SPECIAL CASTING PROCESSES

What is the need for special casting processes?

· Sand mould casting process gives satisfactory results at low cost.

· All metals may be cast in sand moulds and there is no limitations as regards the size of the casting which can be
made.

· Sand casting enjoys wide applications and a very large quantity of castings even today is produced through sand
casting only.

· However, sand moulds are single purpose moulds as they are completely destroyed
after the casting has been removed from the moulding box.

Advantages of special casting process over sand casting

· Greater dimensional accuracy.

· Higher metallurgical quality.

· Lower production cost (in certain cases).

· Ability to cast extremely thin sections.

· High production rates.

· Better surface finish on the castings; therefore low labour and finishing costs.

· Minimum need for further machining of castings.

· Castings may possess a denser and finer grain structure.

· Castings are slightly stronger and more ductile than solid mould castings.

Shell Moulding

It is process in which the sand mixed with a thermosetting resin is allowed to come into contact with a heated
metallic pattern plate, so that a thin and strong shell of mould is formed around the pattern. Then the shell is
removed from the pattern and the cope and drag are removed together and kept in a flask with the necessary back-up
material and the molten metal is poured into the mould. Generally, dry and fine sand (90 to 140 GFN) that is
completely free of clay is used for preparing the shell moulding sand. The grain size to be chosen depends on the
surface finish desired on the casting. The synthetic resins used in shell moulding are essentially thermosetting resins,
which get hardened irreversibly by heat. The resins most widely used are phenol formaldehyde resins. Combined
with sand, they have high strength and resistance to heat. The first step in shell moulding is the preparation of sand
mixture in such a way that each of the sand grain is thoroughly coated with resin. Since the sand resin mixture is to
be cured at about 150⁰C temperature, only metal patterns with the associated gating systems are used. The metallic
pattern is heated to a temperature of 200-300 ⁰C depending on the type of the pattern. A silicon release agent is then
sprayed on the pattern and the metal plate. The heated pattern is then securely fixed to a dump box, wherein coated
sand is in an amount larger than required. Then dump box is rotated so that the coated sand falls on the heated
pattern. The heat from the pattern melts the resin adjacent to it thus causing the sand mixture to adhere to the pattern.
When desired shell thickness is achieved, the dump box is rotated backwards by 180 degrees so that the excess sand
falls back into the box, leaving the formed shell intact. The shell along with the pattern plate is kept in an electric or
gas-fired oven for curing the shell. Over curing may cause the mould to break down as the resin would burn out,
under curing may result in blowholes in the casting.

THE PROCESS

Heated pattern placed over a dump box containing a sand and resin mixture.

The box is inverted and a shell partially cures around the pattern.
The box is righted

The top is removed and the shell is further cured and is finally stripped from the pattern

After the other half of the mold has been made, shells are clamped together and shell mold is ready to receive
molten metal. Once the metal solidifies, the shell is broken.

Advantages

1. Shell moulding castings are generally more dimensionally accurate than sand castings.
2. A smoother surface can be obtained in shell castings. This is primarily achieved by the finer grain size used.
3. Draft angles, which are lower than the sand castings, are required in shell moulds, which considerably save the
material costs and the subsequent machining costs.
4. Sometimes, special cores may be eliminated in shell moulding. Since the sand has high strength the mould could
be designed in such a manner that internal cavities can be formed directly.
5. Permeability of the shell is high and therefore no gas inclusions occur.
6. Very small amount of sand needs to be used.
7. Mechanism is readily possible due to simple processing involved.

Limitations

1. The patters are very expensive and therefore are economical only if used in large scale production.
2. The size of the casting obtained by shell moulding is limited.
3. Highly complicated shapes cannot be obtained.
4. More sophisticated equipment is needed for handling the shell mouldings such as those required for heated metal
patterns.

Applications

Cylinders and cylinder heads for air-cooled IC engines, automobile transmission parts, cast tooth bevel gears, break
beam, radome hubs, track-rollers for crawler tractors, transmission planet carrier and small crankshaft are some of
the common applications of shell-mould casting.

Permanent Mould Casting

A casting made by pouring molten metal by gravity into a mould made of some metallic alloy or other material
of permanence is known as permanent mould casting.

