METAL FORMING PROCESSES :

1. CASTING :-
Production of shaped articles by pouring motten metal into moulds.

2. MECHANICAL WORKING :-
The shaping of metals in solid state by plastic deformation. These can be rolling, forging,
extrusion, deep drawing etc.

3. FABRICATION BY JOINING :-
The production of structural units by the joining of smaller components manufactured in
after ways. Examples indeed Welding, prasing, soldering, rivetting, bolting etc.

4. MACHINING :-
The production of shaped articles by cutting from plain Cr roughly shaped forms using
machine tools.

5. POWDER METALLURGY :-
The production of shaped paub by dye pressing and sintering of metal powders.

The main shaping processes are in many ways complimentary. Over mide field their
capabilities aerlap allowing alternative decision and providing a basis for competition
w.r.t. Properties and costs.
Some of the major features, which determine the place of casting in engineering,
are:

a. DESIGN VERSATILITY :-

- No weight or size restriction given the supply of molten metal & means of lifting &
handling the output. It can be anywhere from few grains to loose of tons.

- Shape & Intricacy: No other process offers the same range of possibilities for
shaping of complex features.

- Material composition: Verdantly all types of materials/ alloys can be cast using
the appropriate foundry techniques.

b. TOOLING COST:

- Low cost of pattern as compared to dies & fixture used in other processes.
- Ease of design changes or dimensional modification during development and
early stages of production of casting.

c. CAST STRUCTURE :

- In cases where isotropic (Uniform in all direction ) properties are required cast
Structures are the most preferred one.

d. FLEXIBILITY OF THE PROCESS :

- Casting may be manufactured with relatively small capital investment when

compared with mills, presses & similar heavy plant reqd. in some offer field.
 MANUFACTURING PROCESS OF CASTING

DESIGN & SPECIFICATION

DETERMINATION OF CASTING TECHNIQUE

METHODING

MOULDING MATERIAL PATTERN MAKING FURNACE CHARGE

PREPARATION PREPARATION

MOULDING AND COREMAKING METAL MELTING

CASTING

KNOCKOUT

SAND CLEANING CUTTING OF RISERS & GATING

HEAT TREATMENT

ROUGH MACHINING, IF REQD.

NON-DESTRUCTIVE EXAMINATION

UPGRADATION
1. DESIGN AND SPECIFICATION :

The design of the casting to be manufactured by foundry is put on a drawing with all-
necessary dimensions, surface finish, casting wt., material grade etc. The other
requirements such as chemical composition, mechanical properties, heat treatment
Non-destructive testing, upgradation process etc makes the part of specification.
The component drawing and the specification form the legal document for the foundry
men.

2. CASTING TECHNIQUE :-

Various techniques are available for production of castings. The chive of technique
depends on requirement of dimensional accuracy, metallurgical quality, production cost
etc. Some of these are listed below:

a. SHELL CASTING :-

These process is ideal for mans production of small castings with high degree of
intricacy & dimensional accuracy. Its essential feature is use of thin walled mould in
which the external surface follows the contour of the mould cavity. e.g. automotive
rocker arms & valves, crank shaft and small hydraulic castings.

b. INVESTMENT CASTING :

This process give high standard of dimensional accuracy, surface finishes & design
flexibility. It is a group of processes in which moulds are produced from liquid refractory
slurries, these containing finely divided materials, give the moulds a fine surface texture
which is subsequently transferred to the casting. e.g. Impellers and other pump and
valve component, wave quides, die inserts and parts for gun mechanism etc.

c. DIE CASTING :-

It was permanent metal moulds into which a molten alloy is poured directly or injected
under pressure giving rise to separated process of gravity and pressure due casting. It
has high degree of accuracy and low cost of mass production. e.g. Carburetor,
Crankshaft housing, gear cases etc.

d. CENTRIFUGAL CASTING :-

In this process molten metal is introduced into a mould which is rotated during
solidification. The process is suitable for producing cylindrical forms and gives high
metallurgical properties e.g. Radiant tubes, Rain water pipes, piston pies etc.

e. SAND MOULDED CASTING :-

It is the most widely used casting process. Its range weight in goes from few grams to
several hundred tons, virtually all types of casting alloys are produced. The reason for
the dominant position of the process lies mainly in its great flexibility in relation both to
design and production facilities. Sand casting is uniquely versatile in relation to weight,
composition, shape and quantity.
3. METHODING :-

The real work of manufacturing of a casting starts with preparation of method drawing.
This drawing is used for preparation of pattern & subsequently for moulding purpose.

