Metal Casting

Lesson Outcomes
By the end of this lessons, students should be able to
explain:
1. The generic metal casting process
2. The sand casting process and example products
3. The investment casting process and example
products
4. The die casting process and example products

The metal casting process

The casting process generally involves:
1. Pouring molten metal into a mold
patterned after the part to be manufactured
2. Allowing the metal to cool and solidify
3. Removing the solid part from the mold

Why Casting?
Casting process are most often selected over other
manufacturing method because:
1. Casting can produce complex shape
2. Can incorporate internal cavities
3. Can produce large parts in one piece
4. Can utilize material difficult or uneconomic to
process by other means

Types of molds
Casting processes can be classified by the type of mold
used:
Expendable molds
After the casting has solidified, mold is broken to remove the
casting
Typically made of sand, plaster, ceramics

Permanent molds
Used repeatedly (not broken after solidification)
Made of metals

Composite molds
Consists of permanent and expendable portions
Made of two or more different materials (eg: sand, graphite,
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metal)

Sand Casting
Most common type of casting
The mold is made of sand
There are two types of sand used:
Naturally bonding
Synthetic

Example products: machine

bases, propellers, impellers, etc.

Sand casting: A typical sand mold

Schematic illustration of a sand mold, showing various features.

Sand Casting: Sand mold features

1.

Flask

2.

Supports the mold

Pouring basin

3.

A hole into which the molten metal is poured

Sprue

4.

A vertical channel that allow the metal to flow downward

Runner System

5.

Channels that allow metal to flow from the sprue to mold cavity

Risers

6.

Store and supply additional molten metal to the casting as it

shrinks during solidification

Cores

7.

Inserts made from sand. Placed in mold to form hollow regions.

Vents

Allow gasses and exhaust air to exit

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Sand casting: Mold Patterns

Used to shape the sand mixture into the shape of the casting
Used repeatedly to make sand molds
Can be made of wood, plastic or metal
Coated with parting agent to ease removal of mold from pattern

A typical metal match-plate

pattern used in sand casting.

Taper on patterns for ease of removal

from the sand mold.
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Sand casting: Steps

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

Investment casting

Example products: components for office

equipment, gears, cams, valves, etc.

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Investment Casting: Steps

1.

Mold to make pattern is

normally made of metal
2.
Pattern is then made by
Schematic
injecting wax or plastic into
illustration
mold of
3.investment
A series of patterns can be
casting,assembled
(lost- into a pattern tree
4.wax process).
The pattern tree is then
dipped
into a slurry (eg: fine
Castings
by this
silica
and
method can be binders)
5.made with
Stucco
coating is applied
very
repeatedly to increase
fine detail
and forming a onethickness,
from apiece
variety
of
mold
Source:
6.metals.The
one-piece mold is dried
Steel Founders'
and heated to melt out the
Societywax
of (original pattern).
7.America.
The one-piece mold is
heated further to remove
water and burn off any
remaining wax.
8.
Molten metal is poured into
the one-piece mold. After
solidification, the one-piece
mold is broken up and the
casting is removed.
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Investment Casting: Steps

1. Mold is normally made of metal
2. Pattern is then made by injecting wax or plastic
into mold
3. A series of patterns can be assembled into a
pattern tree
4. The pattern tree is then dipped into a slurry (eg:
fine silica and binders)
5. Stucco coating is applied repeatedly to increase
thickness, forming a one-piece mold
6. The one-piece mold is dried and heated to melt
out the wax (original pattern).
7. The one-piece mold is heated further to remove
water and burn off any remaining wax.
8. Molten metal is poured into the one-piece mold.
After solidification, the one-piece mold is
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broken up and the casting is removed.

Sand Casting & Investment Casting - video

Permanent-Mold Casting

In permanent-mold casting, (also called hard-mold

casting), two halves of a mold are made from materials
with high resistance to erosion and thermal fatigue, such
as cast iron, steel, bronze, graphite, or refractory metal
alloys.
The mold cavity and gating system are machined into the
mold and, thus, become an integral part of it.
To produce castings with internal cavities, cores made of
metal or sand aggregate are placed in the mold prior to
casting.

Permanent-Mold Casting

In order to increase the life of permanent molds, the surfaces of the

mold cavity usually are coated with a refractory slurry (such as
sodium silicate and clay) or sprayed with graphite every few
castings.
The molds are clamped together by mechanical means and heated
to about 150 to 200C to facilitate metal flow and reduce thermal
damage to the dies due to high-temperature gradients.

Permanent-Mold Casting

Although the permanent-mold casting operation can be performed

manually, it can be automated for large production runs.
This process is used mostly for aluminum, magnesium, copper
alloys, and gray iron because of their generally lower melting
points, although steels also can be cast using graphite or heatresistant metal molds.

Permanent-Mold Casting

Various types:

Die Casting
Vacuum Casting
Centrifugal Casting
Squeeze Casting
Composite Mold Casting

Die Casting
The two halves of a mold are made from materials that
resist erosion and thermal fatigue such as cast iron, steel
and graphite.
The die casting process:
A piston traps a volume of molten metal
Piston then forces molten metal into the die cavity through a
nozzle at pressures ranging from 0.7 to 700 MPa.
Metal is held under pressure (up to 35 MPa) until it solidifies.
The part is then ejected by an ejector mechanism
The die is normally cooled using circulating water or oil

Example products:
Engine blocks, hand tools, motor housings, engine blocks,
business-machine and appliance components, hand tools, and toys.
Example products:

There are two basic types of die-casting machines:

hot-chamber and cold-chamber.

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Examples
(a)

(b)

(a) The Polaroid PDC-2000 digital camera with a AZ91D die-cast,

high purity magnesium case. (b) Two-piece Polaroid camera case
made by the hot-chamber die casting process. Source: Courtesy of
Polaroid Corporation and Chicago White Metal Casting, Inc.
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Hot-chamber die-casting

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Heated chamber

Cold-chamber die casting

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Die Casting Cavities

Various types of cavities in a die-casting die. Source: Courtesy of American Die

Casting Institute.

Die-casting dies may be single cavity, multiple cavity (with

several identical cavities), combination cavity (with several
different cavities), or unit dies (simple small dies that can
be combined in two or more units in a master holding die).
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Die Casting
Process capabilities
Die casting has the capability for rapid production of
strong, high-quality parts with complex shapes, especially
with aluminum, brass, magnesium, and zinc.
It also produces good dimensional accuracy and surface
details, so that parts require little or no subsequent
machining or finishing operations (net-shape forming).

Die Casting

Die Casting - video

Vacuum Casting

Centrifugal Casting

Squeeze casting

Summary
Metal casting involves pouring molten metal into a
mold, allowing the metal to solidify and removing
the part from the mold
Casting processes can be classified as permanent
mold and expendable mold processes
Each process is suitable for manufacturing a
particular class of products.

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