IT 110 Introduction to Manufacturing Processes

Demonstration Guide for Sand Casting of Metal

Metal casting, generally, involves heating of a metal beyond its melting

point and pouring the molten metal into a mold where it cools and solidifies. In
expendable mold metal casting techniques, the mold cavity is built around a
pattern. Therefore, it may be necessary to prepare a pattern and prepare a mold,
while preparing the material for casting. The sand casting process is an
expendable mold metal casting technique. It may employ a permanent or
expendable pattern, both of which are examined in this package. There are a
variety of tools used to prepare the mold, some are common to both expendable
and permanent pattern casting, while others are unique to the technique used.

The sand casting process typically takes place in a foundry. A foundry is

a place where the tools and materials are located to produce many types of sand
castings, using different and varied processes. Casting, in our case, is the process
of pouring molten metal into a mold cavity, formed of sand, to produce a near net
shape metal object. The sand used in the mold production phase is a silica sand
(silicon dioxide), mined from river deposits, lakes, and other large bodies of
water. Regardless of the pattern production method, or the binding mechanisms
that may be employed to allow the cohesionless sand to maintain a shape, the five
following steps are generally common to all sand casting processes:

1. Mold preparation

2. Material preparation

3. Introduce material into mold

4. Solidify material

5. Remove part

Even when considering a high volume production process, mold

preparation remains a time liability. Once a large crucible of material is heated to
 pouring temperature, it can be maintained, whereas the molds still need to be
individually produced. This package describes methods employed to hand pack
(ram) sand around the pattern to produce a mold cavity.

I. Permanent Pattern Sand Mold Casting

A. General Description - This process uses a permanent pattern,

typically made from wood, plastic, or aluminum, that is a duplicate of the part to
be produced (although it is often somewhat oversized to allow accurate sizing
when the cast metal shrinks during cooling). Sand, mixed with some form of
binder, is placed around the pattern and compacted to the point that it will
hold the cavity shape when the pattern is removed Molten metal may then be
poured directly into this open cavity, or it may be poured through passageways
if the cavity is closed. After the metal has cooled to the point that it solidifies, the
sand shell is broken away to remove the part.

B. Machine Design - The actual process of pouring (sometimes called

casting) of the metal into the mold cavity may not use any machinery (as is the
case in this demonstration). However, machinery is typically involved during
the mold preparation phase. Two machines are common: the mull and the riddle.
The mull is a large mixing vat that employs power driven rotating wheels
inside a hollow canister. Sand particles placed into the mull are thoroughly
impregnated with binders such as clay, oil, water, and/or catalysts through
compression and mixing by the rotating wheels. The mull typically has a hinged
top for adding materials, and a chute in the bottom that is used to expel mulled
sand when the gate in the chute is opened.
 Inside View of Mull

Often, the sand expelled from the mull is clumped into large globs
of material. If left in this form the sand particles may not compact tightly
against the pattern during ramming, leaving imperfections in the cavity when the
pattern is removed. To help overcome this problem, mulled sand is typically
riddled before ramming. The power riddle is a large sifter, having a screen
wire element that breaks up the clumped sand into finer particles through
agitation (shaking) by a cam drive attached to an electrical motor. The riddle
consists of a ring having the screen attached to one open face, a yoke frame
attached to the ring for air suspension, and the motor/cam drive
attached to the frame to transmit the vibration that feeds mulled sand through the
riddle. Riddled sand will fall through gravitational forces through the
screen into a container (or a pit) and may be considered ready for ramming
although a hand riddle (having a finer screen) is typically used as a final
filter as sand is being poured onto the pattern.
 Power Riddle

C. Tooling and Materials - Most of the materials and tooling used

in permanent pattern sand mold casting are also used (or usable)
in expendable pattern mold casting. Unless otherwise noted the
following tools and materials will be used in both processes.

Silica Sand: SILICA SAND is SiO2 (silicon dioxide). It is used in sand casting for several
reasons. It is an inexpensive, readily available, and recyclable material. Two major types are
bonded and unbonded. Washed and dried sand that is unbonded is usually core sand. A naturally
bonded silica sand contains 70% or more of sand grains, with the balance being clay as the
bonding agent. Molding sands need to have cohesive properties, along with permeability and
refractory capabilities.

