Benchmarking V
ic LaFay, a research and technology devel- opment manager for S&B Miner-
als, Cincinnati, has made metalcasting sand his life’s work. So it’s no surprise he believes the lynchpin of any world- class molding and coremaking opera- tion is putting in the right sand system. “Good molding systems come
down to mulling,” LaFay said. “If you can’t mull it, you’re dead. It is the heart that keeps the blood flowing.” Not everyone would agree with
him, particularly those that have made other metalcasting resources their life’s work. But where everyone can agree— whether they champion quality control or core process selection—is that matching the right equipment and processes to your operation is key to
22 | MODERN CASTING April 2012
being among the best in the business. “A lot of foundries have hurt them-
selves when they went out and bought the latest and greatest mold machine and core machine,” said Bill Vondriska, sales manager for Equipment Mer- chants International, Cleveland.
Sand System According to LaFay, more than 95%
of all molding-related casting defects are due to mulling and the sand mix- ture, and staying in front of the curve of sand mix technology developments is critical to producing good castings. “In 2009, we changed to a whole
new dust collection system,” said Dan Mayton, foundry director for Urick Foundry Co., Erie, Pa., a plant LaFay pointed to as being one of the best molders around. “We wanted to make the shop cleaner. But the net result
Molding, Coremaking
Industry experts stress different process areas and purchasing strategies to optimize molding and coremaking operations. SHEA GIBBS, MANAGING EDITOR
was we were pulling our fines. We were too clean.” Urick has been using Disamatic high-speed molding machines, designed for quick pattern changes, to produce complex medium-run ductile iron castings for several decades. But when it installed its new dust collec- tor in 2009, the system began drawing more fines from the sand system than ever before. Tis created problems with surface finish and required the facility to use an excessive amount of new bond material. “Last year, we started to put dust
back into our muller, and that has done wonders,” Mayton said. “Te dust was over 30% active clay, so basically we are trying to put it back in to get back to the original mix.” LaFay said he respects the compa- ny’s mission to continuously improve.
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