Casting guidelines

Casting Process This paper presents a listing of the rules, as compiled from the
literature and interviews with methods engineers. The paper is
Design Guidelines intended to present the similarities and differences in the rigging
system design of three classes of castings: light alloy, ductile iron and
steel. While the rules are listed as they relate to different components
of the rigging system, the design of individual components are not
S. Guleyupoglu
independent of the others.
Concurrent Technologies Corporation
Johnstown, Pennsylvania The rest of the paper will present the gating and risering practice
for light alloy, ductile iron and steel castings. References will be
listed as appropriate.
ABSTRACT
The design of gating and risering, or rigging systems as they are LIGHT ALLOY CASTINGS
sometimes referred to, has been a very important task in the
manufacture of cast components. This paper presents a compi- As a general rule, the rigging system is designed to promote sequen-
lation of common rules of thumb used by foundry experts and tial solidification of the casting. Campbell2 points out that the filling
guidelines suggested by researchers for better quality castings. of the mold is also important in preventing the entrapment of oxides
The paper is divided into three sections: light alloy, steel and and air in the casting. Since oxide formation is instantaneous in
ductile iron castings. Each section presents heuristics com- aluminum, the rigging system should be designed to minimize the
monly used for specific metals. entrance of oxides on the surface of the molten metal into the casting
and also to prevent turbulence in the metal stream, as this would
entrap the surface oxides in the stream and lead to further oxidation
INTRODUCTION on the surface when fresh metal is exposed to the atmosphere.

Casting processes are widely used to produce metal parts in a very Turbulence in the metal flow may be caused by excessive velocity
economical way, and to obtain complicated shapes with little or no of the molten metal, free-falling of the stream while passing from one
machining. The manufacture of a part involves several steps, the first level to another, vortices formed, or abrupt changes in the flow
of which is the design of the part itself, and the specification of the direction. Sharp changes in the flow direction will form eddies at the
material to be used. This information is passed to the methods corners, and these will cause aspiration of air and mold gases into the
engineer, who will choose the casting process, and then design the molten metal.
rigging system necessary to get the molten metal into all regions of The low density of aluminum makes riser design more difficult
the part so as to produce a sound casting. Two major considerations than for most other heavy metals. In addition, its low heat-released-
in the casting design are the quality of the final product and the yield per-unit-volume ratio and high conductivity makes the gating design
of the casting, both of which heavily depend upon the rigging system a real problem in terms of sequential solidification requirements.
used.
The pouring cup should be kept full during pouring of the metal
A generic casting is illustrated in Fig. 1. The elements shown in to prevent vortex formation in the sprue. A pouring basin can be used
the figure are actually cavities in the sand mold. The sand mold is to ease the filling of the mold and also to minimize the possibility of
enclosed in a flask that consists of two parts: the upper half, or cope air and oxide entrance into the mold cavity. The filling of the pouring
and the lower half, or drag. The plane between the cope and the drag basin should be done as far from the sprue as possible. The size of the
is called the parting plane. The parting plane is sometimes referred basin can range from 3 in. to 4 ft (7.62–122 cm) in length, the latter
to as the parting line when the casting is viewed in two dimensions. being for sprues through which 800 lb of metal is poured.1
The vertical passage through which the molten metal fills the Skimmer cores, filters or delay screens can also be used in the
casting is called the sprue or downsprue. The horizontal distribution pouring basin, to help provide cleaner metal into the mold.
channels in the parting plane are called the runners. The connections
between the runners and the cavity of the part to be cast are called the
gates or the ingates. Those extra parts of the casting that feed metal
to the casting as it solidifies and shrinks are called the risers or
feeders. Sometimes, metal pieces are used in the mold to speed up the
solidification rate at certain locations. Those metal pieces are called
chills.
The design of the rigging system starts with the determination of
the parting plane. Identification of the gate locations to allow uniform
feeding of the casting is the next step. Having decided where the gates
are located, an appropriate runner geometry is selected. The sprue
location is determined so that it will be as far from the nearest gate
as possible. Sizing of the elements of the rigging system is done using
the geometry of the part and some common rules of thumb. Tradi-
tionally, these activities have been performed by methods engineers,
based on their training and experience. It is not uncommon for
several trial rigging designs to be required in producing a sound
casting. Fig. 1. Generic casting and rigging system.

