MOLDING PROCESS AND MATERIALS Mold a forming tool. • Good castings cannot be made without good molds. •
Because of the importance of the mold, casting processes and castings are often described by the materials and methods employed in the molding.
A classification of casting processes is given below:
(1)
Sand casting
a) Greensand molds, greensand molding b) Drysand molds c) Coresand molds d) Cementbondedsand molds e) Loam molds f) Shell molding g) Pit and floor molding h) All core molding
(2) Permanentmold casting (3) Die casting (4) Centrifugal casting (5) Plastermold casting (6) Investment casting (7) Slush casting (8) Shot casting (9) Special processes; graphite molds, ceramic molds.
There are two major categories of casting: • Expendable mold casting • Permanent mold casting • Expendable molds: Made of sand, plaster, ceramics and similar materials which are generally mixed with various binders or bonding agents, the molds are broken up to remove the casting. • Permanent molds: Used repeatedly and are designed in such a way that casting can be easily removed and the mold used for the next casting.
Composite Molds: Made of two or more different materials (such as sand, graphite, and metal) combining the advantages of each material. Used to improve mold strength, cooling rates and overall economics of the process.
SAND CASTINGS Silica sand (Si O2) is used more universally for making casting than any other molding materials. * It is relatively cheap. * It has good refractoriness. A suitable bonding agent (usually clay) is mixed or occurs naturally with the sand; the mixture is moistened with water to develop strength and plasticity of the clay and to make the aggregate suitable for molding. *Hand molding *Machine molding Sand refers to the molding material, the simplest type being a mixture of silica sand, clay and water, blended by hand or mechanical mixer.
The flask is a frame of steel, iron or wood in which the mold is made. The cope is the upper and the drag the lower half of the mold; intermediate sections, if used, are cheeks. The rammer is provided with a peen and butt end for ramming sand around the edges of the flask and over the pattern respectively. The pattern is the form around which sand is rammed; it may be one piece or of split construction, depending upon size and configuration. Bottom boards are flat plates of wood or metal upon which patterns with at least one flat side or
The mold cavity is the empty shape left in sand when the pattern is removed and into which metal is poured, or cast, to form the casting. The mold cavity may not be left completely empty; a core of firmly baked sand may be used to form the internal shape and dimensions of the casting. Chaplets are metal objects for holding the core in position against the washing and lifting effect of molten metal. Molten metal is introduced into the mold cavity through the gating system, which includes the downgate (sprue) and ingate. A pouring cup or pouring basin is either placed upon or formed into the upper cope surface, connecting to the downgate, to receive the metal from the ladle.
Greensand Molding: • •
Molding is often done with green sand. Green molding sand may be defined as a plastic mixture of sand grains, clay, water and other materials which can be used for molding and casting processes. The sand is called “green” because of the moisture present and is thus distinguished from dry sand. The basic steps in green sand molding are the following: (i) Preparation of the pattern (ii) Making the mold (iii) Core setting (iv) Closing and weighting.
Sand Casting: Making an imprint in sand (using a pattern), filling the resulting cavity with molten metal, and removing the casting (part) when solidified, by breaking up the sand.
Advantages: (ii) Greater flexibility as a production process. Mechanical equipment can be utilized for performing molding and its allied operations. Furthermore, green sand can be reused many times by reconditioning it with water, clay and other materials. (iii) Usually the most direct route from pattern to mold ready for pouring is greensand molding. (iv) Economy: Green sand molding is ordinarily the least costly method of molding unless special reasons exist which favor the other casting processes.
Limitations: (i) Some casting designs can not be made and require the use of other casting processes. Thin, long projections of green sand in a mold cavity are washed away by the molten metal or may not even be moldable. Cooling fins on air cooled engine cylinder blocks and heads are an example. Greater strength is then required of the mold. (ii) Certain metals and some castings develop defects if poured into mold containing moisture. (iii) More intricate castings cannot be made.
