CH 12 Metal Casting Design Materials and Economics1

Chapter 12
Metal Casting: Design, Materials, and

Economics
Manufacturing, Engineering & Technology, Fifth Edition, by Serope Kalpakjian and Steven R. Schmid.
ISBN 0-13-148965-8. © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved.
Introduction
• Successful casting practice requires the proper control of a

large number of variables: characteristics of the metals (or
alloys) casts, method of casting, mold/die materials, mold/die
design, and various process parameters.
• The flow of the molten metal in the mold cavities, the gating
systems, the rate of cooling, and the gases evolved all
influence the quality of a casting.
• This chapter describes general design considerations and
guidelines for metal casting and presents suggestions for
avoiding defects.
Design Considerations in Casting
1. Design the part so that the shape is cast easily.

2. Select a casting process and material suitable for the part,
size, mechanical properties, etc.
3. Locate the parting line of the mold in the part.
4. Locate and design the gates to allow uniform feeding of the
mold cavity with molten metal.
5. Select an appropriate runner geometry for the system.
6. Locate mold features such as sprue, screens and risers, as
appropriate.
7. Make sure proper controls and good practices are in place.
Design Considerations in Casting - Design of cast
parts
• Corners, angles and section thickness: avoid using sharp

corners and angles (act as stress raisers) and may cause
cracking and tearing during solidification. Use fillets with
radii ranging from 3 to 25 mm
parts
Figure 12.1 Suggested design modifications to avoid defects in castings.

Note that sharp corners are avoided to reduce stress concentrations.
parts
• Sections changes in castings should be blended smoothly into

each other. Location of the largest circle that can be inscribed
in a particular region is critical so far as shrinkage cavities are
concerned (a & b). Because the cooling rate in regions with
large circles is lower, they are called hot spots. These regions
can develop shrinkage cavities and porosity (c & d).
• Cavities at hot spots can be eliminated by using small cores
(e). It is important to maintain (as much as possible) uniform
cross sections and wall thicknesses throughout the casting to
avoid or minimize shrinkage cavities. Metal chills in the mold
can eliminate or minimize hot spots.
parts
Figure 12.2 Examples of designs showing the importance of maintaining uniform

cross-sections in castings to avoid hot spots and shrinkage cavities.
Elimination of Hot Spots
Figure 12.2 Examples of designs showing the importance of maintaining

uniform cross-sections in castings to avoid hot spots and shrinkage cavities.
parts
. Figure 12.4 The use of metal padding

(chills) to increase the rate of cooling in
thick regions in a casting to avoid
shrinkage cavities
parts
– Flat areas: large flat areas (plain surfaces) should be avoided,
since they may warp during cooling because of temperature
gradients, or they develop poor surface finish because of
uneven flow of metal during pouring. To resolve this one can
break up flat surfaces with staggered ribs.
– Shrinkage: pattern dimensions also should allow for
shrinkage of the metal during solidification and cooling.
– Allowances for shrie, known as patternmaker’s shrinkage
allowances, usually range from about 10 to 20 mm/m. Table
12.1 gives the normal shrinkage allowance for metals that are
commonly sand cast.
parts
• Figure: Adding ribs to flat region decreases warping and increases stiffness against
bending moments
Using staggered ribs to prevent cracking during
cooling.
Shrinkage Allowance for Casting in Sand Molds
Typical patternmaker's shrinkage of

various metals[23]
Metal Percentage in/ft
Aluminum 1.0–1.3 ⁄8–5⁄32
1
Brass 1.5 3
⁄16
Magnesium 1.0–1.3 ⁄8–5⁄32

1
Cast iron 0.8–1.0 ⁄10–1⁄8

1
Steel 1.5–2.0 ⁄16–1⁄4

3
parts
– Draft: a small draft (taper) typically is provided in sand mold

pattern to enable removal of the pattern without damaging the
mold. Drafts generally range from 5 to 15 mm/m. Depending on
the quality of the pattern, draft angles usually range from 0.5 o to
2o.
– Dimensional tolerances: tolerances should be as wide as
possible, within the limits of good part performance; otherwise,
the cost of the casting increases. In commercial practices,
tolerances are usually in the range of ± 0.8 mm for small castings.
For large castings, tolerances may be as much as ± 6 mm.
parts
– Machining and finishing operations: should be taken into

account. For example, a hole to be drilled should be on a flat
surface not a curved one.
Design Considerations in Casting - Locating the
parting line
– A part should be oriented in a mold so that the large portion
of the casting is relatively low and the height of the casting is
minimized.
– The parting line is line or plane separating the upper (cope)
and lower (drag) halves of mold. In general, the parting line
should be along a flat plane rather than be contoured.
– The parting line should be placed as low as possible relative
to the casting for less dense metal (such as aluminum alloys)
and located at around mid-height for denser metals (such as
steels).
– Locate heavier sections at near to the parting line where
they can be fed by riser
–
Design Considerations in Casting - Locating the
parting line
Figure 12.5 Redesign of a casting by making

