Part II -

Introduction to Basic
Casting Processes

Oct 2025
 Lecture Outline:

> Introduction – Defn

> Steps in casting process
> Adv. & limitations of casting Process
> Casting terms
> Casting materials
> Classification of casting process
> Melting practices
 1. Introduction
# Casting process is one of the
earliest metal shaping
techniques known to human
being.
# Casting means pouring
molten metal into a
refractory mold cavity and
allows it to solidify. The
solidified object is taken out
from the mold either by
breaking or taking the mold
apart.
 Cont’d…

Fig. 2 Pouring and mold system for sand casting

 2. Casting Terms:

1. Flask: A metal or wood frame, without fixed top or bottom, in which the mold is

formed. Depending upon the position of the flask in the molding structure, it is

referred to by various names such as drag - lower molding flask, cope - upper

molding flask, cheek - intermediate molding flask used in three piece

molding.

2. Pattern: It is the replica of the final object to be made. The mold cavity is

made with the help of pattern.

3. Parting line: This is the dividing line between the two molding flasks that

makes up the mold.

4. Molding sand: Sand, which binds strongly without losing its permeability to

air or gases. It is a mixture of silica sand, clay, and moisture in appropriate

proportions.

5. Facing sand: The small amount of carbonaceous material sprinkled on the inner

surface of the mold cavity to give a better surface finish to the castings.
 Cont’d…

6. Core: A separate part of the mold, made of sand and generally baked, which

is used to create openings and various shaped cavities in the castings.

7. Pouring basin: A small funnel shaped cavity at the top of the mold into which

the molten metal is poured.

8. Sprue: The passage through which the molten metal, from the pouring basin,

reaches the mold cavity. In many cases it controls the flow of metal into the

mold.

9. Runner: The channel through which the molten metal is carried from the sprue

to the gate.

10. Gate: A channel through which the molten metal enters the mold cavity.

11. Chaplets: Chaplets are used to support the cores inside the mold cavity to

take care of its own weight and overcome the metallostatic force.

12. Riser: A column of molten metal placed in the mold to feed the castings as

it shrinks and solidifies. It is also known as "feed head".

 3. Steps in Casting Process:

1. Pattern making:
> This includes the modification of the desired part shape to
include draft, shrinkage, and machining allowances as well
as to provide the gating and risering design.
> The pattern has the shape of the casting, and it is used to
make the cavity in the mold into which the metal is poured.
2. Molding and coremaking:
> This includes the production of the molds and cores, the
insertion of the cores in the mold, and the closing of the
mold.
> Cores typically are sand masses that form the internal
surfaces of the part, whereas the mold forms the external
surface of the part. The use of cores permits the formation of
 Cont’d…

3. Melting:
> This includes the melting of the metal and the
pouring of the molten metal into the mold cavity.
4. Cooling and solidification:
> The cooling and solidification, which are determined
by the mold material and riser location, affect
the material properties and quality of the
casting.
 Cont’d…
 Common examples: door handles, locks, the
outer casing or housing for motors, pumps,
wheels of many cars, etc.
 Casting is also heavily used in the toy industry
to make parts, e.g. toy cars, planes, and so on.

Fig. 2 Metal cast products

 4. Advantages of casting process

1. Molten material can flow into very small sections so that

intricate shapes can be made by this process. As a

result, many other operations, such as machining,

forging, and welding, can be minimized or eliminated.

2. It is possible to cast practically any material that is

ferrous or non-ferrous.

3. It is economical, with very little wastage: the extra metal

in each casting is re-melted and re-used.

4. The necessary tools required for casting molds are very

simple and inexpensive. As a result, for production of a

small lot, it is the ideal process.

5. Limitations of casting

1) Dimensional accuracy and surface finish of the

castings made by sand casting processes are a
limitation to this technique. Many new casting
processes have been developed which can take into
consideration the aspects of dimensional accuracy and
surface finish. Some of these processes are die casting
process, investment casting process, vacuum-sealed
molding process, and shell molding process.
2) The metal casting process is a labor intensive process.
 6. Casting Materials

# The most common casting material is iron. The widely used generic term cast

iron refers to the family of alloys comprising different proportions of alloying

material for iron-carbon and silicon, primarily, as well as manganese,

sulphur, and phosphorus:

1. Gray cast iron: The chemical composition of gray cast iron contains 2.5–4%

carbon, 1–3% silicon, and 0.4–1% manganese. Due to its casting

characteristics and cost, it is the most commonly used material (by weight).

# Its fluidity makes it a desirable material for the casting of thin and intricate

features.