AFS Transactions 97-83 869

Part Orientation Rules (Alloy) Q
A= (1)
Part orientation is usually the first decision that must be made in w 2gh
rigging design. Orientation of the part actually refers to the cavity in
where Q : rate of flow [lb/sec]
the mold in the shape of the part that is going to be cast. The rules are
w : specific weight of metal (0.086 lb/in.3 for Al at
as follows:4,9
732C)
1. Orient the part so that the large part of the casting is relatively A : cross-sectional area [ft2]
low. g : gravitational acceleration [ft/sec2]
2. Minimize the height of the casting. h : vertical height of molten metal in the sprue [ft].
3. Place open spaces down. 6. Height of the sprue is determined by the casting and the top
4. Place the casting such that top risers can be placed on high riser height.
points on the casting for the heavy sections. 7. The sprue should feed into a standard-sized well area to
reduce the kinetic energy of the molten metal.
8. Standard filter/screens should be placed at the outlet of the
Parting Plane Rules (Alloy)
well as the metal flows into the runners. It is desirable to
The plane that separates the cope (top) and the drag (bottom) parts of lower the total number of filters per casting.
the mold is called the parting plane. In general, the runners, gates and 9. The sprue should be located as far from the gates as possible.
sprue well are placed in the drag so that the parting plane forms the Often, the flow leaving the sprue box is turbulent; a longer
top of these channels or cavities. The runners, gates and the sprue box path and a filter enables the flow to become more laminar
(bottom part of the sprue) are going to be located on the parting plane. before it reaches the first gate.
This plane also divides the mold into two parts, i.e., drag and cope. 10. The sprue should be located centrally on the runner, with an
Parting plane rules are listed as follows: equal number of gates on each side.
11. Extreme sizes should be 1/2x3/16 in. (1.27x0.48 cm) for
1. Place the parting plane as low as possible relative to the “small castings” and 1x4 in. (2.54x10.16 cm) for “large thin
casting. panels.’’1
2. Place the parting plane at the cross section of the largest area 12. Using a tapered sprue results in a lower height sprue than an
of the casting.20 untapered sprue, while retaining the same flow rate.
13. Sprues should be tapered by approximately 5% minimum to
avoid aspiration of the air and free fall of the metal. Swift et
Sprue rules (Alloy)
al.30 suggest that an ideally tapered sprue of length 10 in.
The sprue, or downsprue, is the part of the rigging into which the (25.4 cm) and exit area 3/4 in.2 (1.90 cm2) should have an
molten metal is poured. The design of the downsprue is crucial in entry area of 2.03 in.2 (5.16 cm2) at the bottom of the sprue
order to avoid initiation of turbulent flow in the rigging system. basin and 9.06 in.2 (23.01 cm2) at the top of the sprue. If the
Turbulent metal flow might cause an increased area to be exposed to sprue length is 6 in. (15.24 cm), the entry area for the bottom
air, and thus an increased oxidation of the metal. Those oxides may of the sprue basin and the top of the sprue must be 1.78 in.2
rise to the top of the casting to form a rough surface for the casting, and 7.23 in.2 (4.52 and 18.4 cm2), respectively. The profiles
or they may be trapped in the casting and create imperfections. for the sprues suggested by Swift et al., are not linear. The
Turbulent flow may also cause erosion of the sand mold. The first one has about 14% average slope with a minimum slope
following is a list of typical rules used in sprue design: of 4% at the bottom of the sprue and a maximum slope of 48%
at the top. The second one has a changing slope from 6% to
1. The sprue should be sized to limit the flow rate of molten 39% with an average slope of 17%.
metal. If the sprue is large, the flow rate of the molten metal 14. Sprues can be tapered slightly more than required to provide
will be high. High metal flow rates cause dross problems.2 a factor of safety for aspiration of air.1
Blind-ends on the runners help to trap unwanted dross. 15. Rectangular sprues of length less than 5 in. (1.27 cm) may be
2. The size of the sprue fixes the flow rate. In other words, the given a small reverse taper for ease of molding.1
amount of molten metal that can be fed into the mold cavity 16. Well area for the sprue box is two to three times the area of
in a given time period is limited by the size of the sprue. the sprue exit.15
3. Rectangular cross-section sprues are better than circular ones 17. The well is about 1/2 in. (1.27 cm) deeper than the runners.
with the same cross-sectional area, since critical velocity for
turbulence is much less for circular sections. In addition,
vortex formation tendency in a sprue with circular cross Riser Rules (Alloy)
section is higher.
Risers are reservoirs of molten metal that are used to feed the casting
4. Sprues should be of standard sizes and shapes. Swift, Jackson
during solidification. The shrinkage occurring during solidification
and Eastwood30 studied rectangular and round-shaped sprues
causes voids unless more molten metal can be fed to the potential
with cross-sectional areas ranging from 0.50 to 1.50 in.2 (1.27
problem spots. Risers are designed to solidify last and to draw the
to 3.81 cm2). Generally, rectangular sprues are used to avoid
shrinkage voids out of the casting. Risers also serve as exits for gases
vortex problems. However, round sprues with small height
and dross entrapped in the metal and as pressure heads to feed thin
and radius do not cause vortex problems, are easier to make
sections.
and, thus, are more economical for small castings.
5. If the metal flow rate is known, then the sprue exit area can 1. Risers are located near thick sections of the casting. For
be calculated using the following formula suggested by example, hubs are relatively thick parts of castings and are
Richins and Wetmore:26 potentially good locations for the risers.

