Introduction

For the production of castings of competitive quality of a specific grade, proper

metallurgical control on the production of molten metal is a prerequisite.
Production of consistent quality castings also demands a thorough understanding
of responsibilities by the shop floor personnel, carrying out the various activities
that transfers the raw material to the finished saleable castings. Global
liberalization and fiscal policies have led to a significant increase in the avenues
for technology development, commercialization and upgradation. It is needless
to mention that the Indian Foundry Industry has been identified as one of the
major thrust areas where the need of technology transfer and absorption is
considered a priority specially in view of the large export potential of the
industry. Traditionally, most of the Indian Foundries belong to the small and
medium scale sectors which cater to small volume of markets. Some of the
medium size foundries have been able to upgrade themselves technologically.
The quality of their products is comparable to those of the foundries abroad,
but their volume of production and productivity continues to be comparatively
lower. Our foundries need to measure up to the following yardsticks to meet
the challenges of the global market:
1. Capability of production of thin walled castings for weight reduction.
2. Ability to produce castings with high dimensional consistency.
3. Capacity for large volume of production with the help of mass production
equipment like Disamatic or high pressure moulding line.
4. Technology for online monitoring and controlling of various process
parameters to minimize rejections.
5. Computer applications like SILICA Programme for monitoring sand
system and CAD/CAM for tooling development and computer aided
methoding system1.
In this competitive era quality control should start from the stage of
product design and it needs to be ensured in subsequent stages of production
 2 Principles of Foundry Process Design

and after sales service. Errors at any stage of the process creates a problem
elsewhere, leading to cumulative errors and problems in the later stage. It is
reported that about 1/3 of all efforts expended in industry is wasted because
of this snow ball effect2. It has been estimated that design activity is responsible
for only 5% of the life cycle cost of a product but it influences more than
70% of the product cost3. Appropriate changes during the design phase of
product make easy and inexpensive with improved product quality [Fig. 1.1].
The benefits of making sure things are done at the first time, every time
products are enormous in terms of greater efficiencies.

Fig. 1.1: Cost and impact of various activities [4]

Casting Design principles differ from those of most other fabricating

processes. They depend on three major factors like metallurgical, mechanical
and economic considerations. Methoding of castings involves designing of
pattern, moulding process, gating, risering or feeding, use of chills and other
means for controlling the freezing process. Solidification starts from the thinnest
section and proceeds towards the centre of the heavy section having high heat
content—popularly known as hot spot. The main objective of methoding is to
get shrinkage and other solidification oriented defect free castings, by controlling
the solidification process properly. Directional solidification is the target to be
achieved. The effects of gating and risering are not appreciated equally for all
the metals. In case of cast iron and dross forming non-ferrous alloys the
gating system is very crucial but it is not so in case of carbon steel castings.
On the other hand, the steel castings need extensive risering or feeding system
for optimum quality but in case of cast iron it is not so because of the process
of graphitization; even riser-less castings have been developed by the restriction
of the volume expansion of the mould (no bake, shell core and CO2 processes)
during graphitization which compensates the solidification shrinkages.
Introduction 3

Apart from the material behaviour, the solidification process is affected by

the section geometry, sudden change in cross sectional area, mechanical
properties and heavy isolated areas. When two sections co-join or intersect, a
mechanical weakness develops as shown in Fig. 1.2. The defects can be
eliminated by avoiding the thick junction as shown.

Bad design Good design

T T

t
t

(i) 4(T–t)

Large junction
Staggering junction
(ii)
t

R > 1.0 t

(iii)
t
>
R

(iv)

Fig. 1.2: Casting design examples

 4 Principles of Foundry Process Design

The heat capacity of a particular metal is determined by its total volume.

