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The Free Library > Business and Industry > Business > Modern Casting > August 1, 1990
The Free Library > Business and Industry > Metals, metalworking and machinery > Modern Casting > August 1, 1990
The Free Library > Date > 1990 > August > 1 > Modern Casting

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Causes and cures for shell-related defects.
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Causes and Cures For Shell-Related Defects

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Defects are part of nearly every foundry's operations, and their causes are many and
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This defect is generally nonmetallic and usually can be detected on the surface or a (Technical)
few microns below the casting surface. Many subsurface inclusions become evident
during welding repair of a pinhole-type defect. Jagged in shape, inclusions sometimes Ceramic molding process helps metalcasting facilities
will have the ceramic from the shell, which caused the condition, embedded. An remain competitive.(New Product)
example is shown in Fig. 1.

The major causes of shell-related inclusion defects are:

Mold Cracks - If a burned out shell has cracked, erosion from the edges of the crack
may occur, disbursing refractory particles throughout the casting. Often, if a seal dip
is added to a cracked shell, the slurry will run into the crack and break off during shell
firing or pouring.

Mold Handling - Poor shell handling may cause loose stucco particles to fall into the
mold prior to pouring. The two most common problems are cup orientation in the firing
cycle, or a jagged cup collar remaining after dewaxing.

Spalling or Scabbing - The ceramic shell that spalls or scabs not only causes a

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positive metal-type defect, but the ceramic is generally distributed throughout the
casting to cause inclusions.

Other common inclusion sources are pattern design, ceramic in melt returns, spalled
ladle or furnace linings and improperly reclaimed wax.

Prime Coat Buckle

Prime coat buckling defects usually occur on flat surfaces as an island of surplus
metal, and normally have hairline fins associated with them, usually at a casting's
edges. Figure 2 illustrates this defect.

This problem is caused by predip and/or second coat slurry entering a crack on the
surface of the first coat. The binder and/or slurry spreads and dries beneath the first
dip. Although the crack is often sealed by subsequent dips, the casting will have an
irregular surface. The most common shell-related causes for the formation of the
primary slurry cracks include the following:

Environmental Conditions - Temperature and humidity fluctuations in the dip and drying
area, after prime coat application, cause expansion differentials between the wax and
the slurry dip. The expanding and contracting wax causes stress on the slurry coat
causing small cracks in the coating. Air movement around the drying dip can result in
uneven drying which puts the coating under stress.

Uneven Prime Coat Thickness - The drying rates of thick and thin coatings differ. This
difference can lead to stress concentrations along the thick-to-thin boundaries,
particularly at the outside edges of the casting.

Shell Cracking

This defect is characterized by a line(s) of positive metal on the casting surface. The
length and thickness of these fins sometimes can be correlated to the cause of the
crack. Shell cracking is most common on cylindrical casting sections as shown in Fig.
3.

The most common causes of shell cracking defects are found in several distinct areas
of a foundry's operation. These include the following:

Process Control - This principal defect leading to lower overall shell strengths is
caused by inadequate process control of shell composition following, inadequate
binder concentration, incompatible shell materials, excessive anti-foam or wetting
agents and stucco grain fineness distribution.

Dip Room - Flawed dipping techniques and drying practices cause this defect.
Excessively long drying times between the prime and backup dips can cause
delamination of the shell and subsequent cracking. Overuse of a binder pre-wet can
also cause weaker, easily cracked shells.

Dewaxing Control - Expansion stresses caused by improper dewaxing equipment or

techniques can cause shell cracking. Slow heat-up rate and uneven firing furnace
temperature distribution is common.

Firing - Improper firing cycles in respect to time, temperature, rate and number of
times leads to adverse phase changes within the dewaxed shell.

Dry Before Stuccoing - Occasionally, a particular cluster configuration can dry quite
rapidly, especially in low humidity, high temperature environments. If the cluster dries
prior to stuccoing, the coating will not build up the required strength.

Destabilized Wax - A mold dipped in slurry prior to wax stabilization will cause prime
slurry cracking and/or nonadhesion.

Misrun

This defect, shown in Fig. 4., is sometimes called "non-fill". It is characterized by an

incomplete casting. The metal does not fill the entire mold cavity. The two most
common appearances of a misrun casting are rounded out at the defect front and
cupped inward at the defect front. Generally, misruns which are cupped inward are
related to gas back pressure within the mold and can be shell related. There are many
other factors which can cause misruns to occur in castings, and most of them are not
shell related.

Permeability of the Primary Slurry Coats - If the shell is not permeable at elevated
temperatures, the back pressures within the cluster can build and prevent metal fill.
Several additional factors, though not shell related, that can affect misrun are metal
temperature, gating design, shell temperature, gassy metal and incomplete burnout of
organic materials.

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Rough Surface

The general appearance of this type of defect can be described as positive metal,
ranging in diameter from 0.005-0.015 in. and covering all or part of a casting's surface
as illustrated in Fig. 5. Roughly surfaced casting can be attributed to a wide range of
shell-related inconsistencies. Several of these are described below.

