Manufacturing Processes-I (TA 201A)

6 credit course
Course Instructor

K. Balani
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
6194 (office); kbalani@iitk.ac.in

http://lattice.mme.iitk.ac.in/~kbalani/TA201/TA201.htm
1
2
Casting
3
http:/ / grassroutesjourneys.blogspot.com/ 2011/ 05/ dhokra-
tribal-art-of-odisha.html
http:/ / elitehandicraft.co
m/ About_us.htm
Manifold
Turbine Blade
Dhokra art form
Manifold
Turbine blade
www.jepsculpture.com/ bronze.shtml
Complex, 3-D shapes

Near net shape
Low scrap
Relatively quick process
Intricate shapes
Large hollow shapes
No limit to size
Reasonable to good surface finish
Metals processed by casting

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

Dimensions
sand casting - as large as you like
small - 1 mm or so

Tolerances
0.005 in to 0.1 in

Surface finish
die casting 8-16 micro-inches (1-3 m)
sand casting - 500 micro-inches (10-25 m)
Sand Casting Steps
Sand making
(Sand Plant)
Mold making
Pattern making
(Pattern shop)
Core making
(core shop)
Core assembling on mold
Pouring
Shake out
raw casting out
Sand blasting and
Machining (finishing)
Metal making
(Melting shop)
Transfer of metals
To Pouring station
Pouring ladle
Sent to supplier
Design section
Quality control
9
Casting fundamentals
Interestingly, every steps boils down to solidification..
and everything is intimately related
Sound casting
Steps for sand casting

1. Pattern making
2. Sand making
3. Mold making
4. Core making
5. Metal making
6. Pouring
7. Solidification
8. Machining
9. Quality investigation
Taper in patterns
for ease of removal
from the sand mold
Typical metal match-
plate pattern used in
sand casting
11
Sand making
Plastic mixture of sand grains, clay (bentonite), water and
other materials such as graphite powder: molding sand
Sand muller
Cores made of sand aggregates
Possess:
Strength
Permeability
Ability to withstand heat
Collapsibility
Anchored by core points
Chaplets are used to keep the core from moving
Sand molding machines:
Vertical flaskless molding
Sandslinger
Impact molding
Vacuum molding
The sand-casting operation
Furnaces
Blast furnace
Basic Oxygen Furnace
Electric Arc Furnace
Induction Furnace
Sand Casting
16
Pouring
Liquid Solid phase transformation: Solidification
Solid (G
S)

Liquid (G
L
)
T
m

T
G

T
G
Liquid stable Solid stable
T - Undercooling
t
For sufficient
Undercooling
On cooling just below T
m
solid becomes stable
But solidification does not start
E.g. liquid Ni can be undercooled 250 K below T
m

G ve
G +ve
Acknowledgement: Prof A. Subramaniam IITKanpur
Nucleation
The probability of nucleation occurring at point in the parent phase is
same throughout the parent phase
In heterogeneous nucleation there are some preferred sites in the
parent phase where nucleation can occur
Homogenous
Heterogenous
Nucleation
Nucleation Solidification
+
Growth
=
Liquid solid
walls of container, inclusions
Solid solid
inclusions, grain boundaries,
dislocations, stacking faults
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Cooling curve for pure metal
http://practicalmaintenance.net/?p=1085
20
Cooling curve for Alloy
http://practicalmaintenance.net/?p=1176
Microstructure
Microstructure - Dendrites
Pouring Analysis
Heating to a desired temperature
Heat energy requirement
1. The heat to raise the temperature to the melting point.

2. The heat of the fusion to convert it from solid to liquid.

3. The heat to raise the molten metal to the desired temperature for
pouring- Super heat.
H =V{C
s
(T
m
- T
o
) +H
f
+C
l
(T
p
-T
m
)}
=density of metal =gm/cm3
V=volume of metal =cm3
Cs=Specific heat of solid metal (J /gm/0c)
C
l
=Specific heat of liquid metal (J /gm/0c)
H
f
=Heat of fusion on unit mass (J /gm)
Tp=Pouring Temperature (
o
C)
Tm=Melting temperature (
o
C)
To=Starting temperature (
o
C)

Pouring the molten metal
Care:
1. Pouring Temperature
2. Pouring rate
3. Turbulence
Engineering analysis of pouring
Bernoullis Theorem
Sum of the energies (head pressure, kinetics and friction) at any
two points in a flowing liquid are equal.

H=head(cm)
P
1
=pressure on the liquid (N/cm
2
)
=density, gm/cm
3
F =head loss due to friction (cm)
1 and 2 are at two locations
v
1
=velocity at point 1(cm/sec)
g =gravitational acceleration (cm/s
2
)
2 2
1 1 2 2
1 1 2 2
2 2
P v P v
h F h F
g g
+ + + = + + +
Simplified Bernoullis equation:
2 2
1 2
1 2
2 2
v v
h h
g g
+ = +
(Ignoring friction force or drag)
and P=1atm.
h
2
=0 ; v
1
=0
2 2
1 2
1 2
2 2
v v
h h
g g
+ = +
2
1
2
v
h
g
=
Hence,

2
2 v gh =
v
2
=Flow velocity at point (2)

Another important relationship during pouring is the continuity
law:
Volume rate flow =Constant through out the liquid
1 1 2 2
Q v A v A = =
A
1
& A
2
area =cm
2
Hence, Area increases, velocity decreases
Q: Why the sprue is tapered downward to reduce the area?
h1
h2
h
Assuming that the runner from the sprue base to the mold cavity is
horizontal .