(iv) The dimensional accuracy and surface finish of greensand castings may not be adequate. A dimensional variation of ± 1/64 in. on small castings and ± 1/16 to ± 3/32 in. on larger ones may be encountered. However, this variation on many castings may be much less than that cited if adequate control is exercised. (v) Large castings require greater mold strength and resistance to erosion than is available in green sands.
BASIC STEPS IN MAKING A SAND MOLD: • Preparation of the molding sand. • In making a simple mold, the bottom board is first laid securely on the bench or floor. • The pattern is positioned, the flask is located properly, and the sand is sieved over the pattern with a riddle. The sand employed for this purpose will touch the metal; in the best practice, it is an especially fine and clean variety of sand, called facing sand. • Used backing sand may then be shoveled into the flask over the facing, and the whole rammed securely, using the peen around the edges and the butt rammer over the pattern.
• Once the flask is rammed properly a straightedge, or strike, is drawn across the upper surface to remove excess sand; a second flat board is placed upside down on the mold and flask and clamped or held in position while the whole is overturned. • The original bottom board, which is now on the top, is removed, and the drag half of the mold is essentially finished. • It will later be necessary to cut an ingate to the mold cavity unless one is provided as part of the pattern, as is the recommended practice. • It may be necessary to tool the drag somewhat, i.e., smooth the sand around the pattern edges or otherwise shape it.
• Parting powder, a white powdery substance, is dusted over the sand and pattern, and the cope flask is positioned. • If patterns are provided with downgates , these are set in place, as are the patterns for whatever risers are used. Downgates are sometimes cut through the cope with a cylindrical tube after the cope is finished. • A layer of facing sand is riddled over the drag and pattern as before, and backing sand is added and rammed solidly. • A steel bar is again used to strike off the upper surface of the cope; sprue and riser patterns are then drawn. • The cope is removed from the drag and usually placed aside for any finishing operations required.
• If split patterns are used onehalf will be picked up with the cope; so the cope is laid upside down on a spare bottom board. • The patterns are then rapped slightly to loosen them from the sand and are removed from cope and drag with a draw spike; ingates are cut, the mold is patched as required, chaplets and cores are positioned, and mold is closed by placing the cope again atop the drag. • Small vent holes are made through the sand to within a fraction of an inch of the pattern to insure the escape of gases. • Clamps or weights are placed on the flask to resist the tendency of the cope to float or shift as molten metal fills the mold cavity.
Figure: Basic steps involved in making a casting from a green sand mold.
Desirable Mold Properties and Characteristics: • Strength to maintain shape and resist erosion. • Permeability to allow hot air and gases to pass through voids in sand. • Thermal stability to resist cracking on contact with molten metal. • Collapsibility ability to give way and allow casting to shrink without cracking the casting. • Reusability can sand from broken mold be reused to make other molds?
Figure: Sand Mold
Figure: Sand Mold
Figure: Sand Mold
Figure: Pouring of molten metal into mould cavity
Drysand Molds: • These molds are made with molding sand in green condition. • Has good dry strength. • Molding done the same way as greensand molding. • Refractory coating. • The entire mold is dried in an oven at 300 to 650 oF or by circulating heated air through the mould. • The drying operation is one inherent disadvantage • The volume of gas formed when the casting is poured is much less than with green moulds. • Casting defects attributable to moisture should be absent.
• The essential difference between dry sand and green sand molding is that the moisture in the mold sand is removed prior to pouring the metal. • Dry sand molding is more applicable to medium and large castings than to small castings. • The molds are stronger and more rigid than green sand molds. They can therefore withstand more handling and resist the static pressure of molten metal, which may cause green sand molds to deform or swell. • In addition, they may be exposed to the atmosphere for long periods of time without detrimental effect. Such exposure may be necessary for placing and fitting a large number of cores.
