Examination Questions (Solved)

Q.1. How the pattern is different from actual component ? Ans. The pattern is different from actual component in following manners : (i) Pattern carries additional allowance to compensate for metal shrinkage. (ii) Pattern carries allowance over those portions which are to be machined or finished. (iii) Pattern carries necessary draft to enable easy removal of pattern from sand. (iv) It carries additional projections to produce seat for cores. Q.2. What are the functions of pattern ? Ans. The main functions of pattern are as under (i) To produce mould cavity in which the molten metal can be poured to obtain desired casting. (ii) To provide seats for cores in the mould in which core can be placed to produce cavity in castings. (iii) To minimise the defects in castings. Q.3. Why the pattern is made slightly bigger than the actual size of the casting ? Ans. The pattern is always made larger than actual size of the casting. The patern is made oversized mainly to allow for the compensation of shrinkage of metal during the solidification of casting. Q.4. What are the different types of shirinkages during the solidification of cavity. Ans. The shrinkages during the soldification of casting is of three types. (i) Liquid shrinkage during meltingpouring stage. (ii) Solidification shrinkage during phase transformation from liquid to solid. (iii) Solid shrinkage when the temperature finally drops to room temperature. Q.5. Explain Split pattern, Match plate pattern and Cope and drag pattern. Ans. Split pattern is used for complex castings not obtainable from solid pattern. The pattern is split along the parting line into two parts, one for cope and another for drag. A match plate pattern uses a match plate which has cope and drag impression on its two sides. A single match plate having cope and drag of the pattern on its opposite sides. The match pate patterns are used for producing small castings in large numbers. A cope and drag pattern is a variation of match plate pattern. It uses two match plates in place of one as in the case of match plate pattern. One

for cope part and another for drag part of the casting. The cope and drag pieces of the pattern are separately mounted on two match plates. Q.6. Wood is a common pattern material. Why ? Ans. A wooden pattern is easier to be shaped because of favourable characteristic of wood. Q.7. What are the demerits of the pattern ? Ans. Wooden pattern can absorb moisture from the sand and its shape can get distorted affecting the size of castings. The sharp sand particles can also erode the surface of the pattern and thus surface finish of casting is affected. Q.8. What are the characteristics of good core ? Ans. A core should have following characteristics : (i) The strength of core should be high. (ii) Core must have good permeability to allow escape of gases. (iii) Core should have good collapsability. (iv) The core should be able to withstand the high temperature. (v) The core should have good surface finish to provide a good finish to the castings. Q.9. What are the functions of chaplets ? Ans. A chaplet is used to support a core in the mould cavity. It becomes the integral part of the casting. A chaplet should be made of the same material as that of casting.

2 Examination Questions (Solved) Q.1. How the sand condition affects the quality of the casting ? Ans. The sand condition affects the quality of the castings. The high moisture content in the sand is responsible for various casting defects like blow holes, gas holes and hot tears. The low moisture content in sand is responsible for sand wash and droops. The properties of sand also affects quality of castings. High permeability sand causes rough surface and metal penetration while low permeability is responsible for defects like blow holes, pin holes, sand wash etc. If green strength of sand is high, then it is responsible for rough surface of castings and low strength is responsible for dirt. Q.2. Explain the terms Permeability, Cohesiveness and Collapsability of sand. Ans. Permeability is the property by virtue of which the sand mould allows gases generated inside the sand mould to escape to the atmosphere. Cohesiveness increases the strength of the moulding sand by keeping sand particles closely attached to themselves. Collapsability ensures sand mould to collapse automatically after the solidification of molten metal is over. Q.3. What is moulding sand ? Ans. Moulding sand consists of silica (SiO2), water and clay. A typical moulding sand may contain 88% silica, 9% clay and 3% water. Bentonite clay is the most commonly used clay in the moulding sand. Q.4. What is the purpose of ramming ? Discuss the effect of ramming on the permeability of the moulding sand. Ans. Ramming uniformly distributes the sand particles all around the mould. Soft ramming increases the permeability of moulding sand but hard ramming reduces it by closing all the small holes in the sand mass. Q.5. Give some moulding defects. Ans. Following are some moulding defects : (i) During moulding, due to too much soft ramming, the castings may be oversized.

(ii) If the moulding sand consist of too much moulding sand, it may lead to the formation of blow holes in casting. (iii) The loose sand may fuse with castings and may be responsible for poor surface of castings. (iv) By defective ramming techniques, the swelling may take place in castings. Q.6. What are the advantages of casting over other manufacturing process ? Ans. Casting have following advantages over other manufacturing process : (i) The casting produces the components in the form of a single piece. (ii) Casting is a simple process and has high production rate. (iii) Various large size objects can be made by casting which are difficult or uneconomical to produce by other manufacturing methods. Q.7. Write the three stages of shrinkage in casting. Ans. The three stages of shrinkage in casting are as under : (i) Contraction of liquid during its temperature change from pouring temperature to the freezing temperature. (ii) Contraction during phase change from liquid state to solid state. (iii) Contraction of solid during change in temperature from freezing temperature to room temperature. Q.8. Why cores and chaplets are used ? Ans. Cores are used to create a cavity in the castings. It is usually made of sand. The cores made of metal are used in permanent mould castings. The chaplets are used to support the core in the mould cavity. It becomes the integral part of the castings. A chaplet should be made of same material as that of casting. Q.9. Why aluminium and magnesium alloys are generally not used for centrifugal casting ? Ans. Aluminium and magnesium alloys have low density and due to rotating mould being used into the centrifugal casting, these materials have tendency to get separated. Thus the quality of the casting is affected. So, aluminium and magnesium alloys are generally not used in centrifugal casting. Q.10. Why investment casting is not suitable for large castings ?

