Objectives

On completion of this period , would be able to

know about

 What is meant by Moulding sand

 Properties of moulding sands
 Types of Moulding sand
 Ingredients in Moulding sand

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 What is Moulding sand

Consists of sand with clay or binder

Used to make mould

Can be re-used

Fig 1. Moulding Sand

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 Properties of Moulding Sand

 Porosity (permeability) :
• A porous material.
• Gap between sand particles provides passage
for flue gases.
 Plasticity:
• Acquires the shape of pattern .
• Deforms to required shape.

Contd..

3
 Properties of moulding sand

 Flowability:
• It flows into corners and deeper into
moulding box.
 Collapsibility:
• Can be broken into particles and can be re-
used.

Contd..
 Properties Of Moulding Sand

 Adhesiveness :
• Adheres to surface of pattern and moulding
box
 Cohesiveness :
• Ability of sand particles to stick each other .
 Refractoriness :
• Withstands high temperature .
• Withstands heat of molten metal . 5
 Types of Moulding sand

Natural sand

Synthetic sand

Special sand

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 Natural sand
 Sand collected from river beds.
Sand collected from pits
Added with (5-20%) of clay.
Clay develops strength and plasticity.
Used for non-ferrous casting and gray cast iron
castings.
Also called greensand.

Fig 2. Natural Sand 7

 Synthetic sand
 It is clay –free sand.
 Mixture of sand ,bentonite(3 to 5%)(binder) ,water
(3 to4%).
 Used for ferrous castings.

Fig 3. Synthetic Sand

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 Special Sand

 It is high refractory sand.

 Used for accurate castings
 Examples are

•Zirconium
•Olivinite
•Chromite
•Magnesite
•Chamott

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Advantages of synthetic sand over natural
sand

 More uniform grain size.

 High permeability
 Mould ability
 Easier control of properties
 Suitable for variety of castings

10
 Limitations

 High initial cost

 Patching is difficult

 Dries out fastly

 Skilled labour is required

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Classification according to the initial
condition

 Green sand
 Dry sand
 Loam sand .
 Facing sand
 Backing sand .
 System sand
 Parting sand
 Core sand

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 Green sand

 Foundry sand containing moisture

 Green refers the moisture content.

 Silica sand (18-30%) of Clay+(6-8%) of water

 Can be re-used

 Used for small and medium castings

13
 Dry sand

 Moisture free sand

 Mixed with binder (bentonite ,water)

 Used for medium and heavy castings.

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 Loam sand

 Mixture of sand and 50% clay.

 Used for large casting (pipes , rolls used in paper mills)

 Facing sand

Applied to surface of the pattern.

Used for getting smooth surface

Layer thick ness in mould ranges from 20to30 mm

16
 Backing sand

 Used to support facing sand .

 To fill rest of flask.

 It is porous mixture of sand.

 System sand

 It is prepared from used sand.

 It is re-conditioned.
 Used to fill complete flask.
 It possess high strength , porosity ,
refracteriness.

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 Parting sand

 A fine sand dust.

 Prevents sticking to pattern surface.

eg : brick powder
 Core sand

 Used for making cores

 Consists of silica sand ,binder (line-seed oil, resins)
and water.
 Possess high refracteriness

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List of ingredients in foundry sand

 Sand (natural or synthetic)

 Binder
a) Clay
b) Organic binder (bentonite ,line-
seed oil,resines)
c) Inorganic binders (port land cement
sodium silicate)
 Water

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 Sand additives

 These are added to moulding sand.

 They control sand properties.
 Widely used additives

1) Coal dust (to improve surface finish)

2) Wood flour (to improve collapsibility of
core)
3) Silica flour (reduce metal penetration)
4) Iron oxide (increase dry strength)

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 Summary

In this class , we have learnt …

 Porosity, Refractoriness, Collapsibility, plasticity are

some of the properties of moulding sand.
 Natural Sand – used for non-ferrous and grey iron
 Synthetic Sand – used for steel casting
 Loam Sand – used for large cylinders
 Core Sand – used for making cores
 Sand additives – Coal dust, wood flour, silica flour,

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 Quiz

1. Porosity is of ---------------------------------

(Gap between sand particles)

2. Cohesiveness means ----------------------------

(Attraction between sand particles)

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 Quiz

3. Adhesiveness means -----------------------------

(Attraction between sand particles and moulding box)

4. Ingredients in moulding sand ------------------------

( Moulding sand, binder and water )

 Frequently Asked Questions

1. Describe the properties of moulding sand .

2. What are the various types of moulding sand

3. What are the ingredients in moulding sand

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