Skindried Moulds: • The effect of a drysand mould may be partially obtained by drying the mould surface to some depth, ¼ to 1 in. • Skin drying may be performed by torches, a bank of radiantheating lamps, or electrical heating elements directed at the mould surface. • These moulds must be poured shortly after drying so that moisture from the undried sand will not penetrate the dried skin.
Floor and Pit Molding:
* Large intricate castings weighing from 1 to over 100 tons. * The surface finish and dimensional accuracy of these large castings in ferrous alloys is not that of smaller ones, dimensional tolerances of ± 1/16 to ± ¼ in. being acceptable unless special experiences permits closer control. * The problems of mold construction, handling, coring, gating, pouring and cleaning of large castings require much engineering efforts and control. The terrific amount of labor, time, and materials going into making a large casting makes the scrapping of one exceedingly costly.
* When the molds are medium to large in size, considerable heavy equipment, floor space and time must be allocated to the molding operation. * Floor molding is done on the floor of bays of the foundry set aside for these heavy molding jobs.
• When the pattern being molded is too large to be handled in flasks, the molding is done in pits. • Molding pits are concretelined boxshaped holes in the molding floor. The pattern is lowered into pit and molding sand is tucked and rammed under the pattern and up the side walls to the parting surface. The cope of the pit mold is finished off with cores or with sand rammed in a cope flask.
Figure: Dry sand pit mold for stationary diesel engine.
• Such large molds are always dried. • Floor molding: When castings increase in size, with resultant difficulty in handling, the work is done on the foundry floor. This type of molding is used for practically all medium and large size castings. • Pit molding: Extremely large castings are frequently molded in a pit instead of a flask. The pit acts as the drag part of the flask and a separate cope is used above it. They sides of the pit are brick kind, and on the bottom there.
Loam Molding: * Loam is a molding sand containing about 50 per cent sand grains and 50 per cent clay. * Loam molding was much used in the past for making large bronze castings and is still practiced in some shops, particularly in making huge manganese bronze propellers. * In this method a substrate is made of bricks, wood and other material to the approximate contour of the casting. A very viscous slurry of water, clay and sand is daubed over the framework and worked to proper shape with sweeps. The mold is dried by forced hot air or torches.
* No pattern is required, as sheetsteel sweeps are so shaped that they generate proper casting contour as the sweep arm is moved back and forth over a fixed spindle. * Such sweeps are used occasionally in making molds for large rollingmill rolls where ordinary molding sand is used instead of a slurry. * The chief advantages of this process are savings in pattern cost and storage; pattern storage alone is an important and expensive item in most foundries. * Loam molding is slow and laborious, and special molders are required; all work must be done by hand as the process is very much an art.
Figure: To cast a bell, molten bell metal is poured into a mould, which is made in two parts: an inner mould, or 'core', and an outer mould, known as the 'cope'.
Figure: The strickle is revolved around the mould,
paring off excess loam and shaping it to the required profile.
Cementbondedsand Molds: Cementbonded molding sand is a mixture of sand, 8 to 12 per cent highearlystrength hydraulic cement, and 4 to 6 per cent water. This sand develops great hardness and strength by the setting action of portland cement. Molding may be performed by the methods discussed above and other specially suited to the cement. The sand must be allowed to set or harden before the pattern can be with drawn. The mold is allowed to cure or continue setting for about 72 hours before the mold can be closed or assembled for pouring. When the mold is poured, heat causes the water of crystallization of the cement to be driven off, and thus steam must be allowed to pass off through the sand by means of its porosity and suitably distributed vent holes. Cementbondedsand molds can be constructed with considerable accuracy, often more than that obtainable in other processes for making large molds. Consequently more accurate castings may be obtained.
Coresand or Core Molds (Allcore Molding)
Some large castings are made entirely of cores; hundreds of large and small individual core sections are fitted together in a pit and finally rammed securely in position with molding sand or pressed together with suitable clamps. Some large cores for this purpose weigh as much as 60 tons. This method is chosen where design is such that standard patterns could not be drawn from regular molds. In place of patterns, core boxes are used for making all parts of the mold. The cores are being fitted together to make the mold, being located by alignment bosses and holes.