Permanent Pattern: (Only used in permanent pattern sand mold casting). A full sized model
of the object to be cast, the pattern can be made from many different materials. It is the tool
which the sand is compressed around, to form the cavity of the mold. The different types
of these are single sided, double sided (match plate), loose, cope and drag, and special patterns
or pattern devices. Along with the model of the pattern, the pattern may have some other
geometry that is normally part of the feeder system. The most common
attachment is the sprue well configuration. This allows the molten material entering the
cavity a place to settle any foreign materials in the pour.
 Pattern Board
Flask: A frame into which the sand is compressed around a pattern. This frame can be a one
piece, a one piece removable, or a two piece. When it is a two piece frame, the halves are named.
What will eventually become the bottom half is called the drag half. It can be identified by the
alignment pins protruding from the flanges at the ends of the frame. The top half, called the cope,
can be identified by the alignment holes machined into the flanges at the ends of its frame. Other
than the alignment pins, the frame halves are usually identical.

Assembled Flask and Pattern Board

Peen Rammer: A ramming tool with a flat hammer configuration at one end, and a narrow edge
forming design at the other. This tool is used to compress sand around the pattern, and
around the inside of the flask.

Hand Riddle: The riddle is a sifting tool that allows the mold-maker to be sure of a very fine
sand texture directly in contact with the pattern. These can be of varying degrees of size
and mesh. All riddling of the sand is done to reduce it to its purest usable form.

Hand Riddle and Peen Rammer

Slick: A small spoon shaped tool used for contouring of the mold such as cutting the pouring
basin

Molders Trowel: Used to contour and smooth large surfaces of the mold.

Strike-Off Bar: The strike-off bar is a straight edged steel bar, used for leveling the extreme
upper and lower flask surfaces. These surfaces are flattened to the height of the flask
edge. The bottom side is used for a level surface to set the mold on. The top is leveled prior
to cutting the sprue and the pouring basin using the strike-off bar.

Sprue Cutter: (Only used in permanent pattern sand mold casting). A tapered
hollow tube that cuts through the compacted sand of the cope half of the mold. The sprue is
the passageway into which the molten material is poured into the cavity created by the
pattern.
 Typical Hand Tools

Molders Bench: The metal workbench that is designed to hold some of the molders tools and
accommodate the pattern board, flask, and area for retaining a good portion of the sand.
This bench is provided with a bottom tray for catching sand from the riddling and strike off
procedures. The molders bench also has rails and ties to support the mold/flask halves.

Molders Bench

D. Mold Preparation Procedure - With some minor exceptions the procedure for
preparing the mold in both permanent and expendable pattern sand mold casting is the
same:
1. Using the molders bench, lay the pattern board on the rails, sprue well up, and
insert the cope side of the flask into the alignment holes
that coincide with the drag pins.

2. Place a chalk marks on the edges of the pattern board, in alignment

with the sprue well. There should be a mark on both the
long and short axes of the pattern board. This will
allow for cutting of the sprue at a later time.

3. Dust a mold release, or parting compound, made of talc, over the pattern
geometry. This will facilitate removal of the pattern once the flask half has been
rammed.

4. Riddle prepared sand (mulled) over the pattern that is facing up

through the cope side of the flask. This is done to a depth of
about 1 to 1-1/2 inches. The finely sifted sand helps ensure that
a smooth surface finish is attained. This fine layer of sand is hand packed as
evenly as possible over the pattern geometry.

5. Continue to introduce sand into the mold (no need to riddle) until the flask half is
about 1/2 to 2/3 full.

6. Peen ram the sand around the edges of the flask and directly over the pattern
geometry.

7. Fill the mold half to completely overflowing with prepared sand.

Ram this sand until it is thoroughly compacted.

8. Using the strike-off bar, "grade" the sand until it is level with the sides of the flask
half.

9. At this time the bottom (cope) half of the mold is complete. The mold half now
needs to be turned over to facilitate the completion of the mold. Place a
blank moldboard on top of the cope half of the mold. Gripping the flask and
moldboard, turn the flask over with the alignment pins pointing up.

