Learning to cast metal - runners and gates
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- Опубліковано 3 жов 2024
- Fifth in the series of learning to cast metal. This video deals with runners and gates in a mold. All of the parts of the running system work together, the pouring basin, tapered sprue, runner, and gate of a properly designed running system deliver metal to the part with a minimal amount of porosity.
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You make metal casting easy for dummies like me. I'm simple and learn kinestheticly thanks for making all in info easy to follow
Thank you Chris. We have that in common. I can read and be told all sorts of techniques but I have to do it to really learn it.
I love your way to explain. Thanks for sharing your knowledge about metals, Casting, Gasing etc.
My pleasure! Thank you
Great info. I'm picking up so many tips to improve my pours
Thanks. 😄
I am inspired. But i think lost foam casting with drywall mud dip coating might be easyer for me.
Soon I'll be getting my printer back up and running - I didn't have exact dimensions for my model though, so I ended up making a fully wooden pattern with a lot of infill from loctite's version of steel stick
that works
Great job mate!
Thank you! Cheers!
Thank you for sharing so much with us.
You are welcome!
Hi Swdweeb, My name is Dave and bigstackdd just gave me your sight today and you have another follower for ever. I have to go back and watch all your past videos and try to catch up now!
Awesome, thank you for letting me know he sent you over. I love that guy 😁
I'll save you some trouble, some of the early ones were pretty bad with technique I certainly wouldn't advocate for today.
Thanks much for sharing your files. I can't wait to print them up
You're welcome
Once again thank you sir. You endless information makes things so much easier! I know you have been talking about these steps for casting for a while now and it’s benefits! I am finally getting to do some casting at home now and I practice everything with all your teachings. I can only say it works and it is getting better every day I do it!
Marc, that is great to hear. Thank you. Should I say I'm surprised to hear that it actually works??😂😂
Crickey, your casts are turning out very nice.
Last time I checked this channel you were pouring coins and making a hammer with another few UA-cam channels!
Looks like you have found your calling!
Keep up the good work!
That's been a lifetime ago, you need to check back more frequently 😄
Another fun and informative video. You are doing great work.
Thank you very much!
I don’t have a 3D printer or forge, or anything else to do with casting metal, but I love it anyway...
Come on John, get with the program 😄😄
swdweeb I know, I feel like an outsider! I need to get with the times, especially with the 3D printer...
@@johnmccanntruth 😄
Thanks a lot it was so informative.
I'm glad you thought so, thank you
@@swdweeb you are so kind
Great video. I do have a question though. You didn't show venting. I know this was on runners and gates. So it makes sense that you didn't take time to cover it. All the other videos I have watched of yours you scratched a line to allow gas to escape. It looks like you put holes in the top this time. Did you also scratch lines too? Once again thank you so much for taking the time to help us along. You are a great teacher
I have a video in the series on venting ua-cam.com/video/fvSHwvTyApk/v-deo.html
I will sometimes poke a wire down and sometimes scratch a vent. It often depends on the part as to which vent works best. If I cast in the cope I generally poke a wire. Casting in the drag (like a plaque) I scratch a vent.
Very nice. You are definitely reaching an excellent level of consistent success
thanks
Great stuff!
Thanks!
Loving this series!!! I'm learning a lot. New at casting and don't have a 3D printer. Finding things to use as models is tough when you can't print them. Thanks again for these informative videos
One of the nice things abut the square sprue is that I think it could easily be cut from wood. I think a runner could be fashioned from wood fairly easily as well.
3D printers aren't all they're cracked up to be, I flip flop between loving mine and wanting to turn it into dust with a large hammer all of the time 😄 Look at teh measured drawing that is in the link I put inthe description and see if you could make one from wood. I can measure the runner and put a drawing of it up as well.
@@swdweeb I am going to try and make a round sprue but putting a hard wood dowel in my drill and using sand cloth as it turns to get a proper taper
Lots of great info and thanks for sharing the model downloads
Thanks Lloyd, you're more than welcome
I don't have a 3d printer but I would love to get one of your sprew runner and spin traps.
You mean « sprue » 😉
Email me at swdweeb@gmail.com and we can talk.
