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Casting.

Casting.

 Casting is one of the oldest methods


used for net-shape and near-net shape
manufacturing (4000 BC – to make
ornaments, copper arrowheads and
other weapons).
 Casting – Introduction of molten metal
into a mold cavity.
 Useful for making intricate shapes in a
single piece, including shapes with
internal cavities.
 Very small – very large parts and
hollow parts can be made by casting.

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Casting.

 Typical cast products:

 Automotive engine blocks


 Cylinder heads
 Transmission housing
 Turbine disks
 Rail-wheels
 Ornamental artifacts.

Casting.

 Casting methods distinguished based on:

 Mold material (sand-cast, metal-mold, investment


casting)

 Pouring method (gravity fed, vacuum cast, low


pressure, high pressure)

 Good casting should avoid the formation of defects


(shrinkage voids, gas porosity, inclusions, blow-holes
etc).

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Variables to be considered during casting
process.
 Important factors:
 Solidification of metal from its molten state
(usually accompanied by shrinkage)
 Flow of molten metal into the mold cavity.
 Heat Transfer during solidification and cooling of
metal in the mold.
 Mold material and its influence on casting
process.

Casting Terminology
Two-part sand-mold process
Starts with pattern (a model of
final cast shape required).
Molding material (sand)
packed around pattern and
pattern removed.
Flask is rigid frame that holds
the molding aggregate.
Cope – Top half of pattern
Drag – Bottom half of pattern.
Core – Metal/Sand feature
inserted to produce internal
features of casting.

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Casting terminology.
Core print – Region added to pattern to locate and
support the core within the mold.
Mold material and core then combine to produce the
mold cavity, a shaped hole into which the molten
material is poured and solidified to produce required
casting.
Riser is an extra void created in the mold that would
also fill with molten metal – serves as reservoir to
compensate for shrinkage during solidification.
Riser to be designed to contain the last metal for
solidification so that shrinkage voids and impurities
get concentrated in riser.
Gating system – network connected to deliver
molten metal into mold cavity.

Casting terminology.
Pouring cup – where initial molten metal is fed and
controls rest of metal flow into mold.
Sprue – vertical gating system connecting pouring cup to
the gating system.
Vents are provided along to release trapped gases.
Parting line or parting surface is the interface that
separates the cope and drag halves of a mold.
Draft – taper on a pattern or casting that permits to be
withdrawn from mold.
Mold or die used to make casting cores is known as
core-box.
Casting describes the entire process and the product
when molten metal is poured and solidified in a mold.

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Basic Requirements of Casting Process.

 Mold Cavity:
 Mold cavity of desired shape + allowance for shrinkage of
solidifying metal.
 Select mold material to avoid contamination with molten
metal.
 New molds to be prepared with same degree of
workmanship in case of single-use molds.
 Make molds of suitable material for multiple-use molds
(Metal / graphite).
 Multi-use molds are used for quantity production.

Basic requirements of Casting Process.

 Melting process:
 Melting process must be capable of providing the molten
material at appropriate pouring temperature, with desired
quantity, acceptable quality and at reasonable cost of melting.
 Furnaces tend to have some residue after pouring (as all metal
does not flow in short time of casting).
 Slag / impurities from molten metal need to be discarded during
melting. So input charge should account for such discarded
metal.
 Charge (input material for melting)-to-melt ratio is dependent on
heating process as well as crucible quality. Graphite crucible for
Al-alloys melting does not require additional quantities of charge,
whereas electric-arc furnace requires some additional charge
metal.

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Basic requirements of casting process.

 Pouring technique:
 Pouring technique should permit escape of trapped
gases/air present in cavity prior to pouring as well as
during pouring of molten metal. This ensures even filling of
molten metal in all areas and a defect-free casting.
 Solidification Process:
 To be properly designed and controlled to ensure
solidification and solidification shrinkage to occur without
porosity / voids.
 Molds should be designed in a way that minimizes
restraint to shrinkage during cooling. High restraint would
make the casting to crack.

Basic Requirements of Casting Process.

 Casting removal from mold:


 Sand-casting / singe-use mold casting do not pose much
problems.
 In case of multiple use molds, care must be taken during design
of molds to ensure easy removal of parts after casting. Parting
surface design is also important while considering multiple-use
molds.
 Removal of risers/gating from casting:
 After casting is removed from mold, cleaning, finishing and
inspection activities may be required. All extraneous material
attached to the casting must be easily removable without
damage to required casting.
 Gating / riser design should allow for easy removal while not
compromising on the basic functionality (viz., reservoir to take
care of shrinkage feeding and last point in casting to solidify).

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Solidification of Metals.

 Casting is a solidification process – molten metal


poured into a mold is allowed to freeze into desired
shape.
 Many structural features that ultimately control
product properties are set during solidification.
 Casting defects – gas porosity – shrinkage – are
due to solidification phenomenon and can be
reduced / eliminated by controlling solidification
processing.
 Solidification – Two phases:
 Nucleation
 Growth

Solidification of Pure Metals.

 Pure metals have a well-


defined melting (or) freezing
point and solidification takes
place at a constant
temperature.
 At freezing point, the latent heat
of fusion is released while the
temperature remains constant.
 At the end of this isothermal
phase change, solidification is
complete and the solid cools to
room temperature.

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Solidification of pure metal.

 Cooling-induced contraction is due to transition from:


 super-heated state to solidification temperature
 Cooling as solid from solidification temperature to room temperature.
 If there is a phase change from liquid state to solid state, there can
be a change in density.

Solidification of alloys.

 Alloys solidify over a range


of temperature.
 Solidification begins when
the temperature drops
below the liquidus and is
completed when the
temperature reaches
solidus. Phase diagram and companion cooling
 Between the liquidus and curve for an ally with a freezing range.
solidus temperature, the Slope changes indicate onset and
alloy is in a mushy or termination of solidification.
pasty state. Its
composition and state are
described by the alloy
phase diagram.

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Solidification of alloys.

Solidification.

 Solidification stages: Nucleation, Growth.


 Nucleation:
 Occurs when a stable particle of solid forms from
within the molten liquid.
 Internal energy is reduced as the solid phase is
more stable than liquid at lower temperatures.
 A solid-metal interface is created and formation of
new surfaces require more energy. This is extracted If ‘undercooling’ is
from the molten metal. required to induce
 As a consequence, nucleation occurs at a initial nucleation,
temperature slightly below the equilibrium melting subsequent
point.
solidification may
 This temperature difference (between melting point release heat to cause an
and nucleation temperature) is termed as
increase in temperature
‘undercooling’.
to melting point –
termed ‘recalescence’.

