1.

Steps in Making Castings

There are five basic steps in making sand castings:
1. Patternmaking
2. Core and Molding making
3. Melting and pouring
4.cooling -solidification
5.Extraction and Cleaning

Types of Patterns
1.Single piece or solid pattern
2.Two piece or split pattern
3.Loose piece pattern
4.Cope and drag pattern
5.Gated pattern
6.Match plate pattern
7.Sweep pattern
8.Skeleton pattern
9.Segmental pattern
10. Follow board pattern

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Materials for Making Patterns
The common materials of which the patterns are made are as follows :

1. Wood 2. Metal 3. Plastic

4. Plaster 5. Wax

Characteristic Wood Aluminum Steel Plastic Cast iron

Machinability E G F G G
Wear resistance P G E F E
Strength F G E G G
Weightb E G P G P
Repairability E P G F G
Resistance to:
Corrosionc E E P E P
Swellingc P E E E E
E, Excellent; G, good; F, fair; P, poor.

Pattern Allowances
A pattern is always made larger than the final casting, because it carries certain allowances due to
metallurgical and mechanical reasons.
The following allowances are provided on the pattern :

a. Shrinkage or contraction allowance b. Machining allowance

c. Draft or taper allowance d. Distortion allowance
e. Raping or shake allowance
Shrinkage or contraction allowance:
Almost all the metals used in the casting work shrink or contract during cooling from pouring temperature
to room temperature.
This contraction takes place in three forms i.e.
o Liquid contraction
o Solidifying contraction
o Solid contraction

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 To compensate liquid and solidifying contraction, gates and risers are provided in the mould, whereas for
solid contraction adequate allowances are provided on the pattern.
The different metals shrink at different rates because shrinkage is the metal property, hence
corresponding allowances are also different.
a. Machining allowance:
Machining allowance or finish allowance is the amount of dimension on a casting which is made
oversized to provide stock for machining.
A casting may require machining all over or on certain specified portions.
Such portions or surfaces on the pattern are given adequate allowance in addition to the shrinkage
allowance.
The amount of machining allowance depends upon following factors :
o Metal of casting
o Machining method used
o Casting method used
Shape and size of the casting
b. Draft allowance:
Draft allowance or taper allowance is given to all vertical faces of a pattern for their easy removal from
sand without damaging the mould.
This slight taper inward or outward on the vertical faces is known as draft.
It can be expressed either in degrees or in mm/meter.
Generally, it is more on internal surfaces as compared to external surfaces

It can be seen that, it is easy to withdraw the pattern having taper allowance out of the mould without
damaging the mould cavity.
c. Distortion allowance (Camber allowance):
The tendency of distortion is not common in all the castings.
The casting will distort or warp if :
o It is of irregular shape.
o It is of or V-shape.
The arms having unequal thickness.

o One portion of the casting cools at a faster rate than the other.

o
Fig. : Distortion or camber allowance
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 To eliminate this defect, an opposite distortion is provided on the pattern, so that the effect is balanced
and correct shape of the casting is produced.
The amount of distortion allowance varies from 2 mm to 20 mm as per the size, shape and casting
material. Refer Fig.(c).

d. Rapping or Shake allowance:

When a pattern is to be taken out from the mould, it is first rapped or shaken by striking it with a
wooden piece from side to side.
This is done so that the pattern surface becomes free from adjoining sand of the mould.
Due to this, there is little increase in the size of the mould cavity.
For this purpose, a negative allowance is provided on the pattern i.e. the dimensions are kept smaller.
It is normally provided only to the large castings and negligible for small and medium sized castings.

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 2. Elements of Gating System
The gating systems refer to all those elements which are connected with the flow of molten metal from
the ladle to the mould cavity. The elements of gating systems are

 Pouring Basin
 Sprue
 Sprue Base Well
 Runner
 Runner Extension
 Ingate
 Riser

Fig. Components of gating system

Gating Ratio (sprue area : runner area : gate area)
Gating ratio refers to the relation between area of the choke to total area of runner total area of Ingates.
Mathematically, it can be written as Ac: Ar: Ag .
The gating system completely controls the molten metal flow.

Gating systems can be classified as Pressurised system and Unpressurised system.

Gating ratio depends on the nature of the molten metal.