3D printers are a dichotomy, a blessing and a curse. I routinely go from loving my printer to wanting to do fine adjustments with a 5lb hammer. Right now mine is in hammer mode. 😂
I would also like runners traps and sprue do you sell them?
very nice Perry! going to print your parts thanks. I made a tapered sprue last year that matched a square runner (area wise) but i lofted the round sprue into a square(ish) shape in the last small section. The runner had the radius too. I remember it working quite well. I think you're a natural at explaining this. Love this series mate learning loads.
Duh... I hadn't thought of doing a compound radius on the runner to smooth the transition. I'll have to try that. I am growing to like the square sprue though. It is turning out to be much easier to remove than I thought it would be.
Thank for the compliment mate. I sent Carl over to you to ask about pouring a cannon BTW.
Another great video Perry. It's not easy trying to simplify a complex topic down into a short easy to understand video, but your doing pretty well.
Thanks Mark I appreciate that. And... you're right, you have to be pretty liberal during the edit. Everything, or nearly everything, that isnt on topic has to go. I tried really hard to keep it to 10 minutes but alas... 😂
@@swdweeb It's the thought that counts! ;)
Nice work I will be doing this way from now on I like how good it looks.
Always good to hear 😄
I wasn't sure I wanted to watch a video that was so not Covid related that it deserved a hash tag.
I am so sick of hearing about that stinking virus and political candidates every where I turn. I wanted my videos to be a breath of fresh air as it were 😂😂
I recently discovered your videos. I am getting ready to cast some aluminum parts and just reviewing techniques. Here I will be using an electric pottery kiln to melt the aluminum for my pour. Simple parts that I will machine to finish. Noting your bench in some of your videos, I think we have similar diets.
What's wrong with my bench? 🤣🤣
@@swdweeb On some of your earlier videos you had restaurant cups and stuff. My bench currently looks the same. I enjoy you videos.
@@richhagenchicago😄 I never noticed the cups. There is so much stuff piled on there, they're probably still there.
Hello! I purchased and 3d printed the sprue/runner/spin trap kit from your website and I was wondering what you are using to vent your spin trap (tall skinny cylinder opposite the Sprue)? There weren't any notes or files that I have found to indicate what should be used.
I hope to use your models and what I have learned from this video series for the first time this weekend!!
I use a 1/4” (6mm) dowel to hold the two halves of the trap together. It’s also long enough to vent it to the surface. You might need to run a drill bit through the hole in the plastic or sand the dowel a bit. I’ve found that the dowels can vary in size.
Good luck with your casting this weekend 😄
Would this technique work with silver?
Also, will you print, sell, and send me the sprue, runner, and spin trap!? The sizes you have already look perfect for my flask but I don’t have a 3D printer.
I’m learning a lot from your videos. Really appreciate you doing these!
Hope you decide to print and sell these, could be a decent way to make few extra bucks.
Too late, I already give them away. Check the description for a link to the models I have available for download. 😄
Ordinarily I'd be happy to send you a printed version (for a small price) but my stupid printer is in "I refuse to print" mode again. Email me at swdweeb@gmail.com and we can talk.
Man, I really like that casting flask..... I'm going to be building one this week, any advice or anything I should know first?
Thanks josh, I will say that it has been one durable box.
Two things I wish I had done something about. The horizontal tabs are too wide. It would be a lot of angle grinder work but I'd reduce the width. They catch a lot of sand that you have to deal with. The other is the pins are too short. Even just 1/2" longer would be better.
It would be interesting to compare the two aluminium bowls Side by side to see how much difference there was between the two casting techniques.
Cheers from Juneau,
Greg Chaney
Hey Greg, you wouldn't see a noticeable difference in them. i've looked them both several times
@@swdweeb That is encouraging. In this case it looks like casting in the drag was easier. All other things being equal, I vote for the most straightforward approach.
@@airshipguys Yeah, but this is UA-cam and all other things never seem to be equal :-D
Nicely done. Retro fit of back side gate was a surprise, but it worked out. Brand (letters) looked rounded on edges.
What was waving on left side while fixing gate?