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Solidification, Inoculation.
 In reality, nucleation starts at existing surface such as mold or
container walls, or solid impurity particles contained within the
molten metal.
 Each nucleation event then produces a crystal or grain in the
final casting.
 More the nucleation sites, the finer the grain – thus improving
the mechanical properties of castings.
 Intentional introduction of impurities in the molten metal
before pouring into the mold improves the nucleation density.
 This is termed as ‘inoculation’ or ‘grain refinement’ in casting.
 Ferro-nickel / ferro-magnesium are added as inoculants while
casting ductile iron.

Grain growth.
 Second step in solidification process that occurs as
heat of fusion is removed from liquid metal.
 Direction, rate and type of grain growth can be
controlled by the way heat is removed.
 Directional solidification – Solidification interface
sweeps continuously through the material to assure
sound casting.
 Molten metal flows into the mold continuously to
compensate for shrinkage.
 Faster rates of cooling results in finer grain size and as
a consequence superior mechanical properties.

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Solidification Time

 Quantity of heat to be removed from a casting to cause it to


solidify is dependent upon amount of superheating and
volume of metal in casting.
 Ability to remove heat from casting is related to exposed
surface area and environment surrounding molten metal
(mold material and mold environment).
 Chvorinov’s rule – total solidification time (ts) =
 ts = B(V/A)n where n = 1.5 to 2.0
 V – volume of casting, A – Surface area, B – mold constant.
 B – function of density of metal, heat capacity and heat of fusion
of cast metal, mold material characteristics (density, thermal
conductivity, heat capacity), mold thickness and amount of
superheat.

Solidification time.

 Test specimens can be cast to determine B for a given mold


material, casting material and condition of casting.
 This value can be used to compute the solidification time for
other castings made under same conditions.
 As the riser and casting lie within the same mold and fill the
same metal under same conditions, Chvorinov’s rule can be
used to compare the solidification time for each casting.
 Metal molds provide better castings than sand-mold castings.
Sand mold with high moisture content extracts heat faster
than ones with low moisture.

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Cast structure.

 Type cast structure developed during solidification of


metals and alloys – dependent on:
 Composition of alloy
 Rate of heat transfer
 Flow of liquid metal during casting.
 Three distinct regions or zones are identified:
 Chill zone – a narrow band of randomly oriented crystals
that forms on the surface of casting.
 Columnar zone – Grains grow in the direction opposite to
the direction of heat transfer from the mold – with a
favorable orientation – hence called columnar zone.
 Equi-axed zone – Formation of new crystals in the inside of
casting to form uniform grains. – Low pouring temperature,
alloy additions, inoculants can be used to promote this zone
to provide good isotropic properties.

Cast Structure.
Square mold cast structure
of
(a) – Pure metals.
(b) - Solid-solution alloys
(c) - Structure obtained by
heterogenous nucleation
of grains, using
inoculants or nucleating
agents.

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Casting.

 Handling molten metal:


 Reaction between molten metal and its
surroundings can lead to defects in castings.
 Oxygen and molten metal react to form metal oxides.
 Known as ‘Dross’ or ‘slag’ this oxide can become
trapped in the casting and can affect surface finish,
machinability and mechanical properties.
 Material erosion from furnace linings and pouring ladles
and loose sand particles that flow freely into the mold
also contribute to ‘dross’ or ‘slag’.

Molten metal problems.


 Dross / slag can be controlled through
certain precautions during melting
and pouring and also by good design
practice.
 Use of Flux to protect molten metal
during melting.
 Use of vacuum or protective
atmosphere during melting and
pouring.
 Dross/Slag can be made to
agglomerate and float on the surface
of metal, which can then be skimmed
off prior to pouring.
 Special ladles can be used to pour
molten metal.
 Gating systems in mold can be
designed to trap any dross/slag from
flowing into mold cavity.
 Ceramic filters can be inserted in
feeder channels of mold.

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Gas Porosity.
 Molten metal can contain dissolved gases.
When the metal solidifies the solid structure
cannot accommodate the gas and results in
bubbles or gas porosity.
 Example: Solubility of Hydrogen in Al as a
function of temperature.
 Techniques to control gas porosity:
 Vacuum melting

 Protective environment of low-solubility of


gases.
 Flux that eliminates contact with air.

 Reducing the degree of super-heat of


molten metal.
 Careful handling and pouring to streamline
the flow of molten metal and minimize
turbulence – to avoid trapping of air.

Gas Porosity.

 Techniques to reduce Gas Porosity


 Vacuum degassing (spray molten metal through low-
pressure environment).
 Gas Flushing (Pass small bubbles of inert gas through
molten metal).
 Example: Bubbles of N2 or Cl – used for removing hydrogen
from Molten Al.
 Removal of dissolved gases by addition of elements to
produce a low density compound – which can be removed
by slag removal process.
 Example: Oxygen can be removed from Cu by adding
Phosphorous.
 Steels – Al (or) Si additions to deoxidize.

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Fluidity

 Molten metal should flow


into all regions of mold
cavity and then freeze.
 Sequence of operation:
Flow – freeze.
 If there is a freeze at some
portions before flow, casting
defects known as mis-runs
and cold-shuts are
produced.

Pouring Temperature.

 Fluidity is dependent on alloy composition, freezing


temperature, surface tension of oxide films and on
pouring temperature (also represented by the
amount of super-heat).
 Higher the pouring temperature, higher the fluidity.
 To high a pouring temperature leads to metal-mold
interactions as well as penetration defect.
 Penetration defect – case where molten metal fills
small voids in sand-mold, thus leading to dimension
distortions as well as sand-particle trapping.

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Gating System.

 Gating system – conveys molten metal to all


sections of mold cavity.
 Speed of metal movement and cooling during flow
through gating system are important parameters that
affect fluidity.
 Slow filling (due to poor gating design) and high loss
of heat can lead to mis-runs and cold-shuts.
 Rapid filling can lead to gating / mold erosion and
entrapping of mold material in casting.

Gating System.

 Design gating system cross-section based on


volume of metal flow, surface area of gating section.
 Short channels with round / square cross-section –
for minimal heat transfer.
 Gates to be attached to the thickest / heaviest
section of casting to control shrinkage.
 Gates to feed metal to bottom of casting to minimize
turbulence and splashing.
 Multiple gates and runners for large castings.

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Gating System.

 Short sprue is desirable to minimize


distance traveled by molten metal.
 Short sprue also reduces the kinetic
energy of molten metal that is acquired
during free-fall.
 Rectangular pouring cups, tapered
pouring cups prevent formation of a
vortex in molten metal.
 A sprue well (reservoir) can be used to
dissipate the kinetic energy of falling
molten metal.
 If a choke (small cross section serving
as flow regulator) is present close to
sprue well, flow to the runners and
gates is slowed and results in smooth
flow of molten metal.