870 AFS Transactions

2. Side risers are usually located on top of the gates. Use of side 13. If there needs to be multiple risers, they should be located at
risers is common for thin-walled castings. Since the first least 4–5 in. (10.16–12.7 cm) apart.
metal to enter the casting will warm the bottom of the side 14. If two nearby thick sections are risered, the thin section in
riser and cool down, and side risers will be filled with hot between may contain porosities. The problem may be avoided
metal, use of side risers promotes sequential solidification. by risering one thick section and chilling the other.
3. Top risers are located on bosses, away from the gates. 15. The maximum feeding distance depends upon whether the
4. If the casting is bottom-gated, fast filling of the mold with alloy is a short-freezing range or a long-freezing range alloy.
more gates, use of insulated or exothermic risers, and chilling Maximum feeding distance for an aluminum plate of thick-
the gate area are safe practices to cure unfavorable tempera- ness T varies from 8T to 3T as the thickness of the plate varies
ture gradients. In the case of open risers, hot metal can also from 1/2 in. to 2 in. (1.27 to 5.1 cm). Feeding ranges for
be poured into the riser after solidification starts. magnesium alloys are not reported; however, various magne-
5. Risers are sized by the volume fed. In the case of multiple sium alloys show very different feeding behavior. Feeding
risering, each riser is considered to be feeding a part of the ranges for various long-freezing range alloys are investigated
casting and is sized according to the volume of that part in in studies by Davies,7 Moosbrugger and Berry,22 and Kuo,
question. Chang and Lin.21
6. Risers should be large enough to provide at least as much feed 16. The riser junction should be heavier than the section to be fed.
metal as the shrinkage volume of the section it feeds (4 to For horizontal plates it is a better practice to use side risers
6%).16 [Ref. 1, page 31].
7. If the top of the riser is not open to atmospheric pressure, the 17. Ideally, the cross section of the riser is slightly larger than the
height:diameter ratio of 1:1 to 3:1 should be maintained for section it feeds.1
a cylindrical riser.
8. Top risers should be located on flat, accessible surfaces so
that they can be easily. Gate Rules (Alloy)
9. External risers are preferred to internal ones because of easy Gates are the passages between the runners and the part. Woldman33
removal and cleanup after production. asserts that a good gate design is independent of the alloy cast. The
10. Risers should have greater volume:area ratios than the part following rules on gate design are in common practice:
itself, so that the part will solidify before the risers. In the
calculation of this ratio, the area used does not include the 1. Gate into thick regions.
area between the part and the riser or the area between the part 2. Use standard sizes and shapes for the gates. Rectangular
and the gates. This rule is suggested by Chvorinov [Ref. 5, gates are most widely used.
pages 177, 201, 222] and has been applied to practice by most 3. Locate the gates so as to minimize the agitation and avoid the
workers. Chvorinov’s rule can be expressed in inverse form erosion of the sand mold by the metal stream. This may be
as the following: achieved by orienting the gates in the direction of the natural
flow paths.
A riser A part 4. Fillets between the gates and the casting are desirable.
< (2)
V riser V part 5. A slight flare of the gates toward the casting is desirable.
or, assuming that a cylindrical riser is used, 6. Multiple gating is frequently desirable. This has the advan-
tage of lower pouring temperatures, which improves the
πr 2 + 2πrh A part metallurgical structure of the casting. In addition, multiple
< (3)
πr 2 h V part gating helps to reduce the temperature gradients in the
where r is the radius of the riser and h is the riser height. casting.
Simplifying Equation 3 gives: 7. Maximum gate thickness should be 1/4–3/8 in. (0.64–0.95
cm).1,18
r + 2h A part 8. The first gate should be located at a minimum 1.5 in. (3.81
< (4)
rh V part cm) distance away from the sprue, for small castings. This
or distance should be increased up to 12–15 in. (30–38 cm) for
large castings.1 The longer that distance is, the easier the
1 2 A part cleaning of the casting will be.
+ < (5) 9. A minimum gate length of 3/4 in. (1.90 cm) is usually
h r V part
sufficient for “small” bench molds and 4 in. (10.16 cm) is
The height obtained using Equation 4 or Equation 5 is usually sufficient for larger molds.1
multiplied with a factor of safety of about 1.2. On parts that
have cylindrical bosses, the radius of the riser selected is
Runner Rules (Alloy)
slightly less than that of the boss to ease the removal of the
riser from the part after solidification. Runners are the passages that carry the molten metal from the sprue
11. The volume of the riser can be calculated using the M-C well to the gates through which metal enters the mold cavity. The
method developed by Creese.6 runners are often arranged in one of two configurations: double
12. Risers should be selected from standard sizes and shapes. The runner and single runner. Double runners consist of two passages
best riser shape is a sphere because of its high volume-to-area around the part. The metal enters the outer runner first and moves to
ratio, but it is not easy to work with spherical risers. Circular the inner runner through short passages. Single runners can further be
cylinders are frequently used as risers, as they are the second classified as tapered and untapered runners. The selection of the
best, as far as the volume-to-area ratio is concerned. runner type depends on the difficulty of the part and the engineer’s

