1. CASTING PROCESSES '.\....

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1 The casting process is basic~lly one of intr~du~ing mol_t~n metal into n cavity in the
mould, previously shnped ns desired, and nllowmg 1t to solidify.
The whole process of producing castings may be classified into five stnJ.{es:
Pattern making: In the pattern making section the patterns arc designed and
prepared as per the drnwing of the casting received from the planning section and
according to the moulding process to be employed. The material of the pattern may be
~elected from a wide ran c of a alternatives available the selection de endrn 7 on
aclors such as t e number of castings required. the possibilitv of repeat orders, and
su_rtace finish desired in the casting~ Core boxes needed for making cores and all other
auxiliary tooling items are also manufactured in the pattern making section. ,
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Moulding and Core making: After the pattern~ arc prepared, they arc sent to the
moulding section. The moulds are prepared in either sand or a similar material with
the help of the patterns so that a cavity of the desired shape is produced. For obtaining
hollow portions, cores are prepared separately in core boxes. The moulds and cores are
then baked to ir.:!part strength and finally a~i::[Link] for pouririg. Th rw;1:::!:r.g w,::-rk
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may he· carried-mit ~ither by hand or with the help of machines; depending on the
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'output required. Proper mould desigi:rand a11 angement for flow of molten metal is very
~mportant for the production of sound castings. The last 25 years have witnessed
far-reaching developments in the moulding materials and processes.
D'felting and Casting.: The metal of correct composition is melted in a suitable furnace.
When molten, it is ta~en into ladles and poured into the moulds. The moulds are then
allowed to cool down so that the metal solidifies. The castings are finally extracted by
breaking the moulds and are sent to the cleaning section.
Fettling: The castings as obtained from the moulds are not fit for immediate-us e or for
work in the machine shop as they carry unwanted metal attached in the form of gates,
risers, etc. Sand particles also tend to adhere to the surface of the castings. The castings
are therefore sent to the fettling section where the unnecessary projections are cut off,
the adhering sand removed, and the entire surface made clean and unifonn. The
castings may also need heat treatment depending on the specific properties required.
1 Testing and Inspection: Finally, before the casting is despatched from the foundry, it
is' tested and inspected to ensure that it is flawless and conforms to the specifications
desired.
2. PATIERN MAKING
Selection of material: Pattern is the principal tool during the c:tHting process. The
quality of the casting produced depends largely on the material of the pattern, i u;
design and construction. When only few castingR arc needed a loose pattern made from
a soft variety -of wood serves the purpoRc. Where a large number of castings arc
required and arc to be repeatedly produced, patterns should be made in metal or epoxy
. resin and mounted on pattern plates for use on moulding machincH.
Pattern materials
The wide variety of pattern materials in use may be claaaificd as wood and wood
products; metal~ and alloys; plasters; plastics and rubbers; and waxes.
Wood arid wood pro:d:t:icls2 w·~dTs'the material~ most commonly-used
fJ-j p~tterrrE_-~
it satisfies many of the aforementioned requirements. It can be easily shaped or
worked and joined to form any complex shape, is light in weight, is easily available,
and costs less than other. materials. The common drawbacks, however, are its
susceptibility to moisture, causing it to swell or shrink, its poor strength, and low
resistance to wear.

