34 AMERICAN S T E E L FOUNDRY PRACTICE.
AMERICAN STEEL FOUNDRY PRACTICE.
BY C. W. BRICGS.*
Captain Shane has very ably pointed out the interesting features
of the various European steel foundry practices and has given us
an insight as to the European methods of steel casting manufacture.
It i s my plan to outline to you some of the features of the Anier-
ican practice and to show how they differ from the European.
EQUIPMENT.
In 1929 when production was at a peak in the steel casting
industry, basic open hearth led the processes making steel for cast-
ing purposes.
Basic open hearth, tons ............................................ 525,000
Acid open hearth, tons ............................................ 485,000
Electric (Acid and Basic), tons ............................ 374,000
Bessemer, tons ........................................................ 27,000
Crucible, tons .......................................................... 794
The acid electric practice constitutes about 75 per cent of the
production of the electric process. This process has been gaining
considerable favor, especially in 1918, and the total tonnage of
steel as produced by this process has increased remarkably. The
large open hearths are still favored as large castings can easily be
poured. *
In the last few years considerable thought has been given to the
control of the operation on open hearth furnaces. Temperature
control of the checker system has become automatic and forced
drafts have been practically controlled. These features make the
present open hearth furnaces the most accurate melting furnaces
of their type in the world. The control of the electric furnaces
with the many power taps have tended to give a more uniforni
temperature control.
Associate Metalliirgist. Naval Research Laboratory, " Believue," Anacostin. D. C.
A M E R I C A N STEEL F O U N D R Y PRACTICE. 35
The core ovens and mold drying ovens are of the finest type that
can be produced. Usually they are very carefully controlled as to
temperature and as to fuel. One of the finest ovens of this type
is being operated by a steel casting manufacturer in the Eastern
district. The oven is 230 feet long, is gas fired and is run at 450
degrees F. There are 5 racks running through the oven at differ-
ent speeds. The cores are placed on the racks according to the
size, the largest cores on the slowest rack. The speed of move-
ment of the cores through the oven is from 46 minutes to 9 hours,
depending on the size of the core.
The annealing furnaces are, in general, mostly of the car type
and are usually oil fired. The car type furnace fits in nicely with
the American practice of normalizing castings instead of using the
full anneal. I shall speak further on the normalizing practice in
this country when I consider the subject of heat treatment.
The molding equipment that is available in this country is of the
very latest design and is extremely helpful in mass production
manufacturing. We have squeeze machines, combined jolt-squeeze
machines, jolt-ramming and sand slingers. These machines are
especially adaptable in the assembly-track type of foundry where
material is all brought to one place and machines can be set up in
the production cycle. There are certain features about the use of
these machines. They usually give definite mold characteristics
such as a uniform mold hardness throughout a mold, and from
mold to mold. Of course, then, too, the hardness of the molds can
hecome much greater than they otherwise would have been if hand
ramming had been used. This in many cases is distinctly a dis-
advantage.
SAND.
There is no sand in this country that is equivalent to the
European Cornpo. Of course, in some cases this may be a disad-
vantage. However, it is felt that if a synthetic sand of washed
quartz grains is used with a good grade bonding material a very
high refractory sand can be produced that will give excellent
results. The natural bonded sands are used fairly extensively in
this country, depending on the proximity of the deposit. How-
ever, it is easier to control the physical characteristics of a sand
36 AMERICAN STEEL FOUNDRY PRACTICE.
that *is synthetically bonded and a greater regularity is obtained.
One organization gets a fairly good refractory sand nearby that
has a low compression strength. They build up the strength fur-
ther by mulling with it percentages of bentonite; in other words.
the sand is of a semi-synthetic nature.