Probably my compressed air line. It hangs on a coiled hose right next to the bench top and subsequently right next to the camera as well. Looking at the bowl right now, not sure what you see in terms of rounded edges. Maybe it was the light, maybe it was me never holding it still
Great video! You did a good job of explaining the concepts. Somewhere in the lost Puhakka videos, I seem to remember him saying that the runner to gate surface area ratio should be 4 to 1, but your 3 to 1 ratio worked quite well. How did you decide not to use a riser to control shrinkage? Did you just rely on the surge trap/gating mass, or did you have some calculation that told you a dedicated riser was unnecessary?
Bob has something he called gate velocity correction factor that he used to slow the metal to any speed you want. The video is here ua-cam.com/video/E5-3uyExwBQ/v-deo.html He just says 20 inches per second in that video. The GVCF is basically the the actual speed divided by the desired speed.
I didn't use a feeder because the entire part is the same thickness. It all shrinks at the same factor. It's also pretty thin, only like about 3-4mm which minimizes the visible shrinkage. If you have a thick part you'd need to feed it so that as it shrinks it can pull metal from the feeder.
I refuse to call a structure that feeds a part anything but a feeder. Calling it a riser is like calling a steering wheel an antenna. 😄 I'll be doing a video on feeding parts in a couple of weeks. I need to do the pouring basin next.
YEP - we asked and you delivered - thank you~ How about a designing and printing a round tapered sprue that lofts its shape to the square just before it engages the printed runner?
Never let it be said I don't do what I'm told. Don't stay married for 38 years without learning a thing or two 😄
Putting s square bottom wouldn't fix the "not being able to twist it" problem.
Love the videos. I have learned so much! This is the first time I have seen a square sprue. What's the advantage/benefit?
The advantage/benefit is the clean fit against the runner. Normally I use a round sprue on a square runner. the differences create the opportunity for turbulence in the pour as we transition from a round shape to a square. Granted for the small stuff that i do it probably doesnt make a lot of difference but...
@@swdweeb Wish I wer 40+ years younger to do all od this stuff. Heals my brain...thanks.
@@swdweeb I look forward to trying it!
Do you make a spin trap and sprue specific for each casting or does the flow work for most of your projects? Thanks stay safe.
I use the same sprue runner and trap over and over again. If I ever needed to fill faster, like for a big mold I’d make bigger ones but for what I do these work just fine. Even my bells were poured with the same sprue
swdweeb very nice thanks. I’ll have to print one up.
Great demo! I can't think of a way to mold a bowl in the cope without causing molten metal fronts to meet each other oxide film to oxide film (ie. on the far side from the gate and at the top of the dome), but this way is still probably way more bifilm-friendly than just letting the metal gush down into the drag from the gate. I guess you could try and bottom fill from the drag into the bottom of a right-side-up bowl molded in a cheek box the exact same height as the bowl... but that's probably massive overkill for a doritos bowl that comes out this nice done this way. 😁
All you need now aside from a shorter gate pattern is a 3D printed precise radius sprue-to-runner connection pattern that sits on the runner and slots into the front of the base of the sprue so it stays in the cope when you pull out the sprue pattern... Also maybe overkill.
Tell you what brother just because its you asking I'll pass the questions on to the expert in Toronto. I'll see what he has to say and share it with you.
I thought about the top radius on the runner/sprue and couldn't figure out how to do it. I could put it on the runner but then it wouldn't lay flat when I rammed it. I could put it on the sprue but then I couldn't pull it out. I thought about a two-part sprue but then I couldn't pull the bottom out as the taper would be against me.
@@swdweeb that little piece works in my head but maybe not in real life, lol. I'm not the woodworker I'd have to be to actually try it without one of those 3d machines. 🤷
I could make a small little piece that lays in the junction, but I can guarantee that if I printed 25 of them I'd lose them all.
Thanks for sharing; I've learned quite a bit from your videos. For casting, honestly I think they are some of the most useful I've found. Soon I'll make my first pour using many of your techniques, just need a get a longer propane hose...
Question: regarding the moisture content of the green sand, how if, at all, does that affect the casting? The green sand I mixed is about 12% bentonite by weight and holds form quite well when dried.
If you rammed two identical molds and poured one right away and let the other sit for a few days, would there be any noticeable difference?
Thanks...