Hence ,
h =0 ; v
1
=v
2
vA=same
MFT(mold fillers time)=v/Q =volume of mold/ volume flow rate
V=Volume(cm
3
)
Small problem
A certain mold sprue whose length is 30 cm and the cross
sectional area is 3 cm
2
. The sprue feeds a horizontal runner
leading into a mold cavity whose volume is 1000 cm
3

Determine
a) The velocity of the molten metal at the base of the sprue.
b) Volume rate of flow
c) Time to fill the mold

27
2
2 v gh =
=(2x9.81x0.3)
1/ 2
= 2.43m/ s
=243 cm/ s
1 1 2 2
Q v A v A = =
Velocity
Volume rate flow:
=24.3 x 3 = 729 cm
3
/ s
Time to fill mold cavity of 1000 cm
3
= 1000/ 729 = 1.37 s
Solidification Time

TST(Total solidification time) =C
m
(V/A)
n

V=Volume of the casting (cm
3
)
A=Surface area of the casting (cm
2
)
n=Exponent (2)
C
m
=Mold constant (min/cm
2
)




C
m
depends on
1. Casting operation
2.

Mold material
3.

Thermal properties of
cast metal

4. Pouring temperature


Total solidification time=time required for the casting to solidify after
pouring.
Solidification time:
Empirical relationship (Chvorinovs Rule)
Size of the casting
Shape of the casting

1 2
V V
A A

TST
1
TST
2

Cooling will be slow for a
casting with higher volume to
weight ratio.
Casting Design Thumb rule (Riser size):
TST of Riser > TST of actual casting

Hence, Riser should solidify last. Since Riser provides
liquid metal to cast cavity.
30
In order to avoid shrinkage problem,

Furthest section should solidify first and riser solidifies last.

Directional solidification aspect of freezing and methods by
which it is controlled..(chills are used to incorporate directional
solidification).

Chills internal or external heat sinks that cause rapid freezing
in certain regions of the casting (thin section where V/A ratio is highest)
Direction solidification
Casting Defects : Some defects are common to any and all casting
processes.

Phase Change & Shrinkage
Shrinkage cavity- This defect is a depression in the surface or an internal void in the
casting, caused by solidification shrinkage that restricts the amount of the molten
metal available in the last region to freeze. It often occurs near the top of the casting, in
which case it is referred to as pipe. The problem can often be solved by proper riser
design.
Shrinkage
Due to shrinkage giving rise to
a funnel-like cavity
Solutions
insulate top (glass wool)
heat top (exothermic mixture - thermit)
Pipe Defect
35
Misruns- A misrun is a casting
that has solidified before
completely filling the mold cavity.
Typical causes include (1) fluidity
of the molten metal is in sufficient,
(2) pouring temperature is too low,
(3) pouring is done too slowly, and
or (4) cross section of the mold
cavity is too thin.
Cold shut- occurs when two
portions of the metal flow together
but there is lack of fusion between
them due to premature freezing. Its
causes are similar to those of a
misrun.
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Cold shots- When splattering occurs during
pouring, solid globules of metal are formed and
that become entraped in the casting. Pouring
procedures and gating system designs that avoid
splattering can prevent this defect.
Microporosity- This refers to a network of small voids
distributed through the casting caused by localized
solidification shrinkage of the final molten metal in the
dendrites structure. The defect is usually associated with
alloys.
Hot tearing- this defect also called Hot cracking, occurs when the
casting is restrained from contraction by an unyielding mold during
the final stages of solidification or early stages of cooling after
solidification. The defect is manifested as a separation of metal (hence,
the terms tearing or cracking) at a point of high tensile stress caused
by the metals inability to shrink naturally. In sand casting and other
expendable mold processes, hot tearing is reduced by removing the
part from the mold immediately after freezing.
Sand blow- This defect consist of a balloon shaped gas
cavity caused by release of mold gases during pouring. It
occurs at or below the casting surface near the top of the
casting. Low permeability, poor venting , and high
moisture content of the sand mold are the usual causes.
Some defects are related to the use of sand molds, and therefore
they occur only in sand castings.
Pinhole- A defect similar to sand blow involves the formation of many
small gas cavities at or slightly below the surface of the casting.
Sand wash- A wash is an irregularity in the surface of the casting that
results from erosion of the sand mold during pouring. The contour of
the erosion is imprinted into the surface of the final cast part.
Scab- This is a rough area on the surface of the casting due to encrustations
of sand and metal. It is caused by portions of the mold surface flaking off
during solidification and becoming imbedded in the casting surface.
Penetration- When the fluidity of the liquid metal is high, it may
penetrate into the sand mold or sand core. After freezing, the surface of
the casting consists of a mixture of sand grains and metal. Harder
packing of the sand mold helps to alleviate this condition.
Mold shift- This is manifested as a step in the cast product
at the parting line caused by sidewise displacement of the
cope with respect to the drag.
Core shift- A similar movement can happen with the core, but the
displacement is usually vertical. Core shift and mold shift are caused by
buoyancy of the molten metal
Molds crack- If mold strength is insufficient, a crack may develop,
into which liquid metal can seep to form a fin on the final casting.
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Other Casting Processes
Shell Molding
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Investment casting
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Permanent Mold Casting
42
Die casting
43
Slip casting
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Product design
Geometric simplicity cores to avoid
Corners- no sharp corner and angles hot tearing
Section thickness uniform in order to avoid shrinkage cavities hot spots
Draft
Machining allowance
Surface finish