CASTING

Controlled solidification of liquid metal into the shape required

1. Casting techniques
Ingot casting Continuous casting Sand casting Investment casting Die casting Post-cast forging, rolling etc Casting direct to final shape

2. Casting alloys 3. Cast microstructure, defects and properties

Casting processes sand casting investment casting

green sand

shell moulding

chemically bonded sand die casting low P gravity

lost wax

loast foam

plaster moulding intermediate processing

high P

ingot

concast

Sources www.efunda.com www.castmetalsfederation.com www.key-to-metals.com

How do we select manufacturing processes?

Material class Materials to which the process can be applied characterised by melting point and hardness Size Minimum and maximum overall size measured by volume or weight Shape Aspect ratio, web thickness-to-depth ratio surface to volume ratio Complexity Information content, symmetry etc Tolerance Dimensional accuracy or precision Roughness Surface finish Surface detail Smallest radius of curvature at corner Min batch size Minimum number of components to be made Production rate Time to produce one component, cycle time Cost Cost per component

Casting processes

Ingot casting

Continuous casting
Molten steel enters a water-cooled copper mould from the tundish. Steel at the mould surface is rapidly cooled and solidified to form a thin solid shell.

Advantages over ingot casting: Improved quality less segregation and fewer inclusions Less waste ingot top and bottom discarded due to defects and inclusions Higher productivity & efficiency can feed straight into rolling mill.

Sand casting
Forming a mould with the help of a pattern pressed into a sand mixture and then removed, after which molten liquid metal is poured into the cavity in the mould.

Sand casting

Sand Casting (contd)

Lost foam [Replicast]

Sands may be chemically bonded around pattern

Green Sand

[See shell moulding process]

Investment Casting
(the lost-wax process)
a precision casting process to fabricate near-net-shaped metal parts from almost any alloy

Titanium alloy

Aluminium alloy

Liquid food-filling machine part (Titanium alloy) 400mm x 120mm x 60mm

Ti / steel bio-compatible alloys

Airbus track landing flap Aluminium alloy 600mm x 500mm x 250mm

Stage 1: Pattern making

Sacrificial pattern: made from special casting waxes normally injection moulded can be hand made for small numbers many parts attached to single tree

Wax

Injection mould tool:

tool steel, < 1,000,000, < 6 months lead time

Stage 2: Tool making

Dip tree in ceramic slurry

Dip tree in refractory sand

Repeat dip / dry 5 10 mm shell

Melt/ vapourise pattern

based on aluminosilicates, alumina, and silica

Stage 3: Metal casting

Pre-heat shell

Pour alloy & solidify

Remove shell

Finish machining

OVERALL IC PROCESS: Sacrificial pattern - complex shapes small features with good surface finish Large casting size range up to 100 kg Economic for small & large batch sizes Most metal alloys with melting point < 2500 C: Steels, Aluminium alloys, Titanium alloys, Precious metals

e.g. Turbine blade (Ni superalloy) investment casting

e.g. Turbine blade (Ni superalloy) investment casting

e.g. Turbine blade (Ni superalloy) investment casting

wax pattern tree

wax pattern Shell-coated with refractory investment

Cores ceramic or vitreous silica can be dissolved out of casting

Vacuum casting - stops oxidation

e.g. Turbine blade (Ni superalloy) investment casting

DIE CASTING
for mass production of non-ferrous (Zn, Al, Mg) components Four types of die-casting: Gravity Low pressure High pressure: Hot chamber Cold chamber

Zinc die cast parts

Aluminium die cast parts

Gravity die casting

Manual, much like sand casting, but with coated (~1mm of ceramic) steel or graphite die All alloys castable (even steel - with graphite or coated die)

Applications: car/truck pistons, gears, cylinder heads, pipe fittings

Low-pressure die casting

Common for Al alloys (molten metal not exposed to air) Compressed-gas pressure forces molten metal upwards through refractory pouring tube into die

Applications: Automotive wheels and cylinder heads, gearbox and clutch covers, transmission and differential housings, electric motor stators, transformer covers and heat sinks.

