Foundry Technology

22MTT-202 (3L + 4T)

Dr. Jyotirmaya Kar

Asst. Professor

Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

 Marks Distribution
Mid Semester End Semester TA

30 50 20

Text Books:
⌘ Principles of Foundry Technology……………. [P.L. Jain]

⌘ Principles of Metal Casting ……………. [R.W. Heine, C.R. Loper, and P.C. Rosenthal]

⌘ Manufacturing Technology ……………. [P.N. Rao]

⌘ A Text Book of Foundry Technology ……………. [O.P. Khanna]

⌘ Foundry Technology ……………. [D. Kumar and S.K. Jain]

⌘ Foundry Engineering ……………. [H.F. Taylor, M.C. Flemings, and J. Wulf] 2

 Syllabus
Unit I: Introduction to foundry practice as a process of manufacturing, Patterns: Functions, classification,
materials, allowances and design considerations. Molding materials: Types of molding sand and their
characteristics, Ingredients of molding sand, Special additives, Binders: their effect on the properties of
molding sand, Parting and facing materials, Core sand, Cores and their types.

Unit II: Molding/Casting processes: Sand mold casting (Green, dry, floor, pit, cement bonded core sand),
Shell molding, CO2 mold casting, Investment casting, Shell casting, Ceramic mold casting, Plaster mold casting,
Permanent mold casting: centrifugal casting, gravity die- casting and pressure die casting, Gating and risering:
basic requirements of gating and feeding system, design of gating system, types of gates, design of feeders,
Use of exothermic compounds, exothermic sleeves, chills and padding.

Unit III: Solidification of castings: nucleation and growth phenomena, Metal mold vs. sand mold, pure metal
vs. alloy, Effect of grain refiner, Melting furnaces: selection of remelting furnace, Cast iron foundry practice,
Cupola melting practice, Production of SG and cast iron, Remelting practice for ferrous and nonferrous alloys.

Unit IV: Casting defects: causes and remedies, Quality control in foundry, Sand reclamation, Recent
practices in foundry industries. 3
Course Significance

4
 Manufacturing Process
Manufacturing is the process of turning raw materials or parts to usable finished product.

Based on the function of processes, Manufacturing can be classified as:

 Casting Processes Hot-Rolling

 Forming Processes

 Fabrication Processes

 Material Removal Processes

Arc-Welding

3D Printing Milling 5 5
 Foundry/Casting : Definition
 A process of pouring molten metal into a refractory mould with a Melting
cavity of desired shape to be made and allowing it to solidify is called
Foundry Engineering.

 The solidified object is called a Casting.

 The art of foundry is ancient, dating back to the dawn of civilization.

 Everything that can be melted can be casted.

 It is the fastest and economical manufacturing process to produce a

object with desired composition and properties.

Castings Casting Casting Pouring 6

7
 Casting Technology : Ancient World
Egypt China

Mesopotamia

European
Sumerian

Nigeria Greece 8
Casting Technology : Ancient India

9
Lecture-1

 Classification of casting processes.

 Application of casting processes.
 Advantages and limitations of casting processes.
 Indian casting industries.
 Classification foundry shops.

10
 Casting Process : Classification
Casting processes can be classified into various types based on the following factors:
Gravity die Casting
 The type of mould materials

 The way molten material is introduced to the cavity

 The state of metal from which casting will be produced

 The condition of the mould cavity

Sand Mould
Centrifugal Casting

Permanent Mould 11
 Casting Process : Applications
 Automotive sector.  Agriculture sector.

 Ship building industries.  Sanitary fittings.

 Railway sector.  Aerospace sector.

 Machine tools and mechanical equipment.  Jewelry sector.

 Power generation industries.  Electrical and electronics industries.

Automobile Mechanical Equipment Railway 12

 Casting Process : Pros & Cons
Advantages :
☺ Heavy and bulky parts, difficult to fabricate
☺ Most versatile manufacturing process. can be casted.

☺ Greatest freedom with respect to product ☺ Metals which are difficult to shape can be
quality, shape, and size. casted.

☺ Shapes difficult and uneconomic to obtain ☺ Casting imparts uniform directional properties
otherwise can be casted. and better vibration damping capacity.

