Manufacturing Processes

Chapter Ten:

Fundamentals of Metal Casting

Dr. Eng. Baha’eddin Alhaj Hasan

Department of Industrial Engineering
 FUNDAMENTALS OF METAL
CASTING

 Overview of Casting Technology

 Heating and Pouring
 Solidification and Cooling
 Solidification Processes

 Starting work material is either a liquid or is in a

highly plastic condition, and a part is created through
solidification of the material

 Solidification processes can be classified according

to engineering material processed:
 Metals
 Ceramics, specifically glasses
 Polymers and polymer matrix composites (PMCs)
Figure 10.1 Classification of solidification processes.
 Casting

 Process in which molten metal flows by gravity or

other force into a mold where it solidifies in the
shape of the mold cavity
 The term casting also applies to the part made in the
process

Steps in casting seem simple:

1. Melt the metal

2. Pour it into a mold
3. Let it freeze
 Casting

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M95bhPrDwA0
Capabilities and Advantages of Casting

 Can create complex part geometries.

 Can create both external and internal shapes
 Some casting processes are net shape;
others are near net shape
 Can produce very large parts (even 100 tons!)
 Can be performed on any metal that can be
heated to the liquid state
 Some casting methods are suited to mass
production
 Disadvantages of Casting

 Limitations on mechanical properties

 Poor dimensional accuracy and surface finish for
some processes; e.g., sand casting
 Safety hazards to workers due to hot molten metals
 Environmental problems
Parts Made by Casting

 All varieties of metals can be cast, ferrous

and nonferrous
 Big parts
 Engine blocks and heads for
automotive vehicles, wood burning
stoves, machine frames, railway
wheels, pipes, church bells, big statues,
pump housings
 Small parts
 Dental crowns, jewelry, small statues,
frying pans
 Overview of Casting Technology

 Casting is usually performed in a foundry

 Foundry = factory equipped for making molds, melting and

handling molten metal, performing the casting process, and
cleaning the finished casting
 Workers who perform casting are called foundrymen
 The Mold in Casting

 Contains cavity whose geometry determines part

shape

 Actual size and shape of cavity must be slightly

oversized to allow for shrinkage of metal during
solidification and cooling
 Molds are made of a variety of materials, including
sand, plaster, ceramic, and metal
 Open Molds and Closed Molds

 Figure 10.2 Two forms of mold: (a) open mold, simply a container in
the shape of the desired part; and (b) closed mold, in which the mold
geometry is more complex and requires a gating system (passageway)
leading into the cavity.
 Two Categories of Casting
Processes
Expendable mold processes – uses an expendable mold
which must be destroyed to remove casting
 Mold materials: sand, plaster, and similar materials, plus binders
 Example: Sand casting
Permanent mold processes – uses a permanent mold which
can be used over and over to produce many castings
 Made of metal (or, less
commonly, a ceramic refractory material)
 Example: Die casting
 Advantages and Disadvantages

Expendable Permanent
mold process mold process

 After the metal  Part shapes in

hardens, the mold must permanent mold
be scarified in order to processes are limited
recover the casting.
by the need to open
 More complicated the mold.
geometries are
possible with  Permanent mold
expendable mold processes are more
processes. economic in high
production operations.
 Sand Casting Mold

Mold consists of
two halves:
Cope = upper
half of mold
Drag = bottom
half

 Figure 10.2 (b) Sand casting

mold.
Mold halves are contained in a box, called
a flask
The two halves separate at the parting line
 Forming the Mold Cavity

 Mold cavity is formed by packing sand around a pattern, which has the
shape of the part

 When the pattern is removed, the remaining cavity of the packed sand has
desired shape of cast part

 The pattern is usually oversized to allow for shrinkage of metal during

solidification and cooling

 Sand for the mold is moist and contains a binder to maintain its shape
 Forming the Mold Cavity
http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/furnace1/cast-iron.html

One half of
the pattern
is placed
at the
bottom.

Open the mold and remove the

pattern before pouring the metal
 Use of a Core in the Mold Cavity

 The mold cavity provides the external surfaces of the cast

part
 In addition, a casting may have internal surfaces, determined
by a core, placed inside the mold cavity to define the interior
geometry of part
 In sand casting, cores are

generally made of sand

 Gating System and Riser

 At the top of downsprue, a pouring cup is often used to

minimize splash and turbulence as the metal flows into
downsprue
 Channel through which molten metal flows into cavity from
outside of mold consists of a downsprue, through which
metal enters a runner leading to the main cavity
 Riser is a reservoir in the mold which is a source of liquid
metal to compensate for shrinkage of the part during
solidification
 Heating the Metal

