Constituents of Molding Sand

1.1 Silica sand

Silica sand in form of granular quarts is the main constituent of molding sand
having enough refractoriness which can impart strength, stability and
permeability to molding and core sand. But along with silica small amounts of
iron oxide, alumina, lime stone (CaCO3), magnesia, soda and potash are present
as impurities.

1.2 Binder

Binder is used to develop bonds.

Binders can be either inorganic or organic substance.

Binders included in the inorganic group are clay, sodium silicate and port land
cement etc. In foundry shop, the clay acts as binder which may be Kaolinite,
Ball Clay, Fire Clay and Bentonite. However, this clay alone can’t develop
bonds among sand grins without the presence of moisture content in molding
sand and core sand.

Binders included in the organic group are dextrin, molasses, cereal binders,
linseed oil and resins like phenol formaldehyde, urea formaldehyde etc.

1.3 Moisture

The amount of moisture content in the molding sand varies from 2 to 8%. This
amount is added to the mixture of clay and silica sand for developing bonds.
This is the amount of water required to fill the pores between the particles of
clay without separating them. This amount of water is held rigidly by the clay
and is mainly responsible for developing the strength in the sand.
1.4 Additives

Additives are the materials generally added to the molding and core sand
mixture to develop some special property in the sand. Some commonly used
additives for enhancing the properties of molding and core sands are coal
dust, corn flour, wood flour, silica flour etc.

2. Different types of Molding Sand:

Molding sands can also be classified into various types according to their use,
such as backing sand, core sand, dry sand, facing sand, green sand, loam
sand, parting sand, system sand.

2.1 Backing sand or floor sand

Backing sand or floor sand is used to back up the facing sand and is used to
fill the whole volume of the molding flask. Backing sand is sometimes called
black sand because of old, repeatedly used molding sand is black in color due to
addition of coal dust and burning on coming in contact with the molten metal.

2.2 Core sand

Core sand is used for making cores and it is sometimes also known as oil sand.
Core sand is highly rich silica sand mixed with oil binders such as core oil
which composed of light mineral oil and other bind materials.

2.3 Dry sand

Green sand that has been dried or baked in suitable oven after the making mold
and cores is called dry sand. It possesses more strength, rigidity and thermal
stability. Dry sand is mainly used for larger castings. Mold prepared with this
sand are known as dry sand molds.
2.4 Facing sand

Facing sand forms the face of the mould. It is next to the surface of the pattern
and it comes into contact with molten metal when the mould is poured. Facing
sand have high strength refractoriness. Facing sand is made of silica sand and
clay, without the use of already used sand.

2.5 Green sand

Green sand is also known as tempered or natural sand which is a mixture of

silica sand with 18 to 30% clay, having moisture content from 6 to 8%. The clay
and water furnish the bond for green sand. It is fine, soft, light, and porous.
Green sand is damp, when squeezed in the hand and it retains the shape and the
impression to give to it under pressure.

2.6 Loam sand

Loam sand is mixture of sand and clay with water to a thin plastic paste. Loam
sand possesses high clay as much as 30-50% and 18% of water. Patterns are not
used for loam molding and shape is given to mold by sweeps. Loam sand is
particularly employed for loam molding used for large grey iron castings.

2.7 Parting sand

Parting sand without binder and moisture is used to keep the green sand not to
stick to the pattern and to separate cope and drag. Parting sand is clean clay-free
silica sand which serves the same purpose as parting dust.
 Properties of Molding sand

The basic properties required in molding sand and core

sand are adhesiveness, cohesiveness, collapsibility, flowability, dry
strength, green strength, permeability and refractoriness.

3.1 Adhesiveness

Adhesiveness is a property of molding sand to get the stick or adhere to foreign

material such sticking of molding sand with the inner wall of molding box.

3.2 Cohesiveness

Cohesiveness is property of molding sand by virtue which the sand grain

particles interact and attract each other within the molding sand. Thus, the
binding capability of the molding sand gets enhanced to increase the green, dry
and hot strength property of molding and core sand.