THE METHODING INVOLVES FOLLOWING STEPS:

I. VARIOUS ALLOWANCES AS DETAILED ARE PROVIDED ON THE COMPONENT :

a. Machining allowance on the surfaces where machining is called for the may very
from 8mm to 30mm depending on the size of the casting.
b. Grinding allowance: Some allowance (5 to 8mm) is provided on black surfaces to
allow finishing of the casting.
c. Contraction allowance: As solid contracts with decrease in temperature the
pattern / mould should have a greater dimension than the design value,
Depending upon the material to be poured a certain percentage is added to
every dimension e.g. 0.8% for cast iron and 1.5 2.0% for steels.

II. DETAILING OF PATTERN EQUIPMENT :

The design for the pattern is made keeping in mind the way moulding is to be done.
Design of cores (Core Sand structures to accommodate hollow areas in the casting) is
also provided in the methoding drg.

III. FEEDER SIZE CALCULATIONS :

This is the most important plant of methoding process. When liquid metal solidifies it
shrinks in volume. During solidification process, extra metal is to be provided to
compensate for the shrinkage. This extra metal is provided mainly on top of the mould,
which are called risers. The calculation of riser size is based on the age old principle of
Chrovinov i.e. the solidification time of the riser should be greater than that of casting.
The solidification time depends on two factors i.e. the volume of the metal and the
cooling surface area. More is the volume, greater is the solidification time. Higher the
cooling area lesser will be the solidification time. Hence, Ratio of volume / surface area
of the casting is calculated. Which is called Piece modulus. The modulus of the riser is
arrived at by multiplying the piece modulus by a factor greater than 1 (Generally 1.2).
From the riser modulus appropriate size of the riser is calculated. The location and size
of the riser is very important particularly in steel castings as steel takes such higher
shrinkage while solidifying.

Merely providing riser on the casting does not ensure 100% sound casting. This is
particularly true in case of steel castings. Where directional solidification plays a very
vital role. Suppose we take a bar whose width is very low a compared to its height. The
first solid to solidify will be on the surface of the mould and its will start building up
towards the interior. It is possible that the solidification fronts coming in from the vertical
surfaces may join together leaving mass of liquid metal at the bottom. All there may be
sufficient liquid metal in the riser, but this will not be able to feed the casting resulting in
shrinkage carify. To avoid such find of defects, extra material is provided generally in the
top section of the pattern so as to ensure smooth solidification gradient. This extra
 material which is called padding is removed later from the casting by machining /
gouging.

Wherever it is desired that cooling should be faster or else the feeding distance needs to
be increased, metallic chills are provided in those area of the mould. These metallic
chills have greater heat extraction capacity, thereby chilling the area very fact e.g. large
section thickness areas which are not possible to be fed by the riser are chilled so as to
reduce its feeder requirement.

IV CALCULATION OF GATING SYSTEM:

Liquid metal is poured into the mould through a network of channels, which is called the
Gating system. The opening through which the liquid enters the mould is called ingates.
Metal poured from the ladle first enters into a channel (sprue) which goes vertically
down. The horizontal channels connecting the sprue to the ingates is called runners. The
design of the gating system is very vital for the health of the casting as a poor design will
lead to lot of sand crosion, incomplete feeding, turbulence etc.

Generally there are two types of gating systems pressuring & non pressurised. For steel
casting non-pressurised system is used where the cross section area of the various
component increases from sprue to ingates.

All the above details are incorporated in the method drawing and which is then released
for production purpose.

4. PATTERN MAKAING :-

Based on the method drawing a pattern is made which is in one way a replica of the
casting. This is generally made of seasoned wood other materials such as thermocoal,
ply, commercial boards are also used. Core boxes are prepared for manufacture of
cores. A draft is provided on the pattern so as to facilitate its removal from the mould.

5. MOULDING AND CORE MAKING :-

Moulding is the process of creating a negative contour in sand into which liquid metal will
be filled up. Sand is the most appropriate material for this purpose as its refractoriness is
high and is easily compactable. Various types of sand systems are used for moulding
purpose Some of them are green sand (Sand +Bentonite + water), Resin silica sand
(Phenolic based resin + catalyst + sand), Co2 silica sand (Na2Sio3+Co2+sand), etc.