Gating System.
 Long – flat runners are better in case of molten metals with
high levels of super-heat.
 Gates at lower portion of runner will reduce the flow
turbulence.
 Runner extension and Runner wells can be used to trap first
metal (that is likely to contain contaminants of molten metal).
 Runner wells are useful in aluminum castings as aluminum
oxide contaminant has same density as molten aluminum.
 Turbulent-sensitive metals (Al, Mg) and alloys with low
melting points generally employ gating systems designed to
eliminate turbulence and dross/slag.
 Steel, cast iron, Copper alloys and alloys with high melting
point generally use short, open gating systems that provide
for quick filling of mold cavity.

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Riser and Riser Design.

 Risers – Reservoirs to feed


liquid metal to casting as a
means to compensate for
solidification shrinkage.
 Risers must solidify after the
casting.
 In some cases, multiple risers
may be required.
 Risers design – should also
consider effective yield of
casting. Molten metal poured in
a mold is used by cast
component, risers, gating, sprue
etc.

Riser and Riser Design.

 Different types of risers:


 Top riser – One that is placed right
on top of cast component.
 Side riser – located adjacent to
mold cavity.
 Blind riser – if the riser is contained
entirely in the mold
 Open riser – if the riser is open to
atmosphere.
 Live risers / hot risers – the ones
that receive last molten metal.
 Dead risers / Cold risers – ones that
fill with metal that has already
flowed into mold cavity. Top riser –
dead riser.

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Riser design – examples.

Risering Aids.

 Risering aids are developed to assist risers in


performing their job.
 Some are intended to promote directional
solidification, while others are designed to number
and size of risers thereby improving the yield of
castings.
 Two types:
 Speeding the solidification of casting – Chills
 Retarding the solidification of risers (sleeves / toppings).

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Risering Aids.

 Chills:
 External chills – Masses of high heat capacity,
high thermal conductivity material placed in the
mold, adjacent to casting to accelerate cooling of
various regions.
 Internal Chills – Pieces of metal placed inside the
mold cavity to absorb heat and promote more
rapid solidification.
 As some of this metal will melt during the internal chill
casting operation, they must be made of same alloy as
being cast.

Parting Line.

 Mold material is formed around a pattern and the


pattern is removed to create a mold cavity.
 To facilitate pattern removal, molds are often made
of two or more sections.
 Parting line – the surface where one section of the
mold meets with other section.
 Flat parting line is usually preferred, but in practice,
irregular parting lines may be necessary.

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Parting Line – Examples.

Parting Line – Examples.

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Parting Line.

 If the pattern contains


surfaces that are
perpendicular to parting line,
friction between the pattern
and mold can damage the
mold.
 The damage will be more
severe at corners where the
mold cavity intersects parting
surface.
 This damage can be
minimized by incorporating a
small taper – called ‘draft’.

Draft angle for outside surfaces for sand-


mold castings.
 Depends on ramming method (had ramming, squeezer
ramming, automatic, shell-molding etc) and on quality of
pattern and material of pattern.
 Typical draft angle for wood pattern with normal quality is 5
degrees for hand-ramming molds.
 Draft angle for Al-pattern would be 4 degrees.
 Shell molding requires small draft angle (1 degree).
 Draft angle for inner surfaces will be twice that on the
outside.

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Allowances on pattern.

 Apart from draft allowance,


shrinkage allowance,
machining (or) finishing
allowance needs to be
incorporated.
 Sand castings – rough
surfaces – need machining.
Die castings and investment
castings do not need further
machining.
 Casting distortion allowance
(for thin section castings).

Castings with Ribs / webs.


 Ribs/webs are provided
to improve stiffness with
minimum increase in
weight.
 Heavier sections where
the rib intersects casting
wall can cause hot-spot Hot-spot at section
shrinks. ‘r2’ is caused by
intersecting sections.
 Number of ribs
intersecting at one point
should be minimized to
avoid hot-spot effects.

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Castings with Ribs.

 When it is required to
bring a number of ribs
at one point, a cored
hole at the point of
intersection will help
speed the
solidification.
 This will prevent
shrinkage voids and
structural weakness
and distortions.

Castings with ribs.

 Alternately use a circular web to connect ribs,


thus avoiding the need for core-piece.

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Corners and Angles.

 Hot spots are the most In sharp corners, outside corners radiate
heat in two directions and cool quickly.
common defect in casting
design. Too much of rounding will cause shrink
 Sharp corners cause defect in a corner.
uneven cooling and
molded-in stress, while
rounded corners permit
uniform cooling with
reduced stress.
 Rounded corners which
maintain uniform wall
thickness provide the best
results.

Corners and Angles.


 T-section casting.
 A dished contour opposite the
intersecting member
minimizes shrink.
 Larger inside radii can be used
to minimize stress
concentration and hot-spots.
 Two-dished contours, one on
each side of the centre leg are
also effective.
 Addition of separate core to
intersection provides x-ray
quality casting – but more
expensive.

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Corners and angles.

 More acute the angle,


greater the problem in
casting – rapid-cooling
area and hot-spot effect
are increased.

Corners and Angles.

 Intersecting walls of
casting to be designed
for right angles, where
possible to minimize
heat concentration.

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Wall thickness.

 Normal minimum wall thickness for various metals.

Aluminum
Brass and Bronze
Ductile Iron
Gray Iron, low strength
Gray Iron, 138 MPa

Gray Iron, 207 MPa

Gray Iron, 276 MPa

Gray Iron, 345 MPa

Magnesium alloys
Malleable Iron
Steel
White iron.

Wall Thickness.

 Casting problems increase if the sections are under 6


mm thickness in all metals.
 It is often economical to increase the section size than
to pay for increased price due to foundry scrap loss.
 Farther the metal must flow, the heavier the section
must be.
 This limits the weight-reduction of a component by
casting method.

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Wall Thickness.

 Good to have
sections with uniform
wall thickness to
avoid problems with
voids and porosity in
heavy sections and
added stresses /
distortions due to
uneven cooling.

Section Changes.

 Abrupt section changes to


be avoided – Fillets or
tapers preferred to sharp
steps.

 Difference greater than 2:1


in relative thickness of
joining sections to be
avoided.

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Section Changes.

 If a section change-over of
greater than 2:1 is not
avoidable:
 Design section as two
separate castings that can
be fastened together later.
 Use wedge form between
unequal sections. Taper
not to exceed 1:4.

Interior walls and Sections.

