CASTING PROCESSES

by

Mr. Sidhant A. Karnik

 Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that

applies the principles of physics and materials science for
analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of
mechanical systems.
 Manufacturing

Manufacturing basically implies making of

goods or articles and providing services to meet
the needs of mankind.

Manufacturing process is that part of the production

process which is directly concerned with the change of
form or dimensions of the part being produced.
 Evolution of Manufacturing

• Began about 5000 to 4000 B.C with the production of various

articles of wood, ceramic, stone and metal
• Derived from Latin word manu factus – meaning “made by hand”
• The word manufacture first appeared in 1567
• The word manufacturing appeared in 1683
• Production is also used interchangeably .
Traditional Manufacturing Processes

Casting

Forming

Sheet metal processing

Plastics processing

Joining

Lathe
 Casting since about 4000 BC…

Ancient Greece; bronze

statue casting circa 450BC
Iron works in early Europe,
e.g. cast iron cannons from
England circa 1543
Casting Process

Casting process is one of the earliest metal shaping

techniques known to human being.
It means pouring molten metal into a refractory mold cavity
and allows it to solidify.
The solidified object is taken out from the mold either by
breaking or taking the mold apart.
The solidified object is called casting and the technique
followed in method is known as casting process.
Six basic steps in this process:
Place a pattern in sand to create a mold.
Incorporate the pattern and sand in a gating system.
Remove the pattern.
Fill the mold cavity with molten metal.
Allow the metal to cool.
Break away the sand mold and remove the casting.
Mold Box
 Casting Terminology
• Pattern: An approximate duplicate or true replica of required
product of casting
• Flask/Box: The rigid metal or a wooden frame that holds the
moulding material
• Cope: Top half of the moulding box
• Drag: Bottom half of the moulding box
• Core: As and shape that is inserted into a mould to produce
internal features of a casting such as holes.
Continue…..

• Riser: A vertical opening in the mould

Act as a vent for gases
Helps to confirm that the mould is completely filled
Act as a reservoir of molten metal to feed and
compensate for shrinkage during solidification of a casting
Continue….

• Gating System: Channels used to deliver the molten metal

to the mould cavity
• Sprue: The vertical passage in the gating system
• Runner: The horizontal channel of the gating system
• Gate: Channel which connects runner and mould
Advantages
Product can be cast as one piece.
• Very heavy and bulky parts can be manufactured
• Metals difficult to be shaped by other manufacturing
processes may be cast (eg: Cast Iron)
Best for mass production
• Complex shapes can be manufactured
VERSATILE: complex geometry, internal cavities, hollow sections

VERSATILE: small (~10 grams) → very large parts (~1000 Kg)

ECONOMICAL: little wastage (extra metal is re-used)

ISOTROPIC: cast parts have same properties along all directions

Disadvantages of Casting

Casting process is a labour intensive process

Not possible for high melting point metals
Dimensional accuracy, surface finish and the amount of
defects depends on the casting process
Allowances required.
Applications

Transportation vehicles(eg.:engines)
Machine tool structures.
Turbine vanes
Mill housing
Valves
Sanitary fittings
Agricultural parts
Construction &atomic energy applications.
V6 engine block
Crank Shaft
AUDI engine block
BMW cylinder head
Brake assembly
•Special Casting Processes
Shell Mold Casting

Shell mold casting or shell molding is a metal casting

process in manufacturing industry in which the mold is a
thin hardened shell of sand and thermosetting resin
binder, backed up by some other material.