Core sands usually consist of mixtures of sand grains and organic binders which develop great strength after baking at 300 to 450 F. The strength after baking makes it possible to cast metal around thin sand projections without having them break or erode because of the hot metal action. The baking operation and the coresand binders plus difficulties in reusing the sand make the process more costly. However, this is usually justified in intricate castings made in coresand molds. Coresand molds are also sometimes made with dry molding sands or cementbonded sands where the great strength and heat resistance of a drysand mixture is required, as in large castings.
Shell Molding Shell molding is a special form of sand casting. Skilled molders are not required, and process can be highly mechanized. The sand used for shell molding consists of a mixture of the following ingredients: • Dry sand grains, AFS fineness 90 to 140, distributed over 4 to 5 screens. Sands for shell molding are always washed and graded for best results; fine sands can be used, as permeability of the thin shell is not a problem.
2) Syntheticresin binder, 3 to 10 per cent by weight. Resins which may be used are the phenol formaldehydes, urea formaldehydes, alkyds and polyesters. The resin must be a thermosetting plastic since the strength developed by the mold depends entirely on the strength of the plastic binder after the mold has been heated. * Dry powder and sand are mixed intimately in a muller or other suitable device, or sand may be purchased “precoated” with resin.
The shell is cured in two stages: i) When the sand mixture drops onto a metal pattern heated to about 350 to 700 F, in about 30 seconds the plastic partially thermosets and builds up a coherent sand shell next to the pattern. * The thickness of this shell is related to pattern temperature, dwell time on the pattern and the sand mixture. An example of these relations is given below: Patternplate temp., F
Approx. time, sec, required for 3/16 in. shell, 6 % resin sand
300
21
350
12
400
10
450
07
ii) The shell, still on the pattern, can then be cured by heating it to 550 to 650 F for 3 to 1 minute. • Stripping the shell from the mold presents a problem since the shell is very strong and grips the mold tightly. A mold release agent or parting agent is necessary so that the ejector pins can push the shell off the patterns. Silicone parting solutions sprayed on the pattern have been found satisfactory. • The shell halves may then be assembled and poured.
Advantages claimed for shell molding are exceptionally good surface finish and dimensional accuracy, 0.003 to 0.010 in. per in. variation being obtained in some castings. • Hence, the elimination of some machining operations, decreased castingweight variation, and less cleaning cost are thought to be available. • Castings can be made of any metal/alloy. • Mold collapsibility usually avoids cracks in casting. • Can be mechanized for mass production. Disadvantages: • More expensive metal pattern. • Difficult to justify for small quantities.
Figure: Steps in shellmolding: Step1, a matchplate or copeanddrag metal pattern is heated and placed over a box containing sand mixed with thermosetting resin.
Figure: Step2, box is inverted so that sand and resin fall onto the hot pattern, causing a layer of the mixture to partially cure on the surface to form a hard shell.
Figure: Step3, box is repositioned so that loose uncured particles drop away.
Figure: Step 4, sand shell is heated in oven for several minutes to complete curing. Step 5, shell mold is stripped from the pattern.
Figure: Step 6, two halves of the shell mold are assembled, or metal shot in a box, and pouring is accomplished. Step 7 the finished casting with sprue removed
PERMANENT MOLDS • Molds which can be reused are made of metal, usually grey cast iron or steel, though sometimes of bronze, graphite or aluminum. • The mold cavity (or die cavity) in a permanent mold is often cast to its rough contour and then is machined to its finished dimensions. The gating system as well as mold cavities are machined. • The machined mold makes it possible to obtain very good surface finish and dimensional accuracy in the castings. • Aluminum, magnesium, zinc, lead, copperbase alloys and cast irons are the principal alloys so cast.
