Foseco Non-Ferrous Foundrymans Handbook

Foseco Non-Ferrous
Foundrymans Handbook
Eleventh edition

Revised and edited by

John R. Brown

OXFORD

AUCKLAND

BOSTON

JOHANNESBURG

MELBOURNE

NEW DELHI

Preface

The last edition of the Handbook was published in 1994 and like all the earlier
editions, it aimed to provide a practical reference book for all those involved
in making castings in any of the commonly used alloys by any of the usual
moulding methods. In order to keep the Handbook to a reasonable size, it was
not possible to deal with all the common casting alloys in detail. Since 1994
the technology of casting has continued to develop and has become more
specialised so that it has been decided to publish the 11th edition of the
Handbook in three separate volumes:
Non-ferrous
Iron
Steel

dealing with aluminium, copper and magnesium casting

alloys
dealing with grey, ductile and special purpose cast
irons
dealing with carbon, low alloy and high alloy steels

Certain chapters (with slight modifications) are common to all three

volumes: these chapters include tables and general data, sands and sand
bonding systems, resin bonded sand, sodium silicate bonded sand and
feeding systems. The remaining chapters have been written specifically for
each volume.
The Handbook refers to many Foseco products. Not all of the products are
available in every country and in a few cases, product names may vary.
Users should always contact their local Foseco company to check whether a
particular product or its equivalent is available.
The Foseco logo and all product names appearing in capital letters are
trademarks of the Foseco group of companies, used under licence.
John R. Brown

................................... Preface
...................................................
Acknowledgements
1 Tables and general data .........................................

SI units and their relation to other units ...................................

SI, metric, non-SI and non-metric conversions........................
Conversion table of stress values............................................
Areas and volumes of circles, spheres, cylinders etc. .............
The physical properties of metals............................................
The physical properties of metals (Continued) ........................
Densities of casting alloys .......................................................
Approximate bulk densities of common materials ...................
Patternmakers contraction allowances ...................................
Volume shrinkage of principal casting alloys ...........................
Comparison of sieve sizes.......................................................
Calculation of average grain size ............................................
Calculation of AFS grain fineness number ..............................
Recommended standard colours for patterns .........................
Dust control in foundries..........................................................
Buoyancy forces on cores .......................................................
Core print support....................................................................
Opening forces on moulds.......................................................
Dimensional tolerances and consistency achieved in
castings ...................................................................................

1
2
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
13
14
15
16
17
18
18
19
19
21

......................................
2 Aluminium casting alloys

.....................................................
Introduction
Casting alloys ..........................................................................
Casting processes ...................................................................
The effect of alloying elements................................................
Heat treatment of aluminium alloys .........................................

25
39
39
42

.......................................
3 Melting aluminium alloys

.....................................................
Introduction
Raw materials..........................................................................
Melting furnaces ......................................................................
Corundum growth ....................................................................
Choice of melting unit ..............................................................

47
47
54
55

.....................................4 Fluxes
Application
..................................
of COVERAL powder fluxes
Granular COVERAL fluxes ......................................................

61

5 INSURAL refractory for ladles and metal

......................................
transport
Ladle liners ..............................................................................

65

6 Treatment of aluminium
.....................
alloy melts
Hydrogen gas
...............................
pick-up in aluminium melts
Degassing aluminium alloys ....................................................
Grain refinement of aluminium alloys ......................................
Modification of aluminium alloys..............................................
Sodium modification ................................................................
Strontium modification .............................................................
Permanent modification ...........................................................
Sand, gravity die and low pressure diecasting ........................
Medium silicon alloys, 4 7% Si ................................................
Eutectic silicon alloys, 12% Si .................................................
Treatment of hypereutectic Al Si alloys (over 16% Si) ...........
Melting and treatment of aluminium magnesium alloys (
4 10% Mg) ..............................................................................
Special requirements for gravity diecasting .............................
Treatment of alloys for pressure diecasting.............................

7 Running, gating and feeding aluminium

castings ......................................................................
Gating without filters ................................................................
Gating with filters .....................................................................
Feeding mechanisms in Al alloy and other non- ferrous
castings ...................................................................................
Simulation modelling ...............................................................

