Basic fundamental of Foundry practices manual

The purpose of this manual is to introduce the basic concepts of the foundry applications and good practices in the foundry operation to achieve acceptable as-cast casting quality. Basic fundamental of foundry practices and examples are as follow:1. Pattern & Core boxes preparation. 2. Mold and core making practices. 3. Mold and Core wash coating application . 4. Mold assembly practices. 5. Melting and tapping practices. 6. Fettling practices.

Basic fundamental of foundry practices manual

Core making practices -

Mold making practices

Mold assembly Practices

Melting Practices

Casting cleaning and inspection

Core repair Practices

Core dressing

Chills method

Motor bracket good practice

Pattern & Core boxes preparation.

Good practices
Pattern is regularly maintained and spry coated.

Bad practices
Pattern not maintained and strip coated leading to casting surface irregularly & dimension inaccuracy defects.

Pattern & Core boxes preparation.

Good practices
Core box is regularly maintained and spray coated.

Bad practices
Core box not maintained and strip coated leading to casting surface irregularly & dimension inaccuracy defects.

Securing and positioning of down gates.

Good practices
Down gates are secured and aligned with metal rod to prevent sagging.

Bad practices
Down gates are not properly aligned will cause interrupted metal flow leading to casting misruns, blow holes and inclusions defects.

Down gate locating pad practices.

Good practices
Locating pads are in used to prevent sand from entering, casting break-in.

Bad practices
No locating pads been used will results in casting sand inclusions and break-in defects.

Tools for removal of loose piece.

Good practices
Loose piece is fixed with a puller plate to be attached by a traded stripping tool for removal of loose to prevent damaged.

Bad practices
Screw type stripping tools will damaged the loose piece.

Securing of down gate practices.

Good practices
Down gate was taped to prevent movement during mold filling.

Bad practices
Down gates are not properly secured will result in misplacement during mold filling leading to casting misruns, blow holes and inclusions defects.

Down sprue guide.

Good practices
Down sprue are secured with sprue guide to prevent movement during mold filling and misalignment with pouring basin sprue.

Bad practices
Down sprue is no secured which will cause misalignment with pouring basin sprue causing chocking during pouring leading to casting blow holes, slag inclusions, misruns & etc defects.

Gagger placement practice.

Bad practices Good practices

Core is well strengthen with sufficient reinforcement of gagger placement to prevent core breakage and sagging. Insufficient reinforcement of gagger placement in the core resulting weak core and strength leading to casting warped, dimension inaccuracy, core dropped & etc defects.

Hook guide.

Good practices Core hooks are properly position with hook guide to prevent movement during core making.

Bad practices No hook guide to position core hook will cause core off centering for handling and assembly results in casting defect caused by sand dropped.

Mold and core making practices.

Only one text vent

Good practices
Text vents are extensively used and neatly laid through core prints.

Bad practices
Insufficient text vents for gas venting leading to casting blow holes defects.

Proper ways of hooking the core.

Good practices
Hook and chain are used for better core handling.

Bad practices
Rope go through the core rib will damage core surface result in casting appearance imperfection & sand dropped defects.

Compaction of sand core.

Good practices
Core surface, corner and radius are well defined.

Bad practices
Core surface, corner and radius are not well defined result in casting appearance imperfection defects.

Chaplet used should be free of rust.

Good practices
Clean chaplet used

Bad practices
Rusty chaplet is not acceptable will cause blow holes in casting.

How to secure a chaplet?

Good practices
Correct way of securing the chaplet with the plate bended.

Bad practices
Wrong way of chaplets placement as the plate is not bended will results in casting chaplet dropped defects.

Core chaplet placement practices .

Good practices
Always used single chaplet with the correct size.

Bad practices
Wrong way of chaplets placement. Different chaplets size used instead of single chaplet leading to casting chaplet dropped defects.

Placement of bottom chaplets practices.

Good practices
Chaplets placed at the bottom are nailed.

Bad practices
Chaplets are not nailed and secured will results in casting chaplet dropped defects.

Correct way of patching and repairs of core.

Good practices
Used furan sand for patching and torching.

Bad practices
Wrong way of repairing core by using mold wash material for repairing, with the risk that casting will contain blow holes defects.

Securing of broken core with nails.

Good practices
Broken core was glued and secured with nails.

Bad practices
Broken core was not properly secured and exposed core glue will results in casting sand dropped, bad appearance and blow holes defects.

Checking of core height.

Good practices
Always check core height using a straight rule.

Bad practices
Cores height are not checked will results in casting dimension deviations defects.

Torching of core after recoating practices.

Good practices
Torching the core after mold washing to ensure it is thoroughly dried.

Bad practices
Core was not torched after recoating with mold wash still damped will lead to casting blow holes and inclusions defects.

