CASTING INNOVATIONS Columbus Castings Finds Less Expensive Zircon Substitute
With the availability of zircon tightening and price rising, Columbus Castings, Columbus, Ohio, began looking for a substitute sand with comparable expansion, heat conductiv- ity and refractory properties. Te steel caster’s sand supplier, HA International, West-
mont, Ill., suggested a new product, SpheriChrome, which is a specialty casting sand mined in Oregon State’s Coos Bay by Oregon Resources Corp. SpheriChrome, which became available in late 2011, is a chromite sand with round grain structure and a two-screen distribution. It is finer than typi- cal chromite sand. Columbus Castings, which produces 85-lb. (39-kg)
railroad components to 50,000-lb. (23,0000-kg) industrial products, used zircon sand in its facility as facing sand on areas subject to high heat, such as heavy sections, deep pock- ets and other areas of burn-in concentration. Te steel caster began incorporating SpheriChrome into a few small cores to ensure the product was compatible with its sand system before progressing to its highest heat applications. “We found the comparison to zircon is basically identi-
cal,” said Steve Pinkstock, foundry operations manager at Columbus Castings. “We had planned on using Spheri- Chrome as a substitute, but now we are using it exclusively where we used our own specialty sands.” According to Pinkstock, Columbus Castings did not vary
its process to use SpheriChrome, and the results with the new product made the decision to switch easy. “If you have those types of results and can save a consid-
erable amount of money, that’s just good business,” Pink- stock said.
SpheriChrome is a chromite sand with a round grain structure mined in Coos Bay, Ore.
SpheriChrome is being tested by several other metalcast-
ing facilities and has been well received. According to Mitch Patterson, foundry sands product manager for HA Interna- tional, supply will not be an issue. “It will be available for years to come,” Patterson said. SpheriChrome is appropriate to use in nonferrous and ferrous casting facilities where silica sand won’t produce
satisfactory results due to veining or burn-in. Visit
www.ha-international.com for more information.
Shown is a large casting produced at Columbus Castings with zircon-faced areas (highlighted red) and SpheriChrome-faced areas (highlighted blue). 44 | MODERN CASTING June 2012
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