PRODUCT DESIGN FOR SAND CASTING

As in all manufacturing operations, certain guidelines and design principles pertaining to casting have been developed over many years. These principles were established primarily through practical experience, but new analytical methods, process modeling, and computer-aided design and manufacturing techniques are now coming into wider use, improving productivity and the quality of castings and resulting in significant cost savings. The design of the casting and the pattern equipment should be such that the cost of all other operations is reduced to the minimum. uch operations may include finishing, or the elimination of finishing where possible, in whole or in part! assembly of one part with another part! and economical servicing during the life of the casting. Accordingly, product design process should be studied under the following categories" 1. #esign for economical moulding $ %arting line $ &osses and undercuts $ 'oring $ implified moulding (. #esign for elimination of defects $ hrin)age defects $ #istortions $ *ot tears $ +scape of gases ,. #esign for features to aid handling of castings Design for economica mou !ing Parting Line The parting line is the boundary where the cope, drag and the part meet. -f the surface of the cope and drag are planar, then the parting line is the outline of the cross-section of the part along that plane. -t is conventional that the parting line should be planar, if possible. The simplest parting line is that running through the centre line of the casting. .nnecessary complexities in the parting line increase the cost. A very small of metal will always /lea)0 outside the mold between the cope and the drag in any casting. This is called the /flash0. -f the flash is along an external surface, it must be machined away by some finishing operation. -f the parting line is along an edge or at the corners of the part, it is less visible 1 this is preferred.

2a3 4igure 1.5.1" %arting line modification

2b3

6hen an irregular parting results in a deep mould poc)et, it may be more economical to redesign the pattern equipment and change over to a mould with a straight parting involving the use of cores. The location of the parting line is important because it influences mould design, ease of moulding, number and shape of cores, method of support, and the gating system. "osses These are frequently used to increase the sectional thic)ness of the housing in order to provide longer bolt or tap holes or to improve the strength of certain parts of the casting. This may be cast satisfactorily if the axis of the cylindrical boss is parallel to the direction in which the pattern is drawn out of the mould or if the centre line of the boss is in the parting plane. 6hen this is not the case, the boss on the pattern must be

Lecture Notes of Chinmay Das

14

loose, and the s)illed technique of moulding loose piece pattern must be employed. The figure shows the positioning of a boss well below a flange whose upper surface is chosen as a parting line. To mould this design a core is required to permit removal of the pattern from the mould. -n producing such a casting, accurate positioning of the core is difficult, and any shifting of the core results in surface irregularities. A somewhat less complicated design extends the boss to the flange, eliminating the need for a core.

4igure 1.5.( " 7odification of bosses to reduce dry sand core Coring 'ores are placed in the mould to provide castings with contours, cavities and passages not possible otherwise to obtain by normal moulding. The 4ig1.5., shows an original design which required a core to form the interior of the casting. 8edesigning the casting as shown in 4ig 1.5.4, a green sand core can be substituted for dry sand core, thus achieving the economy.

4igure 1.5., " +liminating dry sand core by modifying the draft angle 6hen the cores cannot be avoided, the designer should strive to ma)e them as simple as possible in the interest of economy, by using simple surfaces which are easier to produce.

4igure 1.5.4 " imple core shapes

Lecture Notes of Chinmay Das

15

Also the cores must be capable of being properly supported so that they do not get misplaced during casting. The arrangement shown in 4ig.1.5.5 is not recommended because the core is left self supporting. 4or an item of this )ind further support must be provided as shown.

4igure 1.5.5 " %roviding proper core support -f several cores are needed, they are best positioned on the same parting line as shown in 4ig.1.5.9.

4igure 1.5.9 " %roviding support for several cores Sim# ifie! $ou !ing :enerally a two part moulding is simpler and economical compared to a three part moulding. &ut when the part configuration, as shown in 4ig.1.5.;, necessitates, it may be desirable to modify the moulding procedure by providing an external ring core to avoid the intermediate flas). &ut this is also an expensive alternative. The best choice would be to redesign by eliminating the bottom flange which completely avoids the external core and thus is economical.

Lecture Notes of Chinmay Das

19

4igure 1.5.; " 8edesign to reduce three flas) moulding

Lecture Notes of Chinmay Das

1;

Designing for E iminating Defects Shrin%age The reasons for these defects are" $ =olumetric contraction both in liquid and solid state! $ >ow strength at high temperature. 'rac)s often begin at the shrin)age cavities and wor) their way outward as the casting is stressed in service. -t should be noted that solidification progresses fro thin to thic) sections and that external angles have a greater cooling rate than internal angles, the reason being that sand around internal angle is surrounded on two sides by the heat sources.

