Pattern allowances

Shrinkage allowance
Draft allowance
Finish or machining allowance
Distortion allowance

Casting Process

Shrinkage allowance
All most all cast metals shrink or contract
volumetrically on cooling.
Rate of contraction with temperature is
dependent on the material
Liquid Shrinkage: Reduction in volume when
the metal changes from liquid state to solid
state. Shrinkage riser is provided.
Solid Shrinkage: Reduction in volume caused
when metal loses temperature in solid state.

Casting Process

Draft allowance
Taper given to all the vertical walls of the pattern for
easy and clean withdrawal of pattern.
Expressed in mm per meter on a side or in degrees.
Taper on inner surface is more as compare to outside
surface.

Casting Process

Machining Allowance
The surface finish obtained in sand
castings is generally poor (dimensionally
inaccurate), and hence in many cases, the
cast product is subjected tomachining
processes like turning orgrindingin order
to improve the surface finish.
During machining processes, some metal
is removed from the piece. To compensate
for this, a machining allowance should be
given in the casting
Casting Process

Distortion or Camber Allowance

Sometimes castings get distorted, during solidification, due

to their typical shape. For example, if the casting has the
form of the letter U, V, T, or L etc. it will tend to contract at
the closed end causing the vertical legs to look slightly
inclined. This can be prevented by making the legs of the U,
V, T, or L shaped pattern converge slightly (inward) so that
the casting after distortion will have its sides vertical.
The distortion in casting may occur due to internal stresses.
These internal stresses are caused on account of unequal
cooling of different section of the casting and hindered
contraction.

Casting Process

Casting Process

Types of pattern

Casting Process

Single Piece pattern

Made from one piece and does
not contain loose pieces or joints.
Inexpensive.
Used for large size simple
castings.
Pattern is accommodated either
in the cope or in the drag.
Examples:
1.
2.

Casting Process

Bodies of regular shapes.

stuffing box of steam engine.

Split Piece Pattern

Patterns of intricate shaped castings cannot be made
in one piece because of the inherent difficulties
associated with the molding operations (e.g.
withdrawing pattern from mould).
The upper and the lower parts of the split piece
patterns are accommodated in the cope and drag
portions of the mold respectively.
Dowel pins are used for keeping the alignment
between the two parts of the pattern.
Examples: cylinders, steam valve body, bearings,
pulleys

Loose Piece pattern

Pattern having projections or overhanging parts
Difficult to remove
Made in loose pieces and fastened to main pattern
by dowel pins

Casting Process

Sweep pattern
Moulds of large size and symmetrical in shape can be
easily prepared by using sweep pattern
Arranged to rotate about a central axis by mounting it
on a spindle
Eliminates expensive pattern construction

Casting Process

Match Plate pattern

It consists of a match plate, on either side of which
each half of split patterns is fastened.
A no. of different sized and shaped patterns may
be mounted on one match plate.
The match plate with the help of locator holes can
be clamped with the drag.
After the cope and drag have been rammed with
the molding sand, the match plate pattern is
removed from in between the cope and drag.
Match plate patterns are normally used in machine
molding.

Casting Process

Casting Process

Moulding materials
Moulding Sand
Sand Binders
Additive Materias

Casting Process

Moulding Sand
Quartz and other silica rocks are the sources
of sand
Silica sand consists of 80-85% of the total
material in moulding sand
Silica Sand-80.8%, Alumina-14.9%, Iron oxide1.3%, Combined water-2.5%

Casting Process

Sand Binders
Material added to the sand that imparts
cohesiveness to it, is called binder
Clay type
Organic type binder-Molasses, starches,
linseed oil, resins
Inorganic binders Bentonites (form of clay),
Sodium silicate, iron oxide

Casting Process

Properties of moulding sand

Porosity
Adhesiveness
Cohesiveness
Refractoriness
Flowability

Casting Process

Refractoriness
It is the ability of the molding material to with
stand high temperatures (experienced during
pouring) with out
1.
2.
3.

Fusion,
Cracking, buckling
Experiencing any major physical change.

Silica sand have high refractoriness.

Casting Process

Permeability
During pouring and subsequent solidification of a
casting, a large amount of gases and steam is
generated.
These gases are those that have been absorbed by
the metal during melting, air absorbed from the
atmosphere and the steam generated by the molding
and core sand.
If these gases are not allowed to escape from the
mold, they would be entrapped inside the casting
and cause casting defects.
To overcome this problem the molding material must
be porous.
Proper venting of the mold also helps in escaping
Casting Process
the gases that are generated inside the mold cavity.

Cohesiveness
Property by which sand grains stick together
during ramming
Three types: green strength, dry strength,
Hot strength

Casting Process

Flowability
Property of sand due to which it behaves like
a fluid, when rammed, it flows to all portions
of a mould and distribute the ramming
pressure evenly.
Increases with decrease in green strength and
decreases in grain size

Casting Process

Collapsibility
Property of sand due to which the sand
mould collapses automatically after the
solidification of the casting in order to allow
free contraction of the metal

Casting Process

Adhesiveness
It is the property of molding sand owing to
which, it
1.
2.
3.

Casting Process

Sticks with the walls of molding boxes,

Sticks with gaggers, and
Thus makes it possible to mold cope and drag.

USES OF CORE
It is defined as sand bodies used to form hollow
portion of desired shape and cavities.
Core is made of green sand and is placed in the
mould after the pattern is withdrawn
Core are subjected to high heat of molten metal
when it a poured and it has a good strength, good
permeability, high refractoriness and sufficient
collapsibility.

Casting Process

Melting furnaces

Cupola furnace
Open hearth furnace
Electric furnace
Crucible furnace

Casting Process

Oxy-fuel Furnace

Resistance Furnace
A current passed through a material
resulting in ohmic heating
Radiation heats charge material
Some convection and conduction
occurs

Resistance Furnace

Defects in casting
MISRUN: A casting that has solidified before
completely filling mold cavity

Casting Process

Cold Shut
Two portions of metal flow together but there is
a lack of fusion due to premature freezing

Casting Process

Shrinkage
Depression in surface or internal void caused by
solidification shrinkage that restricts amount of
molten metal available in last region to freeze

Casting Process

Sand Blow or Blow Hole

Balloonshaped gas cavity caused by release of
mold gases during pouring

Casting Process

Penetration
When fluidity of liquid metal is high, it may
penetrate into sand mold or core, causing
casting surface to consist of a mixture of sand
grains and metal

Casting Process

Misrun
A step in cast product at parting line caused
by sidewise relative displacement of cope and
drag

Casting Process

A Successful man is one who

can lay a firm foundation with
the bricks others have thrown
at him

Casting Process