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CASTING

Material Processing defined as the science and technology by which a material is converted into a useful shape with a structure and properties that are optimized for the proposed service environment. is all that is done to convert stuff into things 4 Basic Family Processes : 1. Casting Processes exploit the fluidity of a liquid as it assumes the shape of a prepared container and solidifies upon cooling 2. Material Removal Processes begin with an oversize piece and remove material to leave a desired shape. often termed to as machining, to describe the mechanical cutting of materials. it is also used to incorporate material removal by all means, including chemical, thermal and physical processes. 3. Deformation Processes exploit the ductility of certain materials, most notably metals, and produce the desired shape by mechanical rearrangement, or plasticity. 4. Consolidation Processes are those processes that put pieces together, and include welding, brazing, soldering, adhesive bonding, and mechanical fasteners. Powder metallurgy the manufacture of the desired shape from particulate material and involves aspects of casting, forming, and consolidation. Distinctive Advantages and Limitations of the various families, and their unique characteristics : 1. Cast Products have extremely complex shapes but also have structures that are produced by solidification and are subject to associated defects, such as shrinkage and porosity. 2. Material Removal Processes are capable of outstanding dimensional precision but produce scrap as material and is cut away to produce the desired shape.

3. Deformation Processes can have high rates of production but generally require powerful equipment and dedicated tools or dies. 4. Complex Products can often be assembled from simple shapes, but the joint areas are often modified by the joining process and may possess characteristics different form the base material. The manufacture of any product or component involves not only design and material selection but also the selection of the process or processes involved in obtaining the desired shape and achieving the desired properties. Decisions should be made with the knowledge of all available alternatives and their associated assets and limitations.

Family Casting

Subgroup Expendable Mold

Typical Processes Sand Casting Shell Casting Investment Casting Lost Foam Casting Die Casting Permanent Mold Casting Turning Milling Drilling Boring Sawing Etching Electropolishing Electrodischarge Machining Water Jet Laser Beam

Multiple Use Mold

Material Removal

Mechanical Machining

Nontraditional Machining

Deformation Processes Wire Drawing Cold Forming

Hot Bulk Forming

Forging Rolling Extrusion

Swaging Roll Forming Deep Drawing

Consolidation Processes

Welding

Oxyfuel Arc Plasma Resistance Laser

Brazing Soldering Adhesive Bonding Mechanical Joining Discrete Fasteners Integral Fasteners Press Fit Shrink Fit

Casting Casting is a manufacturing process by which a liquid material such as a suspension of minerals as used in ceramics or molten metal or plastic is introduced into a mould, allowed to solidify within the mould, and then ejected or broken out to make a fabricated part. In casting process, a solid material is first melted, heated to proper temperature, and sometimes treated to modify its chemical composition. The molten material, generally metal, is then poured into a cavity or mold that contains it in the desired shape during solidification. Thus, in a single step, simple or complex shapes can be made from any configuration the designer desires. In addition, the resistance to working stresses can be optimized, directional properties can be controlled, and a pleasing appearance can be produced. Casting is one of the most important of the manufacturing process because it has distinct advantages in the production of complex shapes, parts having hollow sections or internal cavities, parts that contain irregular curved surfaces (except those made from thin sheet metal), very large parts, and parts made from metals that are difficult to machine.