Need for permanent mould casting:

For large-scale production, making a mold, for every casting to be produced, may be difficult and expensive.
Therefore, a permanent mold, called the die may be made from which a large number of castings can be
produced. , the molds are usually made of cast iron or steel, although graphite, copper and aluminum have been
used as mold materials. The process in which we use a die to make the castings is called permanent mold
casting or gravity die casting, since the metal enters the mold under gravity. Some time in die - casting we
inject the molten metal with a high pressure. When we apply pressure in injecting the metal it is called pressure
die casting process.

Die Casting
The die casting (also known as pressure die casting) may be defined as that casting which uses the permanent
mould (called die) and the molten metal is introduced into it by means of pressure, following are two type of die
casting machines commonly used for die casting:

(a) Hot chamber die casting machine:

In a hot chamber die casting machine, the melting pot is an integral part of the machine. The molten metal is
forced in the die cavity at pressure from 7 to 14 MPa. The pressure may be obtained by compressed air or by
hydraulically operated plunger. The hot chamber die casting machine is use for casting zinc, tin, lead and other
low casting melting alloys.
(b) Cold chamber die casting machine:

In a cold chamber die casting machine, the melting pot is usually separate from the machine and the molten
metal is not transferred to injection mechanism by ladle. The pressure on the casting metal may vary from 21 to
210 MPa and in some cases may reach 700 MPa. This process is used for casting aluminum, magnesium,
copper, brass alloys and other high melting alloys.
 Advantages of permanent mould casting

• Permanent Molding produces a sound dense casting with superior mechanical properties.

• The castings produced are quite uniform in shape have a higher degree of dimensional accuracy than castings
produced in sand

• The permanent mold process is also capable of producing a consistent quality of finish on castings

Disadvantages

• The cost of tooling is usually higher than for sand castings

• The process is generally limited to the production of small castings of simple exterior design, although
complex castings such as aluminum engine blocks and heads are now commonplace.

Slush Casting

The slush casting is a special application involving the use of permanent mould. It is used for casting low melting
temperature alloys. This method is only adopted for ornaments and toys of non-ferrous alloys.
 Centrifugal Casting

A casting process, in which the molten metal is poured and allowed to solidify while the mould is revolving, is
called centrifugal process. The casting produced under this centrifugal force is called centrifugal casting. This
process is especially designed for casting of symmetrical shape. The ferrous and the non-ferrous metals can be
obtained by this process. The casting produced by this process has dense and fine grained structure.

In this process, the mold is rotated rapidly about its central axis as the metal is poured into it. Because of the
centrifugal force, a continuous pressure will be acting on the metal as it solidifies. The slag, oxides and other
inclusions being lighter get separated from the metal and segregate towards the center. This process is normally used
for the making of hollow pipes, tubes, hollow bushes, etc., which are ax symmetric with a concentric hole. Since the
metal is always pushed outward because of the centrifugal force, no core needs to be used for making the concentric
hole. The mold can be rotated about a vertical, horizontal or an inclined axis or about its horizontal and vertical axes
simultaneously. The length and outside diameter are fixed by the mold cavity dimensions while the inside diameter
is determined by the amount of molten metal poured into the mold.

Advantages

• Formation of hollow interiors in cylinders without cores

• Less material required for gate

• Fine grained structure at the outer surface of the casting free of gas and shrinkage cavities and porosity

Limitations

• More segregation of alloy component during pouring under the forces of rotation

• Contamination of internal surface of castings with non -metallic inclusions

• Inaccurate internal diameter

 Investment Casting

It is also known as lost wax process or precision casting. The castings produced by this method are within very close
tolerance(±0.05mm).

Schematic illustration of Investment

casting
Mold to Wax
make pattern
pattern

Injecting Ejecting Pattern pattern

wax or pattern assembl
plastic y (tree)
pattern casting

Slurry Stucco Completed

coating coating mold
Castings by this
Molten method cab be
metal
made with very fine
detail and from
variety of materials
Pattern Pouring Shakeout
meltout

Advantages

1. Intricate shape, precision parts

2. High temperature process.
3. Recovery of pattern

Applications

Aircraft components, gears, cams, valves, jewelry, gas turbine blades, jet engine impellers, dental
equipment etc.