Foundry

Introduction
• Casting Principle - property of liquid to take up
the shape of the vessel.
• Process of Metal casting- pouring of metal into
the mold (cavity formed in some molding
material- eg: sand)
• Mold cavity resembles shape and size of
product to be made.
• Molten metal poured- allowed to freeze- takes
shapeof mold cavity- casting.
Foundry
Advantages of Casting
 Moulding Sands
• MOLDING SANDS (OR FOUNDRY sand)
mixtures or molding mixtures used for making
molds in a foundry shop.
• Different types of molds such as green-sand
mold, skin-dry sand mold, dry-sand mold, CO2
hardened sand mold, etc. are all made from
foundry sands of various types and grades
• Molding sands are broadly classified
according to the nature of their origins.
 Natural Sands
• Natural sands are collected from natural resources like
rivers, lakes seas or deserts.
• Natural sands constitute the major part of all foundry
sands.
• They contain silica sand, clay substances and water.
• Water plays an important role in molding sands. When
present up to 5 to 8%, water imparts green strength to
the sand in the presence of clay, besides improving
workability and permeability. Because of being moist,
natural sand is also called green sand.
 Synthetic Sands
• Synthetic sands are prepared from silica sands which are
relatively clay free.
• They need some binder to make them suitable for foundry
work.
• When mixed with suitable binders and additives, the silica
sands are converted into synthetic sands.
• These are considered better sands (than natural sands) as
their properties can be easily controlled by varying the
contents of sand mixture.
• None of the natural sands possesses the required qualities
to the extent necessary for being a good foundry sand,
since these sands lack one or or more importantly required
properties which are always covered up by blending or
mixing other sands or materials (like additives) with the
natural sand, so that the resulting sand mixture turns out to
be a good sand for foundry purposes.
 Special Sands
• In addition to the natural sands and synthetic
sands which are primarily based on silica
sands here are certain other varieties of
special sands such as zirconite and olivine
which are better in performance than silica
sand but being costlier, these are used only
for special applications.
 CONSTITUENTS OF MOLDING SANDS
The principal constituents of a molding sand are:
• Silica sand
• Binders
• Additives
• Water
 Silica sand
• It forms the bulk of the foundry sands and
imparts refractoriness and other properties to
the molding sand.
 Binders
• Binders give cohesiveness and strength to the sand to
enable it to retain the shape of the mold cavity after
the withdrawal of the pattern from the sand.
• Binders may be organic type (such as linseed oil,
molasses, dextrin, pitch or resins) and inorganic type
(such as clays or cement).
• Clay binders include: bentonite, limonite, fire clay, etc.
• Clay binders are used for both green-and dry-sand
molding.
• Increased clay content adds to strength, hardness and
toughness of the sand but reduces flowability and
permeability of sand.
 Additives
• These are used to improve the properties of
the sand, either by improving the existing
properties of the sand or by imparting new
properties to make the sand mixture more
useful.
• Common additives are:
coal dust, sea coal, cereals, silica flour,
pitch, dextrin, molasses, wood flour, etc.
 Additives
• Coal dust, when present (up to 10%) in the
molding sand, reacts with oxygen present in sand
pores at the time of casting and produces a
reducing atmosphere of CO2 at the mold- metal
interface, which gives smooth castings.
• Cereal flour improves strength and collapsibility
of sand (to allow free contraction of casting).
• Silica flour increases hot strength of mold and
decreases metal penetration into mold walls and
thus gives smooth castings
 Additives
• Both dextrine and molasses improve dry
strength (after baking the mold) and decrease
metal penetration into mold walls.
• Additives such as wood flour, cereals and
cellulose when added to molding sand work
as cushion materials since they burn and form
gases during casting, thereby giving rise to
space to accommodate expansion of casting
during its cooling.
 Water
• Adding water to molding sand is called tempering.
• Water imparts workability to the sand for making the
mold.
• Binders, such as clays give green strength to the sand
due to the presence of water.
• A green-sand mold may contain water around 5%
whereas the sand for making a dry-sand mold (which is
later baked) has higher water contents, up to 10%.
• Too high water causes blow holes in the castings.
• Low moisture sands are weak in green strength and
produce defects such as scabs or roughness on the
surface of castings.
 SAND PREPARATION AND
CONDITIONING
• None of the naturally available sands
possesses the desired the required degree for
being considered a good molding sand.
• By the process of blending or mixing varieties
of sands together and by adding binding
materials or additives to this mixture, a new
suitable sand mixture is produced for foundry
purposes.
 SAND PREPARATION AND
CONDITIONING
• New sands as well as used floor sand (which
has been used several times in making molds)
are properly prepared and mixed in a suitable
ratio.
• For example, the ratio of used floor sand (old)
to new sand may be more for light castings
but it decreases for medium and heavy
castings
 SAND PREPARATION AND
CONDITIONING
• Proper conditioning means uniform distribution of clay
bond and other additives over sand grains, even
distribution of proper moisture and sorting out of foreign
matter like nails, and other metal pieces (which might have
been used for strengthening previous mold walls) by riddling
and a thorough mixing of sand mass.
