Advanced Techniques
&
Industries
Mechanical Engineering Department
Final year, Production
Lecture #6 V1.0: Metallurgy of casting I
25/11/2013
Metallurgy of casting
1. Introduction to Metal Castings
2. The Casting Process
3. Cast Materials
4. Casting Quality
5. Casting Design Guidelines
6. Advanced techniques for modern industries
Metallurgy of casting
This lecture content
1. Introduction to Metal Castings
1. Metal Castings in a Global Market
2. Inherent characteristic on casting
2. The Casting Process
1. Investment Casting
2. Sand Molding Process
3. Shell Molding
4. Lost Foam Casting
History of Castings
• First casting on record is a copper
frog from Mesopotamia, dated to
around 3200 BC.
• Iron, a more common material cast
today, was discovered in China
around 2000 BC
• First used iron in a casting process
around 600 BC. 5th Century BC cup depicting
• Around 500 AD cast crucible steel an early foundry
was first produced in India.
• The process was lost until it’s
rediscovery in England in 1750.
Foundries Today
• The industrial revolution brought
about many new innovations.
• Melt practices, quality control, mold
making practices and alloying have
improved dramatically.
• Foundries today are multifaceted
organizations that include molding,
core making, melting, cleaning, Melt Pour in a Typical Foundry
maintenance, pattern making,
quality and engineering
departments.
Metal Castings in a Global Market
• A continuing challenge for
anyone involved with Global Casting Market
manufacturing or producing a
product is keeping costs
down.
• One solution is to source
product in low cost countries.
• Utilizing a casting design will
help realize the cost benefits
of castings.
• Pairing that with a low cost
source while maintaining
quality takes that savings to
the next level
Global Casting Production
• India and China both
have the ability to
compete on a global
scale as far as part
quality.
• Supplier Quality
Engineers are deployed
for onsite inspection of
first articles and supplier Global Casting Market
audits.
• Close monitoring of production part manufacturing ensures that the quality of
your parts will meet the level you demand
1.2. Inherent characteristic of casting
• Advantages of casting as a production technology
• Cast size wise; small or large
• Casting shape wise, intricate shape can be casted
• Casting quantity wise, any quantities
• Disadvantages associated to solidification
• Shrinkages
• Segregation
• Gas porosity
• Low hot strength
8
1.2. Inherent characteristic of casting
Casting Inherent advantages
Different intricate shapes of impellers
casted by any size and any quantity
Large volute casing of a
water pump at Gloucester
9
The Casting Process
Learn more about each type of casting
• Investment Casting
• Sand Molding Process
• Shell Molding
• Lost Foam Casting
The Investment Casting Process
The Sand Casting Process
The Shell Molding Process
1.
3. Metal patterns are heated to
created.
4. a At
temperature
which timearound
the dump 450°F
(232°C) which is
box is tipped required
back to its to
cure the position
resting resin binder.
and any
2. The patterns
uncured areflows
sand assembled
off of
tothe
a dump
patternbox whichand
surface
contains
back intothe resin
the dump coated
box.
5. and
Thisuncured sand.shell is
cured mold
3. The dumpfrom
stripped box isthe
tipped
pattern
allowing
plate andthethe
sand
cope to and
flowdrag
onto theand
shells hotcores,
surfaceareofthen
the
pattern
glued, and held or
clamped there until
clipped
a together
desired shell thickness is
for pouring.
The Lost Foam Casting Process
1. Create
4. A tree of a expanded
multiple foams
polystyrene
can be glued(EPS) together.
foam
5. final
tool from
foamwhichpiece foam
will have
apieces
gatingare system
made.attached
2. to
Theit casting
for pouring.design can
6. Coat
have theundercuts,
complete minimal
foam
draft,
in a refractory
anythingwash, that can
be placed
placed intointo
a large
the foam
flask.
7. Dry,
tool.loose sand is poured
3. around
Final foam thepattern
foam while
can be
made
the flask
from is vibrated.
several pieces
8. of
TheEPS foam that
vibration are
effectively
glued
compacts together.
the sand
The Lost Foam Casting Process
8. Lost
11. around foam
thecastings
foam and exhibit
ahelps
characteristic
to fill any surface
difficult to
fill areas.
finish of the expanded
9. beads
The molten
and very
metal
little
is if any
poured line
parting into flashing.
the flask
instantly vaporizing the
foam upon contact and
replacing the volume it
once occupied.
10. The solidified casting is
removed from the flask
after cooling and trimmed
from its gating system.
