7/23/2020
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UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
REVIEW OF SAND CASTING
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Introduction
• Casting begins with molten material and any metal or non-metal
which can be melted can be used for casting.
• Metals frequently used for casting are cast iron, steel, bronze, brass,
aluminum and certain zinc alloys.
• Cast iron is the most commonly used metal for casting because it
possesses sufficient fluidity at pouring temperature, has lower
shrinkage and substantial strength and is relatively cheaper.
• Compared to any other casting process, sand casting is the most
popular and widely used in practice. The process uses an
expandable single use sand mould and a permanent pattern,
usually wooden for casting.
• It is a low cost process and has very little limitation on size and
shape.
UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
Steps in production of sand casting
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Patterns And Cores
• Sand casting requires a pattern, a full-sized model of the part, enlarged to
account for shrinkage and machining allowances in the final casting.
• Materials used to make patterns include wood, plastics, and metals.
• Wood is a common pattern material because it is easily shaped. Its
disadvantages are that it tends to warp, and thus limiting the number of
times it can be reused.
• Metal patterns are more expensive to make, but they last much longer.
• Plastics represent a compromise between wood and metal.
• Selection of the appropriate pattern material depends to a large extent on
the total quantity of castings to be made.
• There are various types of patterns.
• The simplest is made of one piece, called a
solid pattern. It has same geometry as the
casting and is adjusted in size for
shrinkage and machining. Solid patterns
are generally limited to very low
production quantities.
UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
• Split patterns consist of two pieces, dividing
the part along a plane coinciding with the
parting line of the mold. Split patterns are
appropriate for complex part geometries
and moderate production quantities.
• In match-plate patterns, the two pieces of
the split pattern are attached to opposite
sides of a wood or metal plate. Holes in the
plate allow the top and bottom (cope and
drag) sections of the mold to be aligned
accurately.
• Cope-and drag patterns are similar to
match-plate patterns except that split
pattern halves are attached to separate
plates, so that the cope and drag sections of
the mold can be fabricated independently,
instead of using the same tooling for both.
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• Core is a full-scale model of the interior surfaces of the part.
• It is inserted into the mold cavity prior to pouring, so that the molten
metal will flow and solidify between the mold cavity and the core to
form the casting’s external and internal surfaces.
• The core is usually made of sand, compacted into the desired shape. As
with the pattern, the actual size of the core must include allowances
for shrinkage and machining.
• Depending on the geometry of the part, the core may or may not
require supports to hold it in position in the mold cavity during
pouring.
• These supports, called chaplets, are made of a metal with a higher
melting temperature than the casting metal.
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Gating System and Components
• The gating system serves to deliver the molten metal to all sections of the
mould cavity through a combination of channels. It is designed to:
i. Minimize turbulent flow so that absorption of gases, oxidation of
metal and erosion of mould surfaces are minimized.
ii.Regulate the entry of metal into the mould cavity.
iii.Ensure the complete filling of mould cavity.
iv.Promote a temperature gradient within the casting so that all
sections irrespective of size and shape could solidify properly.
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• Sprue (C): The metal is poured into pouring basin (A) and it moves into
sprue through weir (B). It is a vertical channel through which metal is
brought down to enter the runners. It is usually tapered downwards to
prevent aspiration of gases through the sprue. As the molten metal comes
down, it gains velocity and requires a smaller cross section to maintain
constant flow rate. Therefore to prevent vortex formation and sucking of
gases, the cross section is gradually reduced from top to bottom.
• Sprue well (D): it is a reservoir for molten metal at the bottom of the
Sprue. It serves to dissipate the kinetic energy of the falling stream of
molten metal. The molten metal then changes direction and flows into the
runner (E) through the choke. The choke is provided to avoid creation of
any vacuum when the molten metal enters the runner.
• Ingates (F): The main purpose of ingates is to feed the molten metal into
mould cavity at a rate which is consistent with the solidification rate.
UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
• Runner (E): it is the horizontal channel which takes the molten metal
from the sprue well and distributes it to the ingates (F) around the mould
cavity. The runner is generally located in the parting plane and has a
trapezoidal cross-section. When the molten metal is to enter the mould
cavity through multiple ingates, the cross-section of the runner is reduced
at each runner break up (G) to allow equal distribution of molten metal
through all the ingates. The blind (H) is provided essentially to trap the
relatively cold material and foreign particles (dirt, slag and sand particles).