Destabilized Slurry - Colloidal, silica-based slurries are often used beyond their
reasonable life. Bacterial contamination can partially gel the binder to cause
agglomeration. These agglomerates may be deposited on the wax and are
undetectable after stuccoing. When the shell is fired, this high concentration of silica
reacts with molten metal to form a rough surface on the casting, particularly in higher
temperature areas.

Stucco Penetration - If a slurry is allowed to drain too much, or is too thin, the primary
stucco will penetrate the slurry coat and come in contact with the wax pattern causing
rough casting surfaces.

Metal-Mold Reaction - If a shell system is incompatible or contaminated with materials

(such as Fe) that react with liquid metal, rough surfaces will form.

Bubbles in the Prime Slurry - Any bubbles in the prime slurry will cause a
noncontinuous coating to dry on the surface of the wax. Metal will penetrate these
areas and form a rough surface.

Buckling

A shell buckle (see Fig. 6) is an inward movement of the shell. As the metal fills this
area, indentations occur in the casting. An outward movement of the shell is a
bulge leading to excessive casting dimensions in the bulged areas. Shell buckling or
bulging are defects usually seen on long, flat surfaces of a casting. Metal
breakthrough or penetration can also be associated with buckling.

The possible causes of the buckle or bulge of the shell can be divided into two distinct
areas. The first, buckle/bulge on large flat areas, is commonly caused by the
following:

Cleanliness of Patterns - Nonadherence of the primary slurry to the wax because of

residual mold release is a common cause of buckling or bulging.

Cluster Design and Orientation - Cluster design plays an important role when
considering the buckle or bulge defect. The flat surfaces should be oriented
perpendicular to the slurry when dipping to minimize the effects of gravity pulling the
coating material from the wax.

Stucco Distribution - Rounded stucco material with poor screen distribution (too many
fines) causes a delamination of the prime dips to the backup dips. This factor,
combined with high metallostatic head pressures, can cause the deformation.

Expansion Differential - Different coefficients of expansion of materials within a slurry

composition of a shell system can cause buckling or bulging.

Wax Stresses - Internal stresses in a pattern may be relieved during dipping and
cause the shell to pull away from the wax pattern. Stresses are magnified on large flat
or bowed patterns.

The second type of buckle or bulge defect is associated with areas on the pattern
which do not allow for a consistent shell to be built. This type of buckle normally has
metal penetration associated with it. Its common cause is described here.

Improper Shell Construction - After the primary dips and stucco is applied, the next dip
is a more viscous one containing a coarser stucco. If the shell is not constructed
adequately, the third dip will bridge slotted areas on the pattern. Subsequent dips will
not build adequate shell strength, and buckling or bulging will occur. In some cases,
metal will penetrate the cracks in the shell and enter the bridged area.

Scab

A scab is a rough deposit of positive metal on an area on the casting's surface. A

scab is a worst-case buckle. Sections of the mold buckles inward and the metal runs
in back of the associated crack to form a scab which is illustrated in Fig. 7.

Scabbing - Many of the causes associated with scabbing are similar to those
associated with buckling/bulging. As noted, scabbing is an extreme buckle. The
primary cause of scabbing is delamination of the prime coats and the backup dips.
This delamination is associated with drying conditions and/or shell composition.

Drying Conditions - Over-drying prior to a third dip application will set up a

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two-component shell. This effect can be exaggerated if improper pre-wetting

techniques are used between the second and third dip.

Shell Composition - A third-dip stucco with an adequate distribution may cause a

similar two-component shell system to form.

Curing the Defect

Once the cause of a defect is understood, the cure should be a straightforward

correction of the materials utilized, the process techniques and/or the shell system
composition. Table 1 is the metalcaster's reference guide to the most common causes
of investment casting shell-related defects and suggested action for curing them.

The Big Four

There are many causes which may be attributed to shell related defects, but the four
most prevalent are drying conditions, slurry composition, dewaxing and firing
techniques.

The drying conditions surrounding the cluster during and after its primary coats
contribute more to various shell defects than any other condition.

Primary dips provide the refractory coating necessary to resist metal/mold reaction.
They do not, however, impart strength to the shell system; so careful control must be
maintained to assure the dip's contraction as it drys.

Inappropriate air velocity will evaporate water carried from a colloidal binder at a rate
that will cause the thin ceramic shell to contract too rapidly around the wax cluster.
Additionally, uneven air velocities around the cluster will cause uneven shell drying and
contraction.

Temperature or humidity fluctuations beyond [+ or -] 2F or [+ or -] 5%, respectively,

also will place undo stress on the thin primary shell, and must be controlled to avoid
shell cracking, scabbing or buckling.

The consistent maintenance of a dynamic slurry compositions is the key to repeatable

shell properties. The balance of binder sol particles, total solids content, aggregate
balancing and additive quantities are difficult objectives to maintain. Deviations may
cause serious shell defects.

