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147 Waves and Lakes

Chapter Nineteen
WAVES AND LAKES
147
A. DESCRIPTION AND RECOMMENDED SOLUTIONS
Waves and lakes are a problem in decorative finishes. They usually occur
in zinc castings but can also occur in aluminum castings. Waves and lakes
are the two most common names of several types of defects that generally
have similar causes. Fig. 19.1 shows some typical waves and lakes.
The cause is usually a metal flow problem, similar to those defects
discussed earlier in surface defects, only much more sensitive to small
metal flow issues.
Generally, waves are caused by an initial metal flow that has been
cooled extremely quickly by the die, after which another metal flow ar-
rives and covers the first flow. The second flow freezes at a much slower
rate than the first flow. The two flows do not mix but there is enough
remelting to cause the second flow to attach to the first flow. Sometimes
there is some gas porosity trapped between the two metal flows.
Fig. 19.1. Typical wave or lake appearance after polishing, the defect was not apparent in
the as cast condition.
148 NADCA DIE CASTING DEFECTS
Fig. 19.2. Microstructure of a cross section at the arrow in Fig. 19.1. This shows the
different structure that represents the different cooling rates for the two metal flows, and
shows that the initial squirt solidified very quickly.
Fig. 19.2 shows the different microstructures in a zinc casting, and Fig.
19.3 shows the same thing in an aluminum casting that was sanded and had
to have a good visual appearance. In both of these situations, the defect was
not apparent as cast, and was not clearly visible until polished or sanded.
The different freezing rates cause a different microstructure, and hence
a slightly different appearance. This is not important for most functional
castings, where this may be a common occurrence, but it is noticeable in
decorative castings, and needs attention.
To correct the problem, metal flow questions need to be addressed.
The biggest issue is to determine where the initial flow originated and to
eliminate it. This flow can be thought of as a squirt, or a splash, into the
cavity ahead of the main metal flow. This may happen only a few millisec-
onds ahead of the main metal flow, but that is enough to freeze a thin
splash of metal.
It will be difficult to judge whether an action is successful from just a
few castings. It is not usually possible to see the defect easily on raw
castings, so operators may have to accept some settings without being able
to verify from the casting appearance at the machine. It often will take
some time to find a good solution.
The following are suggested actions:
149 Waves and Lakes
Fig. 19.3. The microstructure of two metal flows on an aluminum casting. The different
structure cause enough appearance difference that the casting was not acceptable after
sanding. The first flow was from starting the fast shot late to avoid flash, and the correction
was starting the plunger at the correct calculated time. 200x
(Courtesy The Ohio State University)
1. Make sure the plunger is accelerated before the metal arrives at the
gate. Some machines are very slow in accelerating, and will not be at
atomized flow speed before the metal is at the gate, consequently, the
first metal flow is more of a splatter than a spray. (Note: Operators
often delay the onset of fast shot a little to reduce the flashing; if this is
the case, the flashing should be addressed another way and the fast
shot started early to correct this defect problem)
2. If a slow shot is used (especially in cold chamber machines) be sure
the fast shot is accelerated early enough so the metal is accelerated
before it hits the gate.
3. A poor gate and runner design will cause a leading squirt to hit the gate
before the rest of the metal. This is especially true with fan gates, and
much less a problem with tangential gates (if they have proper shock
absorbers). Square runner turns instead of smooth round turns will
add considerably to the problem.
150 NADCA DIE CASTING DEFECTS
4. Multi-cavity runners with a long tree shape will cause unbalanced
flow, allowing flow to start in some cavities several milliseconds be-
fore it starts in others. This initial flow will tend to be more of a splat-
ter instead of a full flow, and will be accentuated with older and slower
accelerating machines.
5. Poor flow pattern design along with slow acceleration and poor gate
location can lead to splatters as the metal first starts to flow.
6. An area of the die that is colder than the rest could accentuate the
problem. Heating the die in the area of the problem will help (this may
mean reducing the spray).
7. Cold metal in the initial flow from a cold nozzle (especially during
startup) can also accentuate the problem.
8. Good metal temperature control is essential to help control this problem.

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