• Risers (J): these are reservoirs designed and located to feed molten metal
to the solidifying casting to compensate for solidification shrinkage. The
risers are designed to solidify after the casting. Further the volume of riser
is sufficient to compensate the solidification shrinkage. The riser is
designed for minimum possible volume while maintaining a solidification
time longer than that of casting. The flow of the liquid metal from the riser
to the solidifying casting occurs only during the early part of the
solidification process. The volume of the riser should be atleast three
times more than the shrinkage volume.
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Moulding Materials
The major parts of moulding material in sand casting are
a) 70 - 85% silica sand (SiO2)
b) 10 - 12% bonding material (clay and cereal)
c) 3 - 6% water
Silica sand, bonding materials and water are mixed together for following
requirements
A. Refractoriness to withstand high temperature of molten metal
(silica sand).
B. Cohesiveness to retain moulded shape (clay and water).
C. Permeability to permit gases to escape through the moulding
material. This depends upon the size & shape of sand particles, type
of bonding material, compaction pressure and moisture content.
D. Collapsibility for easy removal of casting and to permit the metals
to shrink.
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The performance of the mould depends upon the following factors:
a) Permeability: it is a measure of porosity from the openings
between the grains and is expressed as the rate of air flow
through the standard specimen under specified pressure
conditions.
b) Green Strength: it is the property of the green moulding
sand (moulding sand that contains moisture) to hold the
mould shape. It usually refers to the stress required to
rupture a standard specimen under compressive loading.
c) Dry Strength: it is the strength of the dry moulding sand.
When the molten metal is poured, the mould sand quickly
dries up. The ability of this dried sand to retain the mould
cavity depends on its dry strength.
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Preparation of Sand Mould
• The process of casting starts with the construction of a pattern which is an
approximate duplicate of the final product.
• For hollow castings, a core is required and to support the core inside the
mould cavity, core prints are provided.
• The pattern is now placed in the flask which is a box containing the
moulding aggregate. The upper half of the flask is called cope and lower
half is known as drag.
• The moulding material which is baked green sand mixed with clay for
improved mouldability is then packed around the pattern and rammed
properly.
• For split patterns, the drag is turned upside down on the moulding board
and then the pattern is placed on it with the parting surface down on the
board.
• Other pieces of gating and rising systems (pouring basin, Sprue, runner
and riser) are also placed along with the pattern after which the moulding
material is packed around them first with facing sand and then with
backing sand.
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• Uniform hard ramming of the moulding material is necessary to obtain
a smooth casting surface and to avoid any metal penetration into the
sand and swelling of the mould cavity.
• After removing the excess sand from the mould surface and placing the
board, the drag is inverted and the moulding board is removed.
• The drag surface is then dusted with fine silica sand to prevent the
sand in the cope from sticking to the sand in the drag.
• The cope is then placed on top of the drag and the gating system and
the riser in proper positions, the sand is packed as in case of drag.
• The mould is vented by a thin vent wire to felicitate escape of air and
gases from the mould cavity.
• The cope is then separated from the drag and the patterns and pieces
of riser and gating systems are removed.
• Finally the drag and the cope are put together to provide a replica of
the final product in the form of cavities in the drag and the cope.
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Solidification and Cooling
• The solidification and cooling processes should be carefully controlled
since the desired properties of the casting largely depend on the
solidification time and the rate of cooling.
• Solidification process decides the structural features of the cast material
and controls the properties of casting.
• Shrinkage of the casting during cooling of the solidified metal should not
be restrained by mould material, otherwise internal stresses may develop.
Removal and Cleaning
• In casting process, the metal blocks are separated to remove the casting
while in expandable casting, the sand mould is broken to remove the
casting.
• The casting is thoroughly cleaned and the excess material along with the
mould parting line and the place where the molten metal was poured, is
removed.
• The casting is tested visually and by inspection techniques like pressure
test, radiographic test etc. to detect any external or internal defects.
UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
• Rao, P.N., Manufacturing Technology Volume 1, McGraw Hill
Education (India) Private Ltd.
• Groover, M.P., Principles of Modern Manufacturing, John Wiley
and Sons (2011).
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THANK YOU
UME 505: MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
