2- Shell Molding
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Fig.(1-17): Schematics of continuous (left) and batch-type (right) sand muller. Plow blades move the sand and the muller wheels mix the components 2- Shell molding Fig.(1-18): Steps in shell molding Fig.(1-19): Two halves of a shell mold pattern Advantages: 1-Good surface finish (up to 2.5 mm) 2-Good dimensional accuracy (±0.25 mm) 3-Suitable for mass production Disadvantages: 1-Expensive metal pattern Area of application: Mass production of steel casting of less than 10 kg 3- Investment casting (lost wax casting) In investment casting, the pattern is made of wax, which melts after making the mold to produce the mold cavity. Production steps in investment casting are illustrated in the figure: Fig.(1-20): Advantages: 1- Arbitrary complexity of castings 2- Good dimensional accuracy 3- Good surface finish 4-No or little additional machining (net, or near-net process) 5-Wax can be reused Disadvantages: 1-Very expensive process 2-Requires skilled labor Area of application: 1-Small in size, complex parts such as art pieces, jewelry, dental fixtures from all types of metals. 2- Used to produce machine elements such as gas turbine blades, pinion gears, etc. which do not require or require only little subsequent machining. 1-2-2- Permanent Processes Mold Casting In contrary to sand casting, in permanent mold casting the mold is used to produce not a single but many castings. Steps in permanent mold casting Fig.(1-21): Steps in permanent mold casting: (1) mold is preheated and coated with lubricant for easier separation of the casting; (2) cores (if used) are inserted and mold is closed; 93) molten metal is poured into the mold; and (4) mold is open and finished part removed. Finished part is shown in (5) Advantages : 1-Good dimensional accuracy 2-Good surface finish 3-Finer grain structure (stronger casting) 4-Possibility for automation Disadvantages: 1-Only for metals with low melting point 2-Castings with simple geometry Area of application: Mass production of non-ferrous alloys and cast iron Lecture No.3 Week No.3 No. of hours: 2 theoretical and 1 tutorial 1-2-3 Die casting 1-Hot chamber die casting Hot-chamber die-casting In hot chamber die-casting, the metal is melted in a container attached to the machine, and a piston is used to inject the liquid metal under high pressure into the die. Fig.(1-22): Schematics of hot-chamber die-casting Advantages: 1-High productivity (up to 500 parts per hour) 2-Close tolerances 3-Good surface finish Disadvantages: 1-The injection system is submerged in the molten metal 2-Only simple shapes Area of application: Mass production of non-ferrous alloys with very low melting point (zinc, tin, lead) 2-Cold chamber die casting In cold-chamber die-casting, molten metal is poured into the chamber from an external melting container, and a piston is used to inject the metal under high pressure into the die cavity. Fig.(1-23): Schematics of cold-chamber die-casting Advantages: 1-Same as in hot chamber die-casting, but less productivity. Disadvantages: 1-Only simple shapes Area of application: Mass production of aluminium and magnesium alloys, and brass. 1-2-4 Centrifugal casting 1-True centrifugal casting Fig.(1-24): Setup for true horizontal centrifugal casting In true centrifugal casting, molten metal is poured into a rotating mold to produce tubular parts such as pipes, tubes, and rings. 2-Semi-centrifugal casting Fig.(1-25): Semi-centrifugal casting In this method, centrifugal force is used to produce solid castings rather than tubular parts. Density of the metal in the final casting is greater in the outer sections than at the center of rotation. The process is used on parts in which the center of the casting is machined away, such as wheels and pulleys. 1-2-5 Continuous casting Continuous casting process is widely used in the steel industry. In principle, continuous casting is different from the other casting processes in the fact that there is no enclosed mold cavity. Figure below schematically shows a set-up for continuous casting process. Molten steel coming out from the furnace is accumulated in a ladle. After undergoing requisite ladle treatments, such as alloying and degassing, and arriving at the correct temperature, the ladle is transported to the top of the continuous casting set-up. From the ladle, the hot metal is transferred via a refractory shroud (pipe) to a holding bath called a tundish. The tundish allows a reservoir of metal to feed the casting machine. Metal is then allowed to pass through open base copper mold. The mold is water-cooled to solidify the hot metal directly in contact with it and removed from the other side of the mold. The continuous casting process is used for casting metal directly into billets or other similar shapes that can be used for rolling. The process involves continuously pouring molten metal into a externally chilled copper mold or die walls and hence, can be easily automated for large size production. Since the molten metal solidifies from the die wall and in a soft state as it comes out of the die wall such that the same can be directly guided into the rolling mill or can be sheared into a selected size of billets. Fig.