the parting line straight to avoid defects.
Design Considerations in Casting - Locating and
designing gates
Design Considerations in Casting - Locating and
designing gates
– The minimum gate length should be three to five times the
gate diameter, depending on the metal being cast. The
cross-section should be large enough to allow the filling of
the mold cavity and should be smaller than the runner
cross-section.
– Curved gates should be avoided, but when necessary, a
straight section in the gate should be located immediately
adjacent to the casting.
Casting Defects
• A casting defect is an undesired irregularity in a metal casting process. ...

• They are broken down into five main categories:
• gas porosity,open holes, pin holes
• shrinkage defects, shrinkage cavity
• mould material defects,metal penetration, rat tail
• pouring metal defects, cold shuts, misruns
• metallurgical defects; hot tears hot spots
1. Shift or Mismatch
•The defect caused due to misalignment of upper and lower part of the casting and
misplacement of the core at parting line.
•Cause:
•(i) Improper alignment of upper and lower part during mold preparation.
(ii) Misalignment of flask (a flask is type of tool which is used to contain a mold in metal
casting. it may be square, round, rectangular or of any convenient shape.)
2. Blowholes:
•When gases entrapped on the surface of the casting due to solidifying metal, a rounded
or oval cavity is formed called as blowholes. These defects are always present in the
cope part of the mold.
•Causes
•(i) Excessive moisture in the sand.
(ii) Low Permeability of the sand.
(iii) Sand grains are too fine.
(iv) Too hard rammed sand.
(v) Insufficient venting is provided.
Blow holes
Coldshuts/ Misruns
• Misruns occur when the liquid metal is too cold to flow to the
extremities of the mold cavity before freezing and solidifying
• The liquid metal does not completely fill the mold cavity. The misrun
is the unfilled portion or space in the mold.
• Causes and prevention of misruns

• The reasons for premature solidification are similar to those for cold
shut. If you have a misrun,
check:
• Mold design
• Gating system design and
• Molten metal fluidity
Cold shuts/Mis runs
• Cold shut is a type of surface defect. You’ll see a line or crack with a round edge on
the casting surface.
• This defect is visible to the naked eye and often results in rejecting the cast, as it
creates a weak spot.
Flash
• Flash is one of the most frequently occurring casting

defects and also a common injection molding defect.
• Flash, also known as casting fin or burrs, is any
unwanted and excess material attached to a cast. It’s
typically a thin sheet of metal that forms at the parting
faces. Flash is a waste material that turns into dross
after being re-melted.
Warping
• Warping
• Warping is an unwanted casting deformity that can occur over time,
which results in a change in the dimensions of the final product.It
can happen during or after solidificatio
• Causes and prevention of warping
• Warping is typically a result of different rates of solidifications of
different sections, which causes stress in adjoining walls. Large and
flat sections are more prone to warping
Hot tears/ Cracks
• Causes and prevention of hot tears and cracks

• If the solidifying metal does not have sufficient strength
to resist tensile forces during solidification, hot tears will
appear.
• Hot tears are mostly caused by poor mold design.
Modifying the mold to improve collapsibility can easily
resolve these issues.
Shift
• Misalignment between two halves of the mould.

• Worn out or bend clamping pin.
• ii. Misalignment of two halves of patterns.
• iii. Improper support of core.
• Remedy
• i. Repair or replace the support pins.
• ii. Provide adequate support to core.
• iii. Increase strength of both mould and core.

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Chapter 12

Metal Casting: Design, Materials, and

• Successful casting practice requires the proper control of a

1. Design the part so that the shape is cast easily.

• Corners, angles and section thickness: avoid using sharp

Figure 12.1 Suggested design modifications to avoid defects in castings.

• Sections changes in castings should be blended smoothly into

Figure 12.2 Examples of designs showing the importance of maintaining uniform

Figure 12.2 Examples of designs showing the importance of maintaining

. Figure 12.4 The use of metal padding

Typical patternmaker's shrinkage of

Magnesium 1.0–1.3 ⁄8–5⁄32

Cast iron 0.8–1.0 ⁄10–1⁄8

Steel 1.5–2.0 ⁄16–1⁄4

– Draft: a small draft (taper) typically is provided in sand mold

– Machining and finishing operations: should be taken into

Figure 12.5 Redesign of a casting by making

• A casting defect is an undesired irregularity in a metal casting process. ...

• Causes and prevention of misruns

• Flash is one of the most frequently occurring casting

• Causes and prevention of hot tears and cracks

• Misalignment between two halves of the mould.

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