3.3 Collapsibility

After the molten metal in the mould gets solidified, the sand mould must be
collapsible so that free contraction of the metal occurs and this would naturally
avoid the tearing or cracking of the contracting metal. In absence of
collapsibility property the contraction of the metal is hindered by the mold and
thus results in tears and cracks in the casting. This property is highly required in
cores.

3.4 Dry strength

As soon as the molten metal is poured into the mould, the moisture in the sand
layer adjacent to the hot metal gets evaporated and this dry sand layer must have
sufficient strength to its shape in order to avoid erosion of mould wall during
the flow of molten metal. The dry strength also prevents the enlargement of
mould cavity cause by the metallostatic pressure of the liquid metal.

3.5 Flowability or plasticity

Flowability or plasticity is the ability of the sand to get compacted and behave
like a fluid. It will flow uniformly to all portions of pattern when rammed and
distribute the ramming pressure evenly all around in all directions. Flowability
increases with decrease in grain size of sand.

3.6 Green strength

The green sand after water has been mixed into it, must have sufficient strength
and toughness to permit the making and handling of the mould. For this, the
sand grains must be adhesive, i.e. they must be capable of attaching themselves
to another [Link] green strength also depends upon the grain shape and size,
amount and type of clay and the moisture content.

3.7 Permeability

Permeability is also termed as porosity of the molding sand in order to allow the
escape of any air, gases or moisture present or generated in the mould when the
molten metal is poured into it. All these gaseous generated during pouring and
solidification process must escape otherwise the casting becomes defective.

3.8 Refractoriness

Refractoriness is defined as the ability of molding sand to withstand high

temperatures without breaking down or fusing thus facilitating to get sound
casting. It is a highly important characteristic of molding sands. Molding sand
with poor refractoriness may burn on to the casting surface and no smooth
casting surface can be obtained.
3.9 Miscellaneous properties of molding sand

In addition to above requirements, the molding sand should not stick to the
casting and should not chemically react with the metal. Molding sand need be
economically cheap and easily available in nature.
 Sand testing

Following are some methods of sand test

 Moisture content test

 Clay content test
 Grain Fineness test

Moisture Content test

Moisture content Sand test

In this moisture content test method, the amount of moisture is determined by
drying a mold sand of weight 50 grams with constant temperature upto 100 ⁰c or
above for one hour. Then cooled with room temperature and reweight the mold
sand.

The moisture content will be evaporated from the sand. Due to loss of moisture,
the molding sand loses some weight, which gives the amount of moisture
expressed as percentage of original sand.
 Clay Content Test

The clay content test determines the amount of clay present in the sand. In this
test dried sample such as molding sand of 50 gm is put in distilled water with
1% of NaOH solution. This mixture is stirred for 2-3 minutes and then allowed
to settle. Then the water above the sand is removed and the process is repeated
until the water above the sand is clear. Then the sand is dried and weighted
again to determine the Clay content.

Grain Fineness test

The grain fineness test method is to find the size of the silica sand particles. The
fine grain sand associate with good surface finish & strength of mold.

1. It is carried out with dry silica sand of weight 50 gm and which is free
from the clay. On the top sieve of mechanical shaker, the sand is placed.
This mechanical sieve shaker is having a series of sieves of different hole
size. The sieves are placed from top to bottom in order of their fineness
 number. Then the sieve shaker is vibrated for about 15 minutes or above,
after that weight of sand retained in each sieve is weighted.

Cores

Core is a pre-prepared shape of the mould. It is used to provide internal cavities,

recesses, or projections in the casting. It is usually positioned into a mould after
the removal of the pattern.

A core is usually made of the best quality sand and is placed into desired
position in the mould cavity. Core prints are added to both sides of the pattern to
create impressions that allow the core to be supported and held at both ends.