Maintaining a fixed percentage of [SiO.sub.2] particles within the slurry can alleviate
green and fired shell strength inconsistencies. High percentages of [SiO.sub.2] (from
condensed slurry) can cause lower strengths in the shell than slurries which have too
low a percentage of [SiO.sub.2].

Three additives that contribute to weakened shells are wetting agents, anti-foams and
water. Wetting agents or anti-foamers are commonly overused and cause premature
failure of the shell in its fired condition. Small amounts of them can reduce shell
strengths significantly. Raw water (non-deionized or undistilled) can cause slurry
destabilization and gelling.

In dewaxing and firing techniques, care must be taken when developing a process or
technique to dewax, prefire and fire a shell for pouring.

The most common mistake made with autoclaves and flash-fire dewaxers is the length
of time an investment caster waits between the last dip and the dewaxing procedure.
As shell layers build up, water evaporates and the shell layer dries. Unfortunately, the
shell absorbs more water than evaporates to the air. This gives a false dryness
indication. If a shell still contains moisture as it enters the dewaxing cycle, the chances
of cracking or failure rise.

The second most common mistake is overloading shells in the dewaxer. An efficient
autoclave requires reaching 60 lb pressure within 6-8 seconds at approximately 350F.
This may be easy with some clusters, but as the surface area of the shells increases,
so does the number of BTU's necessary to heat the total load. Therefore, the 60 lb in
6-8 seconds at 350F parameters may be insufficient, particularly during peak
production situations. A manufacturer should know the maximum surface area of
clusters his autoclave will hold, not just the total number of clusters. Additional defects
can result in overloading a flash-fire dewaxing unit and give even more detrimental
results.

Finally, most shells must cure at 1600F for a minimum of 30 minutes during their firing
cycle to assure that fired shell strengths are maximized and that all residual wax has
been removed. In addition to these temperature and time requirements, a
manufacturer must consider the excess [O.sub.2] available within a furnace. The
[O.sub.2] must be available to combine with the carbonaceous wax by-products to
form [CO.sub.2] gas. If this does not occur, then "swiss cheese"-type defects will
occur like the one shown in Fig. 8. Again, shell overloading in the firing furnace is the

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major cause of this problem.

Many defects may occur due to inadequate cluster preparation. Three of the most
common preparation mistakes include the following.

Part Spacing - Clusters with multiple parts can be assembled with parts too close
together, causing several defects. The shell may build in thickness between the parts,
thus absorbing much of the shell firing, causing the molten metal to surface shrink.
(See Fig. 9). Further, the shell may not build up correctly and cause bridging. Metal
runout or shell buckling could result.

Gating System Design - Much has been written on this subject, but it is worth
repeating that unless proper flow and thermal gradients are controlled within the
cluster, the desired surface and internal results from shell molded castings will be lost.
Fig. 10 shows the results of poor gating system design.

Piece Orientation - The ability of a cluster to evenly drain excess slurry after dipping is
an important design criteria. Uneven coatings can lead to uneven shell thicknesses and
lower the overall fired shell strengths. An example of this would be a part with a
cylindrical core to be formed by the shelling process. An assembly with the core
dipped parallel to the slurry's surface will build an uneven shell as compared to an
assembly which would have the core dipped and dried perpendicular to the slurry's
surface. Results of poor piece orientation can be seen in Fig. 11.

Shell defects that are properly identified can be corrected by understanding how they
are formed. This has sought to provided some useful insights into some common shell-
related defects, their causes and potential cures.

PHOTO : Fig. 1. Surface or sub-surface entrainment of ceramic particles causes

inclusion defects.

PHOTO : Fig. 2. Prime coat buckling usually occurs on flat surfaces as irregular
islands of excess metal.

PHOTO : Fig. 3. Shell cracking, as this line of surplus metal indicates, is most
common in cylindrical castings.

PHOTO : Fig. 4. Misrun defects occur because poured metal does not fill the mold
cavity.

PHOTO : Fig. 5. Rough metal defects leave small islands of positive metal dotting the
casting surfaces.

PHOTO : Fig. 6. Outward and inward bulges in the shell cause excess metal or
dimpling in castings surfaces.

PHOTO : Fig. 7. A scab is a worst-case buckle in which metal runs behind a shell
crack.

PHOTO : Fig. 8. "Swiss cheese" defect is caused by insufficient oxygen to combine

with carbonaceous wax by-products to form [CO.sub.2] due to furnace overloading.

PHOTO : Fig. 9. Surface shrinkage is caused by uneven shell coating between cluster
parts.

PHOTO : Fig. 10. Flawed surface of this part is the result of poor cluster gating.

PHOTO : Fig. 11. Improper dipping and draining results in uneven shell thickness and
strength.

COPYRIGHT 1990 American Foundry Society, Inc.

No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 1990, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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The Free Library > Business and Industry > Business > Modern Casting > August 1, 1990
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The Free Library > Date > 1990 > August > 1 > Modern Casting

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