2. 1
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project entitled “Engine Cover Casting” has
been submitted by Harsh Pandey (2K20/B15/05) and Pradyumn
Tiwari ( 2K20/B15/27), of the branch Electrical Engineering (B-Tech)
during semester 2 from Delhi Technological University (DTU) under
the guidance and supervision of Dr. Girish Kumar
(Dr. Girish Kumar)
Department of Mechanical Engineering
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my gratitude towards Dr. Girish Kumar
sir who have contributed their precious time andeffort to help
us . Without whom it would not have been possible for us to
understand and complete the project.
I would like to thank Dr. Girish Kumar Sir, Prof. Abhishek
Sahu, Prof. Durvesh Yadav ,Prof. Shivani Jha and Prof.
Ravi Datt Yadav (Department of Mechanical Engineering
Workshop) for their guidance, support, motivation and
encouragement through out this period. Theirreadiness for
consultation at all times, educative and intellectual
comments, concern and assistance even with practical portion
has been invaluable. We are grateful to Dr. Girish Kumar Sir,
Prof. Abhishek Sahu, Prof. Durvesh Yadav ,Prof. Shivani
Jha and Prof. Ravi Datt Yadav from department of
Mechanical Engineering Work Shop (ME-103).
Date: 24/07/2021
4. 3
INDEX
Sr No. Topics Page Number
1. Foundry Shop 4
2. Sand Casting 5
3. Basic Steps 9
4. Engine Cover Casting 10
5. Research Paper 15
6. References 16
5. 4
FOUNDRY SHOP
Foundry is a practice which involves various processes of making castings in
molds made up of different kind of sands or other material.
The word foundry is derived from the Latin word fundere, which means melting
and pouring.
Manufacture of a machine part by heating a metal or alloy above its melting
point and pouring the liquid metal/alloy in a cavity approximately of same
shape and size as the machine part is called the casting process. After the liquid
metal cools and solidifies, it acquires the shape and size of the cavity and
resembles the finished product required.
The department of the workshop where castings are made is called a foundry.
Foundry Processes is divided into two parts:
1. Ferrous Foundry:
Ferrous Foundry process involves melting and pouring ferrous materials
into the mold to cast it to give the metal a new shape and properties
Eg: Cast Iron, Wrought Iron, Carbon Steel etc.
2. Non-Ferrous Foundry:
Non-Ferrous Foundry process involves melting and pouring non-ferrous
metals into the mold to cast it to give the metal a new shape and
properties.
E.g. Copper, Brass, Titanium, etc.
6. 5
SAND CASTING
Sand Casting is a casting process in which the mold material used is sand.
Molds made of sand are relatively cheap and sufficiently refractory even for
steel foundry use. In addition to the sand, a suitable bonding agent (usually
clay) is mixed or occurs with the sand.
The mixture is moistened, typically with water, but sometimes with other
substances, to develop the clay’s strength and plasticity and make the aggregate
suitable for molding. The sand is generally contained in a system of frames or
mold boxes known as a flask. The mold cavities and gate system are created by
compacting the sand around models called patterns by carving directly into the
sand or 3D printing.
Types of Equipment used in Sand Casting:
1. Mould Boxes (Cope and Drag):
Cope and Drag refer to the top and bottom parts of the two-part casting flask
used in sand casting, respectively. The flask is made up of a wooden frame or
metal frame containing the molding sand, supporting the sand as the metal is
poured into the mold.
2.Trowel
A trowel is a small hand tool used to dig, apply, smoothing, or move small
amounts of viscous or particulate material. Common varieties include the
masonry trowel, garden trowel, and float trowel.
3.Sand Rammer
A sand rammer is a piece of equipment used in foundry sand testing to make
7. 6
test specimens of molding sand by compacting bulk material by free fixed
height drop of fixed weight three times. It is also used to determine the
compatibility of sands by using special specimen tubes and a linear scale.
4.Hammer:
It is a tool which is used for hammering the sand to make it compact and solid.
Its aim is to make the sand as hard as possible at the same time making it
porous for the gases to escape
5.Shovel
A shovel is a tool for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil,
coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Most shovels are hand tools consisting of a
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broad blade fixed to a medium-length handle. Shovel blades are usually made
of sheet steel or hard plastics and are very strong.
6.Spruce Cutter
A sprue cutter is a tool used to cut openings in your sand mold for
downspouts(or even risers). These are handcrafted and designed for comfort as
well as durability.
7.Sprue
A sprue is a vertical passage through which liquid material is introduced into a
mold, and it is a large-diameter channel through which the material enters the
mold. It connects pouring basin to the runner. In many cases it controls the flow
of material into the mold. During casting or molding, the material in the sprue
will solidify and need to be removed from the finished part.
8.Crucible
A crucible is a ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances
may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. While crucibles
historically were usually made from clay, it can be made from any material that
withstands temperatures high enough to melt or otherwise alter its contents.
9.Strike off bar
It is a flat bar, made of wood or iron to strike off the excess sand from the top of
a box after ramming. It’s one edge made beveled and the surface perfectly
smooth and plane.
10.Sprue pin
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It is a tapered rod of wood or iron, which is embedded in the sand and later
withdrawn to produce a hole, called runner, through which the molten metal ispoured
into the mold.
11.Vent Wire
It is a thin steel rod or wire carrying a pointed edge at one end and a wooden
handle or a bent loop at the other. After ramming and striking off the excess
sand it is used to make small holes, called vents, in the sand mold to allow the
exit of gases and steam during casting.