• The extremely high temperatures of casting and consequent mold attrition make permanent molds unsuitable for most steel castings. • The process is limited to volume production and usually requires a continuous cycle of mold preparation, pouring and casting ejection. • This is necessary so that all steps can be timed and the mold thus kept within a fixed operating temperature range at the start of the pour. • Operating temperature of the mold is one of the most important factors in successful permanent mold casting.
• Automatic machines have been developed to obtain a continuous cycle. • Coating of mold cavity. • Carbon soot, deposited from an acetylene torch, is used for iron castings. • Refractory suspensions. • Metal or sand cores may be set in the mold before it is closed. • The metal is usually fed into the mold only by gravity (gravity casting), but in some cases air pressure, 3 to 10 psi, is used on the sprue after the casting is poured.
Figure: Permanent Mold Casting
(ii) Cleaning the mold by brushing or blasting with warm air, and maintaining them at proper casting temperature by a gas or oil flame; the correct operating temperature can be determined only by experience and varies with the casting; (iii) Painting or spraying the mold surface with a thin refractory wash, or blacking it by depositing carbon from a reducing gas or oil flame; (iv) Inserting cores, if used, and closing the mold by hand or by automatic action; (v) Pouring the metal from a hand ladle or a bull ladle suspended on a movable track; (vi) Allowing sufficient time for the casting to solidify; and (vii) Ejecting the casting from the mold automatically or by hand.
Advantages: • By means of permanentmold casting, dimensional tolerances of ±0.010 in. on a dimension for many castings together with good surface finish can be obtained. • The chilling action of the mold produces better metal properties in many alloys. • Holes can be cored and inserts cast into place more accurately than is possible in sand molds. • Higher production rates than sand casting, but much slower than die casting.
Limitations: • The casting design must be simple enough and with sufficient draft so that the ejection from the mold is feasible. • Because of mold cost, the process is limited to applications where the advantages named result in an economic or engineering gain in preference to sand castings. Applications: carburetor bodies, refrigeration castings, hydraulicbrake cylinders, connecting rods, washingmachine gears and gear covers, oil pump bodies, typewriter segments, vacuumpump cylinders, small crankshafts, many others.
DIE CASTING •
•
The molten metal is forced into the mold cavity under high pressure, 1000 to 100,000 psi.
Two principal type of diecasting machines are used. (iv) The hotchamber machine (gooseneck) (v) The coldchamber machine
In submerged hotchambertype machine, molten metal flows into the hot chamber since it is submerged in the melt and is then forced into the die cavity at about 1000 to 2000 psi. This machine is used for casting Zn, Sn, Pb and other low melting alloys. In gooseneck machine pressure may be applied directly by metal plunger or by air. The gooseneck may be filled by hand or it may be actuated by a cam to alternatively dip into the metal and rotate into the position against the die opening before pressure is applied for the shot.
In the coldchamber process , metal is ladled into the shot chamber. Pressure in the coldchamber machine may go as high as 30,000 psi. This machine is used for diecasting Al, Mg, Cu base and other highmelting alloys.
Die Casting in HotChamber Process
Die Casting in ColdChamber Process
Advantages: ii) A production rate of 150 to 250 diecast cycles per hour with up to 500 shots per hour possible. iii) High dimensional tolerances, ±0.001 to ±0.003inch. iv) Thin sections, down to 0.015 in. in small castings, can be cast because of the pressure involved. iv) Holes as small as 2 mm dia. may be cored. v) May cast threads (up to 24 / inch). vi) Accurate coring and casting of inserts is possible. vii) Surface finish of many castings is such that they can be buffed directly. viii) Rapid cooling rate produces high strength and quality in many alloys.
Figure: Sequence of steps of operation of coldchamber diecasting machine. (b) The metal is ladled into the chamber, (b) the plunger forces the metal into the die cavity, © the die opens, (d) the casting together with the gate and slug of excess metal is ejected from the die.