Typical parts manufactured in industry using the shell

mold casting process include cylinder heads, gears,
bushings, connecting rods, camshafts and valve bodies.
Process
 Properties and Considerations of
Manufacturing by Shell Mold Casting
The internal surface of the shell mold is very smooth and rigid.
Shell mold casting enables the manufacture of complex parts with thin sections
and smaller projections than green sand mold casting.
Manufacturing with the shell mold process also imparts high dimensional
accuracy. Tolerances of .010 inches (.25mm) are possible. Further machining is
usually unnecessary when casting by this process.
• Shell sand molds are less permeable than green sand molds and binder may
produce a large volume of gas as it contacts the molten metal being poured for
the casting. For these reasons, shell molds should be well ventilated.
The expense of shell mold casting is increased by the cost of the thermosetting
resin binder, but decreased by the fact that only a small percentage of sand is
used compared to other sand casting processes.
Shell mold casting processes are easily automated.
manufacturing by shell casting may be economical for large batch production.
 Investment Casting
Investment casting is one of the oldest manufacturing
processes, dating back thousands of years, in which molten
metal is poured into an expendable ceramic mold.
The mold is formed by using a wax pattern - a disposable piece
in the shape of the desired part. The pattern is surrounded, or
"invested", into ceramic slurry that hardens into the mold.
Investment casting is often referred to as "lost-wax casting"
because the wax pattern is melted out of the mold after it has
been formed.
However, since the mold is destroyed during the process, parts
with complex geometries and intricate details can be created.
Investment casting can make use of most metals, most commonly
using aluminum alloys, bronze alloys, magnesium alloys, cast
iron, stainless steel, and tool steel
This process is beneficial for casting metals with high melting
temperatures that can not be molded in plaster or metal.
Parts that are typically made by investment casting include those
with complex geometry such as turbine blades or firearm
components.
Investment casting requires the use of a metal die, wax,
ceramic slurry, furnace, molten metal, and any machines
needed for sandblasting, cutting, or grinding. The process
steps include the following:
 Process
• Pattern creation - The wax patterns are typically injection molded into a metal
die and are formed as one piece. Cores may be used to form any internal
features on the pattern.
• Mold creation - This "pattern tree" is dipped into a slurry of fine ceramic
particles, coated with more coarse particles, and then dried to form a ceramic
shell around the patterns and gating system. This process is repeated until the
shell is thick enough to withstand the molten metal it will encounter.
The shell is then placed into an oven and the wax is melted out leaving
a hollow ceramic shell that acts as a one-piece mold, hence the name
"lost wax" casting.
Pouring - The mold is preheated in a furnace to approximately 1000°C
(1832°F) and the molten metal is poured from a ladle into the gating
system of the mold, filling the mold cavity..
Cooling - After the mold has been filled, the molten metal is allowed to
cool and solidify into the shape of the final casting. Cooling time
depends on the thickness of the part, thickness of the mold, and the
material used.
Casting removal - After the molten metal has cooled, the
mold can be broken and the casting removed. The ceramic
mold is typically broken using water jets, but several other
methods exist. Once removed, the parts are separated
from the gating system by either sawing or cold breaking
(using liquid nitrogen).
Finishing - Often times, finishing operations such as
grinding or sandblasting are used to smooth the part at
the gates. Heat treatment is also sometimes used to
harden the final part.
 Feasible
Typical
Shapes: Thin-walled: Complex Flat
Solid: Cylindrical Thin-walled: Cylindrical
Solid: Cubic Thin-walled: Cubic
Solid: Complex
Part size: Weight: 0.02 oz - 500 lb
Materials: Metals Cast Iron
Alloy Steel Lead
Carbon Steel Magnesium
Stainless Steel Tin
Aluminum Titanium
Copper Zinc
Nickel
Surface finish - Ra: 50 - 125 μin 16 - 300 μin
Tolerance: ± 0.005 in. ± 0.002 in.
Max wall thickness: 0.06 - 0.80 in. 0.025 - 5.0 in.
Quantity: 10 - 1000 1 - 1000000
Lead time: Weeks Days
Advantages: Can form complex shapes and fine details
Many material options
High strength parts
Very good surface finish and accuracy
Little need for secondary machining
Disadvantages: Time-consuming process
High labor cost
High tooling cost
Long lead time possible
Applications: Turbine blades, armament parts, pipe fittings, lock
Part to manufctured
 Properties And Considerations
casting of extremely complex parts, with good surface finish.
Very thin sections can be produced by this process , narrow as .015in
(.4mm) have been manufactured using investment casting.
Investment casting also allows for high dimensional accuracy.
Tolerances as low as .003in (.076mm) have been claimed.
Practically any metal can be investment cast. Parts manufactured by
this process are generally small, but parts weighing up to 75lbs have
been found suitable for this technique.
Parts of the investment process may be automated.
Investment casting is a complicated process and is relatively
expensive.
Applications
Investment casting is used in the aerospace and power
generation industries to produce turbine blades with complex
shapes or cooling systems.
Blades produced by investment casting can include single-crystal
(SX), directionally solidified (DS), or conventional equi-axed
blades.
Investment casting is also widely used by firearms
manufacturers to fabricate firearm receivers, triggers,
hammers, and other precision parts at low cost.
Other industries that use standard investment-cast parts include
military, medical, commercial and automotive.
Centrifugal casting or rotocasting is a casting technique
that is typically used to cast thin-walled cylinders.
It is noted for the high quality of the results attainable,
particularly for precise control of their metallurgy and
crystal structure.
Unlike most other casting techniques, centrifugal casting
is chiefly used to manufacture stock materials in standard
sizes for further machining, rather than shaped parts
tailored to a particular end-use.
 Process
In centrifugal casting, a permanent mold is rotated continuously about its axis
at high speeds (300 to 3000 rpm) as the molten metal is poured.
The molten metal is centrifugally thrown towards the inside mold wall, where
it solidifies after cooling.
The casting is usually a fine-grained casting with a very fine-grained outer
diameter, owing to chilling against the mould surface.
Impurities and inclusions are thrown to the surface of the inside diameter,
which can be machined away.
Casting machines may be either horizontal or vertical-axis. Horizontal axis
machines are preferred for long, thin cylinders, vertical machines for rings.
Most castings are solidified from the outside first. This may be used to
encourage directional solidification of the casting, and thus give useful
metallurgical properties to it. Often the inner and outer layers are discarded
and only the intermediary columnar zone is used.
Centrifugal casting was the invention of Alfred Krupp, who used it to
manufacture cast steel tyres for railway wheels in 1852.
Features of centrifugal casting
Castings can be made in almost any length, thickness and diameter.
Different wall thicknesses can be produced from the same size mold.
Eliminates the need for cores.
Resistant to atmospheric corrosion, a typical situation with pipes.
Mechanical properties of centrifugal castings are excellent.
Only cylindrical shapes can be produced with this process.
Size limits are up to 3 m (10 feet) diameter and 15 m (50 feet) length.
Wall thickness range from 2.5 mm to 125 mm (0.1 - 5.0 in).
Tolerance limit: on the OD can be 2.5 mm (0.1 in) on the ID can be 3.8 mm (0.15
in).
Surface finish ranges from 2.5 mm to 12.5 mm (0.1 - 0.5 in) rms.
Benefits
Cylinders and shapes with rotational symmetry are most commonly cast
by this technique. "Tall" castings are always more difficult than short
castings. In the centrifugal casting technique the radius of the rotation,
along which the centrifugal force acts, replaces the vertical axis.
The casting machine may be rotated to place this in any convenient
orientation, relative to gravity's vertical. Horizontal and vertical axis
machines are both used, simply to place the casting's longest dimension
conveniently horizontal.
Thin-walled cylinders are difficult to cast by other means, but centrifugal
casting is particularly suited to them.
Centrifugal casting is also applied to the casting of disk and cylindrical
shaped objects such as railway carriage wheels or machine fittings where
the grain, flow, and balance are important to the durability and utility of
the finished product.
Providing that the shape is relatively constant in radius.
noncircular shapes may also be cast.
Materials

