METAL CASTING

PROCESSES
Introduction Vacuum Casting
Sand casting Permanent-Mold
Shell-Mold Casting Casting
Expendable Pattern Slush Casting
Casting Pressure Casting
Plaster-Mold Casting Die Casting
Investment Casting Centrifugal Casting
 1.0 INTRODUCTION
• Many parts can be made from castings
• Engine blocks
• Cameras
• Gun barrels
• Cookware & etc

Polaroid PDC-2000 digital camera with AZ91D die- Two-piece Polaroid camera case made by the hot-
cast, high purity magnesium case chamber die casting
General Characteristics of Casting Processes
 Trends – impacting industry
• Continuing mechanization & automation of the casting
process
• Increasing demand for high-quality castings

Major categories of Molds

1.Expendable molds
• Mixed with various types of binders or bonding agents;
i. Sand
Refractories materials
ii.Plaster
iii.Ceramics & similar materials

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2. Permanent molds –
• Made of metal
• Better heat conductors
• Subjected to a higher cooling rate
• Affects grain size
• Used repeatedly & casting parts can be removed easily

3. Composite molds -
• Made of two or more materials
i. Sand
ii. Graphite
iii. Metal & combined each materials
• Used to:
• Control cooling rates
• Improve mold strength
• Optimize economics of the process
Categories of expendable- mold and permanent-pattern casting process:- sand
casting, shell mold casting, plaster mold casting, ceramic mold casting & vacuum
casting
2.0 EXPANDABLE- MOLD, PERMANENT PATTERN CASTING PROCESS

2.1 SAND CASTING

• Flask – supports the mold
• Pouring basin – in which molten
metal is poured in to
• Sprue – through which molten
metal flows downward
• Runner system – channels that
carry molten metal from the
sprue
• Risers - supply additional metal
to the casting during shrinkage.
• Cores - Inserts made of sand &
used to make hollow
regions/lettering
• Vents – used to carry off gases
that are produced and exhaust
air from the mold cavity as metal Sand mould features
flows on to the mold
 Production steps in sand casting operation

• Pattern making
Molding • Core making
• Gating systems

Sand Mold

Melting Pouring Casting Heat Cleaning &

Inspection
Of Metal into mold Treatment Finishing

• Solidification • Additional
• Furnaces •Shakeout heat •Defects
•Removal of treatment •Pressure
risers & gates tightness
•Dimensions
Sands
•Most common – silica sand (SiO2)
•There are two types of sand:
• Naturally bonded (bank sand)
• Synthetic (lake sand)
• Preferred by foundries because its composition can be
controlled

Selection of sand
•Fine round grains
• Smooth surface finishes
• Can be closely packed
• Have lower mold permeability
• Enhances mold strength
•Course grains
• Allow gases and steam escape
Sand molds
• Should have good collapsibility
• Sand should be mixed thoroughly with
• Clay (bentonite) – cohesive agent
• Zircon, olivine, and iron silicate sands are used in steel foundries for low
thermal expansion
• Chromites is used for its high heat transfer characteristics

Types of sand molds

i. Green molds sanding
• Mixture of sand, clay and water
• “green”-sand in the mold is moist while the metal is being
poured
• Least expensive & easily recycled
ii. Skin-dried molds
• Mold surfaces are dried
• Used for large castings
• Have higher strength than green-sand molds
• Better dimensional accuracy and surface finish
• Disadvantages:
• Distortion to the mold is greater
• Castings susceptible to hot tearing
• Slower production rate
iii. Cold-box molds
• Various organic and inorganic binders are blended into the
sand for greater strength
• Dimensionally more accurate, expensive
iv. No-bake mold
• Synthetic liquid resin is mixed into the sand
• Hardens at room temperature
 PATTERNS
• Used to mold the sand mixture
• Made from
• Wood
• Plastic
• Metal Match- plate patterns
• They must be tough enough to be used repeatedly
• Made of different materials to reduce wear
• Coated with a parting agent to facilitate the removal
• Patterns
• One-piece patterns – for simple low cost production  wood
• Split patterns – two piece pattern-each part forms a portion of the
cavity, for complicated shape
• Match-plate patterns – popular type of pattern
•Two-piece patterns are constructed by securing each
half of one or more split patterns to the opposite sides
of a single plate
•Used in large production runs to produce smaller castings and in
molding machines
CORES
• For casting eith internal cavities or passage (e.g. automotive engine block,
valve body)
• Placed in the mold cavity to form the interior surfaces of the casting and are
remove from the finished part during shakeout and further processing.
• Made of sand aggregates
• Possess strength, permeability, ability to withstand heat & collapsibility
• Anchored by core prints
• Chaplets are used to keep the core from moving

Sand cores showing core prints and chaplets to support cores

Example of sand casting parts

cylinder block
1.5 m Stainless Steel Propeller
38 shoes per 4 assemblies per Total cast weight
assembly shovel 333 tons

107 m3 Shovel Shoes

 2.2 SHELL MOLD CASTING
• The process of creating a shell mold consists of several steps:

1. Fine silica sand that is covered in a thin (3-6%)  thermosetting 

phenolic resin and liquid catalyst is dumped, blown, or shot onto a hot 
pattern. The pattern is usually made from cast iron and is heated to 230
to 315 °C (450 to 600 °F). The sand is allowed to sit on the pattern for a
few minutes to allow the sand to partially cure.