INVESTMENT CASTING * Lostwax Process or Precision Casting or Lost Pattern • The term “investment” refers to a cloak or special covering apparel, in this case a refractory mold, surrounding a refractorycovered wax pattern. • In this process a wax pattern must be made for every casting and gating system to be cast; i.e., 100 casting require 100 patterns. • The patterns are cast by injection molding. The basic steps involved in investment casting are as bellow: (vii)A master pattern and die for casting the wax pattern is made. The die, usually a tinbismuth alloy, must make allowance for shrinkage of both wax and later the metal casting, about 0.011 to 0.015 in. per in. total.
(i) Wax patterns and gating systems are produced from the metal die. Wax employed are blends of beeswax, carnauba, ceresin, Acrawax, paraffin and other resins usually obtained as proprietary mixtures. 150 to 170 F and 500 to 1000 psi. Polystyrene plastics 300 to 600 F, 12,000 psi, iron or steel dies. Mercury may also be used in place of wax patterns but must be frozen to retain the shape desired. Patterns and gating system must be assembled if cast separately. They can be joined by heating the surfaces to be attached in the case of wax or moistening with a solvent, carbon tetrachloride, in case of polystyrene patterns.
(iii) Precoating: The wax assembly is dipped into a slurry of a refractory coating material. A typical slurry consists of 325mesh silica flour suspended in water ethyl silicate solution of suitable viscosity to produce a uniform coating after drying. After dipping the assembly is allowed to dry for up to 10 hours. Sometimes precoating is not used and the wax pattern is directly invested in the molding material. In this case, the molding mixture must be vacuumed to remove air bubbles which may lodge next to the pattern.
(iv) The coated wax assembly is next invested in the mold. This is done by inverting the wax assembly on a table, surrounding it with a paperlined steel flask, and pouring the investmentmolding mixture around the pattern. The mold material settles by gravity and completely surrounds the pattern as the work table is vibrated. The molding investment is composed of silica or quartz grains and binders. Two types of investments are used, one for lowtemperature metals cast below 2000 F and others for metals with high pouring temperatures. The molds are allowed to airset for 6 to 8 hours.
(v) Dewaxing and preheating: Wax is melted out of the hardened mold by heating it in an inverted position at 200 to 300 F. The wax may be reclaimed and reused. Molds with polystyrene patterns in them are preferably dried at 140 to 160 F. For burn out and preheating, the molds are heated at the rate of 100 to 160 F per hour from 1600 to 1900 F for ferrous alloys or 1200 F for aluminum alloys. The finishing temperature of preheating is controlled so that the mold is at a temperature desirable for pouring the particular alloy and casting design. Burnout and preheating cycle must completely eliminate wax and gas forming material from the mold.
(vi) Pouring: In case of ferrous castings the mold is poured with metal from an individual small melting furnace, arc type, holding the exact weight required by the mold. When the metal is at pouring temperature the furnace and mold are inverted, transferring metal from the former to the latter. Air pressure may then be applied to the sprue to forcefill the mold cavity. (vii) Cleaning operations follow cooling of the casting. Advantages: (iv) Casting highpouringtemperature alloys to accurate dimensions. Near net shape, excellent surface finish, minimum machining. (vi) Castings of great exterior and interior intricacy may be cast. (vii) Thin sections may be cast even, in the highpouringtemperature alloys, because of the heated mold. Wires forms down to 0.002 in. in diameter and 2 in. long have been cast.
