Our core washout rate went from 15% to under 2% in six months after we changed one thing

We were having a huge problem with core washouts on our gray iron castings, especially the bigger ones for pump housings. The failure rate was sitting at about 15% for months, which was killing our yield. Our binder supplier suggested we switch from a standard fast-cure to their new high-thermal-strength formula, even though it adds about 90 seconds to the cure cycle. We tested it on one line for a week, saw a drop, and rolled it out plant-wide. Now, six months later, our washout rate is consistently below 2%. Has anyone else made a binder change that gave you results this big? I'm curious if it holds up for other alloys.

3 comments

3 Comments

jamesf262d ago

Wow, that's a huge drop. Honestly, we switched to a different coating on our steel investment castings for a similar reason. Tbh, it wasn't just the binder itself, we had to really dial in the sand temperature and mixing time to get the full benefit. The extra cure cycle time you mentioned is a pain, but it's totally worth it for that kind of scrap savings.

parker_thomas2d ago

Right? The process tweaks are half the battle.

olivia_rivera881d ago

Reminds me of when @jamesf26 tweaked their oven...