(a) Seasoning of timber: To prevent excessive shrinkage or swelling, wood can be

seasoned before it ·is finally put into service. Seasoning qiinimises the effect of
subsequent moisture variations by adjusting the water content of wood as nearly as
possible to what would be obtained at the equilibrium level under exposure ~o average
atmospheric conditions. More precisely, wood is seasoned in order to make it:
(i) stable in dimensions; (ii) strongc:t and Iightcr; ( iii) resistant to decay: and (iv .1 take
preservative, paint, or polish.
(b) Types of timber for pattern work: The woods commonly used for pattern work
are pine, mahogany, teak, walnut, and deodar. Pinewood, though weak, is often
favoured for its extreme lightness, stability, ease of working, and ability to take good
finish. It is suitable where a small number of castings, say below 25 in number and
under 500 mm in size, .on any one side are required. Mahogany is a hard, strong, acd
very dur~ble type of wood with negligible shrinkage or swelling after seasoning. It
takes a very fine natural polish, stains well and glues excellently. An1ong8t natural
woods. therefore, mahogany is tbe best choice for pattern worl_s. It ls ideal where the
number of castings required is large and involves permanent produ~tion work on
moulding machines. Teak is also a hard and strong variety of wood. unaffected by
fungus, and easily available in the country. Deodar is a soft variety. :-lightly harder
than pine but easily machinable, and takes good polish.
~l~ 'j • ·_:··h~~.-woocf products ·g~fnf-;;g·~9~; pqp~l~~ity'f~ p~t~~~;.,O~~ i~- rec~~-t .tim~~
~':t• ...-?.~:l_ cfude'comprcsscd wood lamin ates _and lamin~[Link] imF,egnates.
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.~ -(~) Woo den patte rn with meta llic .coat ings: For short produ
ction runs whor e
meta llic patte rns cann ot bo econo mical ly empl oyed and wooden pattc
rna arc not found
-satis facto ry due u, low stren gth and lack of high ~nie~ , _mcta
l-co?tcd p~tte rnR arc
some times used. The woodon pattcr nff arc Apraycd with a thin mcta
lhc cont1nr, of ubou~
0.25 mm thickncAs, tho metalR gener ally URcd boing biHmuth,
[Link], nnd sornc tirnc s
alum iniur n.
[Link] and Alloy s: [Link] pattc rna arc used wher e repet itive
produ ction of casti ngs
is requi red in lnrgc quant iticR . 'rhc rnctal H common)y uRcd arc alum
i~iu.m alloys_, ca8t
iron, steel and coppe r base alloyR Huch aR brasR or hronzc. A comp
arativ e evaluaf.1011 c,f
these rnctll ls is given in Tabl e I.
Tabl e 1

Fact ors Grey cast iron Steel Alum inium Bras s

Avai labil ity Good Good Good Good
[Link] abilit y Good . Diffi cult Less diffic ult Good
Mach inabi lity Good Good Very good Very good
Surfa ce finis h Good Good
'I • • .. • - ..Very good Very good
.uenu u1g w moau 1cat1 0n Good Good Good Very good
Weig ht Very heavy Very heavy Very light Heav y
Britt lenes s High .Low Low Low
Tend ency to oxida tion Yes Yes No No
Requ iring mach ining Yes Less Not much Not much
Cost Low Low Medi um High