# Gray cast iron also has a lower shrinkage rate, and it is easier to machine.

# A typical application is its use in the manufacture of engine blocks.

# Gray cast iron can be further alloyed with chromium, molybdenum,

nickel, copper, or even titanium for increased mechanical properties—

strength, resistance to wear, corrosion, abrasion, etc.

 Cont’d…

2. White cast iron

0 When the white cast iron is fractured, white coloured

cracks are seen throughout because of the presence of

carbide impurities. White cast iron is hard but brittle.

0 It has lower silicon content and low melting point. The

carbon present in the white cast iron precipitates and forms

large particles that increase the hardness of the cast iron. It

is abrasive resistant as well as cost-effective making them

useful in various applications like lifter bars and shell liners

in grinding mills, wear surfaces of pumps, balls and rings of

coal pulverisers, etc.

 Cont’d…

3. Malleable iron:
# The chemical composition of malleable iron contains
2–3.3% carbon, 0.6–1.2% silicon, and 0.25–0.65%
manganese. It can normally be obtained by heat-
treating white iron castings.
# The high strength of malleable iron combined with its
ductility makes it suitable for applications such as
camshaft brackets, differential carriers, and
numerous housings.
# One must note that malleable iron must be hardened in
order to increase its relatively low wear resistance.
 Cont’d…
4. Ductile cast iron:
> The chemical composition of ductile cast iron (also
known as nodular or spheriodal graphite cast iron)
contains 3–4% carbon, 1.8–2.8% silicon, and 0.15–0.9%
manganese.
> First introduced in the late 1940s, this material can also be
cast into thin sections (though not as well as gray
cast iron).
> It is superior in machinability to gray cast iron at
equivalent hardness. Its corrosion and wear resistance
is superior to steel and equivalent to gray cast iron.
> Typical uses of ductile cast iron include gears,
 Other typical casting materials include:

4. Aluminum and magnesium alloys:

> Aluminum is a difficult material to cast and needs to be alloyed

with other metals, such as copper, magnesium, and zinc, as well as

with silicon (up to 12–14%).

> In general, such alloys provide good fluidity, low shrinkage, and

good resistance to cracking.

> The mechanical properties obtainable for aluminum alloys depend on

the content of the alloying elements as well as on heat-treatment

processes.

> Magnesium is also a difficult material to cast in its pure form and

is normally alloyed with aluminum, zinc, and zirconium. Such

alloys can have excellent corrosion resistance and moderate

 Cont’d…

5. Copper-based alloys: Copper may be alloyed with many

different elements, including tin, lead, zinc, and nickel to yield,

among others, a common engineering alloy known as bronze (80–

90% copper, 5–20% tin, and less then 1–2% of lead, zinc,

phosphorous, nickel, and iron).

6. Steel castings: These castings have isotropic uniformity of

properties, regardless of direction of loading, when compared to

cast iron. However, the strength and ductility of steel becomes a

problem for the casting process, for example, causing high

shrinkage rates. Low-carbon steel castings (< 0.3% carbon) can

be found in numerous automotive applications, whereas high-

carbon cast steels (0.5% carbon) are used for tool and die

making.
7. Classifications of Casting Processes
# Casting processes can be classified into FOUR categories.
1. Conventional Casting/Molding Processes
– Green Sand Molding
– Dry Sand Molding
– Flask less Molding

2. Chemical Sand Casting Processes

– Shell Molding
– Sodium Silicate Molding

3. Permanent Mold Casting Processes

– Gravity Die casting
– Die Casting

4. Special Casting Processes

– Lost Wax
– Ceramics Shell Molding
– Evaporative Pattern Casting
– Vacuum Sealed Molding
 1. Green Sand Casting/Molding Process
# Green sand is the most diversified molding sand used in
metal casting operations.
# The process utilizes a mold made of compressed or
compacted wet/moist sand.
# The mold material consists of silica sand mixed with a
suitable bonding agent (usually clay) and moisture.
# Advantages:
> Most metals can be cast by this method
> Pattern costs and material costs are relatively low
> No limitation with respect to size of casting and type
of metal or alloy used.
# Disadvantages:
 Sand Mold Making Procedure

The procedure for making mold for sand casting is as follows:

> The first step in making mold is to place the pattern on the molding

board.

> The drag is placed on the board.

> Dry facing sand is sprinkled over the board and pattern to provide

a non sticky layer.

> Molding sand is then riddled to cover the pattern with the fingers;

then the drag is completely filled.

> The sand is then firmly packed in the drag by means of hand

rammers. The ramming must be proper i.e. it must neither be too

hard or soft.

> After the ramming is over, the excess sand is leveled off with a
 C o n t’d …

> With the help of vent rod, vent holes are made in the drag to the full depth of the

flask as well as to the pattern to facilitate the removal of gases during pouring and

solidification.

