Castings –Visual Inspection

Casting

• Casting is one of the oldest manufacturing

process.
• Casting is the process where metal is heated until
molten, While in the molten or liquid state it is
poured into a mold or vessel to create a desired
shape
• It is the first step in making most of the products.
 Steps in making sand castings

The six basic steps in making sand castings are, (i) Pattern making, (ii) Core
making, (iii) Moulding, (iv) Melting and pouring, (v) Cleaning

• Pattern: Replica of the part to be cast and is used to prepare the mould
cavity. It is the physical model of the casting used to make the mould. Made
of either wood or metal.

• The mould is made by packing some readily formed aggregate material, such
as moulding sand, surrounding the pattern. When the pattern is withdrawn, its
imprint provides the mold cavity. This cavity is filled with metal to become the
casting

• If the casting is to be hollow, additional patterns called ‘cores’, are used to

form these cavities. Cores are placed into a mould cavity to form the interior
surfaces of castings. Thus the void space is filled with molten metal and
eventually becomes the casting

• Melting and Pouring The preparation of molten metal for casting is referred to
simply as melting. The molten metal is transferred to the pouring area where
the molds are filled.
• Cleaning involves removal of sand, scale, and excess metal from the casting
Sand Casting Process
Pattern Design Considerations

 Shrinkage allowance
 Machining allowance
 Distortion allowance
 Parting line
 Draft angle
 Typical Shrinkage Allowance
Metal or alloy Shrinkage allowances
mm / m

Aluminum alloy
Aluminum bronze
Yellow brass (thick sections)
Yellow brass (thin sections)
Gray cast iron (a)
White cast iron
Tin bronze
Gun metal
Lead
Magnesium
Magnesium alloys (25%)
Manganese bronze
Copper-nickel
Nickel
Phosphor bronze
Carbon steel
Chromium steel
Manganese steel
Tin
Zinc
 Typical Pattern Machining
Allowance
Allowances, mm
Pattern size, mm Bore Surface Cope side
For cast irons

For cast steels

For nonferrous alloys

 Draft allowance
All the surfaces parallel to the direction in which the pattern will be removed are
tapered slightly inward to facilitate safe removal of the pattern. This is called ‘draft
allowance’.
General usage: External surfaces ; Internal surfaces, holes, pockets
Sand Casting
 Sand Casting Considerations..

Taper

Bore prints, chaplets

Hold the core in position

chaplet is metal (why?) chaplet

Mold
cavity
 Cope
Riser
Core
Flask Sprue

Parting Runner
line
Drag Gate
Shell mould casting
- Metal, 2-piece pattern, 175°C-370°C
- Coated with a lubricant (silicone)
- Mixture of sand, thermoset resin/epoxy
- Cure (baking)
- Remove patterns, join half-shells  mold
- Pour metal
- Solidify (cooling)
- Break shell  part
 Expendable Mold Casting

- Styrofoam pattern
- dipped in refractory slurry  dried
- sand (support)
- pour liquid metal
- foam evaporates, metal fills the shell
- cool, solidify
- break shell  part
 Plaster-Mould, Ceramic-Mould casting

Plaster-mold slurry: plaster of Paris (CaSO4), talc, silica flour

Ceramic-mold slurry: silica, powdered Zircon (ZrSiO4)

- The slurry forms a shell over the pattern

- Dried in a low temperature oven
- Remove pattern
- Backed by clay (strength), baked (burn-off volatiles)
- cast the metal
- break mold  part
Plaster-mold: good finish (Why ?)
plaster: low conductivity => low warpage, residual stres
low MP metal (Zn, Al, Cu, Mg)

Ceramic-mold: good finish

high MP metals (steel, …) => impeller blades, turbines,
 Investment casting (lost wax casting)

(b) Multiple patterns

(a) Wax pattern
assembled to wax
(injection molding)
sprue

(c) Shell built 

(d) dry ceramic immerse into ceramic
melt out the wax slurry
fire ceramic (burn  immerse into fine sand
wax) (few layers)

(e) Pour molten metal (gravity)

 cool, solidify (f) Break ceramic shell
[Hollow casting: (vibration or water
pouring excess metal before blasting)
solidification

(g) Cut off parts

(high-speed friction
saw)
 finishing (polish)
 Advantages of Investment Casting

 Intricate geometry
 Close dimensional tolerance
 Superior surface finish
 High-melting point alloys
 Vacuum casting

Similar to investment casting, except: fill mold by reverse gravity

Easier to make hollow casting: early pour out

 Permanent Mold casting

• MOLD: made of metal (cast iron, steel, refractory alloys)

• CORE: (hollow parts)

- metal: core can be extracted from the part
- sand-bonded: core must be destroyed to remove

• Mold-surface: coated with refractory material

- Spray with lubricant (graphite, silica)

- improve flow, increase life
- good tolerance, good surface
finish
- low melting point metals (Cu, Bronze, Al, Mg)
 Die casting