 Inner walls and sections


should be ~ 20% thinner
than outside members as
they cool more slowly
than external walls.
 This reduces thermal and
residual stresses induced
during cooling and
metallurgical changes are
minimized.

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Holes and Pockets.

 Incorporation of through holes and pockets in sand-


castings is straightforward and economical.
 If the holes and pockets can be produced by the
mold than by extra core, they can help to reduce the
cost of casting.
 In green-sand molding, green-sand core is weak
and can break easily during the draw. Therefore, the
draft on inside of pocket must be twice as much as
on the surrounding outside surfaces.

Holes and Pockets.

 Depth of hole / pocket


should be less than:
 1.5 times its narrowest
dimension if it is in drag
(bottom half) of mold.
 1.0 times the narrowest
dimension of it is in
cope (top half) of mold.

Pockets deeper than their width


can be drawn with high-quality,
high-cost pattern equipment in
shell-molding process.

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Holes and Pockets.

 Small holes are not


economical to mold or core. It
is usually cheaper and more
satisfactory to drill them.
 Thumb-rule: Break-even point
is 13 – 25 mm.
 A drill dimple (locator) can be
cast in the part to facilitate off-
hand drilling.

Holes and Pockets.

 Holes are generally stress-raisers. There should


be extra metal around them to compensate for
stress concentration effect – but with minimum
casting defect to minimize hot-spots and stress
raisers.

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Casting.

Cores.

 Cores are subject to heat and high floating


pressures.
 Their organic binders break-down, releasing gases
that must be vented to prevent bubbles in the metal.
 Decomposed sand must be removed through a
cleaning process.
 Also, cores are more expensive to make, handle, set
in the mold and clean out later.
 Minimize core requirements - will improve casting
process efficiency.

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Cores.

 Methods to
minimize core in
casting.

Cores.

 Small cores in heavy


sections are extremely
hard to remove.
 If small, round holes are
required, it is cheaper to
drill after casting.
 Core should have a
diameter at least equal to
the surrounding wall
thickness. It is preferable to
have twice the wall
thickness or more.

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Cores.

 Side-bosses and
undercuts normally
require use of cores
as part of mold.
 Elimination of side-
bosses and
undercuts from
casting design
minimizes casting
problems.

Design Considerations in Casting.

 It is generally
desirable to
minimize the use
of cores.
 Small changes in
the location (or)
orientation of the
parting plane can
be done. Elimination of a core by changing the location (or)
orientation of the parting plane reduces the cost of
casting significantly.

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Design Considerations in Casting.

 Minor changes in
design of cast
component shape
can minimize the
use of cores.

Elimination of a dry-sand core by a change in


part-design.

Cores.

 Internal cores require


adequate provision for
removal of gases
generated when the ore
comes in contact with
molten metal.
 Addition of venting holes
can facilitate removal of
gases.

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Gears, Pulleys and wheels.

 Simple objects are often improperly designed


for casting resulting in residual stresses and
premature breakage.
 To minimize stresses, a balance between the
section size of rim, spokes and hub must be
made.

Gears, Pulleys and Wheels.

 Desirable to have an
odd number of spokes.
 Curved spokes
dissipate additional
heat, minimize residual
stresses.

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Gears, Pulleys and Wheels.

 Solid webbed wheels


can be designed with
dished surfaces that
allow residual stress
reduction.
 Care to be taken to
avoid excessive section
variation.

Lettering and Other data.

 Any lettering / embossing / logo should be parallel to


parting plane so that the mold pockets for the letters
will draw.
 When placed in other position, the lettering will
require an expensive core.
 Data such as part numbers, date of casting, logo,
cavity number can be either positioned raised above
the surface / sunk below the surface to avoid
interference during subsequent machining.

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Weight Reduction.

 Sand-mold casting
permits easy change of
prototype (with wooden
pattern) and quick
verification prior to
more expensive, high
volume production
molds.

Metal Inserts.
 Designer might wish to
introduce a section of a
different metal (either harder /
softer than the base metal) in a
casting component.
 Most often they are held
together by mechanical
interlocking than by fusion.
Inserts to be designed to have
projections that prevent turning
/ lateral movement.
 These inserts are not normally
pressure-tight unless sealed
after casting.

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Design considerations in Castings.

 Best quality casting at lowest possible cost can be achieved


by making some minor changes in design to facilitate and
simplify casting of component and also reduce the number
and severity of defects.
 Location of parting plane is an important feature in design of
castings.
 Parting plane can affect
 Number of cores
 Method of supporting the cores
 Use of effective and economical gating.
 Weight of final casting.
 Final dimensional accuracy
 Ease of molding.

Design Considerations in Casting.

Minimum section thickness for various common


materials.

39
Design of castings to facilitate machining.

 Castings designed with


sharp corners or edges are
a common source of
difficulty while machining.
 Sharp corners are caused
by faster cooling of the
corner sections.
 Rounding edges and
corners sufficiently to
eliminate chilling reduces
the machining difficulty and
cost associated with
machining.

Machining allowance for castings.

 Stock allowance for surfaces that require machining.


 Stock allowance for dimensional and surface
variations in as-cast component.
 Stock allowance – depends on the size of the
surface to be machined and on machining method
and final accuracy, surface finish required.
 For flat surfaces – minimum stock allowance.
 For fully machined surface – more allowance.

40
Machining
allowance -
one side for
castings.

Machining allowance for cylindrical bore.

 Casting shrinkage
across a bore is less
predictable than other
dimensions (due
variable cooling across
thickness).

41
Other Casting Methods.

 Permanent Mold Casting.


 Permanent mold casting makes
use of a reusable metal mold
which is filled with metal by
gravity (similar to sand-mold
casting).
 Cores of metal or sand may be
used.
 Molds are generally made of cast
iron. Mold walls have a sodium
silicate / clay / other insulating
material coating of thickness up
to 1 mm.

Permanent Mold Casting.

 Permanent molds are pre-


heated to 150 – 200 C before
pouring and are given a
graphite dusting after every 3
– 4 casting.
 Auxiliary water cooling or
radiation pins are used for
cooling heavy sections to
achieve thermal balance.
 Proper venting of mold cavity
is important to avoid misruns.

42
Low Pressure Permanent-mold Casting.

 Liquid metal (usually


Al) is forced by low air
pressure from a silicon
carbide crucible into
the die cavity.
 If proper heat balance
is maintained, risers
can be eliminated and
provides high yielding
casting.

Permanent Mold Casting.

 Suitable for producing small and medium-sized


components of Al-base, Mg-base and bronze alloys.
 Normal weight of permanent mold casting is less
than 100 kg.
 Metal-mold castings Vs sand-mold castings:
 Closer dimensional tolerance
 Better surface finish.
 Greater strength (fine grain casting)
 More economical production in larger quantities.