> The finished drag flask is now rolled over to the bottom board exposing the pattern.

> Cope half of the pattern is then placed over the drag pattern with the help of

locating pins.

> The dry parting sand is sprinkled all over the drag and on the pattern.

> A sprue pin for making the sprue passage is located at a small distance from the

pattern. Also, riser pin, if required, is placed at an appropriate place.

> The operation of filling, ramming and venting of the cope proceed in the same

manner as performed in the drag.

> The sprue and riser pins are removed first and a pouring basin is scooped out at the

top to pour the liquid metal.

> Then pattern from the cope and drag is removed and facing sand in the form of

paste is applied all over the mold cavity and runners which would give the finished

casting a good surface finish.

>
 Cont’d…

Animation video
 2. Dry Sand Molding

 When it is desired that the gas forming materials

are lowered in the molds, air-dried molds are

sometimes preferred to green sand molds.

 The most common method of drying the refractory

mold coating uses hot air, gas or oil flame.

 The drying of the mold can be accomplished with

the aid of torches, directed at the mold surface.

 3. Shell Mold Casting

 Shell mold casting process is recent invention in casting techniques for

mass production and smooth surface finish. It was originated in

Germany during Second World War. It is also called as Carning or C-

process.

 The process is described as follows:

> The 2-piece pattern is made of metal (e.g. aluminum or steel), it is heated

to between 175°C-370°C, and coated with a lubricant, e.g. silicone spray.

> Each heated half-pattern is covered with a mixture of sand and a

thermoset resin/epoxy binder. The binder glues a layer of sand to the

pattern, forming a shell. The process may be repeated to get a thicker

shell.

> The assembly is baked to cure it.

> The patterns are removed, and the two half-shells joined together to form

the mold; metal is poured into the mold.

 Cont’d…

Fig. Shell mold casting

Advantages
The main advantages of shell molding are:
> Very suitable for thin sections

> Excellent surface finish.

> Good dimensional accuracy of order of 0.002 to

0.003 mm.
> Negligible machining and cleaning cost.

> Occupies less floor space.

> Skill required is less.

> Molds can be stored until required.

> Better quality of casting assured.

> Suitable for mass production.

Disadvantages
# Initial cost is high

# Specialized equipment is required

# Resin binder is an expensive material
# Limited for small size
# Future of shell molding process is very bright.

Applications:
> Suitable for production of casting made up of alloys of Al, Cu and
ferrous metals

> Bushings

> Valves bodies

> Rocker arms

> Bearing caps

> Brackets Animation video

 4. Permanent Mold Casting Process

 In all the above processes, a mold need to be prepared for each of the
casting produced.
 For large-scale production, making a mold, for every casting to be
produced, may be difficult and expensive. Therefore, a permanent
mold, called the die may be made from which a large number of
castings can be produced, the molds are usually made of cast iron or
steel, although graphite, copper and aluminum have been used as
mold materials.
 The process in which we use a die to make the castings is called
permanent mold casting or gravity die casting, since the metal
enters the mold under gravity.
 Some time in die-casting we inject the molten metal with a high
pressure.
 When we apply pressure in injecting the metal it is called pressure
Cont’d…
Advantages:

> Permanent mold casting produces a sound dense casting with

superior mechanical properties.

> The castings produced are quite uniform in shape have a higher

degree of dimensional accuracy than castings produced in sand.

> The permanent mold process is also capable of producing a consistent

quality of finish on castings

Disadvantages :

> The cost of tooling is usually higher than for sand castings

> The process is generally limited to the production of small castings of

simple exterior design, although complex castings such as aluminum

engine blocks and heads are now commonplace.

Applications:
# This method is suitable for small and medium sized casting such as
carburetor bodies, oil pump bodies, connecting rods, pistons etc.
Animation video
 5. Centrifugal Casting Process
> In centrifugal casting process, molten metal is poured into a

revolving mold and allowed to solidify molten metal by pressure of

centrifugal force.

> It is employed for mass production of circular parts as the castings

produced by this process are free from impurities.

> Due to centrifugal force, the castings produced will be of high

density type and of good strength.

> The cylindrical parts and pipes for handling gases are most

adoptable to this process.