When the molten metal is poured, it flows around the core and fill the rest of the
mould cavity. Cores are subjected to extremely severe conditions, and they
must, therefore, possess very high resistance to erosion, exceptionally high
strength, good permeability, good refractoriness, and adequate collapsibility.

Special vent holes are provided on the core to allow gasses to escape easily.
Sometimes, cores are reinforced with low carbon steel wires or even cast-iron
grids (in case of large cores) to ensure stability and resistance to shrinkage.
Types of Cores:
Generally, cores are of two types:
1. Green Sand Core: A core formed by the pattern
itself, in the same sand used for the mould is known
as green sand core. The pattern is so designed that it
provides the core of green sand. The hallow part in
the pattern produces the green sand core.

2. Dry Sand Core:

A core is prepared separately in core boxes and dried, is
known as dry sand core. The dry sand cores are also
known as process cores. They are available in different
sizes, shapes and designs as per till requirement.

Core Materials:
The compositions of core material are the mixture of sand,
binders and additives. Core sands are silica, zircon,
Olivine etc. and core binders are core oils, resins,
molasses, dextrin etc., are generally used for preparation
of core materials.

Properties of Good Core Materials:

A good dry sand core must have the following properties in order to
successfully use in casting process:
1. Strong:
It should be strong enough to withstand the turbulence force of molten metal. It
should be erosion resistant.

2. Hardness:
It should be capable, of being baked to obtain good hardness strength.

3. Permeability:
It must be permeable to allow the easy escape of the gases formed.

4. Refractoriness:
It must be highly refractory in nature to withstand high temperature of the
molten metal.

5. Dimensional Stability:
It should be stable in dimensional accuracy, shape and size during pouring and
solidification.

6. Minimum Gas-Formation:
Core material should generate minimum gases, while subjecting to molten metal
in casting process.

7. Good Surface Finish:

Core surface should be smooth enough to provide good surface finish of the
casting.
8. Sufficiently Collapsible:
Cores must be sufficiently collapsible i.e., easy removal of the core from the
casting after solidification.

Core Prints:
The core prints are extra projections provided on the pattern that form a recess
in the mould to hold and position the core in their right position. There are
several types of core prints, e.g., vertical, horizontal, balancing, hanging and
drop core prints.

Core Chaplets:
If the core length is long and the end supports are at higher distances to each
other, there will be sagging of cores during pouring of hot molten metal.

In such cases, chaplets are used to overcome these defects. Chaplets are so
designed to provide the support to the core and restrict them from sagging.

The chaplets are made of the same material as the casting metal so as to become
an integral part of the casting.

[Chaplets]
 [Use of Chaplet]

Types of moulding:

 Extrusion Moulding
 Compression Moulding
 Blow moulding
 Injection Moulding
 Rotational Moulding

1. Extrusion Moulding

With extrusion moulding, hot melted plastic is pressed through a shaped hole
to create a lengthy shaped plastic part. This customizable shape that the
liquid plastic gets pressed through is called a die. This die is custom made
for the particular outcome that is desired. It is almost like pressing dough
through a press to make shaped cookies.
 2. Compression Moulding

This method involves the raw liquid plastic being poured into a heated
mould and then being compressed together to form the desired shape. The
high temperature of the entire process ensures good strength in the final
product. The process is finished off by cooling the liquid plastic so that it
keeps its form before being trimmed and removed from the mould

3. Blow Moulding

With blow moulding, the custom plastic parts come out hollow and thin-
walled. This method is ideal for when the plastic part has to have uniform
wall thickness. This is very similar to the process of glass blowing.

4. Injection Moulding

Injection Moulding is fairly similar to extrusion moulding. The difference

here is that with injection moulding the melted plastic is injected directly
into a custom mould. The injection is under high pressure so that the mould
is filled and a solid part is made. As with the other methods, after the mould
is filled, the plastic is cooled as to keep its new shape and then the mould is
opened

5. Rotational Moulding

Also sometimes called rotomoulding, this method involves the resin or

liquid being placed inside the mould and then being rotated at high speeds.
The liquid then evenly covers the entire surface of the mould to create a
hollowed part with all the walls evenly thick. After the mould is cooled and
the liquid plastic has taken its new form it is then taken out of the mould.
Sand moulding process
Casting process involving the use of sand as a moulding medium is known
as sand moulding.

