WORKSHOP PRACTICE

 At the end of this lecture, you will be able to:

 Know about sand casting

 Pattern Making

 Components of moulds
 Sand casting, also known as sand molded casting, is a metal
casting process characterized by using sand as the mold
material.

 The term "sand casting" can also refer to an object produced via
the sand casting process. Sand castings are produced in
specialized factories called foundries.

 Over 70% of all metal castings are produced via a sand casting
process
 There are six steps in this process
1) Place a pattern in sand to create a mold.

2) Incorporate the pattern and sand in a gating system.

3) Remove the pattern.

4) Fill the mold cavity with molten metal

5) Allow the metal to cool

6) Break away the sand mold and remove the casting.

The main tooling for sand casting is the pattern that is used
to create the mold cavity.
A pattern for a part can be
made many different
ways, which are classified
into the following four
types:

1) Solid pattern
2) Split pattern
3) Match-plate pattern
4) Cope and drag pattern
 The molten material is poured in the pouring cup, which is
part of the gating system that supplies the molten material
to the mold cavity.

 The vertical part of the gating system connected to the

pouring cup is the sprue.

 The horizontal portion is called the runners and finally to the

multiple points where it is introduced to the mold cavity
called the gates.
 A riser, also known as a feeder, is a reservoir built into a
metal casting mold to prevent cavities due to shrinkage.
 There are four main components for making a sand
casting mold:

1) Base sand
2) Binder
3) Additives
4) A parting compound
 Greensand mold - Greensand molds use a mixture of sand,
water, and a clay or binder. Typical composition of the mixture
is 90% sand, 3% water, and 7% clay or binder + sludge.
Greensand molds are the least expensive and most widely
used.

 Skin-dried mold - A skin-dried mold begins like a greensand

mold, but additional bonding materials are added and the
cavity surface is dried by a torch or heating lamp to increase
mold strength. Doing so also improves the dimensional
accuracy and surface finish, but will lower the collapsibility.
Dry skin molds are more expensive and require more time,
thus lowering the production rate.
 Dry sand mold - In a dry sand mold, sometimes called a cold
box mold, the sand is mixed only with an organic binder. The
mold is strengthened by baking it in an oven. The resulting
mold has high dimensional accuracy, but is expensive and
results in a lower production rate.

 No-bake mold - The sand in a no-bake mold is mixed with a

liquid resin and hardens at room temperature.
 Refractoriness — This refers to the sand's ability to withstand
the temperature of the liquid metal being cast without
breaking down.

 Chemical inertness — The sand must not react with the metal
being cast. This is especially important with highly reactive
metals, such as magnesium and titanium.

 Permeability — This refers to the sand's ability to exhaust

gases. This is important because during the pouring process
many gases are produced, such as hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon
dioxide, and steam, which must leave the mold otherwise
casting defects, such as blow holes and gas holes.
 Surface finish — The size and shape of the sand particles
defines the best surface finish achievable, with finer particles
producing a better finish. However, as the particles become
finer (and surface finish improves) the permeability becomes
worse.

 Cohesiveness (or bond) — This is the ability of the sand to

retain a given shape after the pattern is removed.

 Flowability – The ability for the sand to flow into intricate

details and tight corners without special processes or
equipment.
 Collapsibility — This is the ability of the sand to be easily
stripped off the casting after it has solidified. Sands with poor
collapsibility will adhere strongly to the casting. When casting
metals that contract a lot during cooling or with long freezing
temperature ranges a sand with poor collapsibility will cause
cracking and hot tears in the casting.

 Availability/cost — The availability and cost of the sand is very

important because for every ton of metal poured, three to six
tons of sand is required.
Binders
 Binders are added to a base sand to bond the sand particles
together (i.e. it is the glue that holds the mold together).
 Clay and water
A mixture of clay and water is the most commonly used binder.
 Oil
Oils, such as linseed oil, other vegetable oils and marine oils,
used to be used as a binder, however due to their increasing
cost, they have been mostly phased out.
 Resin
Resin binders are natural or synthetic high melting point gums.
The two common types used are urea formaldehyde (UF) and
phenol formaldehyde (PF) resins
 Additives are added to the molding components to improve:
surface finish, dry strength, refractoriness
 To get the pattern out of the mold, prior to casting, a parting
compound is applied to the pattern to ease removal. They can
be a liquid or a fine powder (particle diameters between 75 and
150 micrometres (0.0030 and 0.0059 in)).