☺ The product may be cast in one piece, thus ☺ Process can be mechanized and employed for
eliminates the need of joining. mass production.

Limitations :
 Difficult to obtain directional properties as
 Process is quite labour intensive. possible in other processes.

 Process has issues with respect to surface  Difficult to implement automation for certain
finish and dimensional accuracy. casting techniques. 13
 Casting Industries : India
 These Industries are based on founding or casting processes.

 India has more than 7000 foundry industries of which nearly 3000 are based on cast iron.

 The market share for Indian foundry industries in 2023 was 19.5 billion dollar which is
expected to rise up to 32 billion dollar by 2029.

 This sector provides employment to nearly 1.5 million peoples.

Top Metal Casting Industries :

 A Cast Foundry  Brakes India Pvt. Ltd.

 JSW group  Larsen & Toubro Ltd.

 Aditya Birla Management Corp. Pvt. Ltd.

14
 Casting Industries : Classification
Based on the production process, these processes are classified as:

☞ Captive Foundry

☞ Jobbing Foundry

☞ Production Foundry

☞ Semi-Production Foundry

Based on the casting material, these processes are classified as:

☞ Ferrous Foundry

☞ Non-Ferrous Foundry
15
Lecture-2

 Important foundry shop terminologies.

 Basic steps involved in casting practice

16
 Foundry Shop : Terminologies
 Flask  Runner  Chaplet
 Drag, Cope & Cheek  Gate  Chill
 Pattern  Riser Pouring Basin  Vent
Vent Cavity for Casting
 Sand (Facing, Moulding &
Raiser
Backing) Core

 Bottom board
 Parting line Cope
Sprue
 Mould Parting Line

 Draft
 Core Runner

 Pouring basin Flask Drag

 Sprue Mould
17
 Foundry Shop : Terminologies
Raiser
Pouring Basin

Sprue

Choke
Casting
Runner

Gate

18
 Casting Practice : Procedure
‡ Pattern Making

‡ Core Making & Setting

‡ Moulding

‡ Melting and Pouring

‡ Fettling/Finishing

‡ Testing and Inspection

19
Lecture-3

 Basic definition of pattern.

 Important functions of pattern in casting practice.
 Basic selection criteria for pattern making materials.
 Expected characteristics of pattern making materials.
 List of different pattern making materials.

20
 Pattern : Definition
♞ Pattern is a replica (not exact) of the object to be made by the casting process with some
modifications.

♞ A pattern is the principal tool during the casting process. Patterns are require to make the
mold.

♞ The quality of the casting produced depends largely on the material of the pattern, its design
and construction.

♞ The main modifications are:

 The addition of pattern allowances.

 The provision of core prints.

 Elimination of fine details which cannot be obtained by casting and hence are to be
obtained by further processing. 21
 Pattern : Functions
 To form the mould cavity.

 To provide suitable provisions (core print) to hold the core.

 To make arrangement for feeding system like, runner, gate, riser as a part of the mold cavity.

 To establish suitable parting line and parting surface.

 To establish locating points and provision for ram up cores.

 To reduce casting defect and requirement of further machining.

 To providing cost saving in casting.

22
 Pattern Material : Selection Criteria
☞ Number of casting to be produced.

☞ Desired dimension accuracy and surface finish.

☞ Casting design parameters complexity of casting.

Pouring Cup Top Riser

☞ Requirement of provision for foundry aids
Side Riser
☞ Shape and size of casting.

☞ Nature of moulding process.

☞ Method of moulding process.

☞ Moulding Materials used.

☞ Possibility of design changes. Casting

Gate
☞ Possibility of repeat orders. Sprue Runner 23
 Pattern Material : Characteristics
 Can be easily worked, shaped and joined.

 Light in weight and facilitate ease in handling and working.

 Strong, hard, and durable (i.e., of high strength-to-weight ratio).

 Resistant to wear and abrasion, to corrosion, and to chemical action.

 Dimensionally stable and unaffected by variations in temperature and humidity.

 Available at a lower cost.

 Ability to take a good surface finish.

 Ability to get repaired or even re-used.