43
Permanent Mold Castings Vs Sand-mold
casting.
 Permanent Mold Castings - Advantages:
 Appropriate for simple in shape, less intricate
than die castings.
 Superior to die castings from view point of
strength, density, pressure tightness and mold
cost.
 Improved density is the reason for casting
automotive pistons in permanent molds
compared to die-casting.

Permanent Mold Casting Vs Sand-Mold


Casting.
 Disadvantages of Permanent Mold Casting:
 Possibility of hot tearing – due to inability of metallic mold
to accommodate the contraction forces of solidifying metal
and difficulty in removing the casting from the mold since
the mold cannot be broken up.
 Ceramic mold coating may cause a somewhat poorer
casting surface finish and wider tolerance than are found
in a typical Al or Zn-base die casting.

44
Permanent Mold Casting Vs Sand-Mold
Casting.
 Typical Permanent Mold Casting:

 Gears, Splines, Hydraulic cylinders, motor parts, bushings,


air-cooled cylinder heads, wheels, gear housings, washing
machine agitators, pipe fittings.

Economic Production Quantities.

 Low pressure permanent molding and permanent


molding are methods to manufacture for quantities
up to approximately 40000 pieces.
 Molds for permanent mold castings are more
expensive than patterns for sand-mold castings, but
less expensive compared to die-casting dies.
 Labour content of a typical permanent mold casting
is less than that of an equivalent sand-mold casting,
but higher than that of an equivalent die-casting.

45
Economic Production Quantities.

Quantities in the range of 2500


pieces or more allow the process
to compete with sand-mold
casting.
High rates of production are
possible when multiple cavity dies
are used.
Die life is relatively long, being up
to 50000 parts per cavity when
casting small gray iron parts, if
protected with ceramic coatings.
Magnesium casting can be cast up
to 100,000 parts per cavity.

Design Considerations in Permanent Mold


Casting.
 Simple shape components with uniform wall thickness,
without undercuts and complicated coring – required for
permanent mold casting.
 If component design requires undercuts (or) complicated
coring, semi-permanent molds can be considered.
 Semi-permanent molds – sand cores used with metal mold.

46
Design Considerations (Permanent Mold).

 Castings with Holes:


 Holes should be kept in the
direction of parting of mold halves
so that separate core pieces can
be eliminated.
 Minimum diameter of cored holes
is 6 to 9 mm (Compared to 13-25
mm in sand casting).
 Diameter of hole depends on
hole depth.
 Higher the depth, greater should
be the diameter. Else cores will
not be rigid.
 Thumb-rule: Hole depth < 6 *
Hole diameter.

Design Considerations (Permanent Mold).

 Draft:
 Draft is required on the walls of permanent mold castings to
permit easy removal of casting from the mold.
 Recommended minimum draft for external surfaces is 1 to
3 degrees – 2 to 5 degrees for internal surfaces.
 Additional draft is required for lower thickness walls as well
as inside sections, as the metal shrinks away from the mold
surface but tightens around cores during solidification.

47
Design Considerations (Permanent Mold).

 Fillets and Radii:


 Generous fillets and radii
required to facilitate
metal flow, promote
uniform cooling and
prevent stress
concentrations.
 Fillet radius – at least
equal to wall thickness.
 Outer radius – 3 times
the wall thickness.

Design Considerations (Permanent Mold).

 Wall Thickness:
 Minimum wall thickness of
permanent mold castings is
~ 3 mm (for small castings).
 Ribs:
 Design guidelines similar to
what was followed in sand-
mold castings is applicable
– minimum intersections,
radial branch-outs at
intersections.

48
Design Considerations (Permanent Mold)

 Inserts:
 Inserts can be incorporated.
 Some locking feature – grooves, knurls, slots, holes,
lugs are required to ensure secure positioning of
inserts.
 Full wall thickness should be provided around the
inserts to avoid over-stressing of casting.
 Parting Line:
 Similar to the case of sand-mold casting. Flat parting
surface between mold halves is preferable. Casting
should be designed to permit flat parting surface and
have convenient parting plane location.

Design Considerations (Permanent Mold).

 Machining Allowance:
 Permanent mold castings
are more accurate in
dimensions than sand- For sand-core surfaces:
mold castings and require Minimum allowance: 1.5 mm
less post-casting
Preferred allowance: 2.0 mm
machining.
 If required, some
machining allowance is
added to permanent mold
castings (ranging from 0.8
mm to 2 mm).

49
Design Considerations (Permanent Mold).

 Variations in section thickness:


 These cause casting problems and work piece
inaccuracies due to uneven cooling.
 If section changes are required, ensure smooth
transition from heavy to thin section (similar to
sand-mold casting).

Design Considerations (Permanent Mold).

 Recommended
Thickness.

Dimensions produced by one


mold-half (A)
Dimensions between points
produced by core and mold (B)
(or) across parting plane (C ).

Surface Finish:
Low pressure process – 0.5 to 3.2 microns
Conventional process – 3.8 to 13 microns.

50
Centrifugal Castings.

 A cost-effective process
for producing hollow
cylindrical parts, circular
plates, intricate parts.
 Typical r.p.m – 300 ~
3000 r.p.m.
 Classification:
 True Centrifugal casting
 Semi-centrifugal
casting.
 Centrifuging.

Centrifugal casting.

 Centrifuging:
 Several molds are located radially
about a central riser / sprue and
the entire mold is rotated with
central sprue as axis of rotation.
 Centrifugal force provides a
means for obtaining more pouring
pressure inside the mold cavity.
 The centrifugal force is directly
proportional to the distance from
the axis of rotation and square of
r.p.m.

51
Centrifuge Casting.

 Good for small, intricate parts where


feeding problems are encountered in
conventional casting methods.
 Internal mold configurations can be
irregular.
 Rotational speed depends on the mold
material, vertical / horizontal orientation
and size of casting.
 Relatively low r.p.m. required to
produce sound castings with thin walls
and intricate shapes.

Semi-Centrifugal casting.

 Process of casting
symmetrical shapes about the
rotational vertical axis.
 Central hole is formed by an
expendable sand core which
is placed in the mold at each
casting cycle.
 Molten metal introduced
through a gate, which is
placed on the axis and flows
outward to the extreme edges
of mold cavity.