AFS Transactions 871

preference. Double runners are usually used for more difficult parts, Sprue Rules (Steel)
thin-walled sections in particular. The rules that are commonly used
1. 1–2 in. (2.54–5.1 cm) sprue wells are used.
for runner design are as follows:
2. Sprue wells are built with a different material than the one
1. Standard sizes and shapes are used for runners. used in the mold for higher resistance to erosion: e.g., clay
2. Rectangular cross sections are preferred in sand castings. brick, sand with high proportion silica flour, cement-bonded
3. Abrupt changes in the direction of runners should be avoided. alumina.
If the change in direction is more than about 15°, the joint 3. In the case of deep molds, the sprue may be offset at several
needs to be filleted. points rather than using a straight sprue. That practice re-
4. Runners run along the part for long parts. duces the velocity of the flow at the bottom of the sprue. In
5. For round parts, usually two runners run around the periphery such cases, it is common to use refractory tile to build the
of the part. sprue and the runners, rather than sand.
6. Runner extensions (blind ends) are used in most castings to 4. In case cold-shots are detected or the fine details of the
trap any dross that may occur in the molten metal stream. casting are not filled properly, the sprue cross-sectional area
Blind-ends are 1–12 in. (2.5–30.4 cm) in length. should be increased.
7. The runner area is three to ten times the cross-sectional area
of the sprue exit.
Riser Rules (Steel)
8. Runners are sized using a gating ratio27 prescribed for the
type of metal used in casting. If a ratio of 1:4:4 is to be used, 1. For small and shallow steel castings, the gating system can be
the total area of the runners should be four times the area of eliminated and the mold can be filled through a riser if the
the sprue exit and the collective area of the gates should be casting is filled using a ladle. In the case of filling from a large
four times the area of the runners. bottom-poured ladle, this cannot be done because of the high
9. It is best to keep part of the runner above and part of it below velocity of the metal stream.
the gate levels. The part of the runner above the gate level will 2. Maximum feeding distance for a steel plate of thickness T is
trap the entrained gas in the cope portion of the casting, and about 4.5T. The distance is 4T if there is no edge contribution.
the part below will act as a surge reservoir. The metal will be For a steel bar of thickness T, the feeding range is about 6√T
leveled before it enters the gates. if there is edge contribution, and 0.5T to 2T if there is no edge
10. Runners should maintain a minimum distance from the part. contribution. Addition of chills can increase the feeding
11. A relief sprue at the end of the runner can be used to reduce distance by 2 in. (5.1 cm) for plates and by 1T for bars.24 The
the pressure during pouring and also to observe the filling of maximum feeding distance may be extended by introduction
the mold. of a taper. Willms suggests the use of insulating material to
extend the feeding distance for steel.31
3. Vents are used to allow the escape of the gasses during the
STEEL CASTINGS filling of the mold. Rectangular vents are preferred to round
ones.
Materials with a short freezing range (liquidus-to-solidus interval <
4. Blind risers should not be located below an open riser with a
50°C) form a skin and solidify parallel to the mold walls. This type
heavy section connecting them.
of solidification usually leads to “centerline shrinkage,” which is a
5. Knock-off risers with star-shaped apertures are suggested by
collection of shrinkage voids along a line at a relatively thin section
Chapman.3
of the casting. Centerline shrinkage is a common failure in steel
6. Volume of the risers can be calculated by the M-C method
castings, and, therefore, proper feeding should be provided through
suggested by Creese.6
a well-designed rigging system to manufacture sound castings.
7. The modulus approach can also be used to size the risers.32
• Since the rigging system is exposed to hotter metal than the 8. A formula for the calculation of the riser dimensions is
part being cast, higher quality sand should be used in the suggested by Johns.17 The formula developed is:
rigging system regions of the mold.
• The gating system should be kept simple, due to the high D 2 H a = 24FW c / πρ
R (6)
viscosity of molten steel.
where DR : diameter of the riser
• Strainer cores, filters and relief sprues are not used.
Ha : active height of the riser
• When a nozzle and stopper system is used to fill the mold, the
F : feed metal requirement from Fig. 212
size of the nozzle should be slightly smaller than the sprue.
Wc : weight of the casting
• The partial reversal method is used, where the mold is turned
ρ : density of the metal.
30–40 degrees to place the hot metal on the top of the mold
and colder metal (which first entered the mold) at the bottom. Substituting Ha = DR and ρ = 0.29 lb/ft3 results in the
Complete reversal of the mold is usually not practical, following:
especially for large castings.
DR = 2.98 (FWc)1/3 (7)

Parting Plane Rules (Steel) The radius calculated by Equation 7 should be greater than or
equal to the modulus of the casting.
1. Placing the parting plane at about mid-height of the casting
9. The following cubic equation is suggested by Ruddle for the
has the advantage of filling the bottom with colder metal (due
calculation of the riser diameter for steel castings.28,29
to the initial temperature of the sand) and promote sequential
solidification. However, high drops of the metal should be b 4βV c
D 3 – 4δ(1 + β)(a + )M c D 2 – =0 (8)
avoided. 4g gπ