The steps in sand moulding are:

Sand preparation →Pattern making →Core making →Moulding →Closing

The equipment needed in a sand moulding process are:

1. Pattern
2. Mould box
3. Moulding sand
4. Crucible

The pattern is placed in a bottom plate and a drag box is located around it.
After taking care about the positions of the runner, ingate, etc. the
thickness of sand around the casting is carefully chosen. This should be
about optimum. Otherwise if the thickness of sand layer around the
pattern is too much, it will provide too much of insulation and result in
delay in the solidification of the casting, and it will create back pressure
during the escape of the gases that evolve during the casting. If it is too
less, it will make the casting cool very fast and a chilling/ quenching
effect will be produced which may not be desirable at times.
It is now time to fill the space between the pattern and the mould box
with sand. However, the sand which is adjacent to the pattern/mould
cavity is of a different quality than the sand away from it and near to the
walls of the mould box. The inner sand called facing sand is finer and the
outer sand called backing is coarse. Backing sand is not used for facing
because it can not develop the required surface finish and fine details that
are present on the faces of the pattern. A minimum of 30 mm and upto
100 mm of facing sand should be applied. The sand is gently rammed to
cover all grooves and fine patterns/markings/slots. Rest of the volume of
the drag box is then filled with backing sand and rammed.

The cope half of the two-piece pattern is assembled to the drag half. Cope
box is made to sit on the drag box using alignment and closing pins.
parting powder is sprinkled on the exposed sand surface of the drag box.
Gating, sprue, runner, riser, etc. are placed at appropriate positions
around the pattern. Backing sand is again filled in the cope box and
rammed to set. Vent holes are provided for passage of gases.

Then drag and cope are separated. Pattern is removed with utmost care
being taken so as not to cause any damage to the mould cavity or any
intricate profile. The cavity is inspected for visible scar or recess created
and is repaired if needed. Cores, if necessary, are placed with the help of
core-prints.

Drag and cope halves are joined and locked with the help of closing pins.
Pouring basin is placed at the sprue’s open end. Sufficient load is placed
on the cope to prevent its lifting under the action of buoyant force when
liquid metal is poured.

Elements of gating system

The term gating system refers to all passageways through which the
molten metal passes to enter the mould cavity.

The gating system is composed of

Pouring basin
Sprue
Runner
Gates
Risers
Pouring Basin
• A pouring basin makes it easier for the ladle or crucible operator to
direct the flow of metal from crucible to sprue.
• It helps maintaining the required rate of liquid metal flow.
• Reduces turbulence at the sprue entrance.
• Helps separating dross, slag etc., from metal before it enters the sprue.
Sprue
• A sprue feeds metal to runner which in turn reaches the casting through
gates.
• A sprue is tapered with its bigger end at top to receive the liquid metal
and the smaller end is connected to runner.
Runner
It is horizontal plane which connects the sprue to gate.
• The runner should be filled with molten metal to avoid slag entering to
cavity.
Gate
A gate is a channel which connects runner with the mould cavity and
through which molten metal flows to fill the mould cavity. A small gate
is used for a casting which solidifies slowly and vice versa. There are
various type of gates, such as
Top gate
Bottom gate
Parting line side gate

Design of Gating System

• To fill the mould cavity without breaking the flow of liquid metal and
without using very high pouring temperatures.

• To avoid erosion of mould cavity.

• To minimize turbulence and dross formation.
• To prevent aspiration of air or mould gases in the liquid metal stream.
• To obtain favourable temperature gradients to promote directional
solidification.
 Cupola Furnace

Cupola Furnace is a melting device which used to melt cast iron, Bronze and
other alloying elements. It is mainly used to convert pig iron to cast iron.

