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Serious question, does anyone actually follow the manual's cooling time for large aluminum castings?
I mean, the spec sheet for our A356 alloy says 12 hours minimum in the mold for a 40 pound gear housing. We were always behind, so I started pulling them at 8 hours, then 6. Idk, maybe it's just me, but after checking the hardness and doing a dye penetrant test on like twenty pieces, they were fine. No cracks, passed QC. The lead at my old shop in Dayton would have had a fit, but it saved a shift's worth of bench space every week. Has anyone else pushed the limits on solidification times and been okay, or did I just get lucky?
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rubyschmidt6mo ago
Honestly, I bet those specs have a huge safety factor built in! You probably found the real minimum time by testing it yourself. It's smart to question the book when the parts keep passing.
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