 Common powders include talc, graphite, and dry silica.

1
Mould
2
3
Dolly
4
5 Sprue
Pins
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 Sand Casting .FLV
1. Sand Casting
2. Other Expendable Mold Casting Processes
3. Permanent Mold Casting Processes
4. Foundry Practice
5. Casting Quality
6. Metals for Casting
7. Product Design Considerations
1. Expendable mold processes - mold is sacrificed to
remove part
 Advantage: more complex shapes possible
 Disadvantage: production rates often limited by time to
make mold rather than casting itself

2. Permanent mold processes - mold is made of metal

and can be used to make many castings
 Advantage: higher production rates
 Disadvantage: geometries limited by need to open mold
 Shell Molding
 Vacuum Molding
 Expanded Polystyrene Process
 Investment Casting
 Plaster Mold and Ceramic Mold Casting
 Economic disadvantage of expendable mold
casting: a new mold is required for every casting.

 In permanent mold casting, the mold is reused

many times .

 The processes include:

 Basic permanent mold casting
 Die casting
 Centrifugal casting
Uses a metal mold constructed of two sections
designed for easy, precise opening and
closing
 Molds used for casting lower melting point
alloys are commonly made of steel or cast
iron
 Molds used for casting steel must be made of
refractory material, due to the very high
pouring temperatures
Figure 11.10 Steps in permanent mold casting: (1) mold is preheated and
coated
Figure 11.10 Steps in permanent mold casting: (2) cores (if used) are inserted
and mold is closed, (3) molten metal is poured into the mold, where it
solidifies.
 Advantages of permanent mold casting:
 Good dimensional control and surface finish
 More rapid solidification caused by the cold metal mold
results in a finer grain structure, so castings are stronger.

 Limitations:
 Generally limited to metals of lower melting point
 Simpler part geometries compared to sand casting
because of need to open the mold
 High cost of mold
 Due to high mold cost, process is best suited to high
volume production and can be automated
accordingly.

 Typical parts: automotive pistons, pump bodies, and

certain castings for aircraft and missiles.

 Metals commonly cast: aluminum, magnesium,

copper-base alloys, and cast iron.
 Moving molten metal from melting furnace to mold
is sometimes done using crucibles.
 More often, transfer is accomplished by ladles.

Figure 11.21 Two common types of ladles: (a) crane ladle, and (b) two-man
ladle.
 Trimming

 Removing the core

 Surface cleaning

 Inspection

 Repair, if required

 Heat treatment
Removal of sprues, runners, risers, parting-line flash, fins,
chaplets, and any other excess metal from the cast part .

 For brittle casting alloys and when cross sections are

relatively small, appendages can be broken off .

 Otherwise, hammering, shearing, hack-sawing,

band-sawing, abrasive wheel cutting, or various torch cutting
methods are used.
If cores have been used, they must be removed

 Most cores are bonded, and they often fall out of casting as
the binder deteriorates.

 In some cases, they are removed by shaking casting, either

manually or mechanically.

 In rare cases, cores are removed by chemically dissolving

bonding agent.

 Solid cores must be hammered or pressed out.

Removal of sand from casting surface and otherwise enhancing
appearance of surface .

 Cleaning methods: tumbling, air-blasting with coarse sand

grit or metal shot, wire brushing, buffing, and chemical
pickling .

 Surface cleaning is most important for sand casting

 In many permanent mold processes, this step can be
avoided
 Defects are possible in casting, and inspection is needed to
detect their presence
 Castings are often heat treated to enhance
properties .

 Reasons for heat treating a casting:

 For subsequent processing operations such as machining
 To bring out the desired properties for the application of
the part in service
 There are numerous opportunities for things to go wrong in a
casting operation, resulting in quality defects in the product .

 The defects can be classified as follows:

 General defects common to all casting processes
 Defects related to sand casting process
 General Defects: Misrun
A casting that has solidified before completely filling
mold cavity.

Figure 11.22 Some common defects in castings: (a) misrun

 General Defects: Cold Shut

Two portions of metal flow together but there is a

lack of fusion due to premature freezing.

