Casting of Steel parts

Casting of steel parts

How to cast metals

Casting is one of the oldest methods of producing metal structures. It can even be argued that casting was the first step in making most of the products that revolutionized human life during the Industrial Revolution.

• Casting steps can be summarized as making the mold, heating and melting the metal in the right way in the right furnace, pouring the liquid metal into a prepared mold cavity and giving it the right time to solidify. This process ends by removing the product from the mold and applying the appropriate finishing work. To do successful casting, we need to focus on the following:

A) Preparation of templates from appropriate patterns

B) Melting and pouring liquid metal in the correct way

C) Cooling and solidification at a suitable rate until reaching room temperature

D) Product inspection to ensure the integrity and quality of the product

Steel casting

Steel casting is a special type of casting that uses different grades of steel. Steel casting is used in cases where the cast iron is not able to provide sufficient strength or shock resistance. Equipments produced by steel casting method include hydroelectric turbine rotors, forging presses, gears, railway rail structures, industrial valve bodies, pump bodies and blades, mining machines, marine equipment, He mentioned turbocharger turbines and engine cylinder blocks. Cast steel structures are divided into two groups according to the type of steel used: structures with carbon steel and structures with alloy steel.

Ability to cast steel

Casting steel is much more difficult than casting iron. Steel has a higher melting point and higher shrinkage rate than iron, so designing a suitable mold for casting steel requires more attention and precision. In the design of these molds, a larger feed volume (Riser) should be considered so that it can provide the necessary materials for this volume reduction by cooling and shrinking the steel. Also, in designing these molds, the thickness of the mold cavities should be considered because thinner areas cool faster than thicker areas, and this can create internal stress points that lead to structural fractures.

Molten steel is also less fluid than molten iron, and this property can make it more difficult to pour and fill complex cracks and cavities in a mold. On the other hand, molten steel reacts more than iron with the inner surfaces of the mold, which can lead to unpredictable results.

Machining capability

Cast parts usually require machining to achieve the desired accuracy and complete the surface work. Carbon steel is the simplest type of steel for machining. Machining high carbon steel can take more time and wear out the turning tool faster. In general, it can be said that cast alloys with the aim of increasing mechanical efficiency often make machining difficult.

Ability to absorb and eliminate vibration compared to iron

Casting is often a valuable way to create complex parts that are used in a variety of equipment and devices. Cast steel typically has less vibration absorption than iron, which can lead to vibration and excessive noise from various devices such as pumps or turbines.

Impact resistance and abrasion resistance

Most steels offer a good combination of strength and flexibility, which makes them very strong. This allows them to show considerable resistance to stress and strain without leaving. Steel can also be significantly resistant to abrasion. Various additives to the alloy can make it both impact and abrasion resistant.

Cast alloy steel

Cast alloy steels are divided into two categories: low-alloy steels and high-alloy steels. Low alloy steels contain less than 8% alloy content and high alloy steels have additives equal to 8% or more.

Steel casting applications

As mentioned, steel casting is one of the steel forming methods that is used to make steel sections with high strength and shock resistance. This method was used to build hydroelectric turbines, gears, industrial valve bodies, pump blades, offshore equipment, charger turbines, engine cylinders, etc. This method is used to make carbon and alloy steels.

To receive the prices of various steel sections, including the price of black sheet, the price of profiles, the price of beams, etc., contact the experts of Fidar Steel Company.

Ability to cast steel

For steel casting operations, a higher temperature and a higher melting point are required, and also for steel casting and mold design, you should be more careful, in these molds, the feed volume should be slightly larger. So that cooling operations can be performed on them.

You should also be very careful about the thickness of the mold holes, as the thinner parts of the steel will cool faster and may break or crack when taken out of the mold.

In addition, because molten steel has less fluidity than iron, if the mold is very complex, the steel will not penetrate all parts of the mold.

Steps of designing and manufacturing cast parts

1- Preliminary study, design and simulation of casting

2- Making a model and a box of muscle pieces

3- Dimensional control of the model

4- Molding

5- Melt preparation and control of chemical analysis

6- Casting

7- Emptying the mold

8- Cutting and grinding

9- Heat treatment

10- NDT test and dimensional control of the cast part

11- Performing mechanical properties tests

12-Machining the part according to the plan

13. Final dimensional control

14-Issuance of material approval certificate and quality control

15-Packaging