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Picture

Expendable mold, permanent pattern

Sand casting

General description
Sand casting, also known as sand molded casting, is a metal casting process characterized by using
sand as the mold material.Over 70% of all metal castings are produced via sand casting process.Sand
casting is relatively cheap and sufficiently refractory even for steel foundry use. In addition to the sand,
a suitable bonding agent (usually clay) is mixed or occurs with the sand. The mixture is moistened,
typically with water, but sometimes with other substances, to develop the strength and plasticity of the
clay and to make the aggregate suitable for molding. The sand is typically contained in a system of
frames or mold boxes known as a flask. The mold cavities and gate system are created by compacting
the sand around models, or patterns, or carved directly into the sand.There are six steps in this process:

Pros
Economic, low tool
cost, low labor cost,
cast components are
stable, any metal can
be used, high
productivity,

Place a pattern in sand to create a mold.

Incorporate the pattern and sand in a gating system.
Remove the pattern.
Fill the mold cavity with molten metal.
Allow the metal to cool.
Break away the sand mold and remove the casting.

Shell mold casting

Plaster mold casting(precision casting)

High productivity, low High equipment cost,

labor cost, good
poor material
surface finishes, can strength, high porosity
Shell mold casting is a metal casting process similar to sand casting, in that molten metal is poured into form complex shapes
an expendable mold. However, in shell mold casting, the mold is a thin-walled shell created from
applying a sand-resin mixture around a pattern. The pattern, a metal piece in the shape of the desired
part, is reused to form multiple shell molds. A reusable pattern allows for higher production rates, while
the disposable molds enable complex geometries to be cast. Shell mold casting requires the use of a
metal pattern, oven, sand-resin mixture, dump box, and molten metal.
Shell mold casting allows the use of both ferrous and non-ferrous metals, most commonly using cast
iron, carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless steel, aluminum alloys, and copper alloys. Typical parts are
small-to-medium in size and require high accuracy, such as gear housings, cylinder heads, connecting
rods, and lever arms.
Plaster mold casting is a metalworking casting process similar to sand casting except the molding
Excellent surface
material is plaster of Paris instead of sand. Like sand casting, plaster mold casting is an expendable
finish, good
mold process, however it can only be used with non-ferrous materials. It is used for castings as small as dimensional accuracy,
30 g to as large as 45 kg. Generally, the form takes less than a week to prepare. Production rates of 1 low tool cost
10 units/hr can be achieved with plaster molds.
Parts that are typically made by plaster casting are lock components, gears, valves, fittings, tooling, and
ornaments.
Ceramic mold casting, also known ambiguously as ceramic molding, is a group of metal casting
processes that use ceramics as the mold material. It is a combination of plaster mold casting and
investment casting. There are two types of ceramic mold casting: the Shaw process and the Unicast
process.

Excellent surface
It is cost-effecting only
finish, can be cast
for small parts, it is
intricate shapes, close not reusable
dimensional
tolerances

Vacuum casting

Vacuum molding (V-process) is a variation of the sand casting process for most ferrous and non-ferrous
metals, in which unbonded sand is held in the flask with a vacuum. The pattern is specially vented so
that a vacuum can be pulled through it. The V-process is known for not requiring a draft because the
plastic film has a certain degree of lubricity and it expands slightly when the vacuum is drawn in the
flask. The process has high dimensional accuracy.

High dimensional
accuracy, surface
finish is very good,
low tool cost, no toxic
fumes

Pressure casting

Low-pressure permanent mold (LPPM) casting uses a gas at low pressure, usually between 3 and 15 psi Little turbulence, low Requires more time
(20 to 100 kPa) to push the molten metal into the mold cavity. The pressure is applied to the top of the gaz porosity, low dross than sand casting, not
pool of liquid, which forces the molten metal up a refractory pouring tube and finally into the bottom of deformation
suitable for mass
the mold. The pouring tube extends to the bottom of the ladle so that the material being pushed into
production
the mold is exceptionally clean. No risers are required because the applied pressure forces molten metal
in to compensate for shrinkage.