72
77
79
81
82
83
83
84
84
85
86
87
87

75
90
93
94
98

8 Filtration of aluminium
..................
alloy castings
SIVEX FC filters.......................................................................
Use of filters in conventional running systems ........................
Direct pouring of aluminium alloy castings ..............................
KALPUR combined sleeve and SIVEX FC filter for
aluminium castings ..................................................................
Direct pouring into metal dies ..................................................

100
101
104
105
107

9 Pressure diecasting of aluminium

............. alloys

...................................................Die design
Process control........................................................................
Modification of the diecasting process.....................................
Applications of diecastings ......................................................
The diecasting foundry ............................................................
Die coating...............................................................................

111
113
114
114
116

10 Low pressure and gravity

.................
diecasting
..........................................................
Low pressure diecasting
Gravity diecasting ....................................................................
Die coatings for gravity and low pressure diecasting ..............

124
127

.......................................
11 Sand casting processes
Green sand..............................................................................
Moulding machines..................................................................
Core assembly sand processes ..............................................
The Lost Foam process ...........................................................

136
137
140
144

12 Sands and sand

......................
bonding systems
Properties
.................................
of silica sand for foundry use
Typical silica foundry sand properties .....................................
Safe handling of silica sand .....................................................
Segregation of sand ................................................................
Measurement of sand properties .............................................
Thermal characteristics of silica sand......................................
Zircon, ZrSiO4 .........................................................................
Chromite, FeCr2O4 .................................................................
Olivine, Mg2SiO4.....................................................................
Green sand additives...............................................................
The green sand system ...........................................................
Green sand properties .............................................................
Control of green sand systems................................................
Sand testing.............................................................................
Control graphs .........................................................................
Parting agents .........................................................................
Special moulding materials, LUTRON .....................................

...............................................
13 Resin bonded sand

151
152
153
153
153
154
156
156
157
160
163
164
165
165
166
166

.........................................................
Chemically bonded sand
Self-hardening process (also known as self-set, no- bake
..........................................................
or cold- setting process)
Testing chemically bonded, self-hardening sands...................
Mixers ......................................................................................
Sand quality .............................................................................
Pattern equipment ...................................................................
Curing temperature..................................................................
Design of moulds using self-hardening sand...........................
Foundry layout .........................................................................
Sand reclamation.....................................................................
Typical usage of sand reclamation ..........................................
Furanes ...................................................................................
Phenolic-isocyanates (phenolic-urethanes).............................
Alkaline phenolic resin, ester hardened...................................
Heat triggered processes ........................................................
Gas triggered systems.............................................................
The shell or Croning process...................................................
Hot-box process ......................................................................
Warm-box process ..................................................................
Oil sand ...................................................................................
Phenolic-urethane-amine gassed (cold-box) process .............
ECOLOTEC process (alkaline phenolic resin gassed with
CO2) ........................................................................................
The SO2 process.....................................................................
SO2- cured epoxy resin ...........................................................
Ester-cured alkaline phenolic system ......................................
Review of resin core-making processes..................................

169
171
172
172
173
173
173
175
178
180
182
183
185
186
187
189
190
191
193
195
196
198
198
199

14 Sodium
..............................
silicate bonded sand

...........................................................
Sodium silicate
CO2 silicate process ( basic process) .....................................
Gassing CO2 cores and moulds..............................................
Improvements to the CO2 silicate process..............................
The CARSIL range of silicate binders .....................................
SOLOSIL .................................................................................
Self-setting sodium silicate processes.....................................
Ester silicate process...............................................................
Adhesives and sealants...........................................................
CORSEAL sealants .................................................................

205
207
208
209
209
210
210
215
215

TAK sealant .............................................................................

215

..............................................
15 Magnesium casting

.........................................................
Casting alloys
The melting, treatment and casting of magnesium alloys .......