24
 Pattern Material : Types
 Wood.

 Metal/alloy.

 Plaster.

 Plastic.

 Rubber.

 Wax

 Resin

Advantages, Limitations and Applications: Wood vs. Metals

⺢
⺢
⺢ 25
Lecture-4

 Pattern Design Considerations

 Pattern Allowances
 Solidification / Shrinkage allowance

26
 Pattern Making : Design Considerations
‫ ۝‬Accurate dimension and good surface finish.

‫ ۝‬Pattern material and molding process type.

‫ ۝‬Accommodate all essential allowances.

‫ ۝‬Location of parting line or parting surface.

‫ ۝‬Sharp edges and change in thickness.

‫ ۝‬Requirement of joints in pattern & core; and number of holes in casting.

‫ ۝‬Location of sprue, runner, gate and riser. and Distortion/Camber allowance.

‫ ۝‬Provision for core prints, chills and chaplets etc.

‫ ۝‬Expected repeat orders.

27
 Pattern Making : Allowances
❀ Allowances are dimensional features provided to patterns and cores in order to make a casting
of correct dimension.

❀ It helps producing quality casting and also greatly reduces the cost of machining/rejection.

 Shrinkage/Contraction allowance.

 Machining/Finishing allowance.

 Draft/Tapper allowance.

 Distortion/Camber allowance.

 Shake/Rapping allowance.

28
 Pattern Allowances : Shrinkage/Contraction
 All metals used for casting contract after solidification in the mould and therefore, the
pattern must be made larger than the casting by an amount known as patternmaker’s
contraction. .

 Different metal shrink at different rates as it is an important property of the cast

metal/alloy.
Height reduction due to Solid Thermal
solidification shrinkage Contraction
 Shrinkage are of two types:

Shrinkage
 Liquid Shrinkage Cavity

 Solid Shrinkage Molten Metal

Solid Metal

29
 Pattern Allowances : Shrinkage/Contraction
Factors affecting Shrinkage/Contraction Allowance
₡ The cast metal or alloy.

₡ Pouring temperature of metal or alloy.

₡ Casting dimension and design aspects.

₡ Mould materials and moulding method employed.

 The shrinkage allowance is always to be added to the linear dimensions. Even in case of internal
dimensions (e.g. internal diameters of cylinders), the material has a tendency to contract towards
the center and thus higher shrinkage allowance at edge must be provided.

 Wood patterns used to make metallic pattern are given double allowance, one for the metal to
prepare the pattern and the second for the metal to prepare the casting. 30
 Pattern Allowances : Shrinkage/Contraction
Material Pattern Dimension Pattern Thickness Shrinkage allowance (mm/m)
Grey Cast Iron up to 600 - 10.5
White Cast Iron - - 16-23
Ductile Iron - - 8.3-10.4
Plain Carbon Steel up to 600 - 21
Chromium Steel - - 25-38
Manganese Steel - - 25-38
Aluminium - - 13
Copper - - 16
Brass - - 15.5
Bronze - - 15.5 – 22.0
Lead - - 26
Magnesium - - 13
Zinc - - 10 - 15
Monel - - 20
White Metal - - 6 31
 Pattern Allowances : Shrinkage/Contraction
Qt-1: A casting is to be made in plain carbon steel using a wooden pattern. The casting dimension:
Length = 200mm, Width = 100mm and Height = 50mm. Assuming only shrinkage allowance, calculate
the dimension of the pattern. (given: shrinkage allowance for plain carbon steel: 21mm/m)
Ans: Length = 204mm, Width = 102mm and Height = 51mm

Qt-2: A casting is to be made in aluminium using a copper pattern. The required casting dimension:
Length = 200mm, Width = 100mm and Height = 50mm. Assuming only shrinkage allowance, calculate
the dimension of the wooden pattern which will be used to prepare the copper pattern. (given:
shrinkage allowance for copper: 16mm/m and aluminium: 13mm/m)
Ans: Length = 206mm, Width = 103mm and Height = 51.5mm

Qt-3: Design a pattern for casting of aluminium having a dimension of length: 1000mm, width:
500mm and height: 100mm. The casting also has an hole of diameter 200mm at the central section.
Ans: Length = 1013mm, Width = 506.5mm, Height = 101.3mm, and Hole diameter = 197.4mm 32
Lecture-5

 Pattern Allowances
 Machining / Finishing allowance
 Draft / Tapper allowance
 Distortion / Camber allowance
 Shake / Rapping allowance

33
 Pattern Allowances : Machining/Finishing
 This is the extra dimension provided over the pattern, which are removed from the resulting
casting during machining/finishing, which in turn is a requirement to bring the casting to
required dimension/finishing.