2. The pattern and sand are then inverted so the excess sand drops free of
the pattern, leaving just the "shell". Depending on the time and
temperature of the pattern the thickness of the shell is 10 to 20 mm (0.4
to 0.8 in).

3. The pattern and shell together are placed in an oven to finish curing the
sand. The shell now has a tensile strength of 350 to 450 psi (2.4 to 3.1
MPa).
 Shell mold casting (cont’d)
4. The hardened shell is then stripped from the pattern.

5. Two or more shells are then combined, via clamping or gluing using a
thermoset adhesive, to form a mold. This finished mold can then be used
immediately or stored almost indefinitely.

6. For casting the shell mold is placed inside a flask and surrounded with 
shot, sand, or gravel to reinforce the shell.[4]

7. two half-shells are made in this manner and are bonded or clamped
together to form a mold.
 Shell mold casting
The machine that is used for this process is called a shell molding machine. It heats
the pattern, applies the sand mixture, and bakes the shell.
 2.3 PLASTER-MOLD CASTING
• Mold is made of plaster of paris (gypsum,
or calcium sulfate)
• Mixed with water and additives and poured
over a pattern
• After plaster sets, pattern is removed and
the mold is dried at 120 °C – 260 °C
• The mold halves are assembled to form
the mold cavity and are preheated to about
120 °C. Then, poured the molten metal
• Have low permeability – gases can not
escape  molten metal is poured in a
vacuum or under pressure.
• Patterns are made of:
• Al alloys,
• Thermosetting plastics
• Brass or Zinc alloys
• Have high dimensional accuracy and good
surface finish
• Form of precision casting
 2.4 CERAMIC-MOLD CASTING
• Similar to plaster-mold process
• Uses refractory mold materials
• Suitable for high temperature applications
• Mixture made of:
• Fine grained zircon
• Aluminum oxide
• Silica
• Mixture is mixed with bonding agents and poured over the pattern
• Molds can be used to cast high-temperature alloys
• Patterns made of wood or metal
• After setting, the mold are removed, dried, ignited to burn off volatile
matter, and baked
• Castings have good surface finishes
• Good dimensional accuracy
• Some what expensive to make
 Sequence of operations in making a ceramic mold.
Source: Metals Handbook, Vol. 5, 8th ed., ASM International, 1970.
 3.0 EXPENDABLE-PATTERN CASTING
• Also known as evaporative-pattern and investment casting
• A mold and a pattern must be produced for each casting
• The pattern are reusable
• Application: cylinder head, engine blocks, crankshafts, brake
components, manifolds and machine bases.
 3.1 EVAPORATIVE PATTERN CASTING
(LOST- FOAM CASTING)
• Use polystyrene pattern
• Polystyrene beads (contain 5 – 8% pentane) are placed in a preheated die (made of
aluminum)
• The polystyrene bead expand and take the shape of the die cavity
- additional heat is applied to fuse and bond the bead together
• The pattern is coated with a water-based refractory slurry, dried and placed in a flask
- flask is filled and compacted with loose, fine sand which surrounds and supports the
pattern
• The polystyrene pattern evaporates with contact of molten metal and fills the cavity
- Degradation products from the polystyrene are vented into the surrounding sand
• For ferrous and non-ferrous metals: automotive industry

ADVANTAGES
• Simple process : no parting line, cores or riser system
• Inexpensive flasks are satisfactory for the process
• Polystyrene is inexpensive and can be processed easily into patterns having complex
shape, various sizes & fine surface details
• Requires minimal finishing and cleaning operations
• The process can be automated and is economical for long production runs
Schematic illustration of the expendable-pattern casting process, also known as
lost-foam or evaporative-pattern casting.
 3.2 INVESTMENT CASTING
• Also called lost-wax process
• The pattern is made of wax or of a plastic by molding or rapid prototyping
techniques
• The pattern then dipped into a slurry of refractory material (fine silica,
binder, water, ethyl silicate & acids)
• After initial coating is dried, the pattern is coated repeatedly to increase its
thickness for better strength
 Initial coating use smaller particles to develop a better surface finish;
subsequent layer use larger particles to build coating thickness quickly
• Term investment derives from the fact that the pattern is invested with the
refractory material
• One piece mold is dried in air and heated to temp. 90° to 175°C. it is held in
inverted position for few hours to melt out the wax
• The mold is then fired to 650° - 1050°C for about four hours to drive off the
water of crystallization and to burn off any residual wax
• Pour the metal and let them solidified
• The mold is broken up to remove the casting parts
• Example products: office equipment, gears, cams, valves & ratchets
Schematic illustration of the investment-casting (lost-wax) process. Castings produced by this method
can be made with very fine detail and from a variety of metals.
Source: Courtesy of Steel Founders’ Society of America.
Advantages
• Cast great complexity and intricacy
• Close dimensional control -tolerances of ±0.076 mm
• Good surface finish
• The wax can be recovered
• This is a net shape process
Example of investment casting parts
 4.0 PERMANENT-MOLD CASTING
• Called hard-mold casting
• Two halves of a mold are made from materials such as cast iron,
steel or other alloys
• The mold cavity and gating system are machined in to the mold
• Sand aggregate are placed in to the mold prior to casting for
producing cavities
• Typical core materials are; Oil-bonded or resin-bonded sand,
plaster, graphite, gray iron, low-carbon steel & hot-worked die
steel
• Mechanical ejectors are used to remove complex parts
• Advantages:
• Can produce high production rates
• Good surface finish
 4.1 SLUSH CASTING
• Molten metal is poured into the metal mold
• A desired thickness of the solidified skin is obtained
• The remaining metal is poured out
• The mold halves are then opened and the casting is removed