Its ability to retain heat is controlled mostly by its surface area through which
the heat must pass (cooling surface). Cooling rates are directly related to mass
and surface area and may be expressed as a ratio of surface area to volume
or mass. It can be concluded that the solidification rate is proportional to this
ratio. Higher the ratio, the higher the rate of solidification and vice versa. Low
value creates hot spot which must be suitably risered properly so that no
shrinkage cavity occurs. The slow cooling rate of a large mass with relatively
small area will also produce considerably softer material than the fast cooling
of a large and thin section. The thinnest section possible during casting is
known as critical thickness which differs from material to material and process
to process. For example in case of cast iron the critical thickness depends not
only on the chemical composition but also on the foundry practices. The
foundrymen can adjust the rate at which graphitization takes place by changing
the silicon content or adding inoculants in the ladle.
The increased cross-section results in decreased cooling rate which is
much more pronounced in cast iron than cast steel. In case of cast steel,
the main effect of a larger section is increased grain size. However in case
of cast iron the cooling rate effects not only the grain size but also the
graphite size and distribution. They are also dependent on the amount of
combined carbon to graphite which controls the hardness and strength of
the iron. Figure 1.3(a) shows the relationship between section thickness
and hardness. The structure ranges from white cast iron at the tip to

Fig. 1.3 (a): Effect of section thickness on hardness and structure [5]
Introduction 5

Diameter of section, in.

Tensile strength at centre of section, MPa 0 1 2 3 4

500

Tensile strength at centre of section, ksi

70

60
400

Class 60 50
300
Class 50 40

Class 40 30
200
Class 30
20
Class 20
100
10

0 0
25 50 75 100 125
Diameter of section, mm

Fig. 1.3 (b): Effect of the diameter of the section on tensile strength at the
centre of cast specimen for five classes of grey cast iron [5]

mixture of eutectic carbide and pearlite called the mottled zone. Thereafter
the hardness decreases sharply. The minimum hardness is reached where
large amounts of ferrite and fine graphite are formed. With a slightly
slower cooling rate the structure changes to a flake graphite with pearlitic
matrix that reaches the maximum hardness on the curve. The structure is
most desirable for wear resistance and strength. Figure 1.3(b) shows the
average strength of five classes of cast iron versus the section diameters.
The table below shows the properties of ferritic and pearlitic malleable
irons 5.
Tensile Yield as % Elongation %,
Structure BHN
ksi Tensile ksi 2 in
Ferrite, Maximum
200 80 60 10
ductility

Pearlite, High strength, 270 100 80 2

Wear resistance
Essentially pearlitic, 250 80 75 3
good strength

Design For Manufacturability (DFM) is a new concept where a casting

model can be evaluated by a number of criteria like plate, block, box, cylinder,
cone etc. to identify the features hindering ease of manufacture based on the
feedback received and aided by a hundred illustrated guidelines coded into the
system, the casting designer can carry out modifications to improve the
manufacturability. The design information is usually communicated through an
 6 Principles of Foundry Process Design

engineering drawing specifying dimensions, tolerances and materials on paper

or in electronic format and a design engineer conceives a 3-dimensional view
in terms of its shapes and features such as bosses, holes and ribs [Fig. 1.4].
A lot of research has been reported in the classification of features, feature
based modeling and feature recognition algorithms6. Feature based modeling
systems present a library of predefined feature templates to the designer during
the creation of part geometry and preserve this information for further use.
There have been a few attempts to identify the features for casting domain.
Features employed for modeling purposes include basic envelope, global and
local symmetry, parting plane, largest cross-section, cylindricity, ribs, bosses,
webs, fillets, solidification modulus, through and blind holes, surface area,
volume, intersections, undercuts, projections and depressions7. Design for
manufacturability (DFM) techniques should strike a balance between the
information available at the design stage and the information generated regarding
manufacturability.

Boss

Convex edge

Concave edge

Hole

Wall Corner

Fillet
Junction
Step

Hole to edge
Slot/Undercut
Rib

Fig. 1.4: Geometric features in a component [3]

Though this concept is of least interest in casting industry so far and this
is perhaps due to the segregation of design and manufacturing activities at
buyer and supplier companies and due to lack of communication between
them. This approach of casting design is based on creating an intellectual
environment for assisting product engineers in the concurrent design of
component and tooling will solve the rising demands on near net shape
manufacturing, quality assurance, tightening lead time and conservation of
resources to “get it right, the first time and every time”.
Introduction 7

