CHAPTER 2c

METAL CASTING :
DESIGN, MATERIALS & ECONOMIC
Introduction
Design

consideration
Casting alloys
The economic of
casting

Introduction
General guidelines for metal casting and present
suggestions for avoiding defects.

Design
consideration
Developed over many years

Established though practical experience

Analytical methods
Process modeling
CAD
Manufacturing techniques
Improving productivity
Cost savings

Design for Expendable-Mold Casting

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.

Corners, angles, and section thickness

Flat areas
Shrinkage
Parting line
Draft
Dimensional tolerances
Machining allowance
Residual stresses

-Corners, angles, and section thickness

Importance of maintaining uniform crosssections in castings to avoid hot spots and

shrinkage cavities

Design modifications to
avoid shrinkage cavities in

Metal padding (chills)

to

ii- Flat areas

Large plain surfaces must be avoided to avoid
warping during cooling

iii- Shrinkage
Allowances should be created for shrinkage
during solidification.
Metal
Gray cast iron
White cast iron
Malleable cast iron

%
0.83 ~ 1.3
2.1
0.78 ~ 1.0

Aluminum alloys

1.3

Magnesium alloys

1.3

Yellow brass

1.3 ~ 1.6

Phosphor bronze

1.0 ~ 1.6

Aluminum bronze

2.1

High-manganese steel

2.6

iv- Parting line

The line separating the upper & lower halves of
molds.
Better to be along a flat plane.
Avoid at flat surfaces, so that the flash will not
be visible.
It will influences mold design, ease of molding,
number of support and gating system.

Redesign of a casting by making the parting line straight to

avoid defects.

Examples of casting
design modifications.

- Draft
To enable removal of pattern without damaging
the mold.
Draft angle usually range from 0.5o to 2o
Dimensional tolerances
Depends on casting process, size of the casting
and type of pattern used
Reduce the tolerances will increase the casting
cost.
- Machining allowance
Since the casting parts require machining
process, casting design must consider these
operations
ii- Residual stress
Caused by different cooling rates.
Stress relieving may thus be necessary to avoid
distortions in some critical applications

Design for Permanent-Mold

Casting
Similar to expandable-mold casting.
Section-thickness uniformity is maintained
throughout the part.
From figure, cross-sections have been reduced
to decrease the solidification time & save
material.

Casting
alloys
Nonferrous casting
alloys
Aluminum-based alloys
Magnesium-based alloys
Copper-based alloys
Zinc-based alloys
High-temperature alloys

Ferrous casting
alloys
Cast Irons

Gray cast iron

Ductile iron
White cast iron
Malleable iron
Compacted graphite iron
Cast steels
Cast stainless steels

The economics of
Casting Processes casting

Some involve more labor & time than others

Cost of a product
Materials
Labor
Tooling
Cost of casting process
Sand casting little cost
Die-casting
Materials
Machining
Preparation
Melting and pouring of molten metal
Cost for furnaces
Related machinery
Cost of finishing the casting
Heat treating
Cleaning
Inspecting

THE END