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 3. CENTRIFUGAL CASTING

• Centrifugal casting is a process in which the molten metal is poured and allowed to solidify in a revolving
mould.
• The centrifugal force due to the revolving mould holds the molten metal against the mould wall until it
solidifies.
• The material used for preparing moulds may be cast iron, steel, sand or graphite (for non-ferrous
castings).
• The process is used for making castings of hollow cylindrical shapes.
The metal is thrown out towards the mould face by the centrifugal force under considerable pressure.
The results in better mold filling and a casting with denser grain structure, which is virtually free of porosity

Types of Centrifugal Casting:

True centrifugal casting.

Semi-centrifugal casting.
Centrifuge casting.

True Centrifugal Casting:

Molten metal is poured into rotating mold to produce a tubular part (hollow cylindrical shapes such as pipe
are produced)

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Semi-centrifugal Casting:
It is similar to Centrifugal casting except that in this type the Centrifugal force is used to produce solid
castings rather than tubular parts

Centrifuge Casting:
Mold is designed with part cavities located away from axis of rotation (placed at a certain radius from the
axis of rotation), so that molten metal poured from the center into mold is distributed to these cavities by
centrifugal force

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 SHELL MOLDING

Casting process in which the mold is a thin shell of sand held together by thermosetting resin binder.
Pattern [ferrous or aluminium at 175-370, coated with a parting agent (silicone)]
Mould [sand + 2.5-4.0 % thermosetting resin binder]

Steps in shell molding:

(1) a match plate or cope and drag metal pattern is heated and placed over a box containing sand
mixed with thermosetting resin.
(2) box is inverted so that sand and resin fall onto the hot pattern, causing a layer of the mixture to
partially cure on the surface to form a hard shell;
(3) box is repositioned so that loose uncured particles drop away;
(4) Sand shell is heated in oven for several minutes to complete curing;
(5) shell mold is stripped from the pattern;
(6) Two halves of the shell mold are assembled, supported by sand or metal shot in a box, and
pouring is accomplished;
(7) The finished casting with sprue removed.
Applications:
Cylinder heads, gear housings, Gears, valve bodies, bushings, and cam shafts, connecting rods

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 INVESTMENT CASTING (LOST WAX PROCESS):

A pattern made of wax is coated with a refractory material to make mold, after which wax is melted
away prior to pouring molten metal . "Investment" comes from a less familiar definition of "invest" - "to
cover completely," which refers to coating of refractory material around wax pattern
It is a precision casting process - capable of producing castings of high accuracy and intricate detail

Steps in investment casting:

(1) wax patterns are produced,
(2) several patterns are attached to a sprue to form a pattern tree
(3) the pattern tree is coated with a thin layer of refractory material,
(4) the full mold is formed by covering the coated tree with sufficient refractory material to make it rigid
(5) the mold is held in an in
verted position and heated to melt the wax and permit it to drip out of the cavity,
(6) the mold is preheated to a high temperature, the molten metal is poured, and it solidifies.
(7) the mold is broken away from the finished casting and the parts are separated from the sprue .

Applications:
• Turbine blades with complex shpes.
• Automobile components, on a very large scale.
• Gears
• cams
• Aircraft engines, air frames, fuel systems.
• Aerospace, missiles, ground support systems.
• Cameras.
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iii)Hot chamber Die-casting:

 In this method metal is forced into the mould and pressure is maintained during solidification either
by a plunger or by compressed air.
 Fig. shows the main parts of hot chamber machine.
 The plunger acts inside a cylinder formed at one end of the goose neck type casting submerged in
the molten metal.
 Near the top of the cylinder, for entry of molten metal, a port is provided.
 When the bottom of the plunger is above the port, at that time the cylinder is connected to the
melting pot through this port.
 This downward stroke of the plunger closes this port, cuts off the supply of metal and applies
pressure on the metal present in the goose-neck to force it into the die cavity through the injecting
nozzle.
 After sometime, the plunger is raised up, causing the remaining molten metal in the nozzle and
channel to fall back into the casting.
 Before the end of upward stroke, the plunger uncovers the port, through which more amount of
molten metal enters into the cylinder.
 Then the dies are opened and casting is ejected.
These machines are generally used for producing castings of low melting point metals like zinc, tin and lead.
Cold chamber Die-casting:

The machine consists of separate furnace for melting the metal.