Meta llic patte rns being empl oyed for mass produ ction are gene rally
large numb er. They are there fore prepa red by casti ng fron1 a mast requ ired in a
er patte rn, whic h
may be made in wood, plast ic, plast er, or meta l. Double ailow ances
have to be n1adc for
contr actio n and'm achin ing on the mast er patte rD. fi.-tetallic patte
rns are cast fron1 the
mast er patte rn by sand castin g. After mach ining wher ever nece
ssary and finis hing,
these patte rns .arc moun ted on patte rn plate s. Wher e patte rns
are of the split type,
each half may be moun ted on separ ate patte rn plate s or on eithe
plate . • r side of the same
•
Plas tics and Rubb er: Both therm osett ing and therm oplas tic
mate rials arc used for
patte rn work . The form er arc used for maki ng long- lastin g and
dura ble [Link] rns, and
the latte r for short runs or piece work . In the therm osett ing
varie ty, epox y and
poly ester resin s have found incre asing use. In the therm oplas tic
typ_e, poiys tyrcn c has
be'"come very ~fa r. Silic one rubb ers have been used for maki ng
dies in spcci alcas c.~.
Patt ern Allo wan ces
ccPat tern allow ances '' is a vital featu re in patte rn desig n
as it afTc<:t~ the
dime nsion al chara cteri stics of the castin g. Thus , when the patte
rn is produ ced, certa in
allow ance s must be given on the sizes speci fied in ~he finish ed
comp onen t draw ing so
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GATE • bo pr od uc ed . ~ o aelecti~~- ·f ·
e pa rtlcul ·at: sp e'cl fications ca n d av oi d re je ct io ns . 0
th
th at a casting with eatly helps to reduco machinf n g coat.a an
~ rr e c t a11owanccs gr s an d co re b ox es arc· d et ai le d bcJ ow
an ce s us ua lly co ns id er ed on pattt.?rn af te r so li di fi ca ti on . •
T he al lo w . for ca st in g co n tr ac t •n
tr ac ti o n A ll ow an ce : All metals used be m ad e la rg er Jh an th e ca st in g by
Con er ef or e rn ak cr ~n
e m ou ld , an d th e pa tt er n m us t th ct io n" . G cn or al ly , th e p at te rn
th
ow n "p at tc rn m ak cr 's co nt ra m nk cr 's co nJ ra ct io n ru le , Whic~
am ou nt kn aR
ll ed th e pa ~ tc rn r
w it h a sp ec ia l ru le or Reale, ca rh cr c m ay be di ff er en t co n tr ar
~quipped kagc va lu e. on e th n t h n~ tw o a cs
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bu t th e ru If! un. ua
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o~ ca 1c h "a .-c
cn t caE-t. met.a ls,
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H ow ·a nc e: M ac hi ni ng or .
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u. cw an cc 1s thC! ov . . .
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ca st in g to en ab le th • ti
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 7'(.~~-~iTaJller AlloWanOe; Dran means ihO t;pcir;prOvldod by the p;tt:;;~~~ ;
. •a1J,vert1cal surfaces of tho pattern so that ft can bo removed from the sand withou
~
• tearing away tho·sfdos of tho mould and without oxcosslvo raI?p!ng_ by tho mould~
Draft. is thus lr,ivcn to provide light clearance for tho pattern as it •s h~d up.
- - Figure 6 ehowa a p~[Link] having n~ draft aJJowancc b?ing_ rcmo~cd fro~ t~
mould. In this caRc, till the pattern is completely lifted out, its s1d?a will rcma_in_ in
contRct with the walls of the mould, thus tending to break it. Figure 5 H 18 an
illuRtration of a pattern hnving proper dran aJJowancc. Herc, the moment the pattern
lining commcnccR, all its 1mrfaccH nrc free of the Rand and the pattern can therefore he
removed without damaging the mould.

A B

k:===' DRA r'T

Fig. 5: Draft allowance

In caBe of hand moulding on exterior surfaces, the draft is about 10-20 mm pe,r
metre and o~J!!tcrior suifaces1 e.g. holes, etc.! it shou Id be 10-60 HJI_n per metre.-:_- -
Rapping and Shake Allowance: Whcn-tlw pattEftn is- rapped for easy withdrawal,
the mouid cavity gets slightly larger in size. This causes the casting size also to
increase, To compensate for this growth, the pattern should initially be made slightly
smaller than the required size. In small and medium-sized castings, this alJowance·
may be ignored,.but for large-sized castings or where tiigh precision is desired, this
allowance should be considered.
Distortion Allowance: Sometimes castings get distorted during cooling due to their
typical shape. For example, if the casting has the form of the Jetter U, it wiJI tend to
contract at the closed end causing the vertical legs to look slightly inclined and out of
~aralleJ. This can be prev~ntcd by m~king_the ]:gs of the U-pattcrn converge slightly
(1n~ards) so th~t. th~ ~[Link] after d1stort_1on will have its sides parallel (Figure 6).
!h•s allowance 1s considered only for castings that tend to gc>t distorted and have an
irregular shape. • •

Required
Distorted Cambered
shape of
casting pattern
casting
G~1E
• 9rna distortion \n casting may occur due t4 inte~a\ stresscR in casting, which in
turn may bo caused on account of une ua\-co • s of different ions of the
cas\.\ng, \n aTe con\.Tac\.ion fr r s. and un~.slUa~tJ. afer rates. I '
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