Foseco Non-Ferrous Foundryman’s Handbook

Foseco Non-FerrousFoundryman’s Handbook

Eleventh edition

Revised and edited byJohn R. Brown

OXFORD AUCKLAND BOSTON JOHANNESBURG MELBOURNE NEW DELHI

Preface

The last edition of the Handbook was published in 1994 and like all the earliereditions, it aimed to provide a practical reference book for all those involvedin making castings in any of the commonly used alloys by any of the usualmoulding methods. In order to keep the Handbook to a reasonable size, it wasnot possible to deal with all the common casting alloys in detail. Since 1994the technology of casting has continued to develop and has become morespecialised so that it has been decided to publish the 11th edition of theHandbook in three separate volumes:

Non-ferrous dealing with aluminium, copper and magnesium castingalloys

Iron dealing with grey, ductile and special purpose castirons

Steel dealing with carbon, low alloy and high alloy steels

Certain chapters (with slight modifications) are common to all threevolumes: these chapters include tables and general data, sands and sandbonding systems, resin bonded sand, sodium silicate bonded sand andfeeding systems. The remaining chapters have been written specifically foreach volume.

The Handbook refers to many Foseco products. Not all of the products areavailable in every country and in a few cases, product names may vary.Users should always contact their local Foseco company to check whether aparticular product or its equivalent is available.

The Foseco logo and all product names appearing in capital letters aretrademarks of the Foseco group of companies, used under licence.

John R. Brown

Preface........................................................................

Acknowledgements...................................................

1 Tables and general data 1.........................................SI units and their relation to other units 1...................................SI, metric, non-SI and non-metric conversions 2........................Conversion table of stress values 5............................................Areas and volumes of circles, spheres, cylinders etc. 6.............The physical properties of metals 7............................................The physical properties of metals (Continued) 8........................Densities of casting alloys 9.......................................................Approximate bulk densities of common materials 10...................Patternmakers contraction allowances 11...................................Volume shrinkage of principal casting alloys 13...........................Comparison of sieve sizes 14.......................................................Calculation of average grain size 15............................................Calculation of AFS grain fineness number 16..............................Recommended standard colours for patterns 17.........................Dust control in foundries 18..........................................................Buoyancy forces on cores 18.......................................................Core print support 19....................................................................Opening forces on moulds 19.......................................................Dimensional tolerances and consistency achieved incastings 21...................................................................................

2 Aluminium casting alloys......................................Introduction..............................................................................Casting alloys 25..........................................................................Casting processes 39...................................................................The effect of alloying elements 39................................................Heat treatment of aluminium alloys 42.........................................

3 Melting aluminium alloys.......................................Introduction..............................................................................Raw materials 47..........................................................................Melting furnaces 47......................................................................Corundum growth 54....................................................................Choice of melting unit 55..............................................................

4 Fluxes......................................................................Application of COVERAL powder fluxes..................................Granular COVERAL fluxes 61......................................................

5 INSURAL refractory for ladles and metaltransport.....................................................................

Ladle liners 65..............................................................................

6 Treatment of aluminium alloy melts.....................Hydrogen gas pick-up in aluminium melts...............................Degassing aluminium alloys 72....................................................Grain refinement of aluminium alloys 77......................................Modification of aluminium alloys 79..............................................Sodium modification 81................................................................Strontium modification 82.............................................................Permanent modification 83...........................................................Sand, gravity die and low pressure diecasting 83........................Medium silicon alloys, 4 7% Si 84................................................Eutectic silicon alloys, 12% Si 84.................................................Treatment of hypereutectic Al Si alloys (over 16% Si) 85...........Melting and treatment of aluminium magnesium alloys (4 10% Mg) 86..............................................................................Special requirements for gravity diecasting 87.............................Treatment of alloys for pressure diecasting 87.............................

7 Running, gating and feeding aluminiumcastings 75......................................................................

Gating without filters 90................................................................Gating with filters 93.....................................................................Feeding mechanisms in Al alloy and other non- ferrouscastings 94...................................................................................Simulation modelling 98...............................................................