 The metal is melted separately in the furnace and transferred to cold chamber by using small hand
ladle. Refer Fig. (a).
 After closing the die, the molten metal is poured into the horizontal chamber through the metal
inlet.
 To force the metal into the die, the plunger is pushed forwards hydraulically. Refer Fig.
 After solidification, the die is opened and the casting is ejected.
 Cold chamber machines are mainly used for making castings in aluminum, brass and magnesium.
 The life of these machines is more, because the melting unit is separated from the working parts.
 But, the life of die is less because the machine involves very high pressure i.e. about200 to 2000
kg/cm2
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 4. Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (or) TIG welding (tungsten inert gas welding)

Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) is an arc welding process that uses a non-consumable tungsten
electrode and an inert gas for arc shielding. Shielding gases typically used include argon, helium or a
mixture of these gases. The GTAW process can be implemented with or without a filler metal. The figure
illustrates the latter case. When thin sheets are welded to close tolerances, filler metal is usually not added.
When a filler metal is used, it is added to the weld pool from a separate rod or wire. The term TIG welding
(tungsten inert gas welding) is often applied to this process.

This process can be easily mechanised i.e. movement of torch and feeding of filler wire, so it can be used
for precision welding in nuclear, aircraft, chemical, petroleum, automobile and space craft industries.
Aircraft frames and its skin, rocket body and engine casing are few examples where TIG welding is very
popular.

Oxyfuel gas welding:

Oxyfuel gas welding is the term used to describe the group of fusion operations that burn various
fuels mixed with oxygen to perform welding or cutting and separate metal plates and other parts. The most
important oxy fuel gas welding process is oxyacetylene welding.

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Principle of Oxy-acetylene Welding
welding process that melts and joins metals by heating them with a flame caused by the reaction between
a fuel gas(acetylene) and oxygen. The flame is directed by a welding torch and a filler metal in the form of
rod is added if the process is applied to weld. Composition of the filler must be similar to that of the base
metal.
Primary combustion process
C2H2 + O2 2CO + H2 + heat
• This reaction dissociates into carbon monoxide and hydrogen.
Secondary combustion process
2CO + H2 + 1.5 O2 2CO2 + H2O + heat

Fig : Three basic types of oxyacetylene flames used in oxyfuel-gas welding and cutting operations:
(a) neutral flame; (b) oxidizing flame; (c) carburizing, or reducing flame. The gas mixture in (a) is
basically equal volumes of oxygen and acetylene.
A neutral flame is produced when the ratio of oxygen to acetylene, in the mixture leaving the torch, is
almost exactly one-to-one.The neutral flame is commonly used for the welding of: Mild steel o Stainless
steel o Cast Iron o Copper o Aluminum
Carburizing or Reducing Flame:
If the volume of oxygen supplied to the neutral flame is reduced, the resulting flame will be a carburizing or
reducing flame, i.e. rich in acetylene.

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It is used for welding with low alloy steel rods and for welding those metals, (e.g. non ferrous) that do not
tend to absorb carbon. This flame is very well used for welding high carbon steel.

Oxidizing Flame:

The oxidizing flame is the third possible flame adjustment. It occurs when the ratio of oxygen to acetylene
required for a neutral flame is changed to give an excess of oxygen.

An oxidizing flame is of limited use in welding. It is not used in the welding of steel. A slightly oxidizing
flame is helpful when welding most

Copper base metals o Zinc base metals, o A few types of ferrous metals, such as manganese steel and cast
iron
5. ELECTRIC ARC WELDING
A fusion welding process in which coalescence of the metals is achieved by the heat from an electric arc
between an electrode and the work
 Electric energy from the arc produces temperatures ~ 10,000 F (5500 C), hot enough to melt any
metal
 Most AW processes add filler metal to increase volume and strength of weld joint
Principle:

An electric arc is a discharge of electric current across a gap in a circuit. To initiate the arc in an AW process,
the electrode is brought into contact with the work and then quickly separated from it by a short distance.
The electric energy from the arc thus formed produces temperatures of 5000o C or higher, sufficiently hot
to melt any metal. A pool of molten metal, consisting of base metal(s) and filler metal (if one is used), is
formed near the tip of the electrode. In most arc welding processes, filler metal is added during the
operation to increase the volume and strength of the weld joint. As the electrode is moved along the
joint, the molten weld pool solidifies in its wake.

WELDING PROCESS
Welding which is the process of joining two metallic components for the desired purpose, can be defined as
the process of joining two similar or dissimilar metallic components with the application of heat, with or
without the application of pressure and with or without the use of filler metal.

Heat may be obtained by chemical reaction, electric arc, electrical resistance, frictional heat, sound
and light energy.

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