It is needless to mention that many factors are responsible for methoding

of castings. Finally a designer must select the optimum process from the list
of methods available and considering the metallurgical and mechanical design
parameters so that best casting could be produced at lowest possible cost.
Optimum process depends on the following cost factors like tooling cost (here
cost of patterns and core boxes), rough casting cost and finishing cost. The
dependency of the factors varies from material to material, their geometric
shape, section thickness and so on. Therefore it is a vast subject to discuss
in a single book. The bottlenecks and non-value added time in casting
development can be minimized by adopting computer aided methoding, solid
modeling and casting simulation techniques. It has also proven to be very
useful for verifying the manufacturability of a casting and improving it by
minor modification of the part geometry8. Good methoding practices can reduce
rejection in foundries and save substantial amount of wastage and ensure
profitability for foundries. In one way this will increase the yield of the molten
metal, on the other way it will save a lot of energy to re-melt the scrap
(approximately 1 kWh is needed to melt 1 kg of ferrous and 1.5 kg of non-
ferrous castings). We must remember that the cost of saving 1 kWh power is
much more than the cost of generating 1 kWh power. Considering all the
factors, it is needless to mention that computer aided casting design and
solidification simulation are the only choice to produce right quality at first
time with almost no shop floor trial at cheapest possible cost.

Remember: Proper Methoding of Casting saves lots of energy which

in return gives Profit to the Foundry Entrepreneurs.

Some definitions will make it easier to understand this chapter

l Choke: A constriction in the gating system that limits the flow rate of
the molten metal. It is the minimum cross-section area in the feeding
system.
l Cope: The top part of the mould.
l Drag: The lower part of the mould.
l Feeder: Also called “riser”, it is a part of the gating system that
forms the reservoir of molten metal necessary to compensate for losses
due to shrinkage as the metal solidifies.
l Gate: Gate connects the runner to the mould.
l Match Plate: A type of pattern (normally made of metal) on which
cope and drag patterns are mounted along with sprue, runner and
gates for mass production.
l Pouring Basin: An enlarged portion at the top of the sprue.
l Runner: The passage through which the metal flows to reach the
gates from the sprue.
8 Principles of Foundry Process Design

l Runner Extension: A short extension of the runner which goes beyond

the last gate.
l Sprue: Channels cut into a mould to allow for the entry of metal.
Also the name given to the metal rods that assumes this shape in the
final casting.
l Hot Spot: Portion of the casting solidifies last, where no metal is
available and a void space is left after shrinkage.
l Core Print: It is a provision made within the mould to keep the core
in a proper manner so that the core should not be misplaced due to
Buoyant Force of the molten metal which is denser than the core.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. “R&D work in India should be integrated with foreign technology”, Dr. P. N. Bhagwati,
Indian Foundry Journal, Vol. 40, No.7, July 1994, pp. 46–48.
2. “Choice of techniques for production quality castings”, Amalendu Guha, Indian Foundry
Journal, Vol. 40, No.12, Dec. 1994, pp. 7–12.
3. “Product Design in a concurrent engineering Environment: An Optimization Approach”,
S. Dowlashahi, International Journal of Production Research, 30(8), 1992, pp.1803–
1818.
4. “Knowledge-Based Casting Design” –B.Ravi, Indian Foundry Journal, Vol. 42, No.
10, October 1996, pp. 7–17.
5. Metals Handbook, Vol. 1, Properties and selection: Iron and Steels, B.Bards, 9th ed.
American Society of Metals, p.14.
6. “Assessment of Features Technology”, S.C.Luby, Computer-Aided Design, 23(5), 199,
pp. 331–343.
7. “Creating and using a Feature Data Base for evaluation of the Manufacturability of
Castings”, S.C.Liby et al., Proc. ASME Computers in Eng. Conf., Chicago, July 1986.
8. “Feedability Analysis and Optimisation Driven by Casting Simulation”, B. Ravi and
Durgesh Joshi, Indian Foundry Journal, Vol. 53, No. 6, June 2007, pp. 71–78.
 Solidification of Castings

The casting process is essentially solidification of liquid metal in the mould

cavity. Such a phase change from liquid to solid state involves the phenomenon
of changes in fluidity, volumetric shrinkage, segregation, evolving of gases
absorbed and the size of grains which have profound influence on the quality
of the final casting obtained. Major influencing factors are freezing range,
cooling rate and thermal gradient. Proper understanding of solidification
mechanism is absolutely necessary to eliminate major casting defects like blow
hole, shrinkage cavities, micro porosity, hot tears, cracks, distortion etc., which
leads to poor mechanical properties. This chapter regards with the importance
to achieve progressive directional solidification.
When molten metal enters into the mould cavity its heat is absorbed by
and transferred through the mould wall [Fig. 2.1]. In case of pure metals and
eutectics the solidification proceeds layer by layer starting from the mould
wall and gradually
proceeding inwards.
The moving layer
Solidification
between the liquid and fronts
solid is called the
solidification front. As Mould
this front solidifies, it
contracts in volume,
and draws molten metal
from the inner part of
the casting (opposite to
the mould wall). When
the solidification front Shrinkage cavity
reaches the inner most
region or the thickest Fig. 2.1: Casting solidification in a mould [1]
10 Principles of Foundry Process Design

