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Update: That time a core shift ruined a whole pour of 316 stainless for a marine fitting job.
The mold was fine at the pattern shop in Tacoma, but the core must have moved during the pour, leaving us with a casting that was off by a solid quarter inch and completely useless, so now I'm looking at a two-day delay and a very unhappy customer.
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allen.ruby1mo ago
That kind of core shift is the worst, just kills the whole part. Makes you wonder if the core prints were a bit undersized or if the sand wasn't packed right around them. Seen it happen before where everything checks out at the shop, but the heat and the metal flow during the pour just pushes things out of place. Really tough to catch it in time, too. Now you're stuck remaking the whole mold from scratch, which is such a time sink.
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the_uma1mo ago
Sometimes the core wash recipe is off and it doesn't set hard enough before the pour. @allen.ruby, that softer surface can let things move even if the prints and sand seem fine at first. It's a sneaky one that only shows up after the metal hits.
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rivera.keith27d ago
Reminds me of a pour where the core actually floated up and sat at the parting line. Looked perfect until we cracked the mold and saw this weird metal fin where it shouldn't be. Total mystery until we found the core chilling up top.
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