52
Semi-Centrifugal casting.

 It is possible to stack several molds on top of


one another to be fed by a common pouring
basin and sprue.
 Centrifugal reservoir must be large enough to
act as riser and last point of freezing. As
pressures are lower in central portion, the
structure in this region is relatively less dense
and inclusions and air tend to be trapped in
the region.
 Semi-centrifugal casting is generally used for
wheels, nozzles and similar parts where
centre of the casting is removed by
machining.

True Centrifugal Casting.

 Uses centrifugal force to hold the


metal against the outer walls of
the mold, while the volume of
metal poured determines the wall
thickness and inner diameter.
 Typical components: pipe liners,
steel tubing, hollow symmetrical
objects.
 No core is used in this process.
 Inner surface tends to collect
lighter dross and impurities.

53
Molds used in Centrifugal Casting.

 Permanent Mold
 Made of steel, iron or graphite.
 Graphite molds are used for Ti-casting.
 Side lined mold.
 A flask with a baked or green-sand lining is placed
horizontally on a casting machine, where it is rotated by
rollers.
 Molten metal is fed into one end of mold cavity and is
carried to the walls of cavity by centrifugal force.
 Rotation speeds can produce up to 150 times the force of
gravity.
 High forces are required for casting exceptionally thick
walls.

Typical Applications of Centrifugal


Casting.
 Minimum cylinder dimension – 13 mm ID.
 From the economic view point, 125 mm ID is preferred as
minimum diameter.
 Cylinders of outer dia. 3 meters and length up to 16 meters.
 Typical Castings:
 Large rolls
 Gas and water pipe
 Engine-cylinder liners
 Wheels
 Bushings
 Gears
 Marine-shaft liners

54
Economic production quantities.

 Centrifugal castings can be used to make one part


(proto-type) to large production quantities.
 In case of single / small quantities, sand mold is
used, whereas Graphite Mold is used for small-to-
medium sized runs.
 Minimum 50 castings are required for break-even of
graphite mold.
 Metal molds are most economical for medium to
large runs (minimum quantity: 400 pieces for break-
even).

Design Considerations in Centrifugal


Casting.
 No gates required in true-centrifugal casting (compared to
sand-mold / permanent mold process).
 Requirement of radius on joining sections is not as severe
as in sand-mold casting, but as a general design practice, it
would be advisable to introduce some radius.
 Cast wall thickness range: 6 mm to 125 mm.
 Typical wall thickness preferred: 9 mm.
 Minimum size of cored holes or cored bores is 25 mm.
 If smaller holes are desired, they should be drilled after
casting.

55
Design Considerations in Centrifugal
casting.
 Sand molds for true centrifugal castings do not
require drafts.
 However, draft allowance should be made
centrifuged parts as in sand-casting.
 When using cast-iron molds, provide draft.
 As the diameter increases, draft increases.

Design Considerations in Centrifugal


casting.
 Typical materials for Centrifugal Casting:
 Carbon steels, Alloy Steels, Brasses, Bronzes,
Al-alloys, Ni-alloys, Cast Iron and Copper.
 Alloys having short freezing ranges are desirable
for centrifugal casting.
 Alloys with high Phospor content should be
avoided as this results in wetting characteristic
and subsequent removal from mold is difficult.
 High lead-alloys have opposite characteristic of
separation from mold (they do not stick to mold
walls to form centrifugal cast parts).

56
Design Considerations in Centrifugal
Casting.
 Recommended
Tolerances:

 Surface Finish:
 Metal molds – 4.4 –
6.3 microns
 Sand mold – 12 -20
microns.

57
58
59
60
Plaster Mold Castings.

 Precision casting method – high dimensional


accuracy and good surface finish obtained.
 Similar to sand-mold casting, except that the mold
and cores are made of plaster (Gypsum or calcium
sulfate) with talc and silica flour addition instead of
packed sand.
 New mold is required for each casting.
 Mold halves are normally baked to 120 C for 16
hours remove moisture.

Plaster Mold Castings.

 Plaster molds have low permeability - gases


evolved during solidification of metal cannot
escape.
 Molten metal is poured under vacuum or under
pressure.
 Plaster-mold permeability can be improved by
Antioch process – Molds dehydrated in autoclave
(Pressurized oven) for 6-12 hours and rehydrated
in air for 14 hours. This introduces trapped air
bubbles.

61
Plaster mold castings.

 Typical components: Gears, valves, tooling and


ornaments (as little as 1 g).
 Pattern material: Al-alloys, thermo-setting plastics,
brass or zinc alloys.
 Suitability: For casting metals upto 1200 C – Al, Mg,
Zn, and copper base alloys.
 Castings cool slowly, yielding uniform grain structure
with less warping and better mechanical properties
as plaster molds have low thermal conductivity.

Plaster-mold casting.

 As-cast surfaces of plaster mold casting have a satin texture –


can be electro-plated without special preparation.
 Normal weight of castings: Up to 10 kg – Typical casting
weighs 125 – 250 g.
 Economic production quantities:
 Relatively high cost, long-duration process – Plaster setting
time, slower cooling rate, requirement of vacuum during
casting.
 One pattern can produce 150 – 250 castings per week.

 Cost is typically 50% more than conventional sand-casting


process.

62
Design guidelines – Plaster Mold Casting.

 Wall Thickness (Good for thin section castings, ornamental


work):
 1 mm (for castings with projected area < 650 mm 2).
 1.5 mm ( projected area : 650 – 1950 mm2)
 2.4 mm (1950 – 9750 mm2).
 Draft allowance: > ½ degree for outer dimensions, 1-3
Degrees for inner dimensions.
 Hole:
 Can be cored easily with good accuracy and finish. They should
be perpendicular to the mold-parting plane to avoid the need for
extra core pieces.
 Holes of diameter < 13 mm are better drilled than cast. Drill
locators are accurate and eliminate jigs.

Design Guidelines – Plaster Mold


Castings.
 Machining allowance:
 Stock allowance: 0.8 mm (for normal parts) and for small
parts < 0.8 mm for holes and internal broaching.
 Thumb-rule:
 0.05 mm/cm for dimensions in one half of mold.
 0.1 mm/cm for dimensions across mold-parting line & for
dimensions subject to horizontal shift between cope and drag
of mold.
 Expected flatness: 0.05 mm/cm in any direction.
 Surface finish: 0.8 – 1.3 microns.

63
Cost considerations in sand casting

64
65
66
Ceramic mold castings.

 Usually referred to as
‘Cope-and-drag
investment casting’.

 Ceramic mold casting


used precision machined
metal patterns than
expendable wax pattern
used in conventional
investment casting.

Ceramic mold castings.

 Ceramic mold casting is


similar to plaster-mold
casting – except that
mold is made of more
refractory material and
requires higher pre-
heat, but good for
casting high melting
point metals (steels
etc).

