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• The Lost Wax Casting Process
• Wax: An Overview
• Ceramic Slurry Dipping Schedule
• The Sandcasting Process
• The Chasing Process
• Methods for Joining Bronze
• Patinas
• Investment Casting: 1930-1950
• Project #2: Sandcasting a Bas Relief Bronze Plaque
• How to Build a Bronze Casting Furnace
• Foundry Safety
• Furnace Lighting Procedure
• Project #1: Direct Wax Sculpture, Ceramic Shell Casting

The Sand Casting Process

Terms

Pattern – an exact replica of the object you want to cast. It is made of an easy to work material (often wood). The pattern is used to make molds for casting.

Pouring Cup – basically a funnel that provides an easy target for the metal to be poured into the mold.

Sprue – a hole where the metal enters the mold. It is ideally tapered to prevent air from entering the casting.

Well – forms a cushion for the metal pouring through the sprue so the sand is not washed into the casting (see the diagram under “Rules for Gating.”

Runner – a channel for the metal to get to the negative space left by the pattern.

Riser – as the casting cools it will shrink. Because the riser is larger, it will cool slower and feed liquid metal to the shrinking casting, thus preventing a number of defects.

Gate – the place or places where the metal enters the casting.

Skim Bob – a small hollow above the runner that acts to skim off floating dross, sand and debris so it does not enter the casting.

Flask – a box that contains the mold. Usually it is composed of two parts like two picture frames that fit together.

The Sand Casting Process: A very brief overview

1. Molten metal is taken from a furnace and poured into a sand mold.

2. The sand in the mold is held together by a binder such as clay and a little water or oil.

3. The mold is made by packing the sand around a pattern or duplicate of the piece to be cast.

4. The flask is a box that holds the sand around the pattern.

5. First, the sand is packed or rammed around the pattern, then the mold is opened and the pattern removed.

6. If required, sand cores are set into place to create negative spaces in the final piece.

7. A hole is cut into the sand for the metal to be poured into

8. Channels are made so the metal can flow from the bottom the bottom of the hole into the place the pattern was.

9. The hole and channels have a variety of names based on their purpose.

10. The mold is closed and the molten metal is poured into a basin or pouring cup.

11. It then flows through a hole in the sand called a sprue.

12. The molten metal flows into the mold cavity through a gate and into the negative space left by the pattern.

13. After the metal has cooled, the casting is removed from the sand, cleaned and polished.

Rules for Gating

Sprues, runners and gates are the plumbing system that delivers molten metal to the casting. For simple castings, there is no need to create a complicated gating system. The main principle is to avoid sharp corners. A simple hole for a sprue and a straight runner will suffice (as shown on the right). If there are problems with the casting, or it is a more complicated shape, then you may need to review the guidelines below. Follow these general rules for simple gating.

The goals of the gating system are:

1. Minimize turbulence to avoid trapping gasses and breaking off pieces of the sand mold.

2. Fill the mold before the metal starts to solidify

3. Avoid shrinkage (both internal and surface) by feeding the casting with molten metal.

General Guidelines:

1. Gate into the thickest part of the casting. This promotes differential cooling.

2. Be sure there is a runner 1 1/2 times the thickness of the area where the gate enters the casting.

3. Avoid sharp corners. These cause turbulence and can break off and wash into the mold.

4. Thick areas of the casting that cannot be fed from the main runner should have a riser to feed them.

Gating from the cup down:

1. Pouring Cup: The main purpose of the pouring cup is to provide a large area for the metal to be poured in. It can also be used to slow the speed of the metal so it will not erode the inside of the mold by making a pouring basin in the sand (as pictured above).

2. Sprue: Ideally, you want to keep the sprue filled with metal throughout the pour.

• A sprue tapered to a smaller size will create a choke that will help keep the sprue filled with metal.
• This constriction decreases turbulence and prevents bubbles from entering the mold.
• The bottom of the sprue should be flat.

3. Well: The well both provides a cushion to prevent sand from being washed into the mold, and decreases the speed of the molten metal.

• Make the diameter approximately 3 times the width of the sprue exit (a 1/2” sprue exit will be 1 1/2” diameter well).
• Make the depth equal to twice the depth of the runner.
• The bottom of the well should be flat.
• If you are sprueing into a runner (as shown to the lower right), there is no need of a well since the runner acts to slow the speed of the metal.