Basic requirements of casting process 1. A mold cavity, having the desired shape and size, must be produced with due allowance for shrinkage of the solidifying material. Any geometrical feature desired in the finished casting must exist in the cavity. Consequently, the mold material must be able to reproduce the desired detail and also have a refractory character so that it will not contaminate the molten material that it will contain. 2. A melting process must be capable of providing molten material not only at the proper temperature, but also in the desired quantity, with acceptable quality, and within a reasonable cost. 3. A pouring technique must be devised to introduce the molten material into the mold. Provision should be made for the escape of all air or gases present in the cavity prior to pouring, as well as these generated by the introduction of the hot metal. The molten material is then free to fill the cavity, producing a high-quality casting that is fully dense and free of defects. 4. The solidification process should be properly designed and controlled. Castings should be designed so that solidification and solidification shrinkage can occur without producing internal porosity or voids. In addition, the molds should not provide excessive restraint to the shrinkage that accompanies cooling. If they do, the casting may crack when it is still hot and its strength is low. 5. It must be possible to remove the casting from the mold. 6. After the casting is removed from the mold, various cleaning, finishing, and inspection operations may be required. Extraneous material is usually attached where the metal entered the cavity, excess material may be present along mold parting lines, and mold material often adheres to the casting surface. All of these must be removed from the finished casting. Casting terminology The process starts with the construction of a pattern, an approximate duplicate of final casting. The molding material is then packed around the pattern and the pattern is removed to produce a mold cavity. The flask is the box that contains the molding aggregate. In a two-part mold, the cope is the name given to the top half of the pattern, flask, mold, or core. The drag refers to the bottom half of any of these features. A core is a sand shape that is inserted into the mold to produce the internal features of a casting, such as holes or passages for water cooling. A core print is that region added to the pattern, core, or a mold that is used to locate and support the core within the mold. The mold material and the core then combine to form the mold cavity, the shaped hole into which the molten metal is poured and solidified to produce the desired casting. A riser is an extra void created in the mold that will also fill with molten metal. It provides a reservoir of a material that can flow into the mold cavity to compensate for any shrinkage that occurs during solidification. If the riser contains the last material to solidify, shrinkage voids should be located in the riser and not the final casting. The gating system is the network of channels used to deliver the molten metal to the mold cavity. The pouring cup (pouring basin) is the portion of the gating system that initially receives the molten metal from the pouring vessel and controls its delivery to the rest of the

mold. From the pouring cup, the metal travels down a sprue (the vertical portion of the gating system), then along horizontal channels, called runners, and finally through controlled entrances, or gates, into the mold cavity. Additional channels, known as vents, may be included to provide an escape for the gases that are generated within the mold. The parting line or parting surface is the interface that separates the cope and drag halves of a mold, flask, or pattern and also the halves of a core in some core-making processes. Draft is the taper on a pattern or casting that permits it to be withdrawn from the mold. The mold or die used to produce casting cores is known as a core box. Finally, the term casting is used to describe both the process and the product when molten metal is poured and solidified in a mold. The solidification process Casting is a solidification process where the molten material is poured into a mold and then allowed to freeze into the desired final shape. Solidification occurs in two stages, nucleation and growth, and it is important to control both of these processes. Nucleation occurs when a particle of a stable solid forms from within the molted liquid. As the material changes state, its internal energy is reduced since at lower temperatures the solid phase is more stable that the liquid. At the same time, however, interface surfaces are created between the new solid and the parent liquid. Formation of these surfaces requires a positive contribution of energy. As a result, nucleation generally occurs at a temperature somewhat below the equilibrium melting point. The difference between the melting point and the temperature of nucleation is known as the amount of undercooling. Each nucleation event produces a crystal or grain in the final casting. Since finegrained materials possess enhanced mechanical properties, efforts to promote nucleation tend to be beneficial to the final product. It is not uncommon to intentionally introduce impurities into the liquid before pouring the mold. These small particles of solid provide numerous sites for nucleation and promote formation of a uniform, finr-grained product. The practice of intentionally producing impurities is known as inoculation or grain refinement. The second step in the solidification process is growth, which occurs as the evolved heat of fusion is continually extracted from the liquid material. Directional solidification, in which the solidification interface sweeps continuously through the material, can be used to assure the production of a sound casting.
Cooling Curves can provide one of the useful tools for studying the solidification process. By inserting thermocouples into a casting and monitoring the temperature versus time, one can obtain valuable insight into what is happening in the various regions. Cooling curve for a pure metal or eutectic composition alloy: Pouring temperature - the temperature of the liquid material when it first enters the mold cavity.