Parts of Cupola Furnace :-

Cylindrical Shell:
It is the outermost part of the Cupola Furnace. It is made up of steel
sheet and other parts of this furnace are present inside this shell.
1 Legs:
At the bottom of the Cupon Frunace legs are provided to support this
furnace.

2 Cast Iron Door:

This cast iron is present at the bottom of the furnace above the legs which
is closed by the support of the legs.

3. Sand Bed:
Above the cast iron door sand bed is present. It is in taperred form so that
the melted iron can flow out easily from its top.

4. Slag Hole:
It is present at the opposite side of the hole from which melted iron comes
out. It is present near the elevated part of sand bed. This slag hole is used
to remove slag formed on melted iron due to impurities.

5. Air Pipes and Tuyers:

The air pipe is provided to allow the air to reach inside the furnace. Inside
the furnace wind belt is present. The air entering from the air pipes
reaches each part of the wind belt and in the wind belt there are holes
which are called tuyers. Air reaches the furnace through this tuyers and
will help in combustion.

6. Spark Arrester Or Cap Of Furnace :

It is present at the top of the furnace. When gases are released out of the
furnace, some burning particles are present in it which can harm the
environment. So this cap or spark arrester is used to capture the burning
particles and only allow the gas to pass to the environment.

7. Charging Door :
It is present near the top of the furnace. It is used to supply charge to the
furnace. The charges in this furnace are Pig Iron, Coke and Lime Stone.
Coke is used for combustion, pig iron is the material that is to be melt and
lime stone is used as a flux. This flux mix with impurities to form slag
and this slag comes out of the slag hole.

8. Well:
The part of the furnace from the send bed to lower part of tuyers is known
as Well. It is named as well as in this part molten iron is stored and then
the molten iron comes out of the tapping hole.
 9. Tuyers Zone:
The part of the furnace in which the wind belt and tuyers are present is
known as Tuyers Zone.

10. Combustion Zone:

In this zone combustion takes place. The air coming from the tuyers
contains oxygen and this oxygen reacts with carbon to form carbon
dioxide. It is also known as oxidixing zone as carbon oxidizes in this
zone to form carbon dioxide and liberate heat. Apart from carbon other
impurities like manganese,silicon also oxidizes in this zone to form their
oxides and liberate heat.

11. Reducing Zone:

It is present above the combustion or oixdizing zone. It this zone carbon
reacts with carbon dioxide to form carbon monoxide. In this zone
temperature is reduced by a small amount, so this zone is known as
reducing zone.

12. Melting Zone:

In this zone iron melts and this molten iron comes out of the tap hole. The
temperature of this zone is very high nearly 1600 degree Celcius.

Advantages of Cupola Furnace: -

 Simple in Construction.
 Wide range of material can be melted.
 Less floor space is required.
 Very skilled operators are not required. Can be easily operated by low
skill person.
 Low cost of operation.
 Low cost of maintenance.
 Low cost of construction.
Disadvantages of Cupola Furnace: -
 The main disadvantage is that sometimes it is very hard to control the
temperature in this furnace.
 Metal elements are converted to their oxide which are not suitable for
casting.
Application of Cupola Furnace: -
 It is mainly used to convert pig iron to molten iron.
 More types of cast iron are produced from this furnace like malleable and
grey cast iron.
 The cooper base alloy is also manufactured by this device.
Working of Cupola Furnace:

At first wood is ignited above the sand bed. When the wood starts burning
properly, coke is dumped on the well from the top to a predetermined height of
nearly 40 inches. This forms a 40 inch coke bed. Then the combustion starts in
the coke bed using the fire from the burning wood and using the air from the
tuyers. At this time, the air blast is turned out at a lower blowing rate than
normal to provoke the coke. After nearly 3 hours of burning when the coke
starts burning properly, alternate layers of limestone, pig iron and coke is
charged until it reaches the level of charging door is reached. At this time the air
blast is tuned on to normal blowing rate and the combustion occurs more
rapidly in the coke bed.