High-pressure die casting

Al, Zn and Mg alloys Molten metal injected into tool using plunger Good for thin walls and fine detail replication Fast cycle time

Applications: clutch and gearbox housings; motor frames and cases, switchgear housings; general applications: pulleys, rotating parts, record player parts, etc.

Die Casting
repeated use of a permanent (usually steel) die rapid cooling and solidification (due to high thermal conduction of steel die (c.f. sand/investment) from just above Tmelt --> small equi-axed grains and a high production rate.

The Die
must have high temp stability and good thermal conductivity (steel, graphite.)

must have low adhesion between casting and die (coat with graphite, silicone) component & die must be designed to release casting quickly complex design, long lead times, high cost (1000 - 100000)

COMPARISON OF CASTING PROCESSES

Sand casting Investment casting Die casting Choice of casting process dependant on many factors, including metal alloy fluidity, and melt temp (determines mould material) cast component tolerances/detail/shape/size control required over microstrucure (via heat-flow etc)

Casting to final shape preferred to forming of ingot when: a large complicated shape required quality and strength of component NOT very important (internal defects and cast microstructure generally give poor mechanical properties c.f. forming) ductility of alloy is too low to allow hot or cold working it is cheaper !!

Comparison of Casting Processes

SAND Metals Sizes (kg) Minimum dimension Surface finish Any 10-2 -105 5 mm Poor DIE Non-Fe 10-3 -1 1 mm Good INVESTMENT Any 10-2 -1 1 mm Good

CAPITAL COSTS LABOUR COSTS

Low High

High Low

Average High

Lead-time Production rates Minimum quantity

Days Low 1

Months Very high ~10000

Days Average 10 -1000

Defects in castings

Defects in castings
Casting defects: shrinkage porosity inclusions cracking and tearing Effect on properties: Reduced pressure tightness Reduced strength Poor fatigue properties

Contraction on solidification is ~7% for Al and ~3% for Fe. (However, Bi and Si both expand on solidification!) Coefficient of linear thermal expansion: ~23x10-6 oC-1 for solid Al ~11x10-6 oC-1 for solid Fe

Shrinkage compensation
All metals shrink on solidification Must compensate by scaling part dimensions
Metal / Alloy Volumetric solidification shrinkage (%)

Al Zn Mg Al-12Si

6.6 6.5 4.2 3.8 2.5 3.0

Shrinkage Factor (%)

Steel

Gas porosity in castings

e.g. as Al solidifies, only ~5% of the hydrogen dissolved in the liquid is retained in solution in the solid under equilibrium conditions. The other 95% will be rejected and can form gas pores. Even if it doesnt precipitate out, it can cause embrittlement (e.g. H in steel)

Grain structure in castings

Segregation in cast alloys

Variation in the freezing point of alloys leads to separation of alloys during cooling. Leads to variation in structure and properties Can be reduced by prolonged high temperature heat treatment (soaking).

Cast microstructure and defects: desirables..

Different casting techniques --> different cooling rates --> different microstructure --> different properties (strength, fracture) 1. Small uniform grain size pure metals + slow cooling --> larger grain sizes --> lower strength control by alloying, and/or rate of solidification, and/or seed crystals 2. Little shrinkage on solidification typical 0-7% contraction (c.f. <0.1% on subsequent cooling) can cause piping control with hot-top (ingots) or feeder-head (moulds) 3. No internal gas bubbles (they initiate cracks.) steel: C + O --> CO gas, plus N2 gas produced on solidification & cooling Al alloys: often get H2 gas bubbles prevention by killing the steel, vacuum casting, mould design (chills etc). 4. No solid oxide inclusions (they initiate cracks.) e.g. Al2O3 from surface of Al alloy melt; SiO2 from sand mould 5. No "segregation" (local variation in alloy composition, and hence properties) partially controllable using correct alloy, and fast solidification & cooling worse in large castings

Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIPing)