67
Ceramic Mold castings.
 Refractory slurry is made of fine-grained zircon,
fused silica etc.

 Shaw and Unicast Process are proprietary


variations of ceramic mold-casting methods –
Molds are preheated in a furnace before pouring
to reduce the difference in temp. between mold
and molten metal to maximize permeability.

Ceramic Mold castings.


 Typical applications:
 Ferrous, non-ferrous and high-melting point metals.
 700 kg components (heavy) can be cast.
 Good accuracy and reproducibility even on large
castings.
 Typical parts: SS, bronze parts such as pump
impellers, impeller cores, tool-steel molds, tool-
steel milling cutters, press-working dies and die-
casting dies.
 EPQ (Economic Production Quantity)
 Can be minimum – one unit
 Process suitable for job-work as well as medium
quantity production.

68
Ceramic Mold Castings.

 Design Considerations:
 Suffers from Chill effect as mold materials are
good insulators. Results in coarse grains and
reduced strength.
 Designer needs to compensate for low strength by
increased section thickness.
 Add inoculants / grain refiners to molten metal for
improving nucleation.
 Introduce chills in mold.
 Post-casting heat-treatment to relieve the stresses.

Ceramic Mold Castings.

 Tolerances:
 As cast surface – 3 micron surface finish.
 Dimensional tolerance: +/- 0.1 mm for first 25 mm
and +/- 0.025 mm/cm for larger dimensions.
 Additional tolerance of +/- 0.3 mm for parting line
(across parting line).

69
Investment Castings.

 Investment casting – called lost-wax process.


 Mold made by surrounding a wax or plastic replica
of the part with investment material. After the
investment material solidifies, wax replica is melted
out and metal is poured into the resultant cavity.
 Two kinds of mold making:
 Monolithic method, which utilizes solid mold contained by
stainess-steel or Inconel flask.
 Shell method – Thin walled mold and no flask.

Investment Castings.

70
Investment Casting.

 Sequence:
 Injection mold wax / plastic
pattern. Wax pattern is less
expensive.
 Assemble patterns to form
a ‘cluster’/’tree’.
 Pre-coat cluster with
investment material and
sand and dry thoroughly.
 Insert cluster in flask.

 Fill flask with investment


material and allow to set.

Investment Casting.

 Sequence (Contd..)
 Melt out wax pattern by baking
the flask (inverted) for about 12
hours at 190 C.
 Burn-out the flask to remove all
traces of wax / plastic to cure
the investment. Burn-out
temperature is 980 C for 4 h
after 55 C/h temperature rise
from wax-melting temperature.
 Pour molten metal into mold
cavities of flask.

71
Investment casting.

 Sequence:
 Shake-out: Remove cluster from flask. Remove
investment material with pneumatic hammer.
 De-scale cluster: Immerse cluster for 10 – 15
min in 600 C salt-bath followed by an immediate
cold-water dip- Neutralize and clean rinse.
 Remove parts from cluster by band-saw /
grinding wheel.
 Remove gates from parts for subsequent
processing.

Investment casting.

 Shell molding –difference – mold made of successive dips of


ceramic slurry and ‘stucco’ (granulated refractory) before
baking. 6 – 7 coats are required.
 Shell molding is appropriate for larger parts and has shorter
cycle time.

72
Investment Casting.

 Shell Molding:
 Lower tendency for surface decarburization of
cast part.
 Mold cracking is likely if plastic patterns are used.
 Detailed definition of part could be poor due to
rapid cooling of melted metal.

Investment Casting.

 Typical Applications & Characteristics:


 Good to cast - Intricate shape, close tolerances, small size,
high strength alloys.
 Weight of casting: 1 g – 34 kg.
 Larger sizes are not economical as the cost of investment
material increases.
 Appropriate for: contoured surfaces, under-cuts, intricate
parts that are difficult to machine.
 Typical examples: Sewing machine, type-writer, valve bodies,
cams, prawls hose fittings, cranks, levers, wrench sockets,
vanes, connectors, support rings, impellers, manifolds.

73
Investment Casting.

 Typical parts
cast.

Investment Casting.
 EPQ:
 Good for low to medium production levels.
 Good for applications where machining requirements are
extensive – even for large volumes.
 Tooling costs for wax-pattern low, if the mold is made from
master pattern by spraying method.
 Low-cost molds made by low temperature alloy spray has a
life of 800-1200 castings.
 Permanent soft-metal molds have life of the order of 10000-
15000 pieces.
 For higher production levels, Al / steel machined molds are
used.
 Investment casting is used for proto-type manufacturing.
 Investment cast parts are more expensive compared to
powder-metal / die-cast production process and not used for
high volume production.

74
Investment Casting – Design
Considerations.
 Investment casting permits easy casting of complex
shapes.
 In some cases, two or more separate parts can be
cast in one-setting in investment casting and cut
later for machining / assembly.
 Well-located, straight parting line, adequate draft,
avoidance of under-cuts, use of fillets and radii
improve the investment casting.
 Materials Cast:
 Both ferrous and non-ferrous metals can be investment
cast – Metals meltable with standard induction / gas
furnaces can be used.

Die Casting.

 Die casting involves injection under pressure of


molten metal into a split metal die.
 Zinc, Lead, tin alloys with melting points below 390
C are cast in a hot chamber die-casting machine –
Injection pump can be immersed in molten metal.
(Hot Chamber Process).
 Aluminum alloy is cast in a cold-chamber machine,
where continuous molten-metal contact is avoided
by using a ladle to introduce molten metal into the
machine. (Cold-Chamber Process).

ME 683 – Manufacturing Considerations in Design.


Department of Mechanical Engg., IIT-Madras Raghu Prakash

75
Die-Casting (Hot-Chamber Process).
Sequence of operation:
(1) – Die Closed and hot
chamber (Goose-neck)
is filled with molten
metal.
(2) - Plunger injects
molten metal into die
cavity. Metal held
under pressure till
solidification is over.
(3) - Die opens – core
slides retract. Plunger
returns taking back
molten metal.
(4) Ejector pin pushes
casting.

Die Casting (Cold Chamber Process).

Molten metal is fed into a


injection cylinder (shot
chamber/sleeve). Shot
sleeve is not heated (hence
cold chamber process).
Molten metal fed into die
cavity at pressures ranging
from 20 to 70 MPa
(sometimes 150 MPa).
High melting point alloys of
Al, Mg, Cu are normally die-
cast by cold chamber
process. Some steels are
also die-cast.

