15ME202 MODERN MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES

ANTIOCH PROCESS IN CASTING

INTRODUCTION: A method of plaster molding in which a plaster-water

mixture is poured over a pattern, after which the mold is steam-treated,
allowed to set in air, dried in an oven, and cooled for use in casting certain
alloys.

CORE ITEM, KEY FEATURES AND PROCESS: Molds are dehydrated in an

autoclave (pressurized oven) for 6 to 12 hours and then rehydrated in air for
14 hours.50% plaster of Paris and 50% sand is mixed with water. The
mixture is poured over the casting pattern and let set. After the pattern is
removed, the mold is autoclaved in steam, (placed in an oven that uses hot
steam under high pressure), and then let set in air. The resulting mold will
easily allow the escape of gases from the casting.
It is done with a mixture of sand, gypsum, asbestos, talc, sodium silicate,
and water, sand being the bulk ingredient and gypsum being the binder. The
slurry is poured around the pattern in suitable flasks or metal core boxes,
after standing for 6 hours, the molds are assembled and autoclaved in steam
and dried in air. The molds are finally put in oven. The advantage of plaster
molds are that nonferrous casting can be made with good surface finish and
dimensional accuracy. Tolerance of +0.055 in. on small casting and +0.015
in. on large castings such as rubber-tire molds can be obtained. Metallurgical
quality in aluminum castings is also claimed for Antioch process, because
metal chills can be embodied in the mold.

ADVANTAGES:

More uniform grain structure is created

More intricate designs can be made

DISADVANTAGES:

It can only be used with lower melting temperature non-ferrous

materials, such as Aluminium, Copper, Magnesium, and Zinc
Its long cooling time restricts production volume

APPLICATIONS:

In industry parts such as valves, tooling, gears, and lock components

may be manufactured by Antioch Process in manufacturing
Also useful for prototypes and short run production of aluminum and
zinc parts
Cost-effective casting process for complex components

REFERENCES:

Materials and Processes in Manufacturing (9th ed.), Degarmo, E. Paul; Black,

J T.; Kohser, Ronald A.

Manufacturing Engineering and Technology (5th ed.), Kalpakjian, Serope;

Schmid, Steven.