CASTING AND MOLDING

A quick way of producing the finished parts like....

Engine parts Pipes Jewellery Fire hydrants Etc...

CASTING STEPS
Melt metals Pour / force liquid into hollow cavity (mold) Cool / Solidify Remove Finish

Why Do We Prefer Casting?

Near net shape Low scrap Relatively quick process Large hollow shapes No limit to size Reasonable to good surface finish

Metal Casting Processes

Sand Centrifugal Shell Die Ceramic Investment Permanent mold Plaster mold Evoparative Pattern

Metals processed by casting

Sand casting 60% Investment casting 7% Die casting 9% Permanent mold casting 11% Centrifugal casting 7% Shell mold casting 6%

Sand Casting

Production Steps in Sand-Casting

Figure 11.2 Outline of production steps in a typical sand-casting operation.

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.

Why Sand Casting?

In metal casting work, as with almost every kind of manufacture, high precision means high cost. In a case we are making a small number of objects so we can't really afford to make a sophisticated metal mold (i.e. we can't do die casting). The usual approach in this case is to make disposable molds out of sand or plaster. The kind of disposable mold, and the techniques used to make the mold, are again determined by questions of cost and quality. For a very intricate, precise result, lost wax or lost polystyrene foam casting is used. For less intricate workpieces, or lower precision requirements, direct sand casting can be adequate.

What is Sand Casting?

All casting, not just sand casting, is about pouring or squirting a molten substance into a cavity. All casting methods require two basic things: A cavity which is the shape of the desired final object, and A way to put molten substance into the cavity. In the sand casting process, the cavity is made of sand which is held together by a binder (a substance that holds the sand grains together).

Sand casting is used to produce a wide variety of metal components with complex geometries. These parts can vary greatly in size and weight, ranging from a couple ounces to several tons. Some smaller sand cast parts include components as gears, pulleys, crankshafts, connecting rods, and propellers. Larger applications include housings for large equipment and heavy machine bases. Sand casting is also common in producing automobile components, such as engine blocks, engine manifolds, cylinder heads, and transmission cases.

Die Casting

Die casting is a manufacturing process for producing accurately dimensioned, sharply defined, smooth or textured-surface metal parts.

Die casting hot chamber machine overview

Die casting cold chamber machine overview

Advantages of Die Casting

Cost of castings is relatively low with high volumes. High degree of design complexity and accuracy. Excellent smooth surface finish. Suitable for relatively low melting point metals (1600F/871C) like lead, zinc, aluminum, magnesium and some copper alloys. High production rates.

Disadvantages of Die Casting

Limits on the size of castings - most suitable for small castings up to about 75 lb. Equipment and die costs are high.

Investment Casting
With the advancement in rapid prototyping, investment casting has become the leading technology for producing high-quality castings quickly and inexpensively. Investment casting is also known as the "lost wax" process.

This process uses wax patterns assembled in tree forms on a runner. The completed assembly is coated with a ceramic slurry, allowed to dry and then heated to melt out the wax leaving a ceramic mould into which the molten alloy is poured. Parts made with investment castings often do not require any further machining, because of the close tolerances that can be achieved.

Advantages of Investment Casting

Excellent accuracy and flexibility of design. Useful for casting alloys that are difficult to machine. Exceptionally fine finish. Suitable for large or small quantities of parts. Almost unlimited intricacy. Suitable for most ferrous / non-ferrous metals. No flash to be removed or parting line tolerances.

Disadvantages of Investment Casting

Limitations on size of casting. Higher casting costs make it important to take full advantage of the process to eliminate all machining operations.

Shell Mold Casting

Shell molding is a process for producing simple or complex near net shape castings, maintaining tight tolerances and a high degree of dimensional stability. Shell molding is a method for making high quality castings. These qualities of precision can be obtained in a wider range of alloys and with greater flexibility in design than die-casting and at a lower cost than investment casting.

Process Characteristics Is superior to other sand casting processes in the accurate duplication of intricate shapes and dimensional accuracy Process can be completely mechanized Uses a thin-walled non-reusable shell composed of a sand-resin mixture Requires a heated metal pattern for producing the shell molds

Shell-Molding Process

Figure 11.9 The shell-molding process, also called dump-box technique.

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.

Centrifugal Casting
In centrifugal casting, a permanent mold is rotated 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 grain casting with a very fine-grained outer diameter, which is resistant to atmospheric corrosion, a typical situation with pipes. The inside diameter has more impurities and inclusions, which can be machined away.

Only cylindrical shapes can be produced with this process.

Advantages of Centrifugal Casting

Rapid production rate. Suitable for Ferrous / Non-ferrous parts. Good soundness and cleanliness of castings. Ability to produce extremely large cylindrical parts.

Permanent Molding Process

In Permanent Molding Process, instead of using sand as the mold material, a metal is used as a mold. Permanent mold casting is typically used for high-volume production of small, simple metal parts with uniform wall thickness. Non-ferrous metals are typically used in this process, such as aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, and copper alloys. However, irons and steels can also be cast using graphite molds. Common permanent mold parts include gears and gear housings, pipe fittings, and other automotive and aircraft components such as pistons, impellers, and wheels.