Ans. Investment casting uses wax pattern, which is delicate to handle and can break easily on mishandling. Hence they are made in small sizes and are not suitable for large size castings. Q.11. Comment on suitability of cold chamber die casting, hot chamber die casting, ceramic mould casting and plaster mould casting process. Ans. The cold chamber die casting is suitable for high temperature metals and alloys such as aluminium, brass and magnesium alloys. The hot chamber die casting is suitable for low melting point metals such as zinc, tin and lead. The ceramic mould casting is useful for high temperature materials such as cast steel and cast iron. The plaster mould casting is suitable for low melting point materials as aluminium and magnesium. Q.12. What are the elements of the gating system ? Ans. A gating system consists of pouring basin, sprue, runner and gate. The pouring basin provides the ease of pouring of molten metal. It acts as a reservoir from where the molten metal move smoothly into the sprue. Sprue is the passage through which the molten metal from pouring basin reaches the mould cavity. Runner is the horizontal channel in the parting plane. It connects the sprue with gate. The gate is the actual entry port through which the molten metal enters the mould cavity. Q.13. What is the function of strainer, splash core and skim bob ? Ans. The strainer is used to remove dross from the molten metal. The spalash core reduces the eroding force of liquid metal strem coming from the spru. The splash core is provided at the bottom of the sprue. The skim bob is used to trap heavier and lighter particles in the horizontal portion of the gate. The heavier particles get trapped in the bottom portion and lighter impurities are trapped in the upper portion of skim bob. Q.14. Discuss relative merits and demerits of various types of furnaces used in foundry shop. Ans. The cupola is a high production unit. The initial cost is low and the quality of the melt is average. It is most commonly used furnace for converting pig iron into grey cast iron. The construction is simple and maintenance cost is low. The crucible furnace provide

melt of better quality as compared to cupola. It could be fired by gas, oil or coke. It consist ofcrucible made of graphite and to be heated from outside and it is mainly used for non-ferrous heating. The arc furnaces are good for melting steel. They have good control over melting parameters. The arc furnace have very high production rate and these are enviornment friendly. Induction furnaces provides steel of very high quality. Different grades of steel can be easily made by induction furnaces. They are specially suitable for small foundries and can produce the highest temperature of around 1750C. Q.15. Give the name of process by which automobile piston, crankshaft and carburettor housing is made. Ans. The automobile piston is made by gravity die casting, engine crankshaft is made by pressure die casting and carburettor housing is made by sand casting. Q.16. State different defects caused by patterns and the moulding boxes when used while casting process. Ans. Following defects are due to improper use of pattern and moulding boxes etc. (i) The mismatching of top and bottom part of casting at the mould joint is due to worn or loose dowels in pattern. (ii) Fins and flash occur at parting line. These are caused by run out of metal and poor fittings of moulds. (iii) The worn core box gives oversize core causing variation in dimensions. (iv) Due to soft ramming and due to pressure of molten metal, the swelling of the casting at top side may take place. (v) Sand wash may be due to inadequate draft on the pattern. (vi) The dimensional accuracy of the mould is influenced by the accurate location of the moulding box. So, it should be done carefully. (vii) The mould with low rigidity produces an oversized casting and the hard mould results in casting of reduced size. So mould compaction should be done properly by using suitable method. Q.17. Write remedies to minimise hot tears, cold cracks and warpage. Ans. Following measures are helpful in minimising the defects like hot tears, cold cracks and warpage : (i) By increasing the collapsability of moulding sand by altering its composition.

(ii) Make changes in design so that thin sections do not freeze prematurely. (iii) In circular castings like wheels, the bars and ribs are provided to strengthen the weak member. (iv) By using filler which is less resistant than sand. The hot tear is caused by excessive mould hardness, high dry and hot strength and improper pouring temperature control, so these factors must be controlled properly to minimise the hot tears. The cold cracks are similiar to hot tear except that this defect occurs below 270C. Q.18. What do you mean by flash, which is commonly observed in die casting ? Ans. Flash is the excess metal squeezed out in the space near the parting line or into the clearance around the core due to high pressure used in die casting. It is undisirable and is machined off. Q.19. Comment on cracks in casting and misrun. Ans. Cracks in the casting appears anywhere and in any direction. The presence of cracks in castings seriously affects the strength of the casting. The misrun is the defect due to lack offluidity of molten metal. The molten metal does not reach the designated portion of the mould cavity and gets solidified in the way. Q.20. Give the name of any three non destructive tests which can detect surface defects. Also give the any three methods which can detect internal defects. Ans. The non-destructive methods which can detect surface defects are liquid penetrant inspection, magnetic particle inspection and eddy current inspection. The nondestructive methods which can detect internal defects are radiography (X-ray radiography and gamma ray radiography), ultrasonic inspection and accoustic emission monitoring. Q.21. How the shrinkage cavity can be minimised. Ans. Shrinkage cavities can be minimised by ; (i) Using risers. (ii) Using chills. (iii) Using cores. Q.22. What are the causes of pin holes. Ans. Following are the causes of pin holes :

(i) Presence of moisture in the molten metal. (ii) Presence of volatile matters in the molten metal. (iii) Poor venting in sand mould.