Die casting

Die casting is a metal casting process that is characterized by forcing molten metal under high pressure
into a mold cavity. The mold cavity is created using two hardened tool steel dies which have been
machined into shape and work similarly to an injection mold during the process.The casting equipment
and the metal dies represent large capital costs and this tends to limit the process to high-volume
production. Manufacture of parts using die casting is relatively simple, involving only four main steps,
which keeps the incremental cost per item low.Die castings are characterized by a very good surface
finish (by casting standards) and dimensional consistency.

Good dimensional
tolerances, ideal for
large producing
scales, good surface
finish, cost effective,
suitable for lowmelting metal

Only economical for

large production, low
mechanical
properties, limit of
size that can be
casted

Centrifugal casting

Centrifugal casting, also commonly known as spin casting is typically used for industrial manufacturing
of cast parts. It was the work of A. G. Eckhardt in 1809 to develop a patent showing the basic principles
involved with the process. Centrifugal casting is one of the few casting processes that can be used both
to manufacture metals as well as plastic parts. Parts ranging from belt buckles, medallions, figurines,
and souvenirs to "pot metal" gears and machine parts, bushings, and concrete expansion fasteners are
usually manufactured using this process. Spin casting or centrifugal casting is considered to be a
relatively inexpensive process ranging to a total cost of no more than a $20,000 investment
requirement, in comparison to a process such as investment molding that costs a lot more (usually
millions). Centrifugal casting is a popular process for the petrochemical market, defense market, and
virtually any other market who needs good quality products at a low manufacturing cost.

Cost effective,
multiple types of
metal can be used,
good quality, good
dimensional accuracy,
high rate of
productivity

Cannot produce
complex geometric
shapes, vibration
defects

Lost foam

Lost-foam casting (LFC) is a type of evaporative-pattern casting process that is similar to investment
casting except foam is used for the pattern instead of wax. This process takes advantage of the low
boiling point of foam to simplify the investment casting process by removing the need to melt the wax
out of the mold.The LFC Process
The basic steps of the lost foam casting process are:
1. Making the pattern (bead pre-expansion and conditioning, tool preheat,
pattern moulding, pattern aging)
2. Pattern/cluster assembly
3. Pattern coating and drying
4. Sand fill and compaction, usually with vibration
5. Metal casting and cooling
6. Shakeout, clean-up, and finishing

Easy to carve and

manipulate the
outcomes, accurate
dimensions, less timeconsuming, less tools
can be used

Not suitable for lowvolume production,

patterns are easily
damaged due to their
low strength, large
initial cost

Lost wax

Lost-wax casting is the process by which a duplicate metal sculpture (often silver, gold, brass or bronze)
is cast from an original sculpture. Dependent on the sculptor's skills, intricate works can be achieved by
this method.Casts can be made of the wax model itself, the direct method, or of a wax copy of a model
that need not be of wax, the indirect method, that is suitable for industry-volume production.These are
the steps for the indirect process: 1. Model making; 2. Mouldmaking; 3. Wax; 4. Removal of wax;
5.Chasing; 6.Spruing; 7. Slurry; 8. Burnout; 9. Testing; 10. Pouring; 11. Release; 12. Metal-chasing

Close dimensional
High cost, longer
tolerances, good cast product-delivery time,
finish, multiple types limitation on the sizes
of metals can be used, that can be casted
thinner walls and
intricate shapes are
possible, useful for
casting alloys

Permanent mold

Expendable mold, expendable pattern

Can be used only with

lower melting
temperature metals,
long cooling process,
reduced production
volume

Ceramic mold casting

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Cons
Cost
Irregular surfaces,
strict inforcement of
security, low quality,
environment pollution

The process is slower

than sand casting,
suitable form medium
production volumes

Surface