Leads to improved properties of castings Gas at high pressure consolidates metal. Steps in the HIP process:
Place component in chamber Evacuate Re-fill with inert gas at pressure Heat to soften metal
e.g. http://hipna.bodycote.com/index.asp?sid=markets&mn=frames.asp%3Fsid%3Dmarkets%26content%3D/main.asp

MOULD DESIGN ISSUES

Split Plane / Draft Angle

Select plane along which tool is split opened to remove part Re-entrant features require sliding tool parts expensive Find simplest geometry Apply draft angle to vertical faces enable part removal

Draft angle typically < 3

Feeding system
GATE

Gate: point of entry into cavity

RUNNER

Runner: flow path from sprue to gate or between gates

SPRUE

Sprue: channel metal poured into tapered to ensure constant volume flow rate

Mould filling

Turbulent flow will cause air bubbles to form in the melt These lead to GAS POROSITY in the solid
Aluminium die casting

Mould filling
Often melt has solid impurities (e.g. Al2O3 formed on surface of molten Al) Turbulent flow distributes these through melt inclusions in casting Turbulence can even damage sand tools leading to sand inclusions
Steel sand casting

Solution to turbulence defects

Design part geometry and tool and feed system to ensure steady filling

However there will always be some solid impurities in the melt and

Incomplete castings
Our tool currently gated both sides at one end Melt begins to cool as soon as enters tool Might solidify before it fills cavity completely Solution: arrange feed system to optimise fill rate

Gate

Shrinkage Cavities
Solidification shrinkage will lead to cavities if casting is not fed as it cools
Solution: use a gate riser - a reservoir of molten alloy that feeds to negate shrinkage

Shrinkage porosity
Different areas of the casting cool and solidify at different rates

Solidification shrinkage of some regions can be restricted by adjacent regions of more solid metal leads to hot tearing

Shrinkage porosity
POROSITY

Some geometries more prone to this than others Solution: re-design part Solution: control cooling rate
SAND TOOLS METAL TOOLS WATER COOLING

CHILLS

Reducing Gas Porosity / Solid Inclusions

Reduce turbulence through tool design Identify region of casting that solidifies last Introduce a top riser to trap bubbles / inclusions

Mould filling simulation

SPRUE GATE RISER

RUNNER GATE

TOP RISER CAST COMPONENT

Mould Design Issues: summary

Runners and gating.

Poor Feeding of a casting..

Good Casting design problems..

(a) no feeder-head

(c) chills eliminate porosity

(a) (b) feeder-head eliminates cavity (d) tapering eliminates porosity

(b)

(c)

(d)

(a) wall thickness variations, (b) corner hot-spot, (c) cross-rib hot-spot, (d) hottearing

CASTING ALLOYS

Common Casting Alloys

ALLOY
Always SAND-CAST: y Cast irons white, grey and nodular y Steel Usually SAND-CAST: y Copper alloys e.g. brass (20-30%Zn).. USUALLY INVESTMENT CAST: y Nickel superalloys turbine blades.

% usage in casting
84% 7% 2%

approx Tmelt
1200OC 1500OC 1000OC

1400OC

DIE-CAST into permanent steel moulds: 4% y Al alloys e.g. Al (3-4%Cu,3-12%Si) 1% y Mg alloys e.g. Mg (10%Al) 2% y Zn alloys e.g. Zn (2%Al, 1%Cu)

600OC 600OC 400OC

Cast iron

Grey iron (Fe + 2-4%C + 1-3%Si) Si allows the C to form into graphite flakes Cheap, hard, stiff, weak Low Tmelt (c.f. steel) & good fluidity Easy to machine Vibrational damping Little contraction on solidification

Spheroidal graphite (SG) iron Modify with small addition of Mg Improved strength, ductility and toughness Properties:

Aluminium-silicon
LM6 casting alloy (Al-12% Si) Low melting point Narrow melting range Little contraction on solidn Low ductility Modify with 0.02% sodium to refine microstructure Properties: