CASTING-1

HISTORY
One of the oldest manufacturing processes which dates back to approx.4000 B.C Manufacturing and use of castings can be traced both in ancient and medieval history. Earliest axeheads of copper were cast in open moulds 5000 years ago. Earlier castings were probably made out of Gold, Copper,Silver and bronge.

HISTORY
One existing life sized portrait head of cast bronze from Mesopotamia antedates about 2250 B.C. Decorated bronze castings could be seen in the European church and domestic life by the end of the medieval period. Perhaps the earlier castings of cast Iron were those of cannon shot and grave slabs. The first foundry center came into existence in the days of the Shang dynasty (1766-1122 B.C.) in China.

HISTORY
Greek and Roman History reveals the use of decorated ornaments and metal bells. In about 1540; Biringuccio wrote on metal Founding. Earlier to that founding was an Art and a craft with all its secrets confined to certain families. Reaumur (1683-1757) worked on cast Iron founding, produced Malleable Iron and studied the various factors influencing the production of White, Gray and Mottled irons.

HISTORY
In 1709, Abraham Darby got succeeded in smelting in the .coke blast furnace and this opened a route for the massive use of cast Iron in construction. A number of foundries using cast Iron as a structural material came into being after the Industrial Revolution (in Britain). The collapse of the Tay Bridge in 1879, forced people to go beyond the rudimentary judge ment of the then moulders and to study the founding variables and their effects on the properties of the structures.

HISTORY
The middle part of the twentieth century saw marked developments in founding. Newer techniques came into existence, the casting phenomenon could be understood better; more and more young men took interest and got trained in this Held and eventually many Engineering Institutes started teaching metal casting as an independent subject.

PRINCIPLES
Founding has been shaping metals since the earliest days of civilization. A wide variety of sizes and shapes of simple and intricate nature can be produced in different metals. Founding or casting is the process of producing metal/alloy component parts of desired shapes by pouring the molten metal/alloy into a prepared mould (of that shape) and then allowing the metal/alloy to cool and solidify. The solidified piece of metal/alloy is known as CASTING.

MAKING A CASTING
Make the Pattern out of wood, Metal or Plastic. In case of Sand Casting, select, test and prepare the necessary sand mixtures for mould and core making. With the help of patterns prepare the Mould and necessary Cores. A Mould is a container (of sand or metal, etc.) having a cavity of the shape to be cast. A Core is a body (of sand etc.) which is employed to produce a cavity in the casting. Melt the metal/alloy to be cast.

MAKING A CASTING
Pour the molten metal/alloy into the mould and remove the casting from the mould after the metal solidifies. Clean and finish the casting. Test and Inspect the casting. Remove the defects, if any. Relieve the casting stresses by Heat Treatment. Again inspect the casting. The casting is ready for shipping-

ADVANTAGES
Casting is one of the most versatile manufacturing processes. Casting provides the greatest freedom of design in terms of shape, size and the product quantity. Casting imparts uniform directional properties and. better vibration damping capacity to the cast parts. Casting produces machinable parts. Shapes difficult and uneconomic to obtain otherwise may be achieved through casting process A product may be cast as one piece, thereby eliminating the need of metal Joining processes.

ADVANTAGES
Very heavy and bulky parts (like those of power plants and mill housings) which are otherwise difficult to get fabricated may be cast. Metals (like cast iron) difficult to be shaped by other manufacturing processes may be cast. Castings can be designed for equal distribution of loads (on all members of a product) and for minimum stress concentration in order to achieve more strength and increased service life. Casting process can be mechanised and usefully*employed for mass production of components.

APPLICATIONS
The growing demand of high precision castings and of intricate designs at lower costs has helped considerably in the development of Foundry Industry. Hardly there is any product, today, which does not have one or more cast components. A few applications of founding or casting are mentioned below; Transportation vehicles. Cast metal parts account for more than 90% of an automobile engine and for more than 50% of the total weight of a tractor (Cast Iron). Machine tool structures e.g. Planner beds (Cast Iron).

APPLICATIONS
Turbine vanes. Power generators. Mill housings (Cast steel). Railway crossings (Mn Steel Cast Section). (Super charger casing (Mg-alloy). Pump filter and valve (Mg-alloy). ( Paper mill stock breaker parts (Steel-Castings). Aircraft ]et engine blades. Agricultural parts. Sanitary Fitting (Cast Iron). Communication, Construction and Atomic Energy applications.