• Wide range of casting materials possible • High Accuracy achievable (±125 µm) • Excellent surface finish (2.5 µm) • Allows intricate internal contours that are impossible by other methods (because mold is destroyed each time) • less draft required • Little to no machining Disadvantages • High tooling cost (recurring), and labor cost • Max. size usually about 5 Kg • Production rate low (less than 100/hr)
Figure: Investment Casting
Investment Casting Process
Investment Casting • Onepiece mold – Dried in the air – Heated to 90 – 175 C – Held inverted for 12 hrs to melt out wax – The mold is then heated to 650 – 1150 C for about 4 hrs depending on the metal to be cast to drive off the water of crystallization – After the metal has been poured and solidified the mold is broken up and the cast is removed – A number of patterns can be joined to make one mold called a tree which increases production rate
Onepiece mold con’t – Small parts • The tree can be inserted on to a flask and filled with slurry investment • The investment is then placed into a chamber and evacuated to remove air bubbles • Next it is placed in a vacuum drawing machine to produce fine detail – Not a cheap process – Produces fine details – Good surface finish – Few or no finishing operations – Can produce intricate parts from parts weighing 1g – 35Kg • Ex : Investment die casting examples
Schemati c i l l ustr ati on of i nvestment casti ng 1. WAX INJECTION : Wax replicas of the desired castings are produced by injection molding. These replicas are called patterns. 2.
ASSEMBLY : The patterns are attached to a central wax stick, called a sprue, to form a casting cluster or assembly.
3. SHELL BUILDING : The shell is built by immersing the assembly in a liquid ceramic slurry and then into a bed of extremely fine sand. Up to eight layers may be applied in this manner. 4. DEWAX : Once the ceramic is dry, the wax is melted out, creating a negative impression of the assembly within the shell.
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5. CONVENTIONAL CASTING In the conventional process, the shell is filled with molten metal by gravity pouring. As the metal cools, the parts and gates, sprue and pouring cup become one solid casting.
•
6. KNOCKOUT When the metal has cooled and solidified, the ceramic shell is broken off by vibration or water blasting.
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7. CUT OFF The parts are cut away from the central sprue using a high speed friction saw.
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8. FINISHED CASTINGS After minor finishing operations, the metal castings--identical to the original wax patterns-are ready for shipment to the customer.
Figure: Schematic illustration of investment casting (lostwax process). Castings by this method can be made with very fine detail and from a variety of metals.
PLASTER MOLDS • Casting in plaster molds, or plasterbonded molds, has become a useful casting process. • Ag, Au, Mg, Cu, and Al – base alloys may be cast in plaster molds, but ferrous alloys are not. • Plasters used for molding consist of mixtures of gypsum or plaster of Paris, CaSO4.½H2O, and ingredients such as talc, asbestos fiber, silica flour, and others to control the contraction characteristics of the mold and setting time. • The plaster is added to water and is mixed to a consistency of 140 to 180.
• It is important that the plaster be added to water rather than water to plaster, and that an optimum rate of mixing be developed by experience for the particular mixer used; very rapid mixing develops too much air in the slurry, which adversely affects mold texture, and mixing too slowly may permit the slurry to harden (set) prematurely. Consistency is defined as the pounds of water per 100 pounds of plaster in the mixture. • Dry strength of the plaster depends greatly on the consistency of the mix, as revealed in the table from R. F. Dalton.
Dry compression strength, psi
Consistency, lb water per 100 lb mix
11,000
30
6,000
37
4,000
47
2,000
68
200
140 180
• After mixing, plaster in a creamy condition is poured over the pattern and retained in a flask. A pattern parting, stearic acid dissolved in petroleum spirits, for example, may be used. • Generally metal patterns are necessary because the water in plaster raises grains on wood patterns and makes them almost impossible to draw. • Matchplate – type patterns. • Copes and drags may be made simultaneously on separate lines and dried in ovens held at 400 800 F (200 425 C) until all free and combined moisture is removed.
• Mold sections are very fragile and require care in assembling. • After setting 20 to 30 minutes the pattern can be rapped and blown off the mold by air. • Permeable (porous) casting plaster can be made by beating air bubbles into the plaster slurry with a mechanical mixer. Permeabilities up to 130 in standard permeability tests are possible. • Setting of the plaster involves hydration of the gypsum: CaSO4 .½ H2O + 3/2 H2O = CaSO4.2H2O + heat
• After setting, the molds are dried at 400 F or higher. For aluminum castings, 10 to 20 hrs at 400 F is suitable. • The plaster can partially dehydrated at higher drying temperature, and consequently the mold evolves less steam when the casting are poured. However, mold strength is lost with dehydration. • It is obvious that the time required for curing plaster molds is an undesirable part of this process. However, because of dimensional accuracy and surface finish, many castings such as rubbertier molds, foamrubber molds, cast match plates, and the like are molded in this way.
