MANUFACTURING

Probable Causes and Suggested

Remedies of Various Casting
Defects

 ME Mechanical Team

 Last updated: Jan 3, 2017
Probable causes and suggested remedies of various casting defectssuch as blow
holes, shrinkage, porosity, misruns, hot tears, mental penetration, cold shuts, cuts and
washes, inclusions, fusion, drops, shot metal, shift, crushes, rat-tails, swells, hard
spot, run out, fins and fash, spongings and warpage are given in the below table.

Various casting defects. Image source: Green Mechanic

 Name of
S.no Casting Probable Causes Suggested Remedies
Defect

1. Excessive
moisture
content in
molding sand. 1. Control of
2. Rust and moisture
moisture on content.
chills 2. Use of rust
3. Cores not free chills,
sufficiently chaplet and
baked. clean inserts.
Blow 4. Excessive use 3. Bake cores
1
holes of organic properly.
binders. 4. Ram the mold
5. Molds not less hard.
adequately 5. Provide
vented. adequate
6. Molds not venting in
adequately mold and
vented. cores.
7. Molds
rammed very
hard.

1. Ensure proper
1. Faulty gating directional
and risering solidification
2 Shrinkage system. by modifying
2. Improper gating,
chilling. risering and
chilling.

1. High pouring 1. Regulate

temperatures. pouring
2. Gas dissolved temperature.
in metal 2. Control metal
charge. composition.
3 Porosity
3. Less flux 3. Increase flux
used. proportions.
4. Molten metal 4. Ensure
not properly effective
degassed. degassing.
 5. Slow 5. Modify
solidification gating and
of casting. risering.
6. High moisture 6. Reduce
and low moisture and
permeability. increase the
permeability
of mold.

1. Adjust proper
pouring
1. Lack of
temperature.
fluidity ill
2. Modify
4 Misruns molten metal.
design.
2. Faulty design.
3. Modify
3. Faulty gating.
gating
system.

1. Lack of
collapsibility 1. Improves
of core. collapsibility
2. Lack of of core and
5 Hot Tears collapsibility mold.
of mold. 2. Modify
3. Faulty design. casting
4. Hard ramming design.
of mold.

1. Use sand
1. Large grain having finer
size and used. grain size.
2. Soft ramming 2. Provide hard
Mental
6 of mold. ramming.
penetration
3. Molding sand 3. Suitably
or core has adjust
low strength. pouring
temperature.

1. Adjust proper
pouring
1. Lack of
metal.
fluidity in
2. Modify
7 Cold shuts molten metal.
design.
2. Faulty design.
3. Modify
3. Faulty gating.
gating
system.
 1. Improve mold
1. Low strength
and core
of mold and
strength.
core.
2. Add more
Cuts and 2. Lack of
8 binders to
washes binders in
facing and
facing and
core sand.
core stand.
3. Improve
3. Faulty gating.
gating.

1. Modify
1. Faulty gating.
gating
2. Faulty
system.
pouring.
2. Improve
3. Inferior
pouring to
molding or
minimize
core sand.
9 Inclusions turbulence.
4. Soft ramming
3. Use of
of mold.
superior sand
5. Rough
of good
handling of
strength.
mold and
Provide hard,
core.
ramming.

1. Improve
1. Low
refractoriness
refractoriness
of sand.
in molding
2. Modify
sand.
gating
2. Faulty gating.
system.
10 Fusion 3. Too high
3. Use Lower
pouring
pouring
temperature of
temperature.
the metal.
4. Improve the
4. Pouring facing
quality of
sand.
facing sand.

1. Low green 1. Increase

strength green strength
in molding of sand mold.
sandand core. 2. Provide
11 Drops 2. Too soft harder
ramming. ramming.
3. Inadequate 3. Provide
reinforcement adequate
of sand and reinforcement
 core to sand
projections. projection
and cope by
using nails
and gaggers.

1. Too low
pouring 1. Use proper
temperature. pouring
2. Excess temperature.
sulphur 2. Reduce
12 Shot metal contests in sulphur
metal. content.
3. Faulty gating. 3. Modify
4. High moisture gating of the
content in system.
molding sand.

1. Repair or
replace the
pins, for
removing the
defect.
1. Worn-out or
2. Repair or
bent clamping
replace
pins.
dewels with
2. Misalignments
cause
13 Shift of two halves
misalignment.
of pattern.
3. Provide
3. Improper
adequate
support of
support to the
core.
core.
4. Increases
strength of
both mold
and core.

1. Defective core
1. Repair or
boxes
replace the
producing
pins, for
over-sized
removing the
14 Crushes cores.
defect.
2. Worn out core
2. Repair or
prints on
replace
patterns
dowels with
producing
 undersized cause
seals for cores misalignment.
in the mild.
3. Careless
assembly of
cores in the
mold.

1. Continuous 1. Break
large flat continuity of
surfaces on large flat
casting. grooves and
2. Excessive depressions.
Rat-tails or
15 mold 2. Reduce mold
buckles
hardness. hardness.
3. Lack of 3. Add
combustible combustible
additives in additives to
molding sand. sand.

1. Too soft
ramming of
1. Provide hard
mold.
ramming.
2. Low strength
2. Increase the
16 Swells of mold and
strength of
core.
both mold
3. Mold not
and core.
properly
supported.

1. Suitable
1. Faulty metal charge metal
composition. composition.
17 Hard spot
2. Faulty casting 2. Modify
design. casting
design.

1. Improving
1. Faulty molding
Run out, molding. techniques.
18 Fins and 2. Defective 2. Change the
Fash molding defective
boxes. molding
boxes.
 3. Keep weights
on mold
boxes.

1. Remove dirt
1. Availability of
dwarf held in
dirt and swarf
molten metal.
held in molten
2. Skimming
metal.
should be
2. Improper
19 Spongings perfect.
skimming.
3. Fewer
3. Because of
impurities in
more
molten metal
impurities in
should be
molten metal.
there.

1. Continuous
large flat 1. Follow
surfaces on principle of
castings are sufficient
indicating a directional
20 Warpage
poor design. solidification.
2. No 2. Make good
dimensional castings
solidification design.
of casting.