Superheat - the difference between the pouring temperature and the freezing temperature of the material. The higher the superheat, the more time the allowed for material to flow into the intricate details of the mold cavity before it begins to freeze. Cooling rate - the rate at which the liquid or solid is cooling and can be viewed as the slope of the cooling curve at any given point. Thermal arrest - the plateau in the cooling curve that occurs during the solidification of a material with fixed melting point. Total Solidification time the time from the start of pouring to the end of solidification. Local Solidification time the time from the start of solidification to the end of solidification.

Cooling Curve of an Alloy that has a Freezing Range: Freezing range the difference between the liquidus and solidus, if an alloy is used that does not have a distinct melting point. Recalescence the increase in temperature.

Prediction of Solidification Time: Chvorinovs Rule the amount of that must be removed from a casting to cause it to solidify is directly proportional to the amount of superheating and the amount of metal in the casting, or the casting volume.
ts = B(V/A)n where n = 1.5 to 2.0 ts = the total solidification time V = volume of casting A = surface area B = mold constant

The Cast Structure the structure that results when molten metals are poured into molds and permitted to solidify may have as many as three distinct regions or zones.
Chill zone a narrow band of randomly oriented crystals that forms on the surface of a casting. -rapid nucleation occurs here due to the presence of the mold walls and the relatively rapid surface cooling. Columnar zone where the favorably oriented crystals grow until all of the liquid has solidified, producing long, thin columnar grains. Equiaxed zone region spherical, randomly oriented crystals. -isotropic properties are observed in this region of casting.

Molten Metal Problems Castings begin with molten metal, and many of the reactions that occur between molten metal and its surroundings can lead to defects in casting. Oxygen and molten metal often react to produce metal oxides which can be carried with the molten metal during pouring and filing the mold. It is known as dross or slag. This can be controlled by using special precautions during melting and pouring and by good design practice. Fluxes can be used to protect the metal during melting. Measures can be taken to agglomerate the dross and cause it to float to the surface of the metal, where it can be skimmed off prior to pouring. Special ladles can be used which pour from beneath the surface. Gas porosity is also considered a problem. It

is the bubbles that had formed when the solid structure cannot accommodate the gas that has dissolve in liquid metals before castings. In order to prevent this one approach that is used is to prevent the gas from initially dissolving in the molten metal. The other technique is to remove the gas from the molten metal before pouring. Vacuum degassing subjects the molten metal to a low pressure environment. Under these conditions the amount of dissolved gas reduces as the system seeks to establish equilibrium within the surroundings. Gas Flushing is also effective. It is the passing the small bubbles of inert or reactive gas through the melt. Fluidity Fluidity is the ability of a metal to flow and fill a mold. When molten metal is poured to produce a casting, it should flow first into all regions of the mold cavity and then freeze into its new shape. It is vitally important that these two functions occur in proper sequence. Misruns and cold shuts are produced when the metal begins to freeze before it has filled the mold completely. Pouring Temperature Fluidity is dependent on the composition, freezing temperature, and freezing range of the metal or alloy, but the most important controlling factor is usually the pouring heat or the amount of superheat. Penetration is a defect where the metal not only fills the mold cavity but also fills small voids between the small particles in a sand mold. The products where then contained small particles of embedded sand. Gating System The gating system serves to deliver the molten metal to all the sections of the mold cavity. Slow filing and high loss of heat can result in misruns and cold shuts, on the other rapid filing rates or filling can produce erosion of the gating system and mold cavity and might result in the entrapment of mold material in the final casting. Another function of the gating system is to minimize turbulent flow which tends to promote excessive absorption of gases and oxidation of the molten metal and accelerates erosion. The first part of the gating system is the pouring cup. This is where the molten bronze first enters the mold. It needs to be large enough to catch the bronze and force metal into the mold. The next part is the Sprue. Square sprue is used to minimize turbulence and created more pressure at the bottom of the mold for a complete fill. The sprue carries the metal downward and feeds metal to the Runners that are connected to the part being cast. Runners are smaller than the sprue and are located about every 6" for good metal distribution. The Vents are for the air that is being expelled as the metal fills the mold. Vents also serves a way to remove the wax from the mold. Solidification Shrinkage Most metals and alloys undergo a noticeable contraction when they are in mold cavity and begin to cool. When this occur, it is important to control the form of the resulting void because metals and alloys with short freezing ranges, such as pure metals and eutectic alloys, tend to form large cavities or pipes. Formation of large cavities or pipes can be avoided by designing the casting to have directional solidification where the solidification begins farthest away from the feed gate or

