Metal Casting:

COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN
AND ANALYSIS

B. RAVI
Prentice-Hall of India, New Delhi, 2005
ISBN-81-203-2726-8, 160 pages, Rs.195 (E-E-E)

This book presents a scientific approach to casting design and analysis supported by software
tools. Unlike other books in metal casting that mainly cover process ‘know-how’, this book
uncovers the ‘know-why’ as well. Besides serving the needs of mechanical, production and
metallurgical engineers, this book is equally meant to benefit practicing engineers involved or
interested in casting development, including product designers, toolmakers, foundry engineers,
supply chain managers, engineering consultants, researchers and software developers. The theory
discussed in the book is applicable to all types of castings: ferrous and non-ferrous, produced in
sand and metal moulds.
By gaining a better understanding of the theory and logic CONTENTS
involved through creating, analyzing and optimizing
1. Metal Casting – Overview
virtual castings, the readers will learn how to:
2. Solid Modelling of Castings
ƒ Design process-friendly cast products, leading to
shorter development time 3. Pattern, Mould and Core Design

ƒ Manufacture assured quality castings, leading to 4. Feeder Design and Analysis

fewer rejections and ‘surprises’ 5. Gating Design and Analysis
ƒ Manage material and energy utilization, leading to 6. Process Planning and Costing
higher yield and lower costs.
7. Design for Castability

THE AUTHOR
B. RAVI, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of
Technology, Bombay. He is a strong supporter of Information Technology applications in the
manufacturing sector, especially for casting development. He has published over 80 technical
papers in national and international journals, conference proceedings and trade magazines. He has
trained over 500 practicing engineers and guided several organisations in adopting CAD/CAM
technology. Dr. Ravi is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers (India). He has represented India at
the World Foundry Congress at Dusseldorf in 1989, and again at Philadelphia in 1996. The book is
the outcome of 15 years of teaching, research and industrial projects in computer-aided design and
analysis of castings.

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Preface

The ability of fluid to assume the shape of its container is exploited by casting processes,
which involve melting and pouring liquid metal into a sand or metal mould and allowing it
to solidify, yielding a shape close to that of the desired product. Metal casting continues to
be the preferred process for intricate shapes of any size and weight with varying wall
thickness and internal features.

The flow of molten metal in the mould and subsequent solidification affect casting quality.
This can be controlled by appropriate design of the mould, including the cavities
corresponding to the casting, gating channels and feeders. After inspecting trial castings,
the tooling design is modified until the desired quality and yield are achieved. Even then,
defects may appear during regular production. A comprehensive understanding of the
relation between geometric, material and process parameters involved, with respect to
casting quality, is therefore essential to minimise casting defects.

There are many excellent books describing the metallurgical aspects of cast metals and
processes, and a few dealing with the development of tooling and methoding (rigging).
There is however, a need to uncover the underlying logic in a manner that is easy to
understand for students, and easy to use for practicing engineers: product designers, tool
makers and foundry people.

Product designers are rarely concerned with manufacturing aspects; indeed there is very
little technical literature showing how to design process-friendly cast products. Many
castings that require expensive tooling, or are difficult to fill or feed, can be significantly
improved by minor changes to product design without affecting their functionality.

While foundry engineers have access to an overwhelming amount of experimental work

carried out over the last hundred years or more, many results contradict each other, and are
inapplicable to real-life castings. Most foundries still take several weeks to develop a
casting, rejection levels are high (especially in jobbing foundries) and the yields (which
directly affect energy costs) are sub-optimal.

The widespread availability of powerful yet low cost computers has opened the possibility
of creating, analysing and optimising virtual castings so that real castings can be produced
‘right first time and every time’. Computer-aided design and computer-aided
manufacturing (CAD/CAM) are now being widely used in general purpose manufacturing,
especially for machined parts. In casting domain, software applications are still nascent
and expensive, limiting their penetration to mainly large foundries.

This book aims to bridge the above gaps by presenting a scientific approach to casting
development supported by computer modelling. It describes the influence of parameters
related to cast product (geometry and material), tooling (pattern, core, mould, feeders and
gating) and process (mould filling and solidification) on manufacturability, especially

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casting quality. Though the focus is on gravity casting processes (both sand and metal
mould), specific principles applicable to pressure die casting are also highlighted,
wherever necessary.

Engineering and polytechnic students need to gain an overall appreciation of casting

development, which is facilitated by a single casting example solved across chapters. The
same part is also used to demonstrate computer-aided casting design and analysis.
Additional examples are given at the end for further practice. Teachers in engineering
colleges and polytechnics can use this book to supplement existing teaching material.

The logical approach will also appeal to casting researchers and software developers.
Much still needs to be done to connect the physics of the process with empirical studies
based on observation, and evolve better and faster software tools for casting design and
analysis. The book will hopefully motivate more efforts in this direction.

The contents have evolved gradually over the last 15 years of researching, teaching and
industrial case studies involving computer-aided design and manufacture of castings. The
contribution of students, especially those who worked with the author in casting related
projects, is acknowledged with pleasure. A significant amount of valuable and practical
information came from the industry participants of our continuing education programmes.

The book would not have evolved without the influence and inspiration of three gurus:
Prof. M.N. Srinivasan at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India; Prof. Robert
(Bob) Creese at the West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA; and Prof. John
Campbell at the University of Birmingham, UK.

I sincerely hope that the book is interesting and useful to the readers, and would greatly
appreciate any feedback.

B. Ravi

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Contents

1. Metal Casting - Overview 1

1.1 Applications and Production
1.2 Historical Perspective
1.3 Casting Processes
1.4 Sand Casting
1.5 Investment Casting
1.6 Die Casting
1.7 Ferrous Castings
1.8 Non-Ferrous Castings
1.9 New Casting Development
Exercises

2. Solid Modelling of Castings 25

2.1 Casting Features
2.2 Modelling Techniques
2.3 Graphical User Interface
2.4 Model Representation
2.5 Model Exchange Formats
2.6 Model Verification
Example and Exercises

3. Pattern, Mould and Core Design 38

3.1 Orientation and Parting
3.2 Mould Parting Analysis
3.3 Pattern Design
3.4 Cored Features
3.5 Core Design and Analysis
3.6 Mould Cavity Layout
Examples and Exercises

4. Feeder Design and Analysis 55

4.1 Casting Solidification
4.2 Solidification Time and Rate
4.3 Feeder Location and Shape
4.4 Feeder and Neck Design
4.5 Feedaid Design
4.6 Solidification Analysis
4.7 Vector Element Method
4.8 Optimisation and Validation
Examples and Exercises
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5. Gating Design and Analysis 82
5.1 Mould Filling
5.2 Gating System and Types
5.3 Gating Channel Layout
5.4 Optimal Filling Time
5.5 Gating Element Design
5.6 Mould Filling Analysis
5.7 Numerical Simulation
5.8 Optimisation and Validation
Examples and Exercises

6. Process Planning and Costing 102

6.1 Casting Process Selection
6.2 Process Steps and Parameters
6.3 Tooling Cost Estimation
6.4 Material Cost Estimation
6.5 Conversion Cost Estimation
Examples and Exercises

7. Product Design for Castability 113

7.1 Product Design for Castability
7.2 Process-Friendly Design
7.3 Features-based Castability Checks
7.4 Collaborative Engineering
Examples and Exercises

Appendixes 124
A: Bibliography
B: Web Resources
C: Additional Exercises
D: Useful Data

Index 154