- A type of permanent mold casting

- Common uses: components for
rice cookers, stoves, fans, washing-, drying machines,
fridges, motors, toys, hand-tools, car wheels, …
HOT CHAMBER: (low MP e.g. Zn, Pb; non-alloying)
(i) die is closed, gooseneck cylinder is filled with molten metal
(ii) plunger pushes molten metal through gooseneck into cavity
(iii) metal is held under pressure until it solidifies
(iv) die opens, cores retracted; plunger returns
(v) ejector pins push casting out of ejector die

COLD CHAMBER: (high MP e.g. Cu, Al)

(i) die closed, molten metal is ladled into cylinder
(ii) plunger pushes molten metal into die cavity
(iii) metal is held under high pressure until it solidifies
(iv) die opens, plunger pushes solidified slug from the
cylinder
(v) cores retracted
(iv) ejector pins push casting off ejector die
 Centrifugal casting

- Permanent mold
- Rotated about its axis at 300 ~ 3000 rpm
- Molten metal is poured

- Surface finish: better along outer diameter than inner,

- Impurities, inclusions, closer to the inner diameter (why ?)
 Different Casting Processes

Process Advantages Disadvantages Examples

Sand Many metals, sizes, shapes, cheap poor finish & tolerance engine blocks,
cylinder heads
Shell mold Better accuracy, finish, higher limited part size connecting rods, gear
production rate housings
Expendable Wide range of metals, sizes, patterns have low cylinder heads, brake
pattern shapes strength components
Plaster mold Complex shapes, good surface non-ferrous metals, low prototypes of
finish production rate mechanical parts
Ceramic mold Complex shapes, high accuracy, small sizes impellers, injection
good finish mold tooling
Investment Complex shapes, excellent finish small parts, expensive jewellery

Permanent Good finish, low porosity, high Costly mold, simpler gears, gear housings
mold production rate shapes only
Die Excellent dimensional accuracy, costly dies, small parts, gears, camera bodies,
high production rate non-ferrous metals car wheels
Centrifugal Large cylindrical parts, good Expensive, few shapes pipes, boilers,
quality flywheels
Casting Design: Typical casting defects
Casting Design: Defects and Associated Problems

- Surface defects: finish, stress concentration

- Interior holes, inclusions: stress concentrations

σ0

σmax
2a

σmax = σ0(1 + 2b/a)

2b

σ0
 Casting Design: Guidelines

(a) Avoid sharp corners

(b) Use fillets to blend section changes smoothly
(c) Avoid rapid changes in cross-section areas
 Casting Design: Guidelines

(d) Avoid rapid changes in cross-section areas

(e) If unavoidable, design mould to ensure
- easy metal flow
- uniform, rapid cooling (use chills, fluid-cooled tubes)
 Casting Design: guidelines

(f) Avoid large, flat areas

- warpage due to residual stresses
 Casting Design: Guidelines

(g) provide drafts and tapers

- easy removal, avoid damage
- along what direction should we taper ?
 Casting Design: Guidelines

(f) Account for shrinkage

- geometry
- shrinkage cavities
 Casting Design: Guidelines

(g) Proper design of parting line

- “flattest” parting line is best

 Quality - Casting

 Sand casting
‧Tolerance (0.7~2 mm) and defects are affected by shrinkage
‧Material property is inherently poor
‧Generally have a rough grainy surface
 Investment casting
‧Tolerance (0.08~0.2 mm)
‧Mechanical property and microstructure depends on the
method
‧Good to excellent surface detail possible due to fine slurry
 Die casting
‧Tolerance (0.02~0.6 mm)
‧Good mechanical property and microstructure due to high
‧pressure
‧Excellent surface detail
 Flexibility - Casting
 Sand casting
‧High degree of shape complexity (limited by pattern)

 Investment casting
‧Ceramic and wax cores allow complex internal
configuration but costs increase significantly

 Die casting
‧Low due to high die modification costs
32

Casting Quality

 There are numerous opportunities for things to

go wrong in a casting operation, resulting in
quality defects in the product
 The defects can be classified as follows:
 Defects common to all casting processes
 Defects related to sand casting process
33

General Casting Defects

34

Sand Casting Defects

CASTING DEFECTS
 Hot Tears & Cracks
• Cracks-Cold and hot, less jagged, sometimes straight
ruptures that occur after solidification of the casting, due to
excessive strain. Sometimes cracks are referred to as cold,
hot, or heat treat-cracks to indicate the condition of the
castings, or the operation during which the cracks occur
• Hot tear-Jagged ruptures in castings that occur during the
final stages of solidification, while there is still some liquid in
the interdendritic spaces, or shortly after solidification is
complete..
 Shrinkage
Shrinkage void is a discontinuity in castings due to the lack
of available liquid feed metal during solidification
contraction. Riser removal and machining may reveal
shrinkage that extends from the interior of the casting to the
near surface area.
 Non metallic inclusions- Sand inclusions
Casting surface inclusions such as ceroxides, slag,
and sand are partially or completely removed during
the cleaning process of pressure blasting. Surface
discontinuities left by these inclusions are referred to
by the inclusion type that caused their formation