Antioch Process: • A mixture of sand, gypsum, asbestos, talc, sodium silicate and water. • Sand is the bulk ingredient and gypsum the binder. • In proportions of 50 parts water to 100 parts dry ingredients, water is added to dry material consisting of 50 % silica sand, 40 % gypsum cement, 8 % talc, and small amount of sodium silicate, portland cement, and magnesium oxide. • Molding
• In about 7 minutes develops a set strength of about 70 psi in compression. • After standing about 6 hrs, the molds are assembled and autoclaved in steam at about 2 atm pressure. • Dry in air for about 12 hrs and finally in oven for 12 to 20 hrs at 450 F. • The autoclaving and drying process produces permeability, about 25 to 50 AFS permeability. • Ready to pour.
Advantages:
• Nonferrous castings having intricate and thin sections can be made with good dimensional accuracy and excellent surface finish. • Antioch Process mold permeability and the ability to incorporate chills in the mold • Chills cannot be used as readily in molds of ordinary metal casting plaster since they tend to expand and crack the brittle mold during baking. • ** Plaster casting is suitable only for nonferrous castings; the sulphur of the gypsum reacts chemically with ferrous metals at high temperature to give very bad casting surfaces.
CENTRIFUGAL CASTING • Centrifugal force is used to distribute the molten metal in the mold. • Centrifugal casting falls into three categories: 1. True centrifugal casting 2. Semicentrifugal casting 3. Centrifuging True centrifugal casting: the mold is spun about its own axis; no risers are required and no central core is needed since centrifugal force forms the inner diameter of castings such as pipe naturally. Semicentrifugal casting: the object, such as wheel with spokes, is spun about its own axis, but risers and cores are needed. Centrifuged casting: the mold impressions are grouped around a central downgate, as in static casting, and centrifugal force is used mainly as a moldfilling device.
weighed amount of metal is poured Mold coating mold wash
Advantages: Economical for making tubular objects. No core is needed to form the bore. Centrifugal pressures force molten metal quickly into mold to prevent premature freezing.
Centrifugal Casting Process
Figure: Schematic illustration of the centrifugal casting process. Pipes, cylinder liners, and similarly shaped parts can be cast with this process.
Semicentrifugal Casting
Figure: (a) Schematic illustration of the semicentrifugal casting process. Wheels with spokes can be cast by this process. (b) Schematic illustration of casting by centrifuging. The molds are placed at the periphery of the machine, and the molten metal is forced into the molds by centrifugal force.
SLUSH CASTING • Statuary work only the external features of the casting are important. • No core required • Thin skin of the solid metal freezes against the mold walls. • The mold is then inverted and the unfrozen metal “bled” from the casting • It is used only for a limited amount of art and decorative work.
SHOT CASTING • Metal shots made by dropping molten metal from considerable heights into a pool of water. • The droplets become spherical in shape as they fall freely through air and freeze in this form upon striking the water. • Size of shot is regulated by type of metal, pouring temperature, rate of exit of metal stream, distance through which the droplets fall, and any air jet or mechanical device used to disperse the stream as it exits from the control nozzle.
GRAPHITE MOLDS • Nonferrous alloys and cast irons. • Blocks of graphite may have mold cavities machined into them. • Not as durable as metal. • Graphite begins to oxidize above 750 F and the mold then begins to show wear. • Mold coating of ethyl silicate.
OTHER MOLD MATERIALS • Aluminum low temperature casting alloys. • Silicon carbide chilling power much greater than sand though not so great as metal
Operation Sequence of Making a Ceramic Mold