218

16 Copper and copper

......................
alloy castings
The main copper alloys
........................
and their applications
Specifications for copper-based alloys ....................................
Colour code for ingots .............................................................
Melting copper and copper-based alloys .................................
Melting and treatment of high conductivity copper ..................
Copper-silver ...........................................................................
Copper cadmium ....................................................................
Copper chromium ...................................................................
Commercial copper .................................................................
Melting and treatment of brasses, copper zinc alloys.............
Melting bronzes and gunmetals...............................................
Melting aluminium bronze........................................................
Melting manganese bronze .....................................................
Melting high lead bronze .........................................................
Melting copper nickel alloys....................................................
Filtration of copper-based alloys..............................................

226
227
232
238
242
243
243
243
244
248
250
250
250
251
251

...................................................
17 Feeding systems

...........................................................
Natural feeders
Aided feeders ..........................................................................
Feeding systems .....................................................................
The calculation of feeder dimensions ......................................
Steel, malleable iron, white irons, light alloys and copperbased alloy castings ................................................................
Grey and ductile irons..............................................................
Introduction..............................................................................
Range of feeder products ........................................................
Breaker cores ..........................................................................
The application of feeder sleeves............................................
Williams Cores.........................................................................
FERRUX anti-piping compounds for iron and steel
castings ...................................................................................
Metal-producing top surface covers ........................................
FEEDOL anti-piping compounds for all non-ferrous alloys......

253
254
257
262
266
268
269
279
280
283
284
285
286

................................

Aids ot the calculation of FEEDER requirements ....................

Nomograms .............................................................................
FEEDERCALC ........................................................................
Calculating feeder sizes for aluminium alloy castings .............

Index

286
287
287
288

Acknowledgements

The following Organisations have generously permitted the use of their

material in the Handbook:
The American Foundrymens Society, Inc., 505 State Street, Des Plaines,
Illinois 60016-8399, USA.
The Association of Light Alloy Founders (ALARS), Broadway House,
Calthorpe Road, Five Ways, Birmingham, B15 1TN.
BSI, Extracts from British Standards are reproduced with the permission of
British Standards Institution. Complete copies can be obtained by post
from Customer Services, BSI, 389 Chiswick High Road, London W4
4AL.
Buhler UK Ltd, 19 Station Road, New Barnet, Herts, EN5 1NN.
Butterworth-Heinemann, Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP.
The Castings Development Centre (incorporating BCIRA), Bordesley Hall,
The Holloway, Alvechurch, Birmingham, B48 7QB.
The Castings Development Centre (incorporating Steel Castings Research &
Trade Association), 7 East Bank Road, Sheffield, S2 3PT.
Chem-Trend (UK) Ltd, Bromley Street, Lye, Stourbridge, West Midlands
DY9 8HY.
Copper Development Association, Verulam Industrial Estate, 224, London
Road, St. Albans, Herts, AL1 1AQ.
Foundry International, DMG Business Media Ltd, Queensway House, 2
Queensway, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1QS.
Foundry Management & Technology, 1100 Superior Avenue, Cleveland, OH
44114, USA.
Foundry & Technical Liaison Ltd, 6-11 Riley Street, Willenhall, West
Midlands, WV13 1RH.
The Institute of British Foundrymen, Bordesley Hall, The Holloway,
Alvechurch, Birmingham,
B48 7QA.
International Magnesium Association, 1303 Vincent Place, Suite One,
McLean, Virginia 22101, USA.
OEA (Organisation of European Aluminium Refiners and Remelters,
Broadway House, Calthorpe Road, Five Ways, Birmingham, B15 1TN.
Ramsell Furnaces Ltd, Wassage Way, Hampton Lovett Industrial Estate,
Droitwich, Worcestershire, WR9 0NX.
Striko UK Ltd, Newcastle Street, Stone, Staffordshire, ST15 8JT.
The author gratefully acknowledges the help received from many individuals, in particular from colleagues at Foseco.

Acknowledgements

xiii

All statements, information and data contained herein are published as

a guide and although believed to be accurate and reliable (having
regard to the manufacturers practical experience) neither the manufacturer, licensor, seller nor publisher represents or warrants, expressly
or implied:
1 Their accuracy/reliability
2 The use of the product(s) will not infringe third party rights
3 No further safety measures are required to meet local
legislation.
The seller is not authorised to make representations nor contract on
behalf of the manufacturer/licensor. All sales by the manufacturer/
seller are based on their respective conditions of sale available on
request.