8 Filtration of aluminium alloy castings..................SIVEX FC filters 100.......................................................................Use of filters in conventional running systems 101........................Direct pouring of aluminium alloy castings 104..............................KALPUR combined sleeve and SIVEX FC filter foraluminium castings 105..................................................................Direct pouring into metal dies 107..................................................

9 Pressure diecasting of aluminium alloys.............Die design................................................................................Process control 111........................................................................Modification of the diecasting process 113.....................................Applications of diecastings 114......................................................The diecasting foundry 114............................................................Die coating 116...............................................................................

10 Low pressure and gravity diecasting.................Low pressure diecasting..........................................................Gravity diecasting 124....................................................................Die coatings for gravity and low pressure diecasting 127..............

11 Sand casting processes.......................................Green sand 136..............................................................................Moulding machines 137..................................................................Core assembly sand processes 140..............................................The Lost Foam process 144...........................................................

12 Sands and sand bonding systems......................Properties of silica sand for foundry use.................................Typical silica foundry sand properties 151.....................................Safe handling of silica sand 152.....................................................Segregation of sand 153................................................................Measurement of sand properties 153.............................................Thermal characteristics of silica sand 153......................................Zircon, ZrSiO4 154.........................................................................Chromite, FeCr2O4 156.................................................................Olivine, Mg2SiO4 156.....................................................................Green sand additives 157...............................................................The green sand system 160...........................................................Green sand properties 163.............................................................Control of green sand systems 164................................................Sand testing 165.............................................................................Control graphs 165.........................................................................Parting agents 166.........................................................................Special moulding materials, LUTRON 166.....................................

13 Resin bonded sand...............................................

Chemically bonded sand.........................................................Self-hardening process (also known as self-set, no- bakeor cold- setting process)..........................................................Testing chemically bonded, self-hardening sands 169...................Mixers 171......................................................................................Sand quality 172.............................................................................Pattern equipment 172...................................................................Curing temperature 173..................................................................Design of moulds using self-hardening sand 173...........................Foundry layout 173.........................................................................Sand reclamation 175.....................................................................Typical usage of sand reclamation 178..........................................Furanes 180...................................................................................Phenolic-isocyanates (phenolic-urethanes) 182.............................Alkaline phenolic resin, ester hardened 183...................................Heat triggered processes 185........................................................Gas triggered systems 186.............................................................The shell or Croning process 187...................................................Hot-box process 189......................................................................Warm-box process 190..................................................................Oil sand 191...................................................................................Phenolic-urethane-amine gassed (cold-box) process 193.............ECOLOTEC process (alkaline phenolic resin gassed withCO2) 195........................................................................................The SO2 process 196.....................................................................SO2- cured epoxy resin 198...........................................................Ester-cured alkaline phenolic system 198......................................Review of resin core-making processes 199..................................

14 Sodium silicate bonded sand..............................Sodium silicate........................................................................CO2 silicate process ( basic process) 205.....................................Gassing CO2 cores and moulds 207..............................................Improvements to the CO2 silicate process 208..............................The CARSIL range of silicate binders 209.....................................SOLOSIL 209.................................................................................Self-setting sodium silicate processes 210.....................................Ester silicate process 210...............................................................Adhesives and sealants 215...........................................................CORSEAL sealants 215.................................................................

TAK sealant 215.............................................................................

15 Magnesium casting..............................................Casting alloys..........................................................................The melting, treatment and casting of magnesium alloys 218.......

16 Copper and copper alloy castings......................The main copper alloys and their applications........................Specifications for copper-based alloys 226....................................Colour code for ingots 227.............................................................Melting copper and copper-based alloys 232.................................Melting and treatment of high conductivity copper 238..................Copper-silver 242...........................................................................Copper cadmium 243....................................................................Copper chromium 243...................................................................Commercial copper 243.................................................................Melting and treatment of brasses, copper zinc alloys 244.............Melting bronzes and gunmetals 248...............................................Melting aluminium bronze 250........................................................Melting manganese bronze 250.....................................................Melting high lead bronze 250.........................................................Melting copper nickel alloys 251....................................................Filtration of copper-based alloys 251..............................................