where D : riser diameter 13. Saxophone type step-gating may be used for deep molds. The
δ : safety factor gates come off the sprue at several different levels and slope
β : fractional total volumetric change on freezing upward. The idea is to fill the different levels of the casting
g : riser height/diameter ratio with corresponding gates.11
Mc : casting modulus 14. Gates are usually located in the cope.
Vc : casting volume 15. Gates may be curved to streamline the flow toward the
a : riser sidewall insulation faction (A.S.A.F.) casting.
b : riser top-cover insulation factor (A.S.A.F.)
Runner Rules (Steel)
Gate Rules (Steel)
1. A 1:4:4 gating ratio is commonly used to size the runners.
1. Round gates are usually preferred to square ones of the same 2. The depth of the runner may be changed so that it is shallow
cross-sectional area, since round gates cause less friction and at the sprue and progressively deeper toward the end.
result in larger filling rates. 3. Runner extensions are used to trap dross.
2. The diameter of a whirlgate should be less than the diameter 4. Hollow cylindrical castings should be cast with gates and
of the sprue, and the cross-sectional area of the whirlgate runners inside the casting, whenever possible. This kind of
should be greater than the sum of the cross-sectional areas for gating delays the solidification of the gates and the runners,
the gates. relatively, and reduces the chances of cracks due to contrac-
3. For large, flat-bottom castings, the gated end of the casting tion of the casting. One disadvantage to this type of gating,
should be low, so as to force the metal to run a slight incline. however, is the difficulty in cleaning the rigging system after
4. The cross-sectional area of the gate should be smaller than the part is cast.
that of the casting at gate-casting interface. 5. Runners are usually located in the drag.
5. Gates for steel castings should be considerably larger than
those used for cast-iron castings. If gate sizes are smaller than
adequate, cold shuts may be formed where two streams join DUCTILE IRON CASTINGS
around a core.
6. A 1:4:4 gating ratio is commonly used to size the gates. The rules presented in this section are mostly extracted from a book
7. Plate castings should be filled with multiple gates to mini- by Karsay19 and seminar lecture notes prepared by QIT-Fer et Titane
mize erosion of the mold. The cross-sectional area of the Inc.,25 which are possibly the most complete references on gating and
individual gates need not be larger than the exit area of the risering of ductile iron.
sprue. Two types of gating systems are used in ductile iron castings:
8. The number of gates should be maximized to prevent hot namely, pressurized and nonpressurized. These are also known as
spots. “gate-runner” and “sprue-runner” systems, respectively. The differ-
9. If a single gate is used to fill the mold, the gate should flare ence between the two systems is the location of the choke, which is
toward the casting. the minimum cross-sectional area in the rigging system that deter-
10. Horn gates are used for small castings, but they are neither mines the mold-filling time. For gate-runner systems, the choke is
very economical, nor easy to mold. located between the runner and the gate, whereas it is located
11. In circular parts, like gears or wheels, gating is usually done between the sprue and the runner for sprue-runner systems.
tangential to the gear to let the metal stream go around the
periphery of the casting and prevent the erosion of the core. • Sprue-runner systems are used where a large number of small
12. For circular parts with spokes connecting the rim to the hub, castings are cast in the same mold with small choke area
core gates are better to promote sequential solidification. requirements. In most other cases, gate-runner systems are
This allows the metal entering the mold cavity to cool down used.
while going through the spokes, and lets the cool metal fill the • A combination of both sprue-runner and gate-runner systems
rim of the casting, away from the riser that will be located on can be used for castings that require a complicated runner
the hub. system.
• Pouring time should be as fast as possible. Figure 3 can be
used to determine a recommended value for the pouring time.

Fig. 3. Recommended pouring times depending on pouring
Fig. 2. Feed metal requirements.12,17 weight.25


Parting Plane Rules (DI) where Asprue : cross-sectional area of the sprue
Achoke : total choke cross-sectional area
1. Minimize the need for cores.
h : height of metal in the pouring basin
2. Place heavy sections in the drag.
H : vertical height of molten metal in the sprue.
3. Try to put all or most of the casting in the cope for quiet mold
filling. The disadvantage of this placement is that the yield For downward tapered sprues, h is measured to the smallest
will be small for castings that require a short filling time. cross section of the sprue.
5. For sprue-runner systems, the choke area can be located at the
bottom of the sprue for tapered sprues or between the sprue
Sprue Rules (DI) box and the runner.
1. Locate the sprue symmetrically. 6. Sprue area calculated using Equation 9 can be taken as the
2. For sprue-runner systems, the choke cross-sectional area can minimum cross-sectional area for upward taper, downward
be estimated using Figs. 4 and 5. For multiple casting molds, taper and parallel sprues.
the total choke area is the sum of all the choke areas down- 7. Avoid use of parallel sprues.
stream of the sprue.
3. Sprue should not act as choke. Riser Rules (DI)
4. The minimum sprue cross-sectional area can be calculated
using the following equation: 1. Risering should be designed one of three ways: convention-
ally, as in steel castings; riserless23 with multiple gates, for
A sprue = A choke H / h (9) castings not poured in green sand; or with a single riser and
multiple gates.
2. Risering principles for green sand castings are presented by
Heine.13
3. Minimize the number of risers by feeding multiple sections
of the casting with a single riser, if possible.
4. Sizing should be done using modulus calculations.19
5. The M-C method can also be used for sizing the risers.6
6. It is desirable to make the height of the riser larger than its
diameter.
7. Standard risers can be used to expedite the volume and
modulus calculations.
8. Break-off or Washburn cores are used to reduce the cost of
riser removal and cleaning.
9. Use blind risers.
10. Side risers should be connected to the casting with a short
passage choked at the middle section (riser contact).
Fig. 4. Approximate choke cross-sectional areas for small poured 11. Selection of the risering method (pressure control, directly
castings.19 applied, or riserless) can be made using the casting modu-
lus.25

