There are a number of ways to reduce the concentration of inclusions. In order to reduce oxide formation the metal can be melted with a flux, in a vacuum, or in an inert atmosphere. Other ingredients can be added to the mixture to cause the dross to float to the top where it can be skimmed off before the metal is poured into the mould. If this is not practical, then a special ladle that pours the metal from the bottom can be used. Another option is to install ceramic filters into the gating system. Otherwise swirl gates can be formed which swirl the liquid metal as it is poured in, forcing the lighter inclusions to the center and keeping them out of the casting. If some of the dross or slag is folded into the molten metal then it becomes an entrainment defect. Metallurgical defects
There are two defects in this category: hot tears and hot spots. Hot tears, also known as hot cracking, are failures in the casting that occur as the casting cools. This happens because the metal is weak when it is hot and the residual stresses in the material can cause the casting to fail as it cools. Proper mould design prevents this type of defect.Hot spots are sections of casting which have cooled down more slowly than the surrounding material due to higher volume than its surrounding. This causes abnormal shrinkage in this region, which can lead to porosity and cracks.
Such defects can be caused by air entrained in the melt, steam or smoke from the casting sand, or other gasses from the melt or mould. (Vacuum holes caused by metal shrinkage (see above) may also be loosely referred to as blowholes). Proper foundry practices, including melt preparation and mould design, can reduce the occurrence of these defects. Because they are often surrounded by a skin of sound metal, blowholes may be difficult to detect, requiring harmonic, ultrasonic, magnetic, or X-ray (e.g., industrial CT scanning) analysis. Pouring metal defects
Pouring metal defects include misruns, cold shuts, and inclusions. A misrun occurs when the liquid metal does not completely fill the mould cavity, leaving an unfilled portion. Cold shuts occur when two fronts of liquid metal do not fuse properly in the mould cavity, leaving a weak spot. Both are caused by either a lack of fluidity in the molten metal or cross-sections that are too narrow. The fluidity can be increased by changing the chemical composition of the metal or by increasing the pouring temperature. Another possible cause is back pressure from improperly vented mould cavities.Misruns and cold shuts are closely related and both involve the material freezing before it completely fills the mould cavity. These types of defects are serious because the area surrounding the defect is significantly weaker than intended. The castability and viscosity of the material can be important factors with these problems.