CASTINGPEDIA ARTICLE CORES’ ROLE IN CASTING DESIGN
One of metalcasting’s strongest selling points is its ability to encompass several parts, often in the form of a welded assembly, into one component. This is possible because the nature of the metalcasting process lends itself to complex geometries. At the heart of many of these complex geometries is a core or core assembly. A core is a shaped body, usually made of sand, which forms the interior part of the casting, like the cavity the pit makes in the fl esh of a peach. In metalcasting, the mold provides a space for the molten metal to go, while the core keeps the metal from fi lling the entire space. Cores allow you to incorporate
holes in your design, but these holes don’t have to be limited to the see- through kind you’d fi nd in a length of pipe. Cores can take on a variety of angles and shapes, and more than one can be used per casting. Sometimes, an assembly of cores is constructed to create a web of internal passageways and chambers. For many seemingly impossible parts, imagination and cores
can turn a fl oundering design into a winning engineered component. Most cores are made of sand, although they also can be made of ceramic or metal. The core acts as a negative, displacing molten metal as it is poured into the casting mold. Following the solidifi cation of the metal, the sand core is shaken out, revealing the void. In investment casting, a cored hole is formed by the ceramic shell mold and then knocked out after solidifi cation. In permanent mold casting, metal cores are used, and semi-permanent molding makes use of sand cores. Although cores usually are used to form interior passageways in a casting, they also can be used to shape an external part of a more intricate casting. If a section of a casting is undercut, for example, a core can be used to help withdraw the pattern from the mold without distorting it. Additionally, sometimes cores are
used to strengthen or improve an inner or outer surface of the mold.
See more from our Castingpedia online at
www.afsinc.org/castingpedia.
BLOG ROLL Students Inspired to Cast
Calera High School students work on a project with their new metalcasting kit.
Recently, Calera High School Engineering Academy pre- engineering teacher Brian Copes was chosen by PEOPLE Magazine as one of fi ve teachers of the year for the spark he’s ignited among his students. In the classroom, Copes inspires his students to create. Under his direction, they created prosthetic legs from used car parts and even traveled to Honduras to fi t amputees with the legs. Another trip is in the works for this summer.
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recently donated a metalcasting kit (Foundry-in-a-Box) to Calera High School. These students have already designed and produced their own metal castings, and the Foundry-in-a- Box will further ignite the spark these students have to pursue a career within the industry. You may even fi nd yourself face-to-face with one of them, down the road, as you look to purchase a casting from them.
A big pat on the back to Brian
Copes and the AFS Birmingham Chapter for rising above and helping inspire and mold the future generation of metalcasters.
—Jillian Knuerr, assistant editor
Read all of the full blog posts on
metalcastingdesign.com.
Nov/Dec 2012 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | 3
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