23-07-2015

SAND CASTING

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.

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PREPERATION 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, 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.

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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FINAL CASTING PATTERN

TWO PART SAND

MOULD

SAND MOULDING

PATTERN AND MOULD

A pattern is a replica of the final product and is used for preparing the
mould cavity. It is made of either wood or metal.
The mould cavity, which contains the molten material, is essentially a
negative of the final product.
The mould material should possess a refractory character and withstand
the pouring temperature.
When the mould is used for single casting, it is made of sand. Such moulds
are called expandable moulds since they are destroyed while taking out the
casting.
When the mould is used repeatedly, it is made of metal or graphite and is
called permanent mould.
A pattern is used for making a cavity in an expandable mould, whereas, a
permanent mould is an assembly of two or more metal blocks with
appropriate inner cavities.
For making holes or hollow cavities inside the casting, cores made of either
sand or metal are used.

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MOULDING MATERIALS
The major parts of moulding material in sand casting are
i. 70 - 85% silica sand (SiO2)
ii. 10 - 12% bonding material (clay and cereal)
iii. 3 - 6% water

Silica sand, bonding materials and water are mixed together for following
requirements
i. Refractoriness to withstand high temperature of molten metal
(silica sand).
ii. Cohesiveness to retain moulded shape (clay and water).
iii. 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.
iv. Collapsibility for easy removal of casting and to permit the metals
to shrink.

The performance of the mould depends upon the following factors:

i. 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.
ii. 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.
iii.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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GATING SYSTEM
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.

The basic elements of the gating system are:

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.

COMPONENTS OF GATING SYSTEM

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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.

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)

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.

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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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 permanent mould 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.

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