• The operation of conditioning is carried out manually by
mixing the sand mixture and other additives with hand
shovels.
• Modern foundries manually have appropriate equipment for
conditioning of the sand such as circular pan sand mixer
using rotating stone wheels and paddles.
• Testing of sands is also carried out for strength,
permeability, moisture content, etc. to predict its
performance during use.
 Properties of Moulding Sand
1. Refractoriness
• property which makes the molding sand
capable of withstanding high temperatures of
molten metal without the fusion of the sand.
• Silica sand present in the molding sand is
primarily responsible for imparting this property
• higher contents of impurities such as lime
magnesia, metallic oxide, etc. present in sands
tend to lower the fusion point of silica sand
• Larger grains of silica increase refractoriness.
 2. Permeability or porosity
• property of sand which allows easy escape of gases and
steam through the sand mold when molten metal
comes in contact with moist sand having coal dust, oils,
resins and other gas forming agents
• Most molten metals also have dissolved gases in them
which are evolved on solidification
• Insufficient porosity of molding sand leads to several
casting defects such as porosity, honeycombing etc.
• Permeability depends on the shape and size of sand
grains, the clay, moisture contents and ramming of
sand (around the pattern during molding) and venting
of the mold
 3. Cohesiveness
• ability of sand particles to stick together and
thus gives green strength to the moist molding
sand in maintaining the shape of mold (or
mold cavity) after the pattern has been
withdrawn from the sand.
• Depends on the size, shape and distribution of
sand grains, type and contents of clay and
other bonding materials and the moisture
contents
 4. Plasticity
• property of a molding sand by virtue of which
it takes easily any desired shape (as per the
pattern) under pressure and retains it after
the pressure is removed.
• Fine-grained sands give good plasticity
• Plasticity also depends On the clay contents,
which absorb moisture and help improving
the plasticity.
 5. Flowability
• property due to which the sand flows under
the effect of ramming (during molding) to all
portions or corners of the molding box and
packs properly around the pattern while
distributing the ramming pressure evenly on
the sand in all parts of the molding box.
 6. Adhesiveness
• provides the sand the capability of easily
adhering to the surfaces of other materials
such as the walls of molding boxes
• helps in retaining the sand (filled in the
molding box) intact during molding (when
mold boxes filled with sand may be lifted or
overturned during the process)
 7. Collapsibility
• Property because of which a sand mold (or
core) collapses automatically, giving way to
free contraction of the solidifying casting and
thus avoids cracks in castings
 8. Other properties
• low coefficient of expansion;
• property of non-sticking with casting;
• non-reacting chemically with molten metal;
• low cost
• easy availability
 Some commonly used Sand Mixtures
(Types of Molding Sands)
1. Green sand (tempered sand):
• moist molding sand usually available in foundry shops for
general molding purposes
• Molds made with this sand called green-sand mold
• molten metal is poured during casting without any Prior
drying or baking of the mold
• made by mixing natural sand and other sands (including
used floor sand) and additives and contains just enough
moisture (up to 8%) to give sufficient bonding strength to
the mold
• least expensive foundry sand and takes less time in making
the mold ready for casting (as no drying or baking of mold
is involved).
• Small and medium sized castings of ferrous and nonferrous
metals are made in this sand
 2. Dry sand
• molding sand which at the time of making a mold
has excess moisture but the same has been
evaporated by drying the internal mold face or
the full mold in an Oven.
• The mold thus made is called dry-sand mold.
• sands used for these molds are fine- grained and
mixed with proper binders and additives that give
strength to the mold on baking
• used for casting large size steel and cast iron
components.
 3. Floor sand / Black sand / Backing
sand
• molding sand which is used over and over again for
molding purposes
• usually black in colour due to the addition of coal dust
and also due to burning as result of coming in contact
with the molten metal repeatedly during casting
• It usually forms the bulk of the molding sand as it
supports the facing sand filled only to a certain depth
around the pattern during molding.
• mixed in certain proportion with the natural sand, clay
or other binders and additives while preparing the new
green-sand molding mixture.
 4. Facing sand
• fine textured sand used to form the face of
the mold cavity
• used around the pattern to a thickness of
about 5 cm
• certain amount of floor sand and new molding
sand properly tempered with moisture and
suitable additives give a good facing sand.
• facing sand has better strength and high
refractoriness than the floor sand.
 5. Parting sand
• usually a natural dry silica sand sprinkled on
to the pattern and also on the parting surfaces
of the mold (when made in two or more
boxes), so that the sand mass of the molding
boxes may not stick to each other or to the
pattern
• parting compound made from phosphate rock
is also used sometimes known as parting sand
 6. Core sand (or oil sand)
• large grain high silica sand bonded with
organic binders such as linseed oil, light
mineral oil, corn flour, etc.
• It finds use in making cores and molds for
non-ferrous castings
 7. Loam sand
• comprises a mixture of ordinary clay (about 50%),
fire clay and silica sand and water milled to a thin
paste which, in the form of plaster, is applied on
the face of a roughly carved mold made by using
burnt clay bricks.