(1-26): Schematic set-up of continuous casting process 1-2-6 Squeeze casting Squeeze casting developed in the 1960s, involves solidification of the molten material under high pressure. Thus it is a combination of casting and forging. The machinery includes a die, punch, and ejector pin. Fig.(1-27): Squeeze casting Sequence of operations in squeeze-casting: 1. Bring a ladle filled with liquid material close to the dies 2. Pour liquid in the bottom die cavity 3. Close dies and apply pressure 4. Open dies and eject the solidified product The pressure applied by the punch keeps the entrapped gases in solution, and the high-pressure contact at the die-product interface promotes rapid heat transfer, resulting in a fine microstructure with good mechanical properties. Parts can be made to near-net shape, with complex shapes and fine surface detail, from both nonferrous and ferrous alloys. Typical products: automotive wheels and mortar bodies (a short-barreled cannon). The pressures required in squeeze casting are lower than those for hot or cold forging. 1-3 CASTING QUALITY There are numerous opportunities in the casting operation for different defects to appear in the cast product. Some of them are common to all casting processes: 1-Misruns: Casting solidifies before completely fill the mold. Reasons are low pouring temperature, slow pouring or thin cross section of casting. 2-Cold shut: Two portions flow together but without fusion between them. Causes are similar to those of a misrun. 3-Cold shots: When splattering occurs during pouring, solid globules of metal are entrapped in the casting. Proper gating system designs could avoid this defect. 4-Shrinkage cavity: Voids resulting from shrinkage. The problem can often be solved by proper riser design but may require some changes in the part design as well. 5-Microporosity: Network of small voids distributed throughout the casting. The defect occurs more often in alloys, because of the manner they solidify. 6-Hot tearing: Cracks caused by low mold collapsibility. They occur when the material is restrained from contraction during solidification. A proper mold design can solve the problem. Fig.(1-28): Some common defects in casting Some defects are typical only for some particular casting processes, for instance, many defects occur in sand casting as a result of interaction between the sand mold and the molten metal. Defect found primarily in sand casting are gas cavities, rough surface areas, shift of the two halves of the mold, or shift of the core, etc. Lecture No.4 Week No.4 No. of hours: 2 theoretical and 1 tutorial 1-4 Feeding and Risering of Steel Castings Carbon steel experiences shrinkage of about 3% during solidification. Additional volume reduction occurs during the cooling of the liquid metal after pouring. These contractions will create internal unsoundness (i.e., porosity) unless a riser, or liquid metal reservoir, provides liquid feed metal until the end of the solidification process. The riser also serves as a heat reservoir, creating a temperature gradient that induces directional solidification. Without directional solidification, liquid metal in the casting may be cut off from the riser, resulting in the development of internal porosity. Two criteria determine whether or not a riser is adequate: 1) the solidification time of the riser relative to that of the casting, and 2) the feeding distance of the riser. To be effective, a riser should continue to feed liquid metal to the casting until the casting has completely solidified. Thus, the riser must have a longer solidification time than the casting. Since the critical factor affecting solidification time is heat loss, minimizing heat loss from the riser is an important consideration. For a riser of fixed volume, a minimum amount of heat loss will occur when the riser geometry has the smallest possible surface area. A sphere represents the maximum volume-to-surface- area ratio (V/A, the solidification modulus), and therefore freezes at the slowest rate according to Chorinov’s rule. However, spherical risers present molding problems. A cylinder with a height, H, equal to its diameter, DR, is the typically recommended riser geometry, since it is a simple, easily moldable shape having a high volume- to-surface-area ratio. Various insulating or exothermic riser sleeves are available to reduce the heat loss from a riser.