10. Guide the "drag half" of the flask onto the "cope" alignment pins, and settle it onto the
pattern board.

11. Continue this half of mold preparation by following steps #3 through #8.

12. After completing the strike-off procedure for this half of the mold, it is time to cut the
sprue. First find the alignment chalk marks on the edge of the pattern board.
Using the sprue cutter, and lining up the marks, firmly press the cutter
down through the compacted sand, turning it slightly from side to side,
until it bottoms out on the pattern board.
 13. With the sprue cutter still buried in the sand, cut the sprue basin with the spoon
shaped tool (slick). Do this by digging a shallow bowl around the sprue cutter.
Pack any remaining loose sand by hand.

14. Cut another shallow bowl a few inches away from the sprue basin. Connect the
two bowls with a small trough that is not as deep as the two bowls. This second
basin allows the molten material to be poured first into it, and then flow
up and through the trough into the sprue basin and down the runway (sprue passage)
into the mold cavity.

15. Remove the sprue cutter, being careful not to let any loose sand fall down the
sprue. Pack any loose sand by hand that may be on the top of the mold.

II. Full Mold Sand Casting

A. General Description - This mold making process uses a consumable pattern,
typically made of an expanded foam (Styrofoam) product. In the previous sand mold making
process the mold cavity was made up in the flask halves. In the full mold process the mold
cavity is created by vaporizing the foam pattern while simultaneously filling the cavity with
molten material. This process utilizes the production capabilities of foam molding and takes
advantage of faster mold making, typically better surface finish on the part, and elimination of
many core-making processes. The latter is accomplished by filling any voids that need to be
cast in the part geometry with the dry molding sand. The sand used in this process is essentially
the same with the exception of needing less preparation. It will need to be riddled and mulled as
before, but does not require large amounts of additives, if any.

B. Machine Design - The machinery required in the full mold process is essentially the
same as used in the match plate process. The riddle and mull will be used, as before, and in
addition we will use the squeeze/jolt machine. This machine assists in the settling
of the sand around the foam pattern, and to fill any voids that may be needed. This settling may
also be accomplished with vibrating tables or shakers.

C. Mold Preparation Procedure

1. The full mold will be prepared at the molders bench, using a two piece
flask. A mold blank board is placed on the bench first. The flask is
assembled and set on the moldboard

2. A thin layer of sand is rammed evenly on the bottom of the flask

(moldboard). Loose sand is placed on top of the compressed sand, and the pattern
(sprue up) is placed and settled into the layer of loose sand.
3. Loose sand is used to cover the entire pattern to the upper edge of the flask
(filled).

4. The flask and moldboard are moved to the squeeze/jolt machine, and
placed on its lower table.

5. The air valve is opened on the machine and it will begin to move up and down,
jolting the mold on the down stroke. This action settles the sand all around the pattern. If
needed, sand may be added to the mold to maintain a full flask.

6. Make sure the mold is full and well settled. At this time the sprue needs to be checked to
ensure it is sticking up though the top layer of sand. If it is well above the flask top, it
will have to be trimmed flush with the top. A small bowl shaped basin can be
formed around the sprue to ease pouring, if needed.

REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Describe “draft” and its effect on the mold-making process.

2. Describe the effects of draft on finished or as-cast parts.

3. Explain why a metal casting process demonstrated in lab is called permanent

pattern, expendable mold casting?

4. Give three reasons for using silica sand as a mold-making medium.

5. How would the casting of different metals require changing of the pattern?

6. Why might the process of casting metal be considered economically

advantageous?

7. Name two metal casting processes that use expendable mold casting.

8. Describe full mold metal casting in terms of cavity content?

9. In our metal casting demonstration, the metal was heated in a container inside the
furnace. What is this container called?

10. List the five steps common to all sand casting processes.

11. What tool is used to level the compacted sand in a full flask?

12. What is the function of both mechanically operated and hand operated riddles?
13. How is sand reconditioned prior to the mold making process?