Typical materials that can be cast with this

process are iron,
steel,
stainless steels,
glass, and
alloys of aluminum,
copper and nickel.
 Typical parts made by this process are
• pipes,
• boilers,
• pressure vessels ,
• flywheels,
• cylinder liners and
• other parts that are axi-symmetric.
It is notably used to cast cylinder liners and sleeve
valves for piston engines, parts which could not be reliably
manufactured otherwise.
Cold chamber die casting

Cold chamber die casting is the second of the two major

branches of the die casting manufacturing process.
Cold chamber die casting
Pressures of 3000psi to 50000psi (20MPa to 350MPa) may
be used in manufacturing industry to fill the mold cavities
with molten material during cold chamber die casting
manufacture.
Castings manufactured by cold chamber die casting have
all the advantages characteristic of the die casting process,
such as intricate detail, thin walls, and superior mechanical
properties.
The significant initial investment into this manufacturing
process makes it suitable for high production applications.
Advantages

Excellent dimensional accuracy (dependent on casting material, but

typically 0.1 mm for the first 2.5 cm (0.005 inch for the first inch) and
0.02 mm for each additional centimeter (0.002 inch for each
additional inch).
Smooth cast surfaces (Ra 1–2.5 micrometres or 0.04–0.10 thou rms).
Thinner walls can be cast as compared to sand and permanent mold
casting (approximately 0.75 mm or 0.030 in).
Inserts can be cast-in (such as threaded inserts, heating elements, and
high strength bearing surfaces).
Reduces or eliminates secondary machining operations.
Rapid production rates.
Casting tensile strength as high as 415 megapascals (60 ksi).
Casting of low fluidity metals.
 Diadvantages
The main disadvantage to die casting is the very high capital cost.