Ceroxide
 Gas Porosity

Gas porosity—a concave discontinuity in castings due to

the evolution of gas, either from the solidifying metal or
the surrounding mold
 Veins

Veins- Raised, narrow, linear ridges that form upon

cracking of the sand mold or core due to expansion of
sand and the resulting mold or core stresses during
filling of the mold with liquid steel
 Rat Tails

Long, narrow, linear depressions or small steps occurring

on a casting surface. Rat tails form as a result of sand
expansion and minor buckling of the mold surface during
filling of the mold with liquid metal
 Wrinkles, lap, Cold shut
Wrinkles—elongated, smooth depressions of the casting surface, frequently
appearing in closely spaced groups. Wrinkles result from irregularities of the liquid
metal flow in the mold cavity, frequently associated with low temperature
Laps, folds, and cold shuts—interchangeable terms to describe the appearance
of the casting surface that is actually folded over. They develop due to low
temperature, unfavorable flow conditions caused by oxide films, or combinations
thereof.
 Metal removal marks—flame cutting
Flame cutting and air carbon arc cutting produce parallel
grooves in the cut-off area. Finer marks are produced
with the abrasive cut-off wheel and grinding.
 SCABs

A raised, rough area on a casting that usually consists of a

crust of metal covering a layer of sand. Sometimes, a scab
consists of a raised, rough area of essentially solid metal
on the surface of a casting
 Chaplets

Metallic (steel) devices used to maintain the spacing

between the core and the mold. Low liquid metal
temperature and unfavorable flow conditions in the mold
may produce insufficient fusion and cause irregular contact
areas on the casting surface.
 Weld Repair

Narrow elongated depressions that border the weld

contour and result from improper welding conditions or
inadequate control of welding operations. 2.1.11.2 weld
spatter, weld metal droplets that solidified against and
adhere to the component being welded
 Surface Roughness

Surface texture- cast surfaces have a multidirectional lay,

without the uniform sequence of ridges and valleys of
machined surfaces
 Casting defects-Classification
A. Surface Texture - the natural surface of the casting after shot
blasting.
B. Non-Metallic Inclusions - Non-metallic material trapped on the
surface of castings.
C. Gas Porosity - Indications of gas at the casing surface.
D. Fusion Discontinuities - surface irregularities giving a wrinkled
appearance.
E. Expansion Discontinuities - slightly raised surface irregularities.
F. Inserts - indications of chaplets (sand core supports) or internal
chills.
G. Metal Removal Marks (Thermal Dressing) - surface remaining
after using oxy-gas or air-carbon arc processes for metal removal.
H. Metal Removal Marks (Mechanical Dressing) - surface remaining
after using a mechanical means of dressing a cast surface or a
previously thermally dressed surface.
J. Metal Removal Marks (Welds) - indications of welds fully or partially
removed by thermal or mechanical dressing.
Visual Inspection Acceptance Criteria- EN 1370
 Visual Inspection Acceptance Criteria
ASTM A 802 Standard Practice for Steel Castings, Iron Castings

Surface Feature Level I Level II Level III Level IV

Surface Texture A1 A2 A3 A4
Mon-metallic Inclusions B1 B2 B4 B5
Gas Porosity C1 C2 C3 C4
Fusion Discontinuities - D1 D2 D5

Expansion Discontinuities - - E3 E5
Inserts - - F1 F3
Metal Removal Marks (Thermal
G1 G2 G3 G5
Dressing)
Metal Removal Marks (Mechanical
H1 H3 H4 H5
Dressing)

Metal Removal Marks (Welds) J1 J2 J3 J5

 Surface Textures

A1 A2

A3 A4
 NON-METALLIC INCLUSIONS

B1 B2

B3 B4
 GAS POROSITY

C1 C2

C3 C4
 FUSION DISCONTINUITIES

D1 D2

D5 D4
 EXPANSION DISCONTINUITIES

E3 E5
INSERTS

F1 F3
 METAL REMOVAL MARKS - THERMAL DRESSING

G1 G2

G3 G5
 METAL REMOVAL MARKS (MECHANICAL DRESSING)

H1 H3

H4 H5
 METAL REMOVAL MARKS (MECHANICAL DRESSING)

J1 J2

J3 J4
 Inspection Steps

There are five basic steps that must be completed during

an inspection task:
1. Set up: obtain procedures or work instructions,
items to be inspected, and equipment needed for
inspection
2. Present: prepare item for inspection (e.g., by installing
in holding fixture or microscope)
3. Search: examine item for possible defects
4. Decide: compare potential defect against standards to
determine if it exceed the standards
5. Respond: accept or reject the item based on the
decision made in Step 4, mark the item as needed, and
complete required paperwork
Thanks