 Allowance is provided in both internal and external sections of the casting. This allowance is
also called the finishing and cleanup allowance and is measured in mm/surface.

Reasons for Machining/Finishing allowance:

⼮ Surface oxidation during casting and subsequent heat treatment processes.

⼮ Removal of surface roughness and other imperfection.

⼮ Requirement to achieve exact casting dimension and surface finish.

34
 Pattern Allowances : Machining/Finishing
Factors affecting Machining/Finishing Allowance
♨ Nature of casting metal/alloy.

♨ Shape, size and type of casting

♨ Moulding method and mould material.

♨ Type of machining process to be employed.

♨ Desired extent of surface finish required.

Possible Solutions:

♽ ♽

♽ ♽ 35
 Pattern Allowances : Machining/Finishing
Qt-4: A casting is to be made in plain carbon steel using a wooden pattern. The casting dimension:
Length = 200mm, Width = 100mm and Height = 50mm. Assuming only shrinkage allowance, calculate
the dimension of the pattern. (given: machining allowance per surface: 1mm).
Ans: Length = 202mm, Width = 102mm and Height = 52mm

Qt-5: Design a pattern for casting of aluminium having a dimension of length: 1000mm, width:
500mm and height: 100mm. The casting also has an hole of diameter 200mm at the central section.
(given: shrinkage allowance for aluminium: 13mm/m and machining allowance per surface: 1mm).
Ans: Length = 1015mm, Width = 508.5mm, Height = 103.3mm, and Hole diameter = 195.4mm

36
 Pattern Allowances : Draft/Tapper
〄 This allowance is provided on all vertical surface of the pattern for its easier removal from the
mould without tearing away the sides of the sand mold and without excessive rapping.

〄 This allowance is provided in terms of Taper Angle or Draft Angle. This is a positive allowance.

〄 It is given to all surfaces perpendicular to the parting line. But in general, inner details of the
pattern require higher draft than outer surfaces.

〄 Tapper varies from about 1 to 3º. The greater the tapper, the easier it is to withdraw the
pattern from the mould.

〄 Compared to machine moulding, for hand moulding, the requirement of draft allowance is
higher.
37
 Pattern Allowances : Draft/Tapper
Factors affecting Draft/Tapper Allowance
⁂ Pattern shape and size (length in depth direction).

⁂ Pattern design and its complexity.

⁂ Moulding method and mould material. Draft Angle

Pattern Damage
⁂ Pattern material & its removal process.

Possible Solutions:

宩
Flask
宩

宩 Sand Mould
38
 Pattern Allowances : Draft/Tapper
Hight of the given Draft Angle (External Draft Angle (Internal
Material
surface, mm Surface) Surface)
20 3.00 3.00
21-50 1.50 2.50
Wood
51-100 1.00 1.50
101-300 0.75 1.00
20 1.50 3.00
21-50 1.00 2.00
Metal and Plastic
51-100 0.75 1.00
101-300 0.50 0.75

Qt-6: Determine the dimension of the pattern for casting shown in figure. In D: 60mm

the center, it has an hole of diameter 60mm. The draft allowance for external

H: 150mm
and internal dimension of the pattern is 0.75 and 1.0 degree, respectively. Also
draw a schematic figure if the same.
Ans: Length: 204mm (top side), and 200mm (bottom side),
L: 200mm 39
Hole dia.: 54.8mm (Top) and 60mm (bottom), width & height remains unchanged.
 Pattern Allowances : Distortion/Camber
 This allowance is given to the pattern to compensate for the change in shape and size of the
casting during the solidification process due to non-uniform cooling in uneven sections of the
casting. It is also called camber allowance, deformation allowance & bend allowance.