Therefore to make die casting an economic process a large

production volume is needed.
Other disadvantages include: the process is limited to high-fluidity
metals and casting weights must be between 30 grams and 10 kg
In the standard die casting process the final casting will have a small
amount of porosity.
This prevents any heat treating or welding, because the heat causes
the gas in the pores to expand, which causes micro-cracks inside the
part and exfoliation of the surface.
 Hot chamber die casting
Die casting process is the use of high pressure to force molten metal
through a mold called a die.
Many of the superior qualities of castings manufactured by die
casting, can be attributed to the use of pressure to ensure the flow of
metal through the die.
In hot chamber die casting manufacture, the supply of molten metal is
attached to the die casting machine and is an integral part of the
casting apparatus for this manufacturing operation
The pressure exerted on the liquid metal to fill the die in hot chamber
die casting manufacture usually varies from about 700psi to 5000psi
(5MPa to 35 MPa).
The pressure is held long enough for the casting to solidify.
Hot chamber die casting has the advantage of a very high rate of
productivity.
During industrial manufacture by this process one of the
disadvantages is that the setup requires that critical parts of the
mechanical apparatus, (such as the plunger), must be continuously
submersed in molten material.
Continuous submersion in a high enough temperature material will
cause thermal related damage to these components rendering
them inoperative.
For this reason, usually only lower melting point alloys of lead, tin,
and zinc are used to manufacture metal castings with the hot
chamber die casting process.
Hot chamber die casting

It is very possible to manufacture castings from lower

melting point alloys using the cold-chamber method.
Continuous casting

Continuous casting, also referred to as strand casting, is a

process used in manufacturing industry to cast a
continuous length of metal.

Continuous casting can produce long strands from

aluminum and copper, also the process has been
developed for the production of steel.
Different Casting Processes
Process Advantages Disadvantages Examples
Sand many metals, sizes, shapes, cheap poor finish & tolerance engine blocks,
cylinder heads
Shell mold better accuracy, finish, higher limited part size connecting rods, gear
production rate housings
Expendable Wide range of metals, sizes, patterns have low cylinder heads, brake
pattern shapes strength components
Plaster mold complex shapes, good surface non-ferrous metals, low prototypes of
finish production rate mechanical parts
Ceramic mold complex shapes, high accuracy, small sizes impellers, injection
good finish mold tooling
Investment complex shapes, excellent finish small parts, expensive jewellery

Permanent good finish, low porosity, high Costly mold, simpler gears, gear housings
mold production rate shapes only
Die Excellent dimensional accuracy, costly dies, small parts, gears, camera bodies,
high production rate non-ferrous metals car wheels
Centrifugal Large cylindrical parts, good Expensive, few shapes pipes, boilers,
quality flywheels
Casting Design: Typical casting defects
 Inspection of Casting
• Visual Inspection
• Dimensional inspection
• Sound test
• Impact test
• Pressure test
• Magnetic particle testing
• Penetrant test
• Ultrasonic test
Casting Design: Typical casting defects
Casting Design: Defects and Associated Problems

- Surface defects: finish, stress concentration

- Interior holes, inclusions: stress concentrations

0

max
2a

max = 0(1 + 2b/a)

2b

0
Casting Design: guidelines

(a) avoid sharp corners

(b) use fillets to blend section changes smoothly
(c1) avoid rapid changes in cross-section areas
Casting Design: guidelines

(c1) avoid rapid changes in cross-section areas

(c2) if unavoidable, design mold to ensure
- easy metal flow
- uniform, rapid cooling (use chills, fluid-cooled tubes)
Casting Design: guidelines

(d) avoid large, flat areas

- warpage due to residual stresses (why?)
Casting Design: guidelines

(e) provide drafts and tapers

- easy removal, avoid damage
- along what direction should we taper ?
Casting Design: guidelines

(f) account for shrinkage

- geometry
- shrinkage cavities
Casting Design: guidelines

(g) proper design of parting line

- “flattest” parting line is best

Impellers
THANK YOU