12.Lifter
A lifter is a finishing tool used for repairing the mould and finishing the mould
sand. Lifter is also used for removing loose sand from mould.
13.Guide Pins
Guide pins are a great way to make sure the parts you are putting together fit the
way you want them to fit. Drill two holes opposite each other in each part,
install a cylindrical guide pin.
10. 9
BASIC STEPS IN SAND CASTING
The necessary steps involved in making sand castings are:
1. Patternmaking. Patterns are required to make molds. The mold is made by
packing molding sand around the pattern. The mold is usually made in
two parts so that the entire pattern can be made into one.
o In horizontal molding, the top half is called the cope, and the bottom half is
called the drag. In vertical molding, the top half of the mold is called the
swing, and the back half is called the ram.
o When the patterns withdraw from the molding material (sand or other), the
pattern’s imprint provides the cavity when the mold parts are brought
together. Together with any internal cores as required, the mold cavity is
ultimately filled with molten metal to form the casting.
2. Molding is the operation necessary to prepare a mold for receiving the
metal. It consists of ramming sand around the pattern placed in support
or flask, removing the pattern, and setting cores. Then, creating the
gating/feeding system to direct the metal into the mold cavity formed
by the pattern, either by cutting it into the mold by hand or by including
it on the pattern, which is most commonly used.
3. Melting and pouring are processes involving the preparation of molten
metal of the proper composition and temperature and pouring this into
the mold from transfer ladles.
4. Cleaning includes all the operations required to remove the gates and
risers that constitute the gating/feeding system and to remove the
adhering sand, scale, parting fins, and other foreign material that must
be removed before the casting is ready for shipment or
furtherprocessing.
11. 10
o In horizontal molding, the top half is called the cope, and the bottom half is
called the drag. In vertical molding, the top half of the mold is called the
swing, and the back half is called the ram.
o When the patterns withdraw from the molding material (sand or other), the
pattern’s imprint provides the cavity when the mold parts are brought
together. Together with any internal cores as required, the mold cavity is
ultimately filled with molten metal to form the casting.
5. Molding is the operation necessary to prepare a mold for receiving the
metal. It consists of ramming sand around the pattern placed in support
or flask, removing the pattern, and setting cores. Then, creating the
gating/feeding system to direct the metal into the mold cavity formed
by the pattern, either by cutting it into the mold by hand or by including
it on the pattern, which is most commonly used.
6. Melting and pouring are processes involving the preparation of molten
metal of the proper composition and temperature and pouring this into
the mold from transfer ladles.
7. Cleaning includes all the operations required to remove the gates and
risers that constitute the gating/feeding system and to remove the
adhering sand, scale, parting fins, and other foreign material that must
be removed before the casting is ready for shipment or
furtherprocessing.
ENGINE COVER CASTING
PROCEDURE:
1. Firstly, we fill the drag with sand to its top with the help of a shovel.
We place the pattern (in this case, the engine cover) on the sand.
We use a rammer or hammer to compact the sand in the drag
flask. We strike off the excess sand with the support of a strike-off
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bar. To give it a final touch, we use a trowel or smoothers to
smoothen the sand surface.
2. Once the sand is thick and compact in the drag, we use a vent
wire to make holes on the sand surface for the sand to be porous.
If the sand is porous, it will allow the gases to escape through the
holes. The molten metal itself comes with many gases, and when it
reacts with the moisture of the sand, it also loses some gases that
need to escape.
3. We now place the cope top of the drag. In order to fix both of them
together, use guide pins that join them together. On the drag’s
parting surface, we sprinkle some coarse sand, also known as
parting sand. Parting sand is necessary so that the sand of the
cope doesn’t stick with sand of drag.
Cope and Drag with Guide Pins
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Actual Cope and Drag
4. We will fill sand in the cope part of the flask. We will place two
sprue pins that will act as the molten metal pathway to flow into
the drag. Using rammers and hammer, we can compact the sand
and scrape off the excess sand using a strike-off bar. Our aim is to
level out the sand in the cope. We have to make sure the sprue
pins are perpendicular to the parting surface.
Example of how the sprue pins should look
Example of how the molds are made in the sand
5. Once the sand in the cope is hardened, it’s time to remove the
cope so that we can get an exact mold of our pattern. In order to
remove the pattern, we use a draw spike. Draw spike should be
carefully used to remove the pattern so that the our mold
doesn’tget damaged.
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Mold of the engine cover in drag
6. Once the pattern (engine cover) is removed, we can clearly see
our mold pattern in the sand. To make a pathway for the metal to
flow into the mold, we use tools like lifters etc. We need to create a
runway connecting both the sprue pins into the mold. We can not
directly pour molten metal perpendicularly into the mold because it
may damage the mold.
i) Molten aluminium
7. Now, join the cope and drag, removing the sprue pins. We will pour
the molten metal through the pathway created by us using the
sprue pins in the sand. Once poured, we wait for a few minutes.
8. Once the molten metal appears to have solidified, we can now
remove the cope and drag. When the cope and drag are removed,
we will see that some amount of sand is stuck to the new pattern.
15. 14
We can scarpe off the sand stuck using tools like rammer or
hammer. Once the sand is removed, the newly casted pattern will
be visible.
9. In order to give a proper finishing touch to the newly casted
pattern, we can use some tools to polish the surface or to
smoothen any uneven surface on the pattern.
10. Once the above tasks are perfectly done, the newly casted Engine
Cover is ready for use!
Aluminium Engine Cover
