Luis Ochoa  6/4/2018 

A01032799 
Procesos de Manufactura 
 
Tarea 3 
Capítulo 11 
 
 
11.20 ​Why are risers not as useful in die casting as they are in sand casting? 
In sand casting, risers are located and sized to act as pools of molten metal to account for shrinkage 
of the metal. Since the cooling rate of the sand cast product is slower, placing risers appropriately 
can control the cooling rate and shrinkage rate. Another reason is that, in order to make die casting 
economically feasible from tooling and material standpoint, its cooling rates must be relatively fast. 
Using risers is this case would slow the cooling time and affect production rate.  
 
11.21 ​Describe the drawbacks to having a riser that is (a) too large and (b) too small. 
Having to large of a riser will add cost to the reclaim process. Also, once the riser is cut off, the resultant are will 
require more machining, again adding to the cost. Having a riser that is too small will mainly affect the finishing 
casting, either in form of sufficient material to compensate for shrinkage in the mold, or the creation of shrinkage 
pores caused by a non uniform solidification front. 
 
11.22 ​Why can blind risers be smaller than open-top risers? 
Have to account for the shrinkage in the slower cooling areas of the casting. So risers have to be big enough to 
be the last part of the casing to solidify. If the riser solidifies before the mold cavity is full it serves no purpose, 
and because the open ton risers exposed to cool air on the surface have to be made large enough to not be the 
first part of the csting to solidify. Blind risers can be made smaller since unlike the open top riser which is 
exposed to air, they contact the on all side, reducing their susceptibility to this phenomenon.  
 
11.24 ​Why is the investment-casting process capable of producing fine surface 
detail on castings? 
They are made from wax patterns. The pattern itself has excellent properties; since it is usually made by die 
casting, rapid prototyping or machining. Since the wax mold is then coated with a layer of ceramic slurry, the 
first layer can contain ceramic particles that are extremely fine in size, which will result in a smooth surface on 
the finished casting. 
 
11.25 ​What differences, if any, would you expect in the properties of castings made 
by permanent-mold versus sand- casting processes? 
Permanent mold castings have closer dimensional tolerance, more uniform physical properties, can develop a 
finer finished surface and reproducible thin walled parts as compared to sand casting. Sand casting is more 
adept for producing very intricate, large pieces at lower cost than those of permanent mold casting. The actual 
cost variance will depend on the alloy that must be used for the sand casting.
 
11.27 ​Would you recommend preheating the molds used in permanent-mold 
casting? Would you remove the casting soon after it has solidified? Explain your 
reasons.  
By preheating a mold to be used for a permanent mold casting, there is less likelihood that the metal will chill 
when toughes the mold surface, which could lead to low fluidity. Pre heating the molds for permanent mold 
casting also lowers the fatigue and shock imparted on the mold by repeated casting with molten metal. As for 
removing the casting quickly, the part must be given adequate time to cool in the mold so that there is no 
possibility of it being distorted or acquiring other defects during the shakeout process. Small parts require less 
time than large casting. 
 
 
 
11.31 ​How are the individual wax patterns attached on a “tree” in investment 
casting? 
Heat is applied to the wax pattern and/or tree at the contact surface. The surface of the pattern and/or tree 
melts, at which time the pattern and tree are brought into contact and firmly held in place until the wax solidifies. 
This is repeated for each pattern until the "tree" is completed. 
 
11.32 ​Describe the measures that you would take to reduce core shifting in sand 
casting. 
Core shifting is reduced in a sand mold by core prints, chaplets, or both. Core prints (Fig. 11.6 on p. 265) are 
recesses in the pattern to support the core inside the mold. If excessive shifting occurs, chaplets may be used. 
Chaplets are small metal supports which act both as a spacer for the core to assure proper core location and as 
an added support to resist shifting. 
 
11.34 ​How are hollow parts with various cavities made by die casting? Are cores 
used? If so, how? Explain. 
Hollow parts and cavities are generally made using unit dies, although cores also can be used. Core setting 
occurs mechanically, e.g., for an aluminum tube, as the die closes. A rod, which extends the length of the 
cavity, is pushed into the mold and the molten metal is then injected. This "core" must be coated with an 
appropriate parting agent or lubricant to ensure easy ejection of the part without damaging it. 
 
11.36 ​How are risers and sprues placed in sand molds? Explain, with appropriate 
sketches. 
Risers and sprues are usually created from plastic or metal shapes which are produced specifically for this 
purpose. Thus, a metal sprue is machined to duplicate the desired shape in the mold. This sprue model is then 
affixed to the pattern plate before the flask is filled with sand. The sand mold is prepared as discussed in the 
chapter (see Fig. 11.8 on p. 267). When the pattern plate is removed, the riser and sprue patterns are removed 
at the same time. 
 
11.38 ​Why does the die-casting machine shown in Fig. 11.21 have such a large 
mechanism to close the dies? Explain. 
The molten metal in die casting is introduced into the mold cavity under great pressure. This pressure has thus a 
tendency to separate the mold halves, resulting in large flash and unacceptable parts. The large clamp is 
therefore needed to hold the mold together during the entire casting cycle. 
 
11.39 ​Chocolate forms are available in hollow shapes. What process should be 
used to make these chocolates? 
Thin shells are typically and easily made through slush casting, using split molds. This can be verified by 
obtaining such a chocolate and breaking it, and observing the interior surface is rather coarse and shows no 
evidence of having contacted a mold. 
 
11.40 ​What are the benefits to heating the mold in invest​ ment casting before 
pouring in the molten metal? Are there any drawbacks? Explain.  
The benefits to heating the mold include:  
+Greater fluidity for detailed parts (in that the molten metal will not solidify as quickly) 
+A possible reduction in surface tension and in viscous friction in the mold, and slower cooling.  
 
The main drawbacks to heating the mold are that : 
-The mold may not have as high a strength at the elevated temperature 
-The metal may be less viscid and becomes turbulent as discussed in Chapter 10. Also, the solidification time 
will be larger with increased mold preheat, and this can adversely affect production time and process 
economics as a result.