 Superior mechanical properties. Produces dense, uniform castings with high dimensional accuracy. Excellent surface finish and grain structure. The process lends itself very well to the use of expendable cores and makes possible the production of parts that are not suitable for the pressure die casting process. Repeated use of molds. Rapid production rate with low scrap loss.

Advantages of Permanent Mold Casting

Disadvantages of Permanent Mold Casting

Higher cost of tooling requires a higher volume of castings. The process is generally limited to the production of somewhat small castings of simple exterior design, although complex castings such as aluminum engine blocks and heads are now commonplace.

Plaster Mold Casting

In plaster mold casting, a plaster, usually gypsum or calcium sulfate, is mixed with talc, sand, asbestos, and sodium silicate and water to form a slurry. This slurry is sprayed on the polished surfaces of the pattern halves (usually brass). The slurry sets in less than 15 minutes to form the mold. The mold halves are extracted carefully from the pattern, and then dried in an oven. The mold halves are carefully assembled, along with the cores. The molten metal is poured in the molds. After the metals cools down, the plaster is broken and the cores washed out.

Parts cast are usually small to medium size, Low temperature melting materials such as aluminum, copper, magnesium and zinc can be cast using this process. This process is used to make quick prototype parts as well as limited production parts.

Process Characteristics

Utilizes gravity to feed molten metal into a nonreusable plaster mold

Is limited to nonferrous metals Produces smooth surface finishes and fine details compared to sand casting Produces minimal scrap material Can produce thin-walled sections and complex shapes

Ceramic Mold Casting

Similar to plaster mold casting, the pattern used in ceramic mold casting is made of plaster, plastic, wood, metal or rubber. A slurry of ceramic is poured over the pattern. It hardens rapidly to the consistency of rubber. This can be peeled of the pattern, reassembled as a mold. The volatiles are removed using a flame torch or in a low temperature oven. It is then baked in a furnace at about 1000 C (1832 F) yielding a ceramic mold, capable of high temperature pours. Additionally, the pour can take place while the mold is until hot.

This process is expensive, but can eliminate secondary machining operations. Typical parts made from this process include impellers made from stainless steel, bronze, complex cutting tools, plastic mold tooling.

Sequence of Operations in Making a Ceramic Mold

Figure 11.10 Sequence of operations in making a ceramic mold. Source: Metals Handbook, Vol. 5, 8th ed.

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.

Evoporative Pattern Casting

Evaporative-pattern casting is a type of casting process that uses a pattern made from a material that will evoporate when the molten metal is poured into the molding cavity. The two major evaporative-pattern casting processes are: Lost Foam Casting Full Mold Casting

Lost Foam Casting

The Lost Foam casting process is a cavityless casting method, using a polystyrene foam pattern embedded in traditional green sand. The polystyrene foam pattern left in the sand is decomposed by the poured molten metal. The metal replaces the foam pattern, exactly duplicating all of the features of the original pattern. Like other investment casting methods, this requires that a pattern be produced for every casting poured because it is evaporated (lost) in the process.

Expandable-Pattern Casting Process

Figure 11.11 Schematic illustration of the expandable-pattern casting process, also known as lost-foam or evaporative casting.
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.

Advantages of Lost Foam Casting

No cores are required. Reduction in capital investment and operating costs. Closer tolerances and walls as thin as 0.120 in. No binders or other additives are required for the sand, which is reusable. Flasks for containing the mold assembly are inexpensive, and shakeout of the castings in unbonded sand is simplified and do not require the heavy shakeout machinery required for other sand casting methods. Need for skilled labor is greatly reduced. Casting cleaning is minimized since there are no parting lines or core fins

Disadvantages of Lost Foam Casting

The pattern coating process is timeconsuming, and pattern handling requires great care. Good process control is required as a scrapped casting means replacement not only of the mold but the pattern as well.

Full Mold Casting

Full-mold casting is a technique similar to investment casting, but instead of wax as the expendable material, polystyrene foam is used as the pattern. The foam pattern is coated with a refractory material. The pattern is encased in a one-piece sand mold. As the metal is poured, the foam vaporizes, and the metal takes its place. This can make complex shaped castings without any draft or flash. However, the pattern cost can be high due to the expendable nature of the pattern.

General Design Rules for Casting

Design the part so that the shape is cast easily. Select a casting process and material suitable for the part, size, mechanical properties, etc. Locate the parting line of the mold in the part. Locate and design the gates to allow uniform feeding of the mold cavity with molten metal. Select an appropriate runner geometry for the system. Locate mold features such as sprue, screens and risers, as appropriate. Make sure proper controls and good practices are in place.

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.

Examples of Good and Poor Designs

Figure 12.3 Examples of undesirable (poor) and desirable (good) casting designs. Source: Courtesy of American Die Casting Institute.
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.

Cost Characteristics of Casting

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.