riser and move progressively toward it. When the metal solidifies and shrinks, the shrinkage void is continually filled with liquid metals therefore the final shrinkage void is located in the riser or gating system. Alloys with large freezing ranges have a period of time when material is in a mushy (liquid plus solid) condition. As the material cools, the amount of solid increases and tends to isolate small pockets of remaining liquid. It is impossible for additional liquid to feed into the shrinkage areas, and the resultant structure contains small but numerous shrinkage pores dispersed throughout. This type of shrinkage is far more difficult to prevent by means of gating and risering, and a porous product may be inevitable. If a gas or liquid tight product is desired, the castings can be impregnated (the pores filled with a resinous material or lower-melting-temperature metal) in a subsequent operation. Castings with dispersed porosity tend to have poor ductility, toughness, and fatigue life. After solidification is complete, a casting will contract further as it cools to room temperature. Compensation should be made for these dimensional changes when the mold cavity or pattern is designed. The casting is produced in rigid mold, such as the metal mold is used in the casting. If the mold provides constraint during the time of contraction, tensile forces can be generated within the casting and cracking can occur. It may be desirable to eject the castings as soon as solidification is complete. Three Principal Stages of Shrinkage Shrinkage of the liquid Solidification shrinkage as the liquid turns to solid Solid metal contraction depends on the coefficient of thermal contraction (property of a metal being cast) and the amount of superheat Liquid Contraction Rarely a problem in casting production because the metal in the gating system continues to flow into the mold cavity as the metal in the cavity cools and contracts When metals cools between the liquidus and solidus temperatures and changes state from liquid to solid, amounts of shrinkage occur Some Common Engineering Metals Aluminum Copper Magnesium Zinc Low-Carbon Steel High-Carbon Steel White Cast iron Gray cast iron Solidification Shrinkage (Percent) 6.6 4.9 4.0 3.7 2.5-3.0 4.0 4.0-5.5 -1.9

Not all metals contract upon solidification, some expands, such as gray cast iron, where the low-density graphite flakes form in the solid structure

Risers and Riser Design Risers or Feeder Added reservoirs designed to feed liquid metal to the solidifying casting as a means of compensating for solidification shrinkage. It must solidify after the casting Designed to conserve metals Yield of a casting= casting weight______ Total weight of metal poured Made as small as possible, yet still able to perform their task Because metals are less dense as liquids than as solids (with some exceptions), castings shrink as they cool. This can leave a void, generally at the last point to solidify. Risers prevent this by providing molten metal at the point of likely shrinkage, so that the cavity forms in the riser, not the casting. Should be located so that directional solidification occurs from the extremities of the mold cavity back toward the riser. Since the thickest regions of a casting will be the last to freeze, the risers should feed directly into these locations. Types of risers possible 1. Top riser - one that sits on top of a casting.. - because of their location, they have shorter feeding distances and occupy less space within the flask, thereby providing more freedom for the layout of the pattern and gating system 2. Side risers located adjacent to the mold cavity, displaced horizontally along the parting line 3. Blind riser if the riser contained entirely within the mold 4. Open riser riser open to the atmosphere 5. Live risers also known as hot risers - receive the last hot metal that enter the mold and generally do so at a time when the metal in the mold cavity has already begun to cool and solidify - they can be smaller that dead (or cold risers) 6. Cold risers fill with metal that has already flowed through the mold cavity Top risers are almost always Dead risers. Risers that are part of the gating system are generally live risers. Chvorinov's Rule a mathematical relationship first expressed by Nicolas Chvorinov in 1940, that relates the solidification time for a simple casting to the volume and surface area of the casting. The relationship can be written as:

Where t is the solidification time, V is the volume of the casting, A is the surface area of the casting that contacts the mold, n is a constant, and B is the mold constant.