Thanks. I appreciate that.
Good question on the moisture. My sand is only about 10% bentonite by weight but like yours it holds its shape well when dry. My green sand is pretty dry when I use it so I expect I wouldn't see a noticeable difference but it might be worth a test.
Wouldn't you want the runner to go into the bottom of the pattern? I'm thinking of leaving fewer marks on the surface of the piece, since the runner would obviously have to be removed. Kinda tough to do for a bowel, but... maybe invert it, so the bowl is facing up in the cope, with the runner touching the bottom ring?
Nolan, I think spell check got you. A bowel is inside of a person or animal. A bowl is sitting on the table filled with nibbles.
I don't think that you ever want your runner to go directly in to the part. The gate is how we control the flow into the part. Many times runners are taller (especially when people put cans on top of their copes) and that would have the metal entering the mold at much to high a speed. Remember, it's all about presenting the metal in a nice calm non-turbulent flow into the part. The gate is a huge part of that.
I didn't cast it that orientation largely because I wanted the lettering of the brand to be facing down so that I would get good definition as the metal settled down into them.
@@swdweeb Right, gate. Sorry, I just flubbed that.
@@markfryer9880 Yup. Duh! lol
Well, ther eis still a bit of a problem, although much much smaller 😄 How would you get the brand in the bottom of the bowl? Would you still do a false cope? The gate coming into the bottom of the part make it tough to do that as well. I guess you could put the bowl on something that was the same thickness as the gate. Ram a false cope, turn it over, and ram the drag, then take the false cope off, cut in a runner into the core that is built into the drag.... I think we've exceeded the law of diminishing returns. Gating into the side of the bowl was easy and really clean to remove. There was no drop in the metal as it came in at the same level as the bottom of the mold.
Interesting stuff to think about though...
What kind of 3d printer do you use to print the runners and a sprue, is it PLA printer? if so, what brand would you recommend?
thank you
I have an alunar printer but it isn’t working now. I borrowed an ender3 from a friend but I’m not thrilled with it. So I guess I can’t recommend one. I use pla
Very informative, thanks for sharing. The false cope caused me to think for a moment but I get it but now you’ll have trapped air at the top of the bowl (bottom rim), how does it escape as I didn’t see you vent it?
Cheers
Peter
The sand is able to absorb the air in the mold
The false cope was only used to hold the owl in the right place to ram the drag. It allowed me to fill the inside of the bowl with sand as I rammed the drag and thus creating a core that was part of the drag (strong and in place)
I actually did vent the mold I just didnt see it. Take a look at 6:45 and you'll see six tiny holes in the top of the sand. I used a wire to poke down through the sand while the pattern was still in the cope
Seems like you put vents in the top for the gasses to escape? Or not? Thx..
Vents can be put in the top or they can be on the sides. The intent is to prevent gas pressure from building up and preventing the metal from flowing to all portions of the mold. Sometimes that can be at the end of a long flat piece. A lot of times I use vents at the corners of rectangular pieces and just run them out the side
@@swdweeb thx..let me try corner vents to the sides..
@@terencesimpson100 This might help. I dont know. ua-cam.com/video/fvSHwvTyApk/v-deo.html
Can'twait to watch.
Ummm no reply on Prof. John Campbell's Ten Rules for Making Reliable Castings
??? I started to do them a long time ago but got side-tracked and never got past introducing the topic. I might revisit them with a focus on the home foundry after I get through with this series.
Were you expecting another response that you never got?
Yes, Please REREAD it.
But that's not what I'm here to tell you about
I'm here to talk about the draft...
Yes he was. Amazing how few people will get that
@@swdweeb that feller up there a few comments up by the name of @bc65925 is my dear ol dad. He had me hooked on that song when I was probably about 12 years old. (I hate to do this to ya, but that was around 1996)
James C well he’s a better dad than me. I think my kids would only listen to it once and that’s because they were trapped in the car at the time
Beats dumping your trash off a cliff off the side of a side road.
@@carlericvonkleistiii2188 HA!! There's two of you that have some culture and class 😄😄
Does all of this apply to copper as well? Ive been told it behaves differently than other metals when melted, curious of all this pertains to copper
Yes it absolutely applies to copper