defects due to evolution of gases

1. Blow holes

2. Pin hole porosity

3. Dispersed shrinkage

4. Blister
 Blow holes
Causes

1. Excessive moisture in the mold

2. Improper venting

3. Insufficient Pouring Temperature

3. Low sand permeability

4. Slag in the metal reacts with carbon in the metal and liberates
CO
 Blow holes

Remedial Measures

1. Avoid excessive moisture in the Molding Sand

2. Provide vent holes
3. Avoid excessive compaction of Mold
4. Extra care to be taken to segregate slag from liquid metal
5. Avoid using rusted chills and chaplets
 Pin hole porosity
• Large number of uniformly dispersed tiny holes

Causes
Hydrogen is absorbed by the molten metal
Inside the furnace and also inside the cavity

As the melt gets solidified, it loses the

Temperature and liberates dissolved hydrogen
 Pin hole porosity

Remedial Measures
1. Vacuum melting
2. Vacuum degassing
3. Avoid very high pouring temperatures

Degassing is the process of removing

dissolved gases from molten metals
prior to casting or solidification
 Dispersed shrinkage

• Small shrinkage cavities dispersed throughout the casting

Causes
1. Excessive moisture
2. Very high pouring temperature

Remedial measures
Appropriate moisture and pouring temperature
To be taken.
 Blister
• Bubble like bumps
Causes
1. Gases trapped in the cavity cause
depressions on the mould surface.
2. Insufficient strength of mould cavity
at some locations.
3. High pouring temperature
Remedial Measures
1. Proper venting to release the gases
2. Ensure sufficient and uniform
Compaction of the mould.
 Defects due to pouring of the melt

1. Misrun
2. Cold shut
3. Slag or dross Inclusion
 Misrun

Molten metal could not fill in thin section of the mould cavity
 Mis-run

Causes
1. Insufficient fluidity
2. Low pouring temperature
3. Too small ingates
4. Low pouring speed

Remedial Measures
1. Increase pouring temperature
2. Increase pouring speed
3. Make ingates larger
 Cold shut

The molten metal streams from different ingates are not fused
together properly, causing a discontinuity or weak spot.
Causes
1. Longer distance between the ingates
2. Large surface area to volume ratio
 Cold shut

Remedial Measures
1. Use more number of ingates
2. Increase the pouring temperature
 Inclusions
Undesirable foreign materials present in the metal (oxides, slag,
dirt etc.,)
Causes
1. Impurities present in the molten metal
2. Sand cracked and broken from gating system and mould
cavity
 Inclusions

Remedial Measures
1. Skimming of molten metal before pouring
2. Choosing a molding sand with adequate hot strength
3. Using ceramic foam filters
 Defects caused by molding material

1. Flash
2. Run-out
3. Lug
4. Scab
5. Metal penetration
 Flash

• Molten metal flows into the gap between cope and drag
Causes
1. Sand is not properly compacted along
The parting line
2. Small gap exists between cope and drag
 Flash

Remedial Measures
Molding sand should be leveled properly
along the parting line
 Run-out

• It is different form flash

• Hydrostatic pressure of the liquid metal lifts the cope
• Metal flows along the parting line
Causes
1. The cope rises up during pouring of the metal, due to
hydrostatic pressure of the poured metal
2. Insufficient weight of the cope
 Run-out

Remedial Measures
1. Place some weight over the cope
before pouring of molten metal
 Lug

• Metal solidifies in unwanted cavities surrounding the mould

Causes
Some portions of the cast contour
are broken off in the mould are (after
Withdrawal of pattern)
Remedial Measures
Check for pressure points and
broken off edges before pouring
 Scab

• Liquid metal flows beneath the mould surface and mixes with
molding sand
Causes
1. Low moisture content in the molding
Sand (below 3%)
2. Insufficient clay in the molding sand.
 Scab

Remedial Measures
1. Proper moisture and clay contents are to be taken
 Metal penetration
Metal goes inside the mould

Causes
1. Larger sand grains
2. Insufficient compaction of sand
 Metal penetration

Remedial Measures
1. Use fine sand grains
2. Reduce casting temperature
3. Apply sufficient compaction of mould
 Defects due to metallurgical factors

Hot tear
Hot tearing is the macroscopic separation due to differential
contraction of the casting during solidification.

Causes for Hot tears

The casting could not undergo shrinkage freely during
solidification, due to casting design or presence of cores
 Other factors Influencing Hot Tears

1. Chemical composition – High sulphur content promotes hot

tearing.
2. Long freezing range
Remedial Measures
1. Use exothermic pads
2. Control the composition-minimize sulphur content in the
liquid metal
3. Use grain refiners (Al-8B, Al-3B etc.,)
 Defects caused due to other factors

1. Mismatch
2. Hot cracking
 Mismatch

• Mismatching of top and bottom parts of the casting

Causes
Misalignment of molding boxes
Remedial Measures
1. Ensure proper alignment of
molding boxes
2. Replace worn-out dovetail pins
by new ones
 Hot cracking
It is different from Hot tearing
Causes
- Due to un even cooling in the mould
- During knocking out
- During heat treatment cycle
- During cooling after knock-out
Remedial Measures
1. Use chills
2. Use fillets
3. Avoid rough handling
 Defects due to shrinkage

Causes
1. Insufficient size of the riser
2. Improper positioning of the riser
3. Premature freezing of liquid metal in the riser
4. Abrupt changes in the casting design
Remedial Measures
1. Design the riser sufficiently large
2. Ensure Directional Solidification
 Shrinkage cavity

Starting level of molten metal Reduction in level caused by

immediately after pouring liquid contraction during cooling
 Shrinkage cavity

Reduction in height and formation Further reduction in height

of shrinkage cavity caused by and diameter due to thermal
solidification shrinkage contraction during cooling of
the metal
 Summary of Unit 1

• Introduction to Manufacturing process and its classification

• Introduction to casting and its classification
• Sand casting – Pattern, Mold, Gating system, sand testing
• Other expendable process – Shell and Investment casting
• Permanent mold – Die casting- Hot and cold chamber,
Centrifugal, Squeeze casting
• Melting furnace
• Solidification of casting
• Casting defects

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