Investigation of the effect of feeder and feeder connections in molding design of spheroidal graphite cast iron by experimental and modelling techniques

Although the casting method is a very old and widespread production method, it is very important to manufacture the solid part and to make the molding design properly in terms of the service life of the produced part due to the working with liquid metal. In addition, the casting design of cast irons can vary greatly according to casting parameters. The mold with the same design can produce different results under different casting conditions. Since the volumetric change during the solidification of spheroidal graphite cast irons develops differently than that of steel and aluminum castings. In this study, molds and castings were made in accordance with the experimental design of different cross section thicknesses with changing casting parameters and single and double feeder designs. For the design studies, SolidWorks computer-aided 3D drawing program and SolidCast casting simulation program were used for modeling studies. Chemical composition, foundry conditions, mold rigidity, metallurgy quality conditions were evaluated as parameters. After casting, penetrant tests were performed by cutting the specimens from the locations determined in the modeling program, and microstructure samples were taken from the parts with different cross-sectional thickness and graphite structures were examined. Modeling and physical casting results were compared. In this study, the importance of feed connections in robust manufacturing of cast parts was evaluated with experimental and modeling techniques. Sand mold casting, macro examination, penetrant tests, metallographic preparation, microstructure imaging, image analysis and modeling techniques were used in the study. When the results were examined, it was seen that the risk of shrinkage was less than the wet mold sand in measurements made with resin mold in the same molding design. In addition, nutrient feeder connections and location was found to be an important parameter in pore formation.