76
Die Casting.

 Advantages:
 High rate of production.
 High accuracy in sustaining dimensions of parts (engine
blocks of two-wheelers, front forks of bikes etc).
 Smooth surface finish for minimum mechanical finishing.
 Ability to incorporate holes, openings, slots.
 Ability to cast pressure-tight parts.
 Ability to cast inserts (pins, studs, shafts, linings, bushings,
fasteners etc).
 Thinner wall casting method.
 Variety of metals: Al, Zn, Brass, Mg.

Die Casting

 Limitations:
 Dies are complex and expensive, if they have moving elements
for coring details – Not economical for small volume production.
 Micro-porosity is common in die-castings as the die is filled under
good pressure and solidification begins in less than 1/5th of a
second.
 Under-cuts cannot be introduced in two simple-die pieces. If
essential, additional core slides (moving die elements) are
required – increase in manufacturing cost.
 Size of cast part is limited by machine capability. 3000 ton press
is required to cast 45 kg Al by die casting process for an effective
area of 7700 cm 2 effective area.
 Alloys with most attractive properties are those with least
castability – so list of alloys that can be cast is restricted.

77
Die Casting – Applications.

 Generally non-ferrous
materials of intricate
shape, mass-
production items
 Automobiles, appliances,
computer peripherals,
Photographic equipment,
toys etc.

Die-cast chassis for a high-speed printer.


Die-casting brought down part count in
assembly thus cutting down costs.

Die Casting – Applications.

78
Die Casting - EPQ

 Minimum : 5000 – 10000 parts cast will justify


tooling cost for die-casting process.
 Die Life – Dies for Al or Mg parts – 125,000 shots,
for Zinc – 1 Million parts, for Brass – 5000 to 50000
parts.
 Typical production rates:
 0.5 kg die with a projected area of 300 cm2 – 100 pieces
per hour.
 9 kg casting with large surface area – 10 ~ 15 pieces per
hour.
 Casting rates better for Mg than Al-alloys.

Die Casting – EPQ.


 Production rates:
 Zn casting are about double the rates for Al on parts of
similar size, as Zinc can be cast in cold-chamber machine
with lower temperature (hence faster solidification rate).
 Flash removal:
 Die trimming is an inexpensive means of flash removal, but
requires a trimming die.
 For economic break-even 10000 – 20000 castings are
required for incorporating die-trimming.
 Production set-up lead-time:
 Approx. 6-8 weeks required for simple insert die to be built,
checked out and parts trial cast and dimensions fine-tuned
for mass production, quality of cast parts etc.
 Higher lead time for complex components to be die-cast.

79
Die Casting – Suitable Materials.

 Due to limitations in availability of hot-work tool


steels for making die, die-casting is generally carried
out on low melting point, non-ferrous materials.
 Al-alloys and Zn-alloys are popular materials die-
cast.
 Stainless steels: 304, 316, 400, 440 series have
been die-cast.
 Alloy steels: 4340, 4620 have been die-cast.

Die Casting – Suitable Materials.

80
Die Casting – General Design
Considerations.
 It is possible to integrate several parts into a single
component and be cast by die-casting method. This reduced
part count (less inventory), improves design (modularizing)
and cuts down assembly cost and over-all product cost.
Example: printer head assembly.
 Care on die-making: Dies are usually hardened after
machining to achieve the highest strength. Subsequent
modifications to dies not easy to implement.
 Design of Ejector Pins – location: If impressions left by ejector
pin are not tolerable / cannot be hidden, alternate
arrangements such as ring / sleeve ejection should be
considered.
 Blind recess in the die, such as those required to form
bosses, cause sub-surface porosity due to trapped air.

Die Casting – Design Considerations.

 Wall Thickness:
 Process designed for uniform wall thickness < 6 mm.
 Big changes in section area / parts with greater thickness
should be avoided.
 Skin of die-cast part chills rapidly, resulting in fine-grained,
dense-structure, free from porosity. Skin thickness – 0.4 –
0.63 mm, depends on casting size.
 All-skin die-cast component has good strength-to-weight
ratio.
 Preferred wall thickness: 0.75 mm to 1.3 mm.

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Die Casting – Wall Thickness.

Zinc alloys can be die-cast to 0.38 mm thickness – Material saving for


high volume production plants.

Die Casting – Examples of component design changes


to facilitate manufacturing.

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Die Casting – Machining Allowance.

 Machining allowance not to exceed 0.5 mm (approx.


the size of dense, fine grained skin of casting).
 Minimum machining allowance: 0.25 mm.
 Holes for tapping should be cored rather than
drilled. Drill & tap of die cast surface could
sometimes lead to tap damage if there is subsurface
porosity.
 Ejector-pin locations with a normal height of 0 – 0.4
mm can be machined during post-casting.

Die Casting

 Die Sinking –
Economical design.
 Castings designed with
concave features on
outside walls are
economical to die-cast as
the machining of die
cavities is easy with
matching convex
features.

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Die Casting – Dimensions and Tolerances.

 During die making, a


shrink factor of 0.6 % is
incorporated in the die
making.

Recommended tolerances for


die-casting dimensions
determined by cavity
dimensions in either half of
die.

Die Casting – Miniature Die Casting.

 Die castings under 80 g are classified


as miniature die castings.
 Machines for miniature die casting are
hot-chamber systems with fully
automated gate and flash removal
operation.
 Machines are designed to deliver 1 part
per second.
 Zinc castings can have 0.5 mm
diameter small cored holes.
 Coring to be aligned to centre bore
within 0.01 mm.
 Tolerance close to 25 microns is
feasible.
 Application: Cast components used in
precision instruments.

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Computer Simulation of Casting Process.

 Modeling casting
process:
 Metal flow / fluid flow
(using Bernoulli’s
equation and continuity
equation)
 Heat transfer in casting
 Hot-spots
 Microstructure prediction
during solidification.

Computer simulation of casting process.

 Fluid flow:
 Predicts behavior of metal during pouring into the gating system
and its travel in mold cavity.
 Includes pressure and velocity distributions in the casting.
 Heat Transfer:
 Investigates the fluid flow and heat transfer, effect of surface
condition, thermal properties of materials, natural and forced
convection during cooling.
 Surface conditions vary as layers of metal are formed. Also a
layer of air develops in the casting due to shrinkage.
 Microstructure Modeling:
 Includes heat transfer, fluid flow, temperature gradients,
nucleation and grain growth, movement of liquid-solid interface
during solidification.

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Computer Simulation of Casting process.

 Isotherm estimation provides an insight into possible


hot-spots and shrinkage cavities.
 Some commercial software packages to model
casting:
 ProCast
 Solidia
 AFSSolid
 MagmaSoft
 AFS, BCIRA, Indian Foundrymen Association
provide more details on casting process, modeling
etc.

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