4igure 1.5.< " +xternal and -nternal angles at ?unction -f temperatures were ta)en simultaneously at various positions on a casting of uniform width and thic)ness, no temperature variations would exist through out the length of the casting. -f the casting had non-uniform cross sectional areas, the temperature would vary considerably depending on the variation in the sectional thic)nesses. A high temperature position is called the hot spot. .nless a casting is properly fed, volumetric shrin)age often appears at the hot spots. The best way to avoid volumetric shrin)age is to design a casting that has no isolated hot spot which cannot be properly fed. -f good designing is not sufficient to prevent defects, various foundry techniques such as the use of chills, feeders and cores must be resorted to. The designer should try to place and proportion members and their intersections in such a way to establish a positive temperature gradient which is lowest at points farthest away from the feed head and which gradually increases toward the feed head. This is called directional solidification. The shrin)age problem is particularly severe in ?unctions. The chec) circle method is used for detecting the concentration of the metal. As shown in 4ig.1.5.@, a concentration of metal always occurs at the point where two walls of equal thic)ness come together. uch a concentration is reduced, if one of the walls is made thinner. That is why for steel castings, ribs are always made thinner than the wall in the ratio 8ib thic)ness A wall thic)ness B C.9 to C.<.

4igure 1.5.@ " Avoiding concentration of metal at ?oints A rib which enters a wall at an angle gives a higher concentration of metal than one which enters perpendicularly.

Lecture Notes of Chinmay Das

1<

4igure 1.5.1C " 'oncentration of metal at angular ?oints The various designs for ?unctions and fillets are given here.

4igure 1.5.11 " 8educing concentration of metal at ?oints

4igure 1.5.1( " Avoiding concentration of metal

4igure 1.5.1, " 'oncentration of metal in housing

Lecture Notes of Chinmay Das

1@

4igure 1.5.14 " #esign modification to avoid shrin)age cavities

4igure 1.5.15" 7aintaining uniform cross-section to avoid hot spots and shrin)age cavities Distortion -nternal stresses appear in the casting walls when shrin)age is restricted because of the resistance of the mould elements or the action of the ad?acent walls. -ncreased internal stresses ma)e the casting warp and may lead to the development of crac)s. hrin)age stresses develop during cooling when the metal C C loses its plasticity 2within 5CC-9CC ' for cast iron and 9CC-;CC ' for steel3. At higher temperatures, the change in dimensions is readily compensated by plastic flow of the metal and thus shrin)age manifests itself only in the thinning of the walls. -n the box shaped casting shown in the 4ig 1.5.19, the internal partition cools at a slower rate than the horiDontal walls because of the core sand being heated from all sides. 6hile cooling below the temperature at which metal passes from plastic to elastic state, the partition material hardens and contracts and as a result, it undergoes tension. -f the tension exceeds the strength of vertical walls, then they are li)ely to warp and introduce distortions in the casting. 4or example, as shown in 4ig.1.5.1;, if the casting walls have non-uniform thic)ness, then the thinner walls would have cooled down very quic)ly leaving the thic)er wall still in the plastic state. 6hen the thinner walls contract due to solid shrin)age, because of the plasticity, the thic)er rib would warp.

Lecture Notes of Chinmay Das

(C

4igure 1.5.19 thic)ness

" #istortion in sand castings

4igure 1.5.1;

" 6arping due to uneven section

&ot Tears *ot tears are formed in the castings because of the differential cooling rates and low strength of metal at higher temperatures. This is the extension of warping. -n the 4ig.1.5.1<, the horiDontal members being thinner cool fast and try to bring the thic) vertical members closer which is resisted by the core. This resistance would cause the tearing of the metal to ta)e place at the ?oint with the thic)er rib. -n the hand wheels or big wheels where the rims are connected to the hub through spo)es, hot tears are li)ely as shown in the design. &ut by increasing the ductility of the spo)es, it is possible to reduce the formation of hot tears. The ductility can be increased by ma)ing the spo)es curved and having them in odd numbers. The odd number of spo)es ensures that the restraining force acts in only one direction ma)ing the wheel more ductile.