 Heating furnaces are used to heat

the metal to molten temperature
sufficient for casting

 The heat required is the sum of:

1. Heat to raise temperature to
melting point
2. Heat of fusion to convert from
solid to liquid
3. Heat to raise molten metal to
desired temperature for
pouring
 Solidification of Metals

 Solidification differs depending on whether the metal

is
 A pure element or
 An alloy
 Cooling Curve for a Pure Metal

 A pure metal solidifies at a constant temperature equal

to its freezing point (same as melting point)

Due to chilling action of mold wall, a thin

skin of solid metal is formed at the Cooling curve for a pure metal
interface immediately after pouring. during casting.
 Solidification of Alloys

 Most alloys freeze over a temperature range rather

than at a single temperature

Segregation of alloying
components in center of
casting.
Figure 10.6 (a) Phase diagram for a copper‑nickel alloy
system and (b) associated cooling curve for a
50%Ni‑50%Cu composition during casting.
 Solidification Time

Solidification takes time

 Total solidification time TST= time required for casting to
solidify after pouring
 TST depends on size and shape of casting by relationship
known as Chvorinov's Rule
2
n V 
V  or TST  C
TST  Cm   m 
A

 A  
Where TST = total solidification time;
V = volume of the casting;
A = surface area of casting;
n = exponent with typical value = 2; and
Cm is mold constant.
 Mold Constant in Chvorinov's
Rule- FYI

 Mold constant Cm depends on:

 Mold material
 Thermal properties of casting metal
 Pouring temperature relative to melting point

 Value of Cm for a given casting operation can be based on

experimental data from previous operations carried out using
same mold material, metal, and pouring temperature, even
though the shape of the part may be quite different
 What Chvorinov's Rule Tells Us

 A casting with a higher volume‑to‑surface area ratio cools and

solidifies more slowly than one with a lower ratio
 To feed molten metal to main cavity, TST for riser must be
greater than TST for main casting (molten metal solidifies in
riser after the molten metal is solidified in the main casting)
How do they control this?!!

Since mold constants of riser and casting will be equal, design

the riser to have a larger volume‑to‑area ratio so that the main
casting solidifies first.
This minimizes the effects of shrinkage
 Solidification Shrinkage

 Occurs in nearly all metals because the solid phase has a

higher density than the liquid phase. Thus, solidification
causes a reduction in volume per unit weight of metal.
Patternmakers account for solidification shrinkage and
thermal contraction by making mold cavity oversized.

Exception: Do you know any metal which expands

during solidification?!
Cast iron with high C content
Graphitization during final stages of freezing causes
expansion that counteracts volumetric decrease
associated with phase change
 Directional Solidification

 To minimize damaging effects of shrinkage, it is

desirable for regions of the casting most distant
from the liquid metal supply to freeze first and for
solidification to progress from these remote
regions toward the riser(s)
 Thus, molten metal is continually available from
risers to prevent shrinkage voids
 The term directional solidification describes this
aspect of freezing and methods by which it is
controlled.
 Achieving Directional
Solidification
 Desired directional solidification is achieved using
Chvorinov's Rule to design the casting itself, its
orientation in the mold, and the riser system that
feeds it

 Locate sections of the casting with lower V/A ratios

away from riser, so freezing occurs first in these
regions, and the liquid metal supply for the rest of
the casting remains open
 Riser Design

 Riser is waste metal that is separated from the

casting and remelted to make more castings
 To minimize waste in the unit operation, it is desirable
for the volume of metal in the riser to be a minimum
 Since the geometry of the riser is normally selected
to maximize the V/A ratio, this allows riser volume to
be reduced to the minimum possible value
 Example 10.3 Riser Design Using
Chvorinov’s Rule

 A cylindrical riser must be designed for a sand-casting

mold.
 The casting itself is a steel rectangular plate with
dimensions 7.5 cm × 12.5 cm × 2.0 cm.
 Previous observations have indicated that the total
solidification time (TTS) for this casting =1.6 min.
 The cylinder for the riser will have a diameter-to-height
ratio =1.0.
 Determine the dimensions of the riser so that its TTS =
2.0 min.
Example 10.3 Riser Design Using
Chvorinov’s Rule
 Example 10.3 Riser Design Using
Chvorinov’s Rule
 Next we must design the riser so that its total solidification time
is 2.0 min, using the same value of mold constant. The volume
of the riser is given by:

 and the surface area is given by:

 Since we are using a D/H ratio = 1.0, then D=H. Substituting D

for H in the volume and area formulas, we get:

And
Example 10.3 Riser Design Using
Chvorinov’s Rule
Example 10.3 Riser Design Using
Chvorinov’s Rule