Compaction of sand at down tube area .

Good practices Good compaction of sand at down gate areas to prevent loose sand.

Bad practices Poorly compact sand at down gate area causes loose sand results in casting sand dropped and metal penetration defects.

Core appearance.

Good practices
Ribs are well molded and defined.

Bad practices
Ribs are badly molded with core fins will results in casting appearance imperfection and fine crack lines defects.

Placement of core on base board.

Good practices
Cores are neatly arranged and displayed.

Bad practices
Poor placement of cores on base board with sand on it. Loose sand will stick to the core during mold washing will results in casting sand dropped defects.

Gluing of loose core practices.

Good practices
Applied sufficient amount core glue.

Bad practices
Excessive core glue been used and if its not completely dried, with the risk that casting will contain blow holes defects.

Gluing of core and right type of materials used.

Bad practices Good practices

Applied sufficient of core sealant. Excessive core glue applied will results in casting blow holes defects. Preferable, sealant should be in used.

Indirect chills placement practices.

Good practices
Using a cast sand core about 5 7mm for chills placement so that the thickness is controlled.

Bad practices
Inconsistent of sand thickness for this type of indirect chills placement will results in casting microstructure problem and low hardness defects.

7mm

Mould coating practices.

Good practices
The operator used cardboard to step while mold washing.

Bad practices
No cardboard been used as the shoes will damage the mold surface leading to bad casting appearance defects.

Filling of vent channel practice, example 1.

Good practices
Fine stones about 5 to 10mm in size used for filling the gas vent channels thus allowing core gases to disperse freely and speedily through the cope vent for better permeability.

Bad practices
Poor permeability due to gas vent channels are filled with fine sands which prevented the gases to disperse freely and speedily through the cope vent, with the risk that casting contain blow holes defects.

10mm

Filling of vent channel practice, example 2.

Good practices
Fine stones about 5 to 10mm in size used for filling the core gas vent thus allowing core gases to disperse freely and speedily through the cope vent for better permeability.

Bad practices
Poor permeability due to core gas vent routes are filled with fine sands which prevented the gases to disperse freely and speedily through the cope vent, with the risk that casting contain blow holes defects.

10mm

Applying core glue practices, example 1.

Good practices
Applied sufficient amount of core glue.

Bad practices
Excessive core glue been used and if its not completely dried, with the risk that casting will contain blow holes defects.

Applying core glue practices, example 2.

Good practices
No excessive glue was squeezed out from the core.

Bad practices
Excessive glue was squeezed out from core, with the risk that casting will contain blow holes defects.

Blowing of down gate clearance.

Good practices
Downgates are checked by blowing with the compress air to ensure no blockage and loose sand in it.

Bad practices
Downgate not check with loose sand in it, with the risk that casting will contain sand inclusions, blow holes and cold shut defects.

Proper way to support core with fixture.

Good practices
Core is properly support with fixture.

Bad practices
Wrong way of placement and supporting the core will results core sagging, with the risk that casting will contain dimension deviation defects.

Core print gap sealing practice.

Good practices
Ceramic fiber cloth is in used to seal undersize core print to prevent thick fins.

Bad practices
Gap at core print not properly sealed will results thick fins thus grinding will be difficult.

Core designed practices.

Good practices
Core are designed with prints so that cope rope can be easily laid and gas venting are properly been sealed between core and cope vents.

Bad practices
Core with no prints designed will have difficulty in laying cope rope and sealing of gas venting, with the risk that casting will contain blow holes and inclusions defects.

Chaplet appearances

-1

Good practices
Chaplet has been ground flat

Bad practices
Chaplets mark and nails have not been ground result in bad appearance on casting.

Remedies

Inspect before pray painting.

Chaplet appearances

-2

Good practices
Nail on the chaplet has been ground.

Bad practices
Nail on the chaplet has not been removed. Bed appearance on casting

Remedies

Inspect before pray painting.

Veining defects on casting

Good practices
Good casting appearance, no veining defects.

Bad practices
Bad casting appearance, veining defect has not been removed.

Remedies

Check core ramming, coating drying and ensure pouring after 24hrs.

24

Core hole fins defect

Good practices
Good casting appearance, core hole free from fins

Bad practices
Bad casting appearance, core hole fins has not been removed.

Remedies

Verify core box window print and assembly process.

Paint with sand defect

Good practices
Good casting appearance, paint without sand defect.

Bad practices
Bad casting appearance, paint with sand defect. Due to sand not been removed before pray painting.

Remedies

Inspect before pray painting.

Good practices
Good casting appearance, no core fins on the rib.

Bad practices
Bad casting appearance, rib with core fins not repair.

Remedies : Check core box condition and inspection casting before spray painting.