17 Feeding systems...................................................Natural feeders........................................................................Aided feeders 253..........................................................................Feeding systems 254.....................................................................The calculation of feeder dimensions 257......................................Steel, malleable iron, white irons, light alloys and copper-based alloy castings 262................................................................Grey and ductile irons 266..............................................................Introduction 268..............................................................................Range of feeder products 269........................................................Breaker cores 279..........................................................................The application of feeder sleeves 280............................................Williams Cores 283.........................................................................FERRUX anti-piping compounds for iron and steelcastings 284...................................................................................Metal-producing top surface covers 285........................................FEEDOL anti-piping compounds for all non-ferrous alloys 286......

Aids ot the calculation of FEEDER requirements 286....................Nomograms 287.............................................................................FEEDERCALC 287........................................................................Calculating feeder sizes for aluminium alloy castings 288.............

Index...........................................................................

Acknowledgements

The following Organisations have generously permitted the use of theirmaterial in the Handbook:

The American Foundrymen’s Society, Inc., 505 State Street, Des Plaines,Illinois 60016-8399, USA.

The Association of Light Alloy Founders (ALARS), Broadway House,Calthorpe Road, Five Ways, Birmingham, B15 1TN.

BSI, Extracts from British Standards are reproduced with the permission ofBritish Standards Institution. Complete copies can be obtained by postfrom Customer Services, BSI, 389 Chiswick High Road, London W44AL.

Buhler UK Ltd, 19 Station Road, New Barnet, Herts, EN5 1NN.Butterworth-Heinemann, Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP.The Castings Development Centre (incorporating BCIRA), Bordesley Hall,

The Holloway, Alvechurch, Birmingham, B48 7QB.The Castings Development Centre (incorporating Steel Castings Research &

Trade Association), 7 East Bank Road, Sheffield, S2 3PT.Chem-Trend (UK) Ltd, Bromley Street, Lye, Stourbridge, West Midlands

DY9 8HY.Copper Development Association, Verulam Industrial Estate, 224, London

Road, St. Albans, Herts, AL1 1AQ.Foundry International, DMG Business Media Ltd, Queensway House, 2

Queensway, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1QS.Foundry Management & Technology, 1100 Superior Avenue, Cleveland, OH

44114, USA.Foundry & Technical Liaison Ltd, 6-11 Riley Street, Willenhall, West

Midlands, WV13 1RH.The Institute of British Foundrymen, Bordesley Hall, The Holloway,

Alvechurch, Birmingham,B48 7QA.International Magnesium Association, 1303 Vincent Place, Suite One,

McLean, Virginia 22101, USA.OEA (Organisation of European Aluminium Refiners and Remelters,

Broadway House, Calthorpe Road, Five Ways, Birmingham, B15 1TN.Ramsell Furnaces Ltd, Wassage Way, Hampton Lovett Industrial Estate,

Droitwich, Worcestershire, WR9 0NX.Striko UK Ltd, Newcastle Street, Stone, Staffordshire, ST15 8JT.

The author gratefully acknowledges the help received from many individ-uals, in particular from colleagues at Foseco.

Acknowledgements xiii

All statements, information and data contained herein are published asa guide and although believed to be accurate and reliable (havingregard to the manufacturer’s practical experience) neither the manu-facturer, licensor, seller nor publisher represents or warrants, expresslyor implied:

1 Their accuracy/reliability2 The use of the product(s) will not infringe third party rights3 No further safety measures are required to meet local

legislation.

The seller is not authorised to make representations nor contract onbehalf of the manufacturer/licensor. All sales by the manufacturer/seller are based on their respective conditions of sale available onrequest.