155 Cold Flakes

Chapter Twenty-Two
COLD FLAKES
155
A. DESCRIPTION OF THE DEFECT
Cold flakes occur in cold chamber machines when a skin of aluminum is
solidified on the bottom of the shot sleeve after the metal is poured into the
sleeve. This skin is then chipped off in small chunks (cold flakes) by the
plunger as it moves forward, and these chips are pushed into the runner
and the casting.
These flakes will have a characteristic appearance in the casting and in
the runner. They will have one straight side that is coated with lubricant,
and the other side will be irregular in shape and partially bonded with the
rest of the alloy. The straight side will not bond with the rest of the alloy
because of the coating of lubricant, and will form a crack that can cause
leaks or be the location of a fracture.
Cold flakes will be concentrated in the runner, but there will be some
cold flakes in the casting, especially just past the gate, depending on the
geometry of the runner and the gate. Fig. 22.1 shows some cold flakes in a
runner section, and 22.2 and 22.3 show photomicrographs of typical cold
flakes in a runner.
Cold flakes can cause several types of defects; probably the most com-
mon is an irregular break out at the gate. This happens when a cold flake
lodges in the gate and the gate is then broken off. The fracture line through
the cold flake will follow the straight side of the cold flake, which usually
means that there will be a break into the casting at the gate. This is often
undesirable. Fig. 22.4 shows an uneven gate break caused by cold flakes.
Another problem caused by cold flakes is a partial blocking of the
gate. This can happen with thin gates when the cold flake sticks in the gate
and diverts the metal flow. This can cause surface or flow defects.
They can also be a leak path or a location that will cause cracks. This
is a bigger problem in thin wall castings with leak test requirements.
Cold flakes are probably impossible to eliminate, but they can be re-
156 NADCA DIE CASTING DEFECTS
Fig. 22.1. Cold flakes in the center of a runner. Note the typical straight sided structure.
Fig. 22.2. Cold flakes in a runner chosen at random from a typical production run.
157 Cold Flakes
Fig. 22.3. Close up of the cold flakes from Fig. 22.2, showing the typical straight side and
the lack of integration of this side with the rest of the casting.
Fig. 22.4. Cold flakes in a gate that cause irregular break outs at the gate.
158 NADCA DIE CASTING DEFECTS
duced to some extent by careful process management and good consistent
operation. Some of the actions that can be taken include:
Minimize the dwell time in the sleeve as much as possible; note that
this will be difficult when trying to utilize the proper acceleration
schedule to minimize trapped air during the slow speed plunger ac-
celeration phase
Keep the percentage fill on the sleeve as high as possible (Note: com-
puter simulation studies suggest that the percent fill does not make
much difference in the thickness of the skin, but this remains to be
proven at this time)
Keep the sleeve temperature as high as possible, (but not so high that it
will cause rapid erosion under the pour hole)
If at all possible, do not utilize very low metal pour temperatures
(1200 F or 650 C), keep the metal temperature in the 1250 F
(675 C) range
Do not run very small biscuits, keep the biscuit size comfortably above
the minimum (this will keep some of the cold flakes in the biscuit
instead of in the runner or casting)
Use a trim to shear the runner off instead of breaking it off
Preheat the sleeve with electric heaters or shots; for sensitive castings,
it may be necessary to scrap castings until the sleeve is up to tempera-
ture (about 650 F or 350 C)
All of these actions require more detailed control of some of the varia-
tions in the process (biscuit thickness, sleeve temperature) than is cus-
tomary, and this will not be necessary for all castings; but some castings
will be sensitive to this phenomenon. For example, a casting with a gate
on a thin wall that is subject to leak testing would be sensitive to the
location of cold flakes.