The moulding process begins with keeping the pattern on a flat surface and sand is filled
over it. This sand is compacted and should be come hard after some time. Once the
sand sets, the box is turned and pattern is stripped from the mould there by creating the
contour of the casting. Cores are next kept in the mould wherever hollow shapes are to
be created in the casting.

The mould is made is two parts (copy & drag) which are finally kept on one another. The
process is called closing. During moulding all relevant dimensions are checked so as to
ensure correct shape and size of product.
6. MELTING & POURING :-

The metal to be poured in mould is melted in furnaces. These furnaces can be various
types depending on the change and processing requirement. Steel is generally melted in
electric arc furnace followed by refiring in VAD/VOD/ Ladle refiring. Induction furnace
and cupola are other types of furnaces in used.

The another metal is poured in the mould through the gating system. Adequate
temperature of metal is ensured so as to avoid any choking of gating system.

7. KNOCK OUT :-

The casting is allowed to cool inside the mould till the temperature falls down sufficiently.
After this the casting is taken out from the mould. For alloy steel, the temperature should
fall below 100c for knock out.

8. FETTLING :-

The removal of adherent sand and excess metal in the form of ingates and feeder heads
to make the casting recognizable is the process of fettling. In alloy steel castings,
homogenisation is done prior to cutting of risers, gating, etc. This is required in order to
remove any carbon segregation which may result in cracks during cutting of risers.

For cast iron castings, risers are simply hammered out, However, in steel casting they
need to be gas out / powder cut.

9. HEAT TREATMENT :-

Casting, after fettling is heat treatment to achieve desired microstructure and properties.
In case of steel castings, heat treatment may involve normalising, quenching &
tempering, annealing, etc. Mechanical properties of the casting are tested on integral
test coupons, which are casted along with casting. Desired test samples are made from
the test coupons and tested for properties such as UTS, YS, Impact, Elongation, red. In
area.

10. ROUGH MACHINING :-

Castings are rough machined wherever called for in the drawing leaving allowance for
final machining. Casting is sent for rough machining after dimensional verification.
11. NON-DESTRUCTIVE EXAMINATION :-

To evaluate the soundness of castings various non-destructive examination are carried

out asper customers requirement. These can be of following types:

a. Visual examination.
b. Liquid penetrant (LPI)
c. Magnetic particle inspection (MPI)
d. Ultrasonic testing (UT)
e. Radiography (RT)
f. Thermography
g. Leak testing
h. Eddy current testing

The most common among these used for inspection of castings are:
a. LPI & MPI ( for surface & subsurface quality)
b. UT & RT (for volumetric quality)

The defects found in castings by wing the above technique are excavated by air are
gouging / grinding/ chipping. The excavations are then weld repaired wing appropriate
welding process.

12. UPGRADATION :-

The casting is brought to the near not shape by grinding & maintaining all dimensions.
Final NDE carried out before further processing of the casting.

DEFECTS CAUSED BY PATTERN & MOULDING BOX EQUIPMENT:

1. Mismatching of top & bottom part of casting at the mould joint.

2. Fins, fash & strain occurring at the parting resulting in excess metal which less to be
ground off.

3. Variation in wall thickness because of oversize core dimensions, lifting of cores etc.

4. Crush Displacement of sand when closing the mould leaving irregular sanding
depressions in the castings.

DEFECTS CAUSED BY MOULDING, POURING, CORE MAHING AND GATING:

1. Blow Holes : caused by high moisture and low permeability in sand.

2. PinHoles : Because of too much moisture or gas producing material in the sand.
3. Hot tears : Because of excessive mould hardness from hard ramming.
4. Inclusions : These may be sand or refractory material entering into the metal.
5. Misrun : If the gates are too small misruns can occur.
6. Gas holes : Gases entrapped because of low temp. pouring, improper venting of
7. cores etc.
8. Cold shuts : Low temp. Pouring.
9. Sand fusion : High temp. pouring, moisture in the sand, poor refractoriness of sand
poor Collapsibility of core.
10. Cracks : Poor collapsibility of the core.
DEFECTS CAUSED DURING HEAT TREATMENT & RISER CUTTING:

1. Cracks - Riser cutting at lower temperature, stress

Development during heat treatment.

2. Failure in mechanical test - Improper heat treatment.

3. Dimensional discrepancies - Undercutting of riser, warpage during heat

treatment.