All oxygen from the air blast is consumed by the combustion in the combustion
[Link] chemical reaction which takes place is, C + O2 -> CO2 + Heat
This is an exothermic reaction and in the combustion zone the temperature
varies from 1150 to 1850 degree Celcius. The portion of the coke bed above the
combustion zone is reducing zone. This zone prevent the oxidation of metal
charge above and while dropping through it. As the carbon dioxide moves up
through this zone, some of it is reduced by the following reaction,
CO2 +C -> 2CO The layer of iron above reducing zone is melting zone where
the solid iron is converted into molten iron. This melted iron trickles down
through the coke bed and is collected in the well. Sufficient carbon comtent is
picked up by the molten metal in this zone and is represented by the chemical
reaction given as :- 3 Fe + 2 CO —> Fe3 C + CO2 Above the melting zone,
there is preheating zone where the charge is preheated by the outgoing gases
and the temperature of this zone is about 1900 degree Celcius. Apart from
limestone, fluorspar and soda ash are also used as flux material. Main function
of flux is to remove impurities from iron and protect iron from oxidation.
Within 5 to 10 minutes of starting of air blast to normal blowing rate , the first
molten iron appears at the tap hole. The charging door is closed till the metal
melts. The contents of the charge move down as the melting proceeds. The rate
of charging i.e the rate of adding layers of charge is equal to the rate of melting.
The furnace is kept full throughout the process. When the melting process is
finished and no more molten irons is required then the feed of charge is stopped
and the air blast is also stopped. The bottom plate swings to open when the prop
is removed and the slag is removed. Normally copula furnace is not used more
than 4 hours but can be used for 10 hrs of continuous operation.
 Induction furnace

An induction furnace is an electrical furnace in which the heat is applied

by induction heating of metal.

Induction furnace capacities range from less than one kilogram to one hundred
tonnes, and are used to melt iron and steel, copper, aluminium, and precious
metals.

The advantage of the induction furnace is a clean, energy-efficient and well-

controllable melting process compared to most other means of metal melting.

Most modern foundries use this type of furnace, and now also more iron
foundries are replacing cupolas with induction furnaces to melt cast iron, as the
former emit dust and other pollutants

Since no arc or combustion is used, the temperature of the material is not higher
than required to melt it.

One major drawback of induction furnace is that the lack of refining capacity;
charge materials must be clean of oxidation products and of a known
composition but some alloying elements may be lost due to oxidation (and must
be re-added to the melt).
Operation:
An induction furnace consists of a nonconductive crucible holding the charge of
metal to be melted, surrounded by a coil of copper wire.

A powerful alternating current flows through the wire. The coil creates a rapidly
reversing magnetic field that penetrates the metal. The magnetic field
induces eddy currents, circular electric currents, inside the metal,
by electromagnetic induction. The eddy currents, flow through the electrical
resistance of the bulk metal and heat it. In ferromagnetic materials like iron, the
material may also be heated by magnetic hysteresis, the reversal of the
molecular magnetic dipoles in the metal. Once melted, the eddy currents cause
vigorous stirring of the melt, assuring good mixing.

An advantage of induction heating is that the heat is generated within the

furnace's charge itself rather than applied by a burning fuel or other external
heat source, which can be important in applications where contamination is an
issue.

Operating frequencies range from 50 Hz to 400 kHz or higher, usually

depending on the material being melted, the capacity (volume) of the furnace
and the melting speed required. Generally, the smaller the volume of the melts,
the higher the frequency of the furnace used; this is due to the skin depth which
is a measure of the distance an alternating current can penetrate beneath the
surface of a conductor. For the same conductivity, the higher frequencies have a
shallow skin depth—that is less penetration into the melt. Lower frequencies
can generate stirring or turbulence in the metal.

Power supplies range from 10 kW to 42 MW, with melt sizes of 20 kg to

65 tonnes of metal respectively.