 This is more evident when the mould is thinner in width as compared to its length. This can be
eliminated by initially distorting the pattern in the opposite direction.

Required Shape Distorted Casting Cambered Pattern

40
 Pattern Allowances : Distortion/Camber
Factors affecting Distortion/Camber Allowance

♨ Solidification rate and phase transformation during cooling.

♨ Internal stress is induced in the casting during cooling

♨ Design of casting. Location of core and its properties.

♨ Provision of chills and chaplets.

♨ Material type used for casting.

Possible Solutions:

金 金

金 金 41
 Pattern Allowances : Shake/Rapping
 For the easier withdrawal of pattern from the sand mold, it needs to be rapped or shaken all
around the vertical face to make the mold cavity slightly bigger.

 Since, this enlarges the mold cavity, it is required that the pattern dimension should be
somewhat smaller to accommodate this enlarge. It is a negative allowance.

 For smaller casting allowance is not required, while for larger and more complex patterns
allowance is provided considering the lengthy pattern removal process and possibility of mould
damage.

 It depends on the foundry personnel practice and hence no sure way of quantifying this
allowance.

 One way to reduce the shake or rapping allowance is to increase the draft allowance. 42
 Pattern Allowances : Shake/Rapping
Factors affecting Shake/Rapping Allowance

✄ Pattern removal skill and experience of the Moulder.

✄ Draft or taper allowance provided on the pattern.

✄ Size of the mould, A larger mould requires more pattern allowance.

✄ Expected dimensional accuracy of the casting.

✄ Mould material and patter removal technique.

Possible Solutions:

☎ ☎

☎ ☎ 43
Lecture-6

 Classification of Patterns
 Single piece pattern
 Split/two piece pattern
 Multi-piece pattern
 Loose piece pattern

44
 Pattern Making : Types
 Single piece pattern  Gated pattern

 Split/two piece pattern  Follow board pattern

 Multi-piece pattern  Skeleton pattern

 Loose piece pattern  Sweep pattern

 Match plate pattern  Segmental pattern

 Cope and drag pattern

Pattern Selection Criteria:

☞ Size & shape-complexity of casting. ☞ Type of moulding method.

☞ Quantity of casting. ☞ Problems associated with moulding and

pattern design. 45
 Pattern Types : Single piece
⚾ These are inexpensive and the simplest type of pattern.

⚾ These are made as a single piece incorporating allowances and core

prints.

⚾ Normally made up of wood, but can also be made of metal, plaster,

plastic, wax or any other suitable material.

⚾ This pattern is expected to be entirely in the drag. One of the

surfaces is expected to be flat which is used as the parting plane.

⚾ Normally hand molding is practiced using this type of pattern

⚾ The process is manual and slow, hence used in small scale production
and prototype development.
46
 Pattern Types : Split
〄 Certain casting shapes makes it difficult to withdraw the pattern from the mould. For such
cases, the pattern is split into two parts.

〄 Both halves of split patterns are aligned properly by dowel pins. Upper and lower parts are
placed in cope and drag sections, respectively.

〄 The split surface of the pattern also makes the parting plane of the mould. This is the most
widely used type of pattern for intricate castings.

Dowel Pins

48
 Pattern Types : Multi piece
Cope
⚾ Pattern is made in more than two pieces and they are
assembled together to make a mould cavity in the cope,
cheek and drag part of the mould.

Cheek
⚾ Mold of complicated shapes and larger size are prepared
from this type of pattern.

Dowel Pins
⚾ These patterns may also have provision for fitting of cores
to produce hollow casting.

⚾ Pattern making and assembly during moulding is complex.

Drag 50
 Pattern Types : Loose piece
Loose
piece
⚾ These patterns are made with on or more loose pieces to
facilitate their removal from the moulding box.

⚾ The loose pieces are attached with the main part with
the help of dowel pins or by integral attachments.
Removal of Main pattern

⚾ From the moulding box, the main body of the pattern is

removed first followed by the loose pieces.