4igure 1.5.1< " *ot tear formation 213

4igure 1.5.1< " *ot tear formation 2(3

Lecture Notes of Chinmay Das

(1

4igure 1.5.1@ " 8educing hot tear by ma)ing curved spo)es in wheels The following rules will promote directional solidification and reduce shrin)age stresses and distortion. $ 'asting walls should preferably be of uniform thic)ness. $ 'asting elements cooling under conditions of reduced heat removal 2internal walls3 should have smaller cross sections to accelerate their solidification. $ Transition between casting walls of different thic)ness should be smooth. $ 'asting walls should have no abrupt changes, but be connected by smooth transitions. $ >ocal metal accumulation and massive elements should be avoided, if possible. $ ections where casting walls ?oin massive elements should be gradually thic)ened towards the latter or reinforced with ribs. Esca#e of Gases The internal cavities should be so designed as to permit the escape of gases evolving from the cores when the molten metal is poured in. -nternal cores, which are small and long, are li)ely to pose difficulties in cleaning. and burned into core holes, and fins or veins, are very difficult to remove when they are hard to reach. %roviding access holes or clean out holes, ma)e available additional core prints for support, to vent core gases as well as to permit the core sand to be removed. 4or example, an unsatisfactory design is given in 4ig.1.5.(C. The gases accumulating in the upper part of the core form blow holes. This problem may be reduced by ma)ing small vent holes 2plugged after wards if necessary3 for the escape of gases. The redesigned vaulted shape of the upper portion of the casting would be the best way to ensure the escape of gases through the top core print.

4igure 1.5.(C " +scape provision for core gases

Lecture Notes of Chinmay Das

((

Another way of solving the problem is to change the position of the casting with reference to the parting plane. -n 4ig 1.5.(12a3, the casting being in the cope, the core gases are not vented at all. &ut by bringing the casting into the drag as in 4ig.1.5.(1 2b3, the core gases are properly vented.

4igure 1.5.(1 " 'ore gases venting Features to Ai! &an! ing -f machining is required after casting process, then some provision must be made for mounting the casting in the machine tool during the finishing process. The 4ig.1.(( shows a chuc)ing extension on a casting, which will permit the entire casting to be machined on a lathe in one setting, the last operation being the cutoff.

4igure 1.5.(( " 'huc)ing extension imilarly, castings with tapered sides are difficult to chuc) in a lathe and if possible, should be provided with pads or flats as shown in 4ig.1.5.(,

4igure 1.5.(, " %rovision of holding surface Summary 'asting design for minimum stress concentration, maximum castability and casting consistency has been summariDed into the following 14 rules by American 4oundrymenEs ociety. 1. 8ound external corners with radii 1C to (C per cent of section thic)ness. (. -f at all possible use minimum radii equal to the small section thic)ness when ?oining sections of dissimilar siDe or when L and T sections are used. ,. .se L ?unctions with four times the section thic)ness if design considerations permit. 4. .se even larger radii when ?oining connecting members to sections with much larger section moduli. 8adii of 1C or more times the section thic)ness are beneficial.

Lecture Notes of Chinmay Das

(,

-f small fillet radii must be used in simple T and L ?unctions because of design considerations, consider increasing the diameter, coring the sections and decreasing the section modulus of the connecting members for better dispersion of stress. 9. -f small fillet radii must be used and design cannot be changed at ?unctions of sections stressed in fatigue, consider strengthening these areas by imposition of surface compressive stress by rolling, coining, shot peening or selective hardening. ;. implify complex ?unctions li)e X, V, Y and X-T ?unctions to T, and if possible to L ?unctions. <. +liminate ribs if at all possible, especially those stressed in tension. @. 'onsider the use of corrugated sections to replace ribs, T and X-T ?unctions. 1C. 'onsider the use of sections other than standard I, H, Z and channel sections for more efficient load carrying ability and improved castability. 11. 'onsider unbalanced sections in grey iron design. 1(. Ta)e advantage of flexibility of the casting process to use tapered sections confirming to the stress pattern, particularly bending. 1,. 7any a times a slight change in design will eliminate cores or result in a simple casting. uch changes will result in substantial decrease in cost. 14. -mproved casting consistency and decreased cost can many times be attained by matching the design to the heat flow pattern. The basic relationship is that the thic)ness of connecting members of multi-walled configurations should be equal or greater than the strength. Reference' 1. 7anufacturing Technology by %.F.8ao, T7*, page (CC-(11 (. 7anufacturing +ngineering G Technology by erope Halpa)?ian, %earson +ducation

5.

Lecture Notes of Chinmay Das

(4