Gate Rules (DI)
1. If multiple, identical castings are cast in the same mold, gate
all of them in the same manner.
2. Minimum gate length should be five times the gate thickness.
3. Recommended gate thicknesses can be determined for a
given pouring temperature using Fig. 6.
4. For gate-runner systems, the choke area obtained from Figs.
4 and 5 is the total choke area, i.e., the sum of the gate cross-
sectional areas. For multiple chokes, each choke area is
selected using the weight calculated by dividing the sum of
the weight of the castings and risers by the number of chokes.
5. For gate-runner systems, the junction between a gate and a
runner should be such that the bottom surface of the gate
should be placed on the same plane as the bottom surface of
the runner.
6. For gate-runner systems, gates should come off the runner at
a right angle.
7. For sprue runner systems, the gate’s bottom surface should be
placed on the top surface of the runner.
Fig. 5. Approximate choke cross-sectional areas for large poured 8. For gate-runner systems, the total area of gate overlap on the
castings.19 runner should be about 10% more than the choke area.


9. For gate-runner systems, gate overlap on the runner is slightly 12. For sprue-runner systems, the runner cross section is square
more than the height of the gate. at the choke section.
10. For gate-runner systems, two gates should not be located on 13. For sprue-runner systems, the runner is always placed in the
opposite sides of a runner at the same point. drag.
11. For gate-runner systems, gates should be thin and wide. A 14. For sprue-runner systems, the runner is tapered such that
height-to-width ratio of 1:4 is reasonable. right after the choke, the runner height is four times the height
12. For gate-runner systems, two thin and narrow gates should be at choke, and past the last gate, it is equal to the height at
preferred to one thick and wide gate. choke.
13. For gate-runner systems, the gates can be as long as needed
but the minimum gate length should be equal to the gate
width. CONCLUSIONS
14. For gate-runner systems, the gates can be straight or curved.
15. For sprue-runner systems, gates are always located in the A collection of rigging system design rules are presented for light
cope. alloy, steel and cast iron castings. From the rules given, it can be
observed that the geometric features of the casting, such as casting
boundaries, location of cores, thick regions and flow paths, are of
Runner Rules (DI) primary importance for the design of the appropriate gating system.
Therefore, any attempt to develop a computer program for design of
1. Avoid use of curved runners.
rigging systems should give major emphasis to the task of geometric
2. If curved runners are necessary, locate gates as far from the
feature extraction.8,10,14
curved sections as possible.
3. Avoid use of stepped runners.
4. For gate-runner systems, use tall, narrow runners. A height-
to-width ratio of 2:1 is reasonable. REFERENCES
5. For gate-runner systems, the cross-sectional area of a runner 1. American Foundrymen’s Society. Recommended Practices for Sand
