Casting
Mahmud Khan
Assistant Professor
Dept. of IPE
DUET, Gazipur.
Introduction
• Casting process is based on the property of a
liquid to take up the shape of vessel containing
it
• Molten metal poured into a mould flows into
the corners and fills all the voids.
• When the metal solidifies it takes the shape of
the mould but not exactly the same because
solid being denser, there is reduction of volume.
Advantages
• Can create complex part geometries that can not be
made by any other process
• Can create both external and internal shapes
• Some casting processes are net shape; others are near
net shape
• Can produce very large parts (with weight more than 100
tons), like m/c bed
• Casting can be applied to shape any metal that can melt
• Some casting methods are suited to mass production
• Can also be applied on polymers and ceramics
Disadvantages
– Limitations on mechanical properties
– Poor dimensional accuracy and surface finish for some
processes; e.g., sand casting
– Safety hazards to workers due to hot molten metals
– Environmental problems
Parts Made by Casting
• Big parts
– Engine blocks and heads for automotive vehicles, wood
burning stoves, machine frames, railway wheels, pipes,
bells, pump housings
• Small parts
– Dental crowns, jewelry, small statues, frying pans
• All varieties of metals can be cast - ferrous and
nonferrous
Overview
• Casting is usually performed in a foundry shop.
Foundry = factory equipped for
making molds
melting and handling molten metal
performing the casting process
cleaning the finished casting
• Workers who perform casting are called foundrymen
Mold
• Mold is a container with cavity whose
geometry determines part shape
– Actual size and shape of cavity must be slightly oversized
to allow for shrinkage of metal during solidification and
cooling
– Molds are made of a variety of materials, including sand,
plaster, ceramic, and metal
Mold
Pattern
• A pattern is defined as a model of a casting,
constructed in such a way that it can be used
for forming an impression in moulding sand.
• The first step in making a casting is to prepare
a model, known as pattern
Heating the Metal
• Heating furnaces are used to heat the metal
to molten temperature sufficient for casting
• The heat required is the sum of:
1. Heat to raise temperature to melting point
2. Heat to raise molten metal to desired temperature for
pouring
Casting Defects
• A casting defect is an undesired discontinuities
in a casting process.
• Defects are defined as conditions in a casting
that must be corrected or removed, or the
casting must be rejected. Discontinuities, also
known as "imperfections", are defined as
"interruptions in the physical continuity of the
casting.
Casting defects
• Shrinkage defects
Shrinkage defects can occur when standard
feed metal is not available to compensate
for shrinkage as the thick metal solidifies
• Gas porosity
Gas porosity is the formation of bubbles within
the casting after it has cooled
Casting defects
• Pouring metal defects
Pouring metal defects include misruns, cold
shuts, and inclusions. A misrun occurs when
the liquid metal does not completely fill the
mold cavity, leaving an unfilled portion. Cold
shuts occur when two fronts of liquid metal do
not fuse properly in the mold cavity, leaving a
weak spot. An inclusion is a metal
contamination with impurities.
Casting defects
• Hot tears, also known as hot cracking, are
failures in the casting that occur as the casting
cools.
• Hot spots are areas on the surface of casting
that become very hard because they cooled
more quickly than the surrounding material.