part of the casting1 there is no metal left to compensate the shrinkage and as
a result a void space called shrinkage cavity is formed. This phenomenon
can be avoided by putting a suitable feeder so that the feeder solidifies not
only later than the hot spot but that should continuously feed the hot spot4
[with proper location and properly designed riser/feeder neck].
Freezing Range: Most of the casting alloys do not have distinct melting
point. Only pure metals and eutectic alloys solidify at a constant temperature.
The interface between the liquid and solid is relatively smooth because the
metal is freezing at constant temperature. However casting alloys solidify over
a range of temperature.
The range between the liquidus line and solidus line is known as the freezing
range (Rf) = θliq– θsol; where, θliq is liquidus temperature and θsol is solidus

Mould

Metal

Air gap

Tpour

Tliq
Temperature

Tsol

Tint

Tamb

Fig. 2.2: Temperature profile and grain growth in a mould [1]

Solidification of Castings 11

temperature. In such cases there are three distinct zones during solidification:
completely solid, completely liquid and intermediate mushy zone. The mushy
zone is caused by the growth of tree like structures called dendrites and the
liquid metal being tapped in their branches. Freezing rate is one of the major
factors influencing the microstructure of the casting. Alloys with short freezing
range behave like pure metals and eutectics and in this case the solidification
proceeds layer by layer. The microstructure comprises columnar grains growing
along the direction of heat transfer. In case of long freezing range alloys, the
solidification is initiated at a large number of points and the grain grows in
size until the neighboring grains hinder them. Thus microstructure comprises
eqi-axed grains. Freezing rate is greatly influenced by the cooling rate and
thermal gradients inside the casting. A long freezing range alloy behaves like a
short freezing range alloy in a permanent mould like metal mould.
During the time, first skin of solid metal is produced, the latent heat of
fusion is released and the remaining liquid rapidly loses most of its under
cooling2. Growth of nucleation is controlled by the rate of heat transfer from
the casting and since this establishes a temperature gradient, it is always directed
towards the casting surface and consequently grain growth occurs in a direction
opposite to the heat flow.
Temperature Gradient: It is defined as the ratio of Difference of
Temperature between two points (θ θ2 – θ1) to the distance between the
θ2 – θ1)/D; Where, θ2 > θ1.
points (D) = (θ
The temperature/thermal gradients are greatly influenced by the casting
geometry. The gradients are highest in the normal direction of the solidification
front and gradually decreases as the points move towards the centre of the
casting. In case of thin castings, the points near the mould are characterized
by high gradients and the middle of the thick castings have low gradients. A
higher difference in section thickness of neighboring regions enhances the
thermal gradient between them. The feed metal primarily moves along the
direction of the maximum thermal gradients to compensate the volumetric
contraction during solidification.
Remember: High Thermal Gradient eliminates the shrinkage porosity,
on the other hand Low Thermal Gradient causes shrinkage porosity.
In case of metal mould the thermal gradient is more than green sand
mould for a particular shape of casting.
Cooling Rate: It is defined as the heat loss by the casting/unit time.
Naturally the cooling rate mainly depends on the mould material and the air
gap formed at the metal mould interface. Metal mould produces higher cooling
rate than a green sand mould under same operating conditions. Cooling rate is
higher at the beginning of the solidification and lower when solidification
progresses. The cooling rate is more at the bottom of the casting where metal
plates are used as base.
12 Principles of Foundry Process Design