should be three to four times the sum of the cross-sectional Casting Aluminum and Magnesium Alloys. Des Plaines, IL, 2nd edition,
areas of the gates on that runner. 1965.
6. For gate-runner systems, the ratio of the runner cross-sec- 2. J. Campbell. Casting. Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd., Oxford, England,
tional area to the choke area is between 4:1 and 2:1 1991.
7. For gate-runner systems, use tapered blind ends with ap- 3. B. Chapman. Some characteristics of knock-off heads on steel castings.
AFS Transactions, 88:777-786. 1980.
proximately 20% slope.
4. L. L. Chen, S. Y. Chou and T. C. Woo. Parting directions for mould and
8. For gate-runner systems, a well can be employed at the end die design. Computer-Aided Design, 25(12):762-768, Dec 1993.
of the blind end (runner well), which is of particular use when 5. N. Chvorinov. Theory of solidification of castings. Giesserei, 27:177-
there is not much space in the mold for proper runner 225, 1940.
extension. 6. R. C. Creese. The M-C method for riser design for non-ferrous and
9. For gate-runner systems, the minimum distance between the ferrous metals. AFS Transactions, 94:257-260, 1986.
sprue and the first gate on the runner should be about four 7. V. de L. Davies. Feeding range determination by numerically computed
times the height of the runner. heat distribution. AFS Cast Metals Research Journal, 51, 1975.
10. For gate-runner systems, the minimum blind-end extension 8. S. Guleyupoglu. A general approach to the parting direction problem for
should be about four times the runner height. sand castings. Ph.D. thesis, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL,
1995.
11. For gate-runner systems, the length of the runner extension
9. S. Guleyupoglu and J. L. Hill. Parting direction and parting plane
and the distance between the sprue and the first gate are selection criteria for sand castings. AFS Transactions, 103:259-264,
preferably the same. If this cannot be attained, the latter can 1995.
be made one-half of the former. 10. S. Guleyupoglu, K. O. Yu and J. L. Hill. Analysis and optimal design of
risers based on section modulus method. In Proc. 9th World Conference
on Investment Castings, San Francisco, CA, Oct 1996. In press.
11. J. H. Hall. Steel Foundry Practice. The Penton Publishing Company,
Cleveland, OH, 1955.
12. R. W. Heine. Riser design for mold dilation. AFS Transactions, 73:34-
40, 1965.
13. R. W. Heine. Risering principles applied to ductile iron castings made in
green sand. AFS Transactions, 87:267-278, 1979.
14. J. L. Hill, J. T. Berry and S. Guleyupoglu. Knowledge-based design of
rigging systems for light alloy castings. AFS Transactions. 99:91-96,
1991.
15. J. L. Hill, J. T. Berry, D. M. Stefanescu and C. Jordan. Expert systems
research on the design of gating systems for light alloy casting. BER
Report 408-141, Bureau of Engineering Research, University of Ala-
bama, Tuscaloosa, AL, Oct 1987.
16. S. Jacob and M. Drouzy. Contribution a l’etude du masselottage des
alliages d’aluminium coules en sable. Fonderie, 296:395-406, Dec
1970.
17. R. A. Johns. Risering steel castings easily and efficiently. AFS Transac-
Fig. 6. Recommended gate thicknesses.19 tions, 88:77-84, 1980.