The mold constant B depends on the properties of the metal and mold and their initial temperatures. The constant n is usually 2. The rule simply states that under the same conditions, a casting with large surface area and small volume will cool more rapidly than small surface areas and large volumes. The constant n is 2 for insulating molds and 1 for conducting molds Minimum size of a riser can be calculated from Chvorinovs rule by setting the total solidification time for the riser to be greater that the total solidification time for the casting. Since both cavities receive the same metal and are in the same mold, the mold constant B, will be the same for both regions. Assuming n=2, and a safe difference in solidification time is 25% (the riser takes 25% longer to solidify than the casting), we can write this condition as triser = tcasting or (V/A)2 riser=(V/A)2casting V=D2H/4 A=DH + 2(D2/4)

Specifying the riser height as a function of the riser diameter enable the V/A ratio for riser to be written as a simple expression with one unknown, D. The V/A ratio for casting can be calculated from its particular geometry. Substitution of this information into equation produces a relation with one unknown, the size of the riser required. If the riser and casting share a surface, as with a blind top riser, the common surface area should be subtracted from both components since it will not be a surface of heat loss to either. There are actually a wide variety of methods to calculate riser size. Final aspect of riser design is the connection between the riser and the casting. It is desirable that the connection area be as small as possible. But connection must be large enough that the link does not freeze before solidification of the casting is complete. Short connections are most desirable. The mold material surrounding the link will then receive heat from both the casting and the riser. It will heat rapidly and remain hot throughout the cast, thereby preventing solidification of the metal in the channel. Risering Aids o Intended to promote directional solidification o Seek to reduce the number and size of risers (increasing the yield of casting) o This works by either speeding the solidification of the casting or retarding the solidification of the riser External Chills masses of high-heat-capacity, high-thermal-conductivity material that are placed in the mold (adjacent to the casting) to accelerate the cooling of various regions. Chills can effectively promote directional solidification or increase the effective feeding distance of a riser. They can often be used to reduce the number of risers required for casting.

Internal Chills pieces of metal hat are placed within the mold cavity to absorb heat and promote more rapid solidification - since some metal will melt during the operation, it will absorb not only the heat-capacity energy, but also some heat fusion - must be made from the same alloy that are being cast Ways to slow the cooling of risers (seek to reduce the riser size rather than promote directional solidification 1. switching from a blind riser to an open riser 2. placing insulating sleeves and toppings around the riser 3. surrounding the sides or top of the riser with exothermic material that supplies added heat to just the riser segment of the mold Risers are not always necessary. For alloys with large freezing ranges, the risers would not be particularly effective, and one generally accepts the fine, dispersed porosity. For processes such as die casting, low-pressure permanent molding, and centrifugal casting, the positive pressures provide the feeding action that is required to compensate for solidification. Typical Components of a Two-part Sand Casting Mold.

Patterns The Casting process can be divided into two basic categories:
1. 2. The expendable-mold processes Those that use a permanent, reusable mold

Modifications that are incorporated into a pattern are called allowances, and the most important of these is the shrinkage allowance. Because of the contraction that a casting experience as it cools down, the pattern must be slightly larger than the casting to produce the desired final dimensions. The amount of compensation depends on the metal that is being cast. Typical allowances for some engineering metals:

