Chapter: 1

Foundry plant
lay out
1.1 Importance of plant lay out
1.2 Aspect of foundry plant lay out
1.3 Types of foundries and their lay
out
1.4 Principles of plant lay out
1.5 Criteria of casting classification
1.6 Classes of castings

Introduction
Casting is one of the earliest metal shaping
methods known to human beings.
Generally casting means pouring molten metal
into a refractory mould with a cavity of the shape to
be made, and allowing them.
To solidify - on solidified the object is taken out from
the mould either by breaking or by taking the mould
apart, the solidified object is called casting.
Thus in a single step, simple or complex shapes
can be made from any material that can be melted.
A casting is a shape obtained by pouring liquid
material into a mould or cavity and allowing it
to freeze and thus to take the form of the
mould.

 Casting was probably discovered around 3500

Before Christ in Mesopotamia. These moulds
were essentially of single piece.
Bronze age, which is estimated at 2000 BC
brought more refinement into the casting process.
Moulds were made of baked clay and the lost wax
process was used for making ornaments etcetera.
The technology was greatly improved by the
Chinese from around the year 1500 BC.

1.1 Importance of plant lay out

The arrangement of physical facilities such as
machines, equipment, tools, furniture etc. in such
a manner so as to have quickest flow of material at the
lowest cost and with the least amount of handling in
processing the product from the receipt of raw material
to the delivery of the final product. The principal factors
are:
Location, with respect to the marketing area
Raw material supply
Transport facilities
Availability of labour
Availability of suitable land
Environmental impact and effluent disposal
Local community consideration

1.2 Aspects of foundry plant lay out

A well designed plant layout is one that can be beneficial in
achieving the following objectives:
Proper and efficient utilization of available floor space
Transportation of work from one point to another point
without any delay
Proper utilization of production capacity.
Reduce material handling costs
Utilize labour efficiently
Reduce accidents
Provide for volume and product flexibility
Provide ease of supervision and control
Provide for employee safety and health
Allow easy maintenance of machines and plant.
Improve productivity

1.3 Types of Layouts

Process layouts (Job shop):Process layout (also called
a job-shop or functional layout) is a format in which
similar equipment or functions are grouped together,
such as all lathes in one area and all stamping machines
in another.
Product layouts (Flow shop):A product layout (also
called a flow-shop layout) is one in which equipment or
work processes are arranged according to the
progressive steps by which the product is made.
Hybrid layouts (Cellular):A Hybrid (cellular) layout
groups dissimilar machines into work centers (or cells)
to work on products that have similar shapes and
processing requirements
Fixed-Position layouts: In a fixed-position layout, the
product (by virtue of its bulk or weight) remains at one
location.

Metal Production Processes

Different metals used for

casting

Flow Chart of a Typical Foundry Process

FOUNDRY: A commercial establishment for founding or

producing casting.
Or
A facility that melts metals in special furnaces and
pours the molten metal into moulds to make products.
Foundries are usually specified according to the type
of metal dealt with, as iron foundry, brass foundry,
etc
Foundries are also classified according to the nature
of their work and their organizational framework.
A JOBBING Foundry is one having a physical plant
that usually contracts to produce a casting or a small
number of castings of a given kind.

A PRODUCTION Foundry is a highly mechanized

shop which requires that large numbers of a given
kind of casting be made in order to produce them
at a low cost.
A SEMI PRODUCTION Foundry are those in
which a portion of the work is of a jobbing nature
and the balance is production casting.
A CAPTIVE Foundry is one which is an integral of
some manufacturing company and whose castings
are mainly for the parent organization.
An INDEPENDENT Foundry is one which is a
separate entity to produce castings for any
number of customers.

Typical Foundry layout

Moulding

Sand

- pattern making
- Core making
- Gating system

Mould

Melting Pouring

casting Heat Treat

Furnaces Solidification

Shakeout

Clean

Inspect

Addl. Heat Treatment

Defects, pressure tightness, dimensions

Outline of production steps in a typical sand

casting operation

ADVANTAGES OF CASTING PROCESS

Process is cheap
More suitable for mass production
Most suitable for manufacturing
complex/complicated/intricate shaped products.
Large parts weighing several tonnes and also small
components weighing a few grams can be cast.
No limitation on the size of component.
Directional properties absent in castings.
Components with uniform properties as well as
with varying properties at different locations can be
cast.
By use of cores, saving in machining of holes
achieved.
Internal stresses are relieved during solidification in
many types of castings.
Even some materials which cannot be made by
other processes made by casting: eg. Phosphor-

DISADVANTAGES
Dimensional accuracy and surface finish of the
castings made by sand casting processes are a
limitation to this technique. Many new casting
processes have been developed which can take
into consideration the aspects of dimensional
accuracy and surface finish. Some of these
processes are die casting process, investment
casting process, vacuum-sealed moulding process,
and shell moulding process.
Cast product properties inferior in many cases
when
compared
with
other
manufacturing
processes.
Elevated temperature working in castings, as
material has to be melted.
Thin section limitations exist.

1.5 Criteria of Casting

classification
TYPE OF METAL,
THERMAL PROPERTIES OF BOTH THE METAL AND
MOULD,
GEOMETRIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE
VOLUME AND SURFACE AREA ,
SHAPE OF MOULD.

1.6 Classes of castings

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Green Sand Casting

Permanent & Die Casting
Investment (Wax & Foam)
Continuous
Centrifugal

Sand Casting

Pattern is formed into a sand cast.

Liquid metal is poured into the sand
cast.
A sand cast is a ONE time use casting
Mold is destroyed to remove
casting/part

Sand Casting
Produce castings ofvirtually any size and
weight.
Common for prototyping & low volume
production.

Sand Mold
Section view of mold showing spru,
runner and gating system, risers
(feeders), cores and pattern draft.

Permanent Mold
Casting

Mold is made of iron or steel

Molds are good for multiple uses
Used when poring large quantities of
identical parts

Permanent Mold Casting

Advantages: Consistent, Precise, tighter
tolerances
Disadvantages: very expensive to produce
molds

Permanent Die Casting

Similar to permanent mold casting
except that the metal is forced into the
mold under pressure
Large quantity production.

Investment Casting (Lost Wax)

Over 1,000 year old technology

Pattern is made of wax.
A ceramic shell is built around the wax pattern.
Wax pattern is melted out of the shell.
Molten metal is poured into the shell.

Investment Casting (Lost

Foam)

Styrofoam pattern is coated with a

refractory material and dry sand is
compacted around pattern.

Metal is poured
onto the foam &
instantly
vaporized.

No draft required

Continuous Casting
Used to make large steel fixtures (iron
plates, beams)
Metal is melted in hopper & gravity fed
Metal taken as needed
Unused metal recycled into hopper

Centrifugal Casting
Used to produce
objects with large
holes such as cast iron
drain pipe
Mold is spun ~ 1000
RPM
Impurities gravitate to
the inside surface
Impurities machined
off