18. H. W. Kachler. Casting Kaiser Aluminum. Kaiser Aluminum and Chemi- Risering System Design Seminar Lecture Notes. Montreal, Quebec,
cal Sales Inc. Oakland, CA, 2nd edition, 1965. 1987.
19. S. I. Karsay. Ductile Iron III: Gating and Risering. QIT-Fer et Titane 26. D. S. Richins and W. O. Wetmore. AFS Symposium on Principles of
Inc., Montreal, Quebec, 1981. Gating, page 1. AFS, Des Plaines, IL, 1951.
20. R. M. Kotschi. The missing algorithms to fully computerize gating, 27. R. W. Ruddle. The Running and Gating of Sand Castings. The Institute
risering and cam tooling manufacture, Part 1. AFS Transactions, 97:689- of Metals, London, England, 1956.
694, 1989. 28. R. W. Ruddle. Risering—past, present and future. British Foundryman,
21. Y. S. Kuo, E. Chang and Y. L. Lin. The feeding effect of risers on the 71:(a) 197, 1978.
mechanical properties of A201 Al alloy plate castings. AFS Transac- 29. R. W. Ruddle. A computer program for steel risering. AFS Transactions,
tions, 97:777-782, 1989. 90:227-237, 1982.
22. J. C. Moosbrugger and J. T. Berry. Calculation of feeding range data for 30. R. E. Swift, J. H. Jackson and L. W. Eastwood. A study of principles of
hypoeutectic A-357 alloy using FEM solidification model results. AFS gating. AFS Transactions, 57:76-88, 1949.
Transactions, 94:171-178, 1986. 31. R. C. Willms. Use of insulating material to extend feeding distances for
23. Q. X. Pei, T. S. Bai and P. C. Liu. Riserless design of ductile iron castings steel castings. AFS Transactions, 93:167-171, 1985.
by computer program. AFS Transactions, 95:443-450, 1987. 32. R. Wlodawer. Directional Solidification of Steel Castings. Pergamon
24. W. S. Pellini. Factors which determine riser adequacy and feeding range. Press, Oxford, England, 1966.
AFS Transactions, 61:61-80, 1953. 33. N. F. Woldman, editor. Magnesium Castings from Magnesium. Ameri-
25. QIT - Fer et Titane Inc. Ductile Iron: The Essentials of Gating and can Society of Metals, Metals Park, OH, 1946.


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