4.2 PRESSURE CASTING

• Used a graphite or metal mold
• Molten metal is forced upward into
the mold by gas pressure
• The pressure is maintained
until the metal solidifies in
the mold
• Used for high-quality castings
• Eg : Steel railroad wheels
 4.3 DIE CASTING
• One type of permanent-mold casting
• Molten metal is forced into the die cavity at pressures ranging from
0.7MPa – 700MPa
• Parts made from here range from:
•Hand tools
•Toys
•Appliance components
• There are two basic types of die casting machines
i.Hot-chamber
• involves the use of a piston to push molten metal in to the die
cavity
ii.Cold-chamber
• molten metal is poured in to the injection chamber & the shot
chamber is not heated
 Hot-chamber process
Stage #1
• The die is closed and the piston rises,
opening the port and allowing
molten metal to fill the cylinder.

Stage #2
• The plunger moves down and seals the
port pushing the molten metal
through the gooseneck and nozzle into
the die cavity, where it is held under
pressure until it solidifies.
Stage #3
• The die opens and the cores, if any,
retract. The casting remains in only one
die, the ejector side. The plunger
returns, allowing residual molten metal
to flow back through the nozzle and
gooseneck.

Stage #4
• Ejector pins push the casting out of the
ejector die. As the plunger uncovers the
filling hole, molten metal flows through
the inlet to refill the gooseneck, as in
step (1).
Cold-chamber process
Stage #1
• The die is closed and the
molten metal is ladled
into the cold-chamber
shot sleeve.

Stage #2
• The plunger pushes the
molten metal into the
die cavity where it is
held under pressure
until solidification.
Stage #3
• The die opens and the plunger
advances, to ensure that the
casting remains in the ejector
die. Cores, if any, retract.

Stage #4
 Ejector pinspush the casting
out of the ejector die and the
plunger returns to its original
position.
Process Capabilities and Machine Selection
• Dies are rated according to their clamping force that is
needed
• Factors involved in selection of die cast machines are
• Die size
• Piston stroke
• Shot pressure
• Cost
• Die-casting dies
• Single cavity
• Multiple-cavity
• Combination-cavity
• Unit dies
• Ratio of die weight to part weight is 1000 to 1
• Surface cracking is a problem with dies due to the hot
metal that is poured in to them
• Has ability to produce strong high- quality parts with
complex shapes
• Good dimensional accuracy and surface details
E.g : Hot chamber die casting machine

This is the largest hot chamber machine (800 tones) in the world
and costs about $1.25 million.

Various types of cavities in a die casting die

Single – cavity die Multiple – cavity die Combination die Unit die
 CENTRIFUGAL CASTING
True centrifugal casting
• Utilizes the inertial forces caused by rotation to
distribute the molten metal in to the mold cavities
• Pipes, cylinder liners, and similarly shaped parts can be
cast with this process.
• First used in the 1800’;s
• Three types of centrifugal casting
• True centrifugal casting
• Semi centrifugal casting
• Centrifuging

Schematic illustration
of the centrifugal
casting process.
Semi centrifugal Casting Process
• Used to cast parts with rotational symmetry such as a
wheel with spokes

(a) Schematic illustration of the (b) Schematic illustration of casting by

semi centrifugal casting
process. Wheels with
spokes can be cast by this
process.
centrifuging. The molds are placed
at the periphery of the machine,
and the molten metal is forced into
the molds by centrifugal force.
 Advanced casting processes
• Further, there are manufacturing processes involving
combination of casting & forging known as;
• Squeeze casting
• Semisolid metal forming
• Advanced technique introduced in casting process to produce
products with better mechanical & physical properties for
their specific application such as
• Casting technique for single crystal components
• Rapid solidification

Inspection
• Visual check
• Pressure test for leaking
• Water, oil or air for low cost product
• Helium or specially scented gases for extreme leak
tightness requirement
 Melting practice
• Direct bearing on quality of castings
• Melting stock consisting of metal, alloying elements, flux and
slag-forming constituents.
• Slag is a insulation to protect the surface of the molten metal
against atmospheric reaction and contamination.

Furnace
• The melting furnaces commonly used in foundries are;
• Electric arc
• Induction
• Crucible
• Cupolas
Types of Melting Furnaces

Crucible Cupola