 Cont’d…
• Advantages

– Formation of hollow interiors in cylinders without cores

– Less material required for gate

– Fine grained structure at the outer surface of the

casting

– Free of gas and shrinkage cavities and porosity

• Disadvantages

– Contamination of internal surface of castings with non-

metallic inclusions

– More segregation of alloy component during pouring

under the forces of rotation
 Applications:
Animation video
 6. Investment Casting Process

 The investment casting process also called lost wax process

begins with the production of wax replicas or patterns of the
desired shape of the castings.
 A pattern is needed for every casting to be produced. The patterns
are prepared by injecting wax or polystyrene in a metal dies.
 A number of patterns are attached to a central wax sprue to form
an assembly.
 The mold is prepared by surrounding the pattern with refractory
slurry that can set at room temperature.
 The mold is then heated so that pattern melts and flows out,
leaving a clean cavity behind.
 The mould is further hardened by heating and the molten metal
is poured while it is still hot. When the casting is solidified, the
mold is broken and the casting taken out.
Steps in Investment mold casting:
Cont’d…
 Cont’d…

Advantage:
# An advantage of this process is that the wax
can carry very fine details – so the process
not only gives good dimensional tolerances,
but also excellent surface finish; in fact,
almost any surface texture as well as logos
etc. can be reproduced with very high level
of detail.

Animation video
7. Die Casting Process
 Die casting is a very commonly used type of permanent
mold casting process.
 It is used for producing many components of home
appliances (e.g cookers, stoves, fans, washing and
drying machines, fridges), motors, toys and hand-
tools.
 Surface finish and tolerance of die cast parts is so
good that there is almost no post-processing required.
 Die casting molds are expensive, and require
significant lead time to fabricate; they are commonly
called dies.
 C o n t’d …

# In a hot chamber process (used for zinc alloys, magnesium) the

pressure chamber connected to the die cavity is filled permanently in the
molten metal.

# The basic cycle of operation is as follows:

(i) Die is closed and gooseneck cylinder is filled with molten metal;

(ii) Plunger pushes molten metal through gooseneck passage and

nozzle into the die cavity; metal is held under pressure until it
solidifies;

(iii) Die opens and cores, if any, are retracted; casting stays in ejector
die; plunger returns, pulling molten metal back through nozzle and
gooseneck;

(iv) Ejector pins push casting out of ejector die. As plunger uncovers
inlet hole, molten metal refills gooseneck cylinder.

# The hot chamber process is used for metals that (a) have low
melting points and (b) do not alloy with the die material (steel);
 Cont’d…

Fig. Air blown or goose neck type die

casting setup (hot chamber die casting)
Animation video
 Cont’d…
# In a cold chamber process, the molten metal is poured into
the cold chamber in each cycle.
The operating cycle is
(i) Die is closed and molten metal is ladled into the cold
chamber cylinder;
(ii) Plunger pushes molten metal into die cavity; the metal
is held under high pressure until it solidifies;
(iii)Die opens and plunger follows to push the solidified
slug from the cylinder, if there are cores, they are
retracted away;
(iv) Ejector pins push casting off ejector die and plunger
returns to original position.
# This process is particularly useful for high melting
 Cont’d…

Cold chamber die casting process differs from hot chamber die

casting in following respects.

1) Melting unit is generally not an integral part of the cold

chamber die casting machine. Molten metal is brought and

poured into die casting machine with help of ladles.

2) Molten metal poured into the cold chamber casting machine

is generally at lower temperature as compared to that poured

in hot chamber die casting machine.

3) For this reasoning, a cold chamber die casting process has to

be made use of pressure much higher (of the order of 200 to

2000 kgf/cm2) than those applied in hot chamber process.

4) High pressure tends to increase the fluidity of molten metal

possessing relatively lower temperature.

 Advantages of Die casting
over Sand casting
√ Die casting requires less floor space in comparison to sand

casting.

√ It helps in providing precision dimensional control with a

subsequent reduction in machining cost.

√ It provides greater improved surface finish.

√ Thin section of complex shape can be produced in die casting.

√ More true shape can be produced with close tolerance in die

casting.

√ Castings produced by die casting are usually less defective.

√ It produces more sound casting than sand casting.

√ It is very quick process.

√ Its rate of production is high as much as 800 casting / hour.

 8. Vacuum Casting Process

> This process is also called counter-gravity casting. It is

basically the same process as investment casting, except for
the step of filling the mold (step (e) above).
> In this case, the material is sucked upwards into the mould
by a vacuum pump.
> The figure below shows the basic idea – notice how the mold
appears in an inverted position from the usual casting process,
and is lowered into the flask with the molten metal.
 Cont’d…

# One advantage of vacuum casting is that by releasing the

pressure a short time after the mold is filled, we can release
the un-solidified metal back into the flask. This allows us to
create hollow castings.
# Since most of the heat is conducted away from the surface
between the mold and the metal, therefore the portion of the
metal closest to the mold surface always solidifies first;
the solid front travels inwards into the cavity. Thus, if the liquid
is drained in a very short time after the filling, then we get a
very thin walled hollow object, etc. (see Figure 10).
 ? ??
S n s?
Q