• The mold is brought to the final shape with a
rotating sweeping pattern which molds the
plastered face to the required shape and size of
the mold
• The plaster hardens on drying
• symmetrical objects (cylinder, barrels, kettles)
are made in such molds
 Patterns
• used for molding a cavity (or mold) in the molding sand
mixture such that the formed cavity is similar to the shape
of the casting
• The pattern is a replica of the desired article to be cast but
differs from the actual article in certain ways:
• pattern carries
– (a) additional allowance in its dimensions to compensate for the
metal shrinkage during casting;
– (b) allowances for machining or finishing the castings;
– (c) draft or taper on its exterior and interior surfaces for its easy
removal from the molding sand;
– (d) additional projections (core prints) to produce seats in the
mold for the setting of cores.
 Patterns
• Patterns are made from wood, metals, rubber,
plaster, wax, plastics, etc.
• The selection of a particular material for making
pattern depends on factors such as:
– number of castings to be made,
– method of molding (hand or machine),
– quality of castings and degree of finish and
dimensional accuracy desired on castings,
– design of the casting with possibilities of changes in
the design of the pattern and
– expectations of repeat orders
 Pattern Colours
• Yellow- Core Prints
• Red- Surfaces (of the resulting casting) to be
machined
• Black-Surfaces (of the resulting casting) to be
left unmachined
• Red strips on yellow base- Seat for loose
pieces of the pattern
• Clear or no colour-Parting surface
 MATERIALS FOR PATTERNS
1. Wood:
• commonly used because it is cheap, easily available,
can be shaped easily, light in weight and can have good
surface finish.
• however, is affected by moisture and changes its shape
and size on drying out.
• It also wears out quickly against abrasion by molding
sands and hence has comparatively shorter life
• wood patterns are not used for the production of large
quantities of castings
• The wood used for patterns include white pine, deodar,
tun, walnut, teak, etc
 2. Metals
• Metals used for making patterns include cast
iron, brass, white metal, aluminium etc.
• Metallic patterns are preferred when a very
large number of castings are to be made
• costlier-than wooden patterns but have much
longer life.
3. Plaster of Paris and gypsum cement
• Plaster of Paris and gypsum cement are quick
setting compounds used for making patterns.
• They are easily cast into intricate shapes.
• Small patterns of complicated shapes are
made of plaster of Paris by pouring and setting
the plaster slurry into the pattern molds.
 4. Plastics
• Plastic patterns are lighter, stronger and dimensionally
more stable than wooden patterns.
• Pattern surface being smooth, molding sand sticks less to
the pattern.
• no moisture absorption by the pattern
• Wooden patterns are, however, easy and quick to make and
repair at cheaper cost
• Among thermoplastics, polystyrene is commonly used for
patterns (known as consumable pattern as heat of molten
metal vaporizes the pattern which leaves behind the
formed mold cavity).
• Thermosetting plastics such as phenolics and epoxies are
also used for patterns
 5. Wax
• used in investment casting process (or lost
wax process).
 PATTERN ALLOWANCES
1. Shrinkage allowance
• Most metals, when they cool down from molten state to
room temperature, shrink or contract in three different
stages:
– (i) Liquid contraction,
– (ii) Solidifying contraction and
– (ii) Solid contraction.
• The first two types of contractions (involving change from
liquid to solid) are compensated by the feeding of metal
from risers where the metal remains in molten state till the
casting gets solidified.
• It is for the third type of contraction, the solid contraction
(contraction of solidified casting to room temperature), for
which allowance is provided on the patterns.
 1. Shrinkage allowance
• Different metals have different contraction
allowance.
• The solid contraction of the metal is
influenced by:
– the metal to be cast
– the pouring temperature of the molten metal,
– design, geometry and size of casting:
– type of mold material and method of molding
– resistance of mold to shrinkage
 1. Shrinkage allowance
• Although the contraction of the castings is
volumetric contraction, the contraction
allowance is, however given in linear
measures
 2. Machining allowance
• Given on a pattern only when the casting
being made needs machining and finishing
• This allowance is given in addition to the
shrinkage allowance and varies from 2 to 5
mm according to the location and nature of
casting, method of machining and the degree
of finish required.
• In larger castings the machining allowance
may be 12.5 mm or more
 3. Draft allowance
• Patterns are given slight taper on their vertical
surfaces (both external and internal) which
are parallel to the direction of their
withdrawal from the mold
 3. Draft allowance
• This taper or draft is expressed either in
degrees or in terms of linear measurements,
amount of draft being more on internal
surfaces.
• The draft amount may vary from 10 to 25 mm
per metre on external surfaces and from 40 to
70 mm per metre on internal surfaces.
 4. Rapping or shake allowance
• To take the pattern out of the compacted sand
mold the pattern is first rapped or shaken by
striking over it side to side, so that the pattern
surfaces may be made free of the adjoining sand
walls of the mold.
• This operation obviously enlarges the size of the
mold cavity and hence a negative rapping
allowance is provided on patterns to compensate,
at least in case of large castings