⚾ These type of patterns are expensive and require skilled

labor. If possible, use of such patterns may be avoided.
Removal of loose
piece

loose piece 51
Lecture-7

 Classification of Patterns
 Match plate pattern
 Cope and drag pattern
 Gated pattern
 Follow board pattern
 Skeleton pattern
 Sweep pattern
 Segmental pattern

 Pattern colour codes & Storage of patterns.

53
 Pattern Types : Match Plate
♻ These patterns consists of a match plate on either side of which each half of split patterns are
mounted.

♻ A match plate can be fitted with multiple number of patterns of different size and shape.

♻ These patterns are always attached with gating system.

♻ They can be fitted with drag by locator holes and once ramming action is finished, can be easily
removed from in between of cope and drag.

♻ These patterns helps producing quality casting with higher dimensional accuracy on a large
scale.

♻ Total moulding time is less and are preferred for machine moulding operation.
54
 Pattern Types : Match Plate
Match plate

Split Pattern Split Pattern fitted on the match plate

Cope Side

Match plate

Drag Side 55
 Pattern Types : Cope and Drag
✿ A cope and drag pattern is another form of split pattern where each half of the pattern is
fixed to a separate metal/wood plate.

✿ Each half of the pattern(along the plate) is molded separately in a separate molding box by an
independent molder or moulders.

✿ The two moulds of each half of the pattern are later accurately assembled with the help of
guide or locator pins and the mould is ready for pouring.

✿ Each half of the pattern have provision for attached gating and riser system.

✿ Cope and drag patterns are used for producing big castings which as a whole cannot be
conveniently handled by one moulder alone.

56
 Pattern Types : Cope and Drag
Gating System and Cope Part
Raiser

Gating System

Drag Part
57
 Pattern Types : Gated
Runner
 These patterns have provision for gating system which also
acts as connection links between different patterns.

 This facilitates filling of the mould with molten metal in a

better manner and at the same time eliminates the time and
labour otherwise consumed in cutting runners and gates.

 A gated pattern can manufacture many casting at one time and

thus it is used in mass production of small size castings.

Gate
Pattern

58
 Pattern Types : Follow Board
⚾ A follow board is a wooden board and is used for supporting a pattern which is very thin and
fragile and which may give way and collapse under pressure when the sand above the pattern is
being rammed.

⚾ With the follow board support under the weak pattern, the drag is rammed, and then the follow
board is withdrawn, The rammed drag is inverted, cope is mounted on it and rammed .

⚾ Ultimately, the pattern is removed and the cope & drag are assembled to produce the mould
cavity.

⚾ In addition to supporting the thin/weak sections, a follow board also forms the parting line of
the mould. These are also use for casting master patterns for many applications.

59
Pattern Types : Follow Board
Flask
Sand

Pattern

Follow Board

Pattern

Follow Board
60
 Pattern Types : Skeleton
 A skeleton pattern is the skeleton of a desired shape which may be S-bend pipe or a chute or
something else.

 These patterns are used for extremely large, simple shape and size castings for which making a
solid pattern is impartial.

 Normally these are made of stripes of wood highlighting the areas of casting. The skeleton
pattern is filled with sand and is rammed.

 While pattern making, strickle (board) are used to give a desired shape to the sand and removes
extra sand.

 Skeleton patterns are employed for producing a few large castings. A skeleton pattern is very
economical, because it involves less material costs.
61
 Pattern Types : Skeleton
Strickle

Skeleton Loam Sand

Frame

62
 Pattern Types : Sweep
⽫ Sweep patterns are used for making symmetric moulds. Here, a 3D mold is prepared using a 2D
sweep pattern (usually a wooden board). The pattern rotates around a central axis and creates
the mould.

⽫ Sweep pattern avoids the necessity of making a full, large, circular, and costly 3D pattern.
Making a sweep pattern saves a lot of time and labour as compared to making a full pattern.

⽫ A sweep pattern is preferred for producing large casting of circular sections and symmetrical
shapes. Pattern placed in Completed
Spindle well rammed sand Sweep Mould

Pivot or Stake

63
 Pattern Types : Segmental
⚽ Like the sweep patterns, these are used for making
symmetric moulds. Here, also a 3D mold is prepared using
a 2D pattern (usually a wooden board).