Figure 11.22 Some common defects in castings: (b) cold shut

 General Defects: Cold Shot

Metal splatters during pouring and solid globules form

and become entrapped in casting

Figure 11.22 Some common defects in castings: (c) cold shot

 General Defects: Shrinkage Cavity

Depression in surface or internal void caused by

solidification shrinkage that restricts amount of
molten metal available in last region to freeze

Figure 11.22 Some common defects in castings: (d) shrinkage cavity

 Sand Casting Defects: Sand Blow

Balloon-shaped gas cavity caused by release of mold

gases during pouring.

Figure 11.23 Common defects in sand castings: (a) sand blow

 Sand Casting Defects: Pin Holes

Formation of many small gas cavities at or slightly

below surface of casting.

Figure 11.23 Common defects in sand castings: (b) pin holes

 Sand Casting Defects: 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.

Figure 11.23 Common defects in sand castings: (e) penetration

 Sand Casting Defects: Mold Shift

A step in cast product at parting line caused by

sidewise relative displacement of cope and drag.

Figure 11.23 Common defects in sand castings: (f) mold shift

 Visual inspection to detect obvious defects such as misruns,
cold shuts, and severe surface flaws.

 Dimensional measurements to insure that tolerances have

been met.

 Metallurgical, chemical, physical, and other tests concerned

with quality of cast metal
 Most commercial castings are made of alloys rather than
pure metals

 Alloys are generally easier to cast, and properties of

product are better .

 Casting alloys can be classified as:

 Ferrous
 Nonferrous
 Most important of all casting alloys .

 Tonnage of cast iron castings is several times that of all other

metals combined .

 Several types: (1) gray cast iron, (2) nodular iron, (3) white
cast iron, (4) malleable iron, and (5) alloy cast irons .

 Typical pouring temperatures  1400C (2500F), depending

on composition
 The mechanical properties of steel make it an attractive
engineering material.

 The capability to create complex geometries makes casting

an attractive shaping process .

 Difficulties when casting steel:

 Pouring temperature of steel is higher than for most other
casting metals  1650C (3000F)
 At such temperatures, steel readily oxidizes, so molten
metal must be isolated from air
 Molten steel has relatively poor fluidity
 Generally considered to be very castable .

 Pouring temperatures low due to low melting temperature

of aluminum
 Tm = 660C (1220F)

 Properties:
 Light weight
 Range of strength properties by heat treatment
 Easy to machine
 Includes bronze, brass, and aluminum bronze
 Properties:
 Corrosion resistance
 Attractive appearance
 Good bearing qualities

 Limitation: high cost of copper

 Applications: pipe fittings, marine propeller blades, pump

components, ornamental jewelry
 Highly cast able, commonly used in die casting

 Low melting point – melting point of zinc Tm = 419C (786F)

 Good fluidity for ease of casting

 Properties:
 Low creep strength, so castings cannot be subjected to
prolonged high stresses
Geometric simplicity:

 Although casting can be used to produce complex part

geometries, simplifying the part design usually improves
castability .

 Avoiding unnecessary complexities:

 Simplifies mold-making
 Reduces the need for cores
 Improves the strength of the casting
 Corners on the casting:

 Sharp corners and angles should be avoided, since they

are sources of stress concentrations and may cause hot
tearing and cracks .

 Generous fillets should be designed on inside corners and

sharp edges should be blended.
 Draft Guidelines:

 In expendable mold casting, draft facilitates removal of

pattern from mold
▪ Draft = 1 for sand casting
 In permanent mold casting, purpose is to aid in removal of
the part from the mold
▪ Draft = 2 to 3 for permanent mold processes
 Similar tapers should be allowed if solid cores are used
 Minor changes in part design can reduce need for coring

Figure 11.25 Design change to eliminate the need for using a core:
(a) original design, and (b) redesign.
 Dimensional Tolerances and Surface Finish:

Significant differences in dimensional accuracies and finishes

can be achieved in castings, depending on process:

 Poor dimensional accuracies and finish for sand casting

 Good dimensional accuracies and finish for die casting and

investment casting
Machining Allowances:

 Almost all sand castings must be machined to achieve the

required dimensions and part features

 Additional material, called the machining allowance, is left on
the casting in those surfaces where machining is necessary.

 Typical machining allowances for sand castings are around
1.5 and 3 mm (1/16 and 1/4 in).