4. Runners and gates: One of the most important goals in designing the runner is to prevent turbulence. Runners should also regulate the speed the molten metal enters the casting. A simple gating system is shown below.

• Turbulence can cause sand to be washed from the mold and into the casting causing defects. Avoid this by:

• Make sure that runners and gates are well rammed and smooth.
• Avoid sharp corners. Any changes in direction or cross-sectional area should make use of rounded corners.
• Extend the runner beyond the last gate if possible (as shown in the diagram above). This is called a blind runner.
• Insure that the metal will flow too fast make sure the cross sectional area of the runners is greater then the area of the choke.
• The runners should fill with metal before the gates do. One way to do this is to put the runners in the drag and the gates in the cope.

5. Risers: Risers insure a flow of molten metal to the part being cast as it’s starting to solidify. Without a riser, the heavier parts of the casting will have shrinkage defects, either on the surface or internally. The riser is a vertical portion of the gating system, similar to a straight sprue that stores molten metal until it is needed by the casting – thus the riser must stay molten longer then the casting.

• A riser may be required for every hot spot on our casting (usually areas with a larger volume of metal).
• Risers can be attached to the top of side of the casting.
• The riser may go all the way up through the cope or it can be completely contained within the mold. This latter is called a blind riser (shown in the diagram above).
• The gate connecting the riser must not be too small and should be as short as possible or else the gate will solidify too soon and prevent the metal in the riser from reaching the casting. Try to keep the length to 1/2 diameter of the riser.
• Risers may be upstream from the casting in the runner/gate system. In this case, the metal must flow through the riser prior to reaching the casting and after the pour is completed, the metal in the riser will be hotter than the metal in the casting. They may also be placed downstream, after the casting. This means the metal flows through the casting to get to the riser so the metal in the riser will be cooler than the metal in the casting (see the figure above). This could cause the metal in the casting to feed the riser as it cools, definitely not desired
• The riser must solidify last, after the casting. The more surface area something has, the faster it cools, so shapes that minimize surface area are preferred. A sphere is the optimum shape, but not easy to mold. Most commonly used is a cylinder that is easy to make. Ideally, the cylinders height should be 1/2 to 1 1/2 times the diameter. If possible, the bottom and top (if it is a blind riser) should be bowl shaped.

How Metals Solidify

An understanding how metal solidifies is one of the keys to solving problems and creating good sound castings. As the metal cools, it solidifies, but it does not solidify all at once. Thinner areas, sections with greater surface area and parts of the casting that fill first will cool faster. Conversely, areas of the casting that are thick, shapes with little surface area and the last part to fill will cool slowest. Further, metal does not just instantly solidify it crystallizes, and as it does so, shrinks. A good casting results from differential cooling. This means that the casting will cool from the furthest area from the gate towards the gate with the runner solidifying last. This principle defines where gates enter the casting, and whether risers are necessary.

When the liquid metal is poured into the mold, it solidifies in the following:

A. A thin layer cools and solidifies where the metal touches the mold surface.

B. Heat is sucked out of the metal anywhere it is touching the mold, and crystal dendrites form along the surface layer.

C. As heat continues to leave via the metal/mold interface, the dendrites grow.

D. Metal in the center finally cools enough to start to crystallize. Small seed crystals form.

E. These seed crystals multiply and grow until the casting is solid.

Shrinkage -- The crystals are denser then the liquid, and therefore take up less space. Liquid metal must flow to where crystallization is occurring from some other part of the casting. If there is not enough liquid metal to feed the crystal growth, or the gates freeze off before the casting is completely solidified (preventing additional liquid metal from reaching the casting) shrinkage will occur in the casting. This shrinkage could be internal leaving holes and gaps inside the metal, or external causing a depression in the surface of the casting.

Principles of Differential Cooling – or How to Prevent Shrinkage

1. Runners, risers and gating should be constructed so that the casting will solidify from the furthest point away from the gates, toward the gates so that there is always liquid metal supplied to the solidifying metal.

2. If this is not possible, then risers must be added to provide liquid metal to the parts of the casting that cannot be fed from the gates.

3. Be sure there is a runner 1 1/2 x the thickness of the area where the gate enters the casting.