Remember: High Cooling Rate promotes solidification at faster rate

with finer grains. Whereas Lower Cooling rate exhibits larger grains.
Grain size affects the strength and hardness of the casting.
Solidification behaviour of any casting alloy can be understood well from
the phase diagram of the concerned alloy. Phase diagrams are constructed by
plotting the cooling curves of various compositions of the alloy system together.
Alloys generally solidify as (a) solid solutions (b) eutectics or (c) combination
of both, which are most common. Information regarding liquidus temperature,
solidification or freezing range and the different phases present at the room
temperature as well as at different temperatures for any particular alloy can be
determined from the phase diagram. Alloys like low carbon steel, S.G iron
having longer freezing range have lower fluidity causing problems during feeding,
on the other hand Al-Si, Cu-Sn and cast irons with larger carbon equivalent
have very good fluidity and cast ability.
Conditions of forming fine equi-axial grain formation for getting superior
mechanical and metallurgical properties are as follows:
• Shorter freezing range alloy
• Faster cooling of liquid metal as in metal moulds
• Larger surface area i.e., thin walled castings
• High pouring temperature
• Introduction of external nucleating agents into liquid metal like Ca-Si
into cast iron or titanium alloys into aluminium and steel.
Metals having long freezing range tend to develop casting defects like hot
tears and cracks. This happens during the stage of solidification when the
solid dendrites while contracting is still not strong enough to overcome the
hindrance offered by non-collapsible cores and mould. Some measures have to
be taken to avoid these defects like selection of alloy with shorter freezing
range, change in design of casting into more uniform section, use of collapsible
cores, proper moulds and chills.
Some alloys like aluminium and copper absorb hydrogen gases during
pouring of hot metals. These absorbed gases get pushed into the portion of
the casting which solidify later, like top or heavy section of the casting and
eventually form defects like pin-hole porosity. For these metals degassing by
proper chemicals is normally adopted. In case of very critical castings vacuum
pouring is done for eliminating such problem.
Sometimes metal-mould reaction takes place in case of manganese steels
and some copper alloys where a chemical reaction takes place with the acidic
mould materials and causes poor surface finish on castings. These problems
can be eliminated by proper mould and core coatings. Dimensional changes,
distortion and warpages in casting that occur during contraction of cast metal
Solidification of Castings 13

in the solid state to room temperature also depend on the solidification

characteristics of the alloy, casting geometry and by proper use of chills.
A casting should be designed to achieve controlled progressive directional
solidification so that it becomes free from solidification related defects.
Progressive solidification refers to the solidification in a given cross-section
of the casting ideally starting from the mould wall and gradually progressing
towards the centre of the casting. Directional solidification refers to the sequence
of solidification of different regions of the castings ideally starting from the
thin regions at one end followed by thicker regions and finally ending at the
thickest region [Fig. 2.3].
Solidification Time and Rate: The solidification time of a casting depends
primarily on different factors like casting geometry, material and process. The
most common method of calculating the solidification time is by Modulus
method. Where, V is the casting volume and A is the surface area (cooling)
and the ratio of V/A is called as Modulus of casting. Similarly the modulus of
the riser can be calculated and the riser design should be made such that it
could feed the casting till it’s complete solidification and it must solidify after
casting solidifies. In case of complicated casting, the component should be
divided into different sections and modulus should be calculated for each and
every sections. The section having more modulus is the critical section as this
section will take longer time to solidify and this section is known as hot spot.
Feeder should be located near to the hot spot region.
Table below shows the Typical Pouring Temperature of Gray Cost Iron
(In centigrade)3

Fig. 2.3: Progressive solidification in a cross-

section and directional solidification from thinner
to thicker section.
14 Principles of Foundry Process Design

Smaller castings Bigger castings

Liquidus
ASTM
temperature
Thin Thick Thin Thick
section section section section

30 1150 1400 1370 1345 1315

35 1175 1425 1400 1370 1345
40 1170 1450 1420 1395 1365
45 1220 1470 1445 1415 1390

Remember: High Thermal Gradient, Low Freezing Range and High

Cooling Rate yield best conditions for producing defect free castings.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. “The growth of Metal Crystals,” in “The solidification of metals and alloys”, R. F.

Mehl, American Institute of Mechanical Engineers, 1951. pp. 24.
2. “Solidification of Metals” H. F. Bishop and W. S. Pillini, Foundry, Vol. 80, 1952,
pp. 87.
3. Metal hand Book-Volume 5, Forging and Casting, 8 th Edition, 1970,
pp. 364.
4. “Hot spots in castings—computer aided location and experimental validation”,
B. Ravi and M.N. Srinivasan, Transaction of the AFS, 98, 1990, pp. 353–357.