⚽ Unlike the sweep pattern, here it does not involve

complete rotation, rather the mould cavity is produced in
parts/segments. Pivot or
Stake
⚽ Both segmental and sweep patterns are used to prepare
casting using the sand casting process.

64
 Pattern Making : Colour Codes
The patterns are normally painted with contrasting colours such that the mould maker would be
able to understand the functions clearly. The colour code used is

 Red or orange on surfaces, not to be finished and left as cast.

 Yellow on surfaces to be machined.

 Black on core prints for unmachined openings.

 Yellow stripes on black on core prints for machined openings.

 Green on seats of and for loose pieces and loose core prints.

 Diagonal black stripes with clear varnish on to strengthen the weak patterns or to shorten a
casting.
65
Lecture-8

 Mould materials.
 Moulding material ingredients.
 Moulding sands and their classification.
 Natural sand
 Synthetic sand
 Loam sand
 Moulding sand properties.

66
 Mould Materials
These are the materials, out of which the mould is prepared. These materials should be such that
the mould cavity retains its shape till the molten metal is solidified.

Based the mould materials, castings can be classified as:

 Permanent moulds.

 Expandable moulds.

In general, expandable moulds are prepared using refractory sands. Besides, wax, plaster of paris,
carbon and ceramics can also be used as mould materials.

Refractory sand mould are cheap, can cast high melting point materials and larger size castings.

67
 Mould Materials : Ingredients
The main ingredients of moulding materials are as follows:

☞ Refractory sand grains.

☞ Binders.

☞ Water.

☞ Additives.

68
 Moulding Materials : Refractory Sands
Followings can be used are refractory sands for mould preparation :

 Silica Sand  Dolomite

 Zircon  Graphite/Carbon

 Magnesite  Sillimanite

Among the above silica sands are preferred as the best moulding materials.

Advantages of silica sands over others

☞ Cheap and higher availability. ☞ Maintains shape and other properties at
☞ Maintains required porosity/permeability. high temperature.
☞ Chemically immune to most metals/alloys ☞ Can be used repeatedly for moulding.
69
 Moulding Sand : Sources & Types
Followings are the moulding sand sources:

⁂ ⁂

⁂ ⁂

Followings are the moulding sand types:

⁂ Natural Sand

⁂ Synthetic Sand

⁂ Loam Sand
Angular Sub-Angular Sub Rounded Rounded
70
 Moulding Sand : Natural/Synthetic/Loam
 Natural Sand

✿ ✿

✿
✿

 Synthetic Sand
✿ ✿

✿ ✿

 Loam Sand
✿ ✿

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 Moulding Sand : Properties
⺵ Green strength ⺵ Thermal stability

⺵ Dry strength ⺵ Refractoriness

⺵ Hot strength ⺵ Flowability

⺵ Permeability ⺵ Collapsibility

 Green strength: It is the strength of the sand in the green or moist state. A mould having
adequate green strength will retain its shape even after the pattern has been removed.

 Dry strength: It is the strength of the moulding sand in the dry condition. Dry sand strength
is related to grain size, binder and water content.

 Hot strength: It is the strength of the sand in hot condition (>212F or 100ºC). A mould with
inadequate hot strength may get enlarged, break, erode or get cracked. 72
 Moulding Sand : Properties
 Permeability: It is the ability of the sand to provide escape route to steam and other gases
produced during casting. Else, casting may produce surface blows, gas holes and mould blast, etc.

 Thermal stability: Heat from molten metal causes rapid expansion of sand at the mold metal
interface. The mold surface may then crack, buckle or flake off unless the molding sand is
relatively dimensionally stable.

 Refractoriness: It is the ability of moulding sand to withstand high temperature without

fusion, bulking/scabbing, or any physical change. It is essential for casting high M.P. metals/alloys.

 Flowability: It is the ability of the moulding sand to get compacted to the uniform density. It
assists the moulding sand to flow and pack all around the pattern and take up the desired shape.

 Collapsibility: It is the ability of sand to automatically get collapsed after the casting
solidifies. The mould get breaks during the knock put and cleaning operations.
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