Cast Iron Steel Aluminum Magnesium Brass

0.8-1.0% 1.5-2.0% 1.0-1.3% 1.0-1.3% 1.5%

Shrinkage allowances are often introduced into a pattern with the help of the shrink rules. However, for thermal contractions, there are also different factors that should be considered that may affect the final dimensions such as the eutectoid reaction and graphitization. Mold material, in many casting processes, is formed around the pattern and the pattern is then removed to create the necessary cavity. Consideration must be given to the location of the parting line. If the pattern contains surfaces that are perpendicular to the parting line, the friction between the pattern and the mold, or any horizontal movement of the pattern during extraction, would tend to damage the mold. As soon as the pattern is withdrawn a slight amount, it is free from the sand on all surfaces, and it can be withdrawn further without damaging the mold. The amount of draft is determined by the size and shape of the pattern, the depth of the cavity, the method used to withdraw the pattern, the pattern material, the mold material and the molding process. However, since the draft allowances tend to increase the size of a pattern and thus the size and weight of a casting, it is generally desirable to keep them to the minimum that will permit satisfactory pattern removal. When machined surfaces must be provided on the casting, it is often necessary to provide machining allowance or finish allowance on the pattern, which depends to the great extent on the casting process and the mold material. If a core is to be used to form a hole or interior cavity, it too must be oversized to compensate for shrinkage. However if a machining allowance is to be included, it should be subtracted from the core dimensions because machining will increase the size of a hole. If the casting is made directly into a metal mold, all the pattern allowances should be incorporated into the mold cavity. In addition, the change in mold dimensions caused by the heating of the mold from room temperature to its elevated operating temperature should be included as an additional correction. Some casting Shapes require an additional allowance for distortion, which depends on the particular configuration of the casting, and the designer must use experience and judgment to provide the required distortion allowance. Design Considerations in Casting To produce the best-quality product at the lowest possible cost, it is important that the designer of castings give careful attention to several process requirements and, if possible, work closely with the producing foundry. One of the first features that must be considered is the location of the parting plane, an important part of all the processes that use segmented or separable mold. The location of the parting plane may affect the following:
1. 2. 3. 4. The number of cores The use of effective and economical gating Weight of the final casting Method of supporting the cores

5. Final dimensional accuracy 6. Ease of molding

The location of the parting plane can be dictated by certain features such as specification of round edges and specification of draft. Since mold closure may not always be consistent, consideration should also be given to the fact that dimensions across the parting plane are subject to more variation than those that lie within a given segment of the mold. Controlling the solidification process is of prime importance in obtaining quality castings, and this control is also related to design. Those portions of the casting that have a high ratio of surface area to volume will experience more rapid cooling and will be stronger and harder than the other regions. Heavier sections will cool more slowly and unless special precautions are observed, may contain shrinkage cavities and porosity or have large grain-size structures. Ideally, a casting should have uniform thickness in all directions. In most cases, however, it is not possible. When the section thickness must change, it is best if these changes be gradual. When sections of casting intersect, two problems will arise:
1. Stress concentration Can be minimized by providing generous fillets at all interior corners. However, excessive fillets can augment the second problem. 2. Hot Spots Localized thick sections cool more slowly than the others and tend to be sites of localized, abnormal shrinkage. When the differences in section are large, the hot spot areas are likely to contain serious defects.

Defects can be sites of subsequent failure and should be prevented if at all possible. Sometimes cored holes can be used to avoid hotspots. Where heavy sections must exist, an adjacent riser is often used to feed the section during solidification and shrinkage. If the riser is designed properly, the shrinkage cavity will lie totally within the riser, and can be removed when the riser is cut off. Intersecting ribs can also cause shrinkage problems. Where sections intersect to form continuous ribs, contraction occurs in opposite directions as the various ribs contract. As a consequence, cracking frequently occurs at the intersection. By staggering the ribs, there is an opportunity for distortion to occur, providing relaxation to the high residual stresses that would otherwise include cracking. Large unsupported areas should be avoided in all types of casting, since these regions tend to warp during cooling. The warpage then disrupts the good, smooth surface appearance that is so often desired. When designing castings, minimum section thickness should also be considered. Specific values are rarely given, however, because they tend to vary with the shape and size of the casting, the type of metal, the method of casting, and the practice of the individual foundry. The design considerations associated with the production of a high-quality casting are usually quite complex and interrelated. For these reasons, the input of a skilled and knowledgeable foundry worker is usually recommended.

CASTING

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