The very surprising thing is the large amount of green sand
that is used in the American steel casting plants. In nearly all the
high-class small &sting plants green sand is used, and in plants
where large and small castings are made, two types of sand are
used, the dry sand practice in the large molds and the green sand in
the smaller ones. The green sand practice as employed at two
foundries in the Eastern district is the use of a number 40 washed
silica sand bonded with bentonite, corn flour, wheat flour, or sugar
products, and 3 to 4 per cent water. These are mulled together
for definite periods in order to obtain the strength desired and
then distributed to the molding floor. Sand thus produced will act
as molds for metal poured that day or the next day at the latest.
Green sand is more collapsible than dry sand and is more easily
crushed by the casting in contracting. This is especially important
at the solidifying temperatures.
Collapsible cores and molds have received considerable attention,
especially in the best foundries. In some cases the entire mold
back of the facing sand will be made up of cinders, coke, straw,
etc., in order to insure complete collapsibility. Cores are con-
structed in the same manner. In fact, most cores should be made
as collapsible as possible as they are usually surrounded by metal
and if not of a collapsible nature may very easily crack the casting.
At one plant where they cast alloy steel pipe, they use two
types of collapsible cores. One method consists of building the
core up on a chain. As soon as the mold has been poured the
chain is jerked out of the center of the core by a crane and the
core has room in which to collapse. In another case they build a
facing sand around a hay rope. The temperature of the core after
the metal has been poured around it is so great that it bums out the
hay rope and allows the core to collapse.
At another plant all sand cores are made in halves. After
baking, the sand is removed from the center of the core, thus pro-
viding collapsibility. This is a very good practice and is carried
on by several other organizations.
AMERICAN STEEL FOUNDRY PRACTICE. 37
Two foundries in Pennsylvania and one in the Chicago district
use a quantity of green sand cores. In this case they have a com-
plete green sand practice. Green sand cores have found rather
wide application in industry but careful handling must be provided.
Relieving blocks are useful in helping to make molds collapsible.
Two organizations producing railroad castings use this method.
Blocks are molded in place and as soon as the casting has been
poured a crane pulls out these blocks, thus allowing the metal to
contract without withstanding excessive mold resistance.
There are other precautions taken in molding such as care with
gates, shaping of heads, etc. A practice of a foundry in the
Detroit district and one i n Eastern Pennsylvania is to mold the
gates so that there will be no corners. In this way the amount of
sand that is washed off into the mold is kept very low. In some
cases these gates are made up in sleeve form and dried and then
placed in the mold.
One reason that collapsible molds are not used more in this
country is that the sand is all shaken out and reclaimed. When
cinders, coke, etc., are used this makes the reclaiming process
rather difficult as such material must be separated or it will lower
the refractoriness of the sand.
CORE MOLDS.
Core molds have become rather popular in production shops.
The molds consist of an assembly of dry sand cores. The cores
are molded at one place, dried in the core oven, and then brought
to the job where an assembling crew builds the mold.
RECLAIMING.
A very important phase of the modern steel foundry is sand
handling and sand reclaiming. The molds are usually shaken out
over a pit into a primary crusher. These shake-out pits are very
good as they specify a definite place for molds to be shaken out ;
not all over the shop, as is sometimes the case, which results in a
shop having various piles of heap sand with a varying number of
characteristics.
The sand, after being broken up, passes under a magnetic sep-
arator and hence into the niullers where the sand is broken down
38 AMERICAN STEEL FOUNDRY PRACTICE.
into its component grains. From the mullers it goes to a reclaini-
ing system where air, water or vibratory screening devices are used
to remave the fines, and then back to the muller for rebonding and
water addition. The muller as is seen is a very handy device and
almost every foundry has one or two. One company has three
large mullers that are in practically continuous operation. In these
mullers about 1500 pounds of sand can be mulled. At another
company 1800 pounds is mulled every four minutes.
Sand hoppers and sand conveyor systems are very helpful as
sand is delivered to the molder at all times. This system can be
seen in several foundries.
In order to have a well-controlled foundry sand, certain test
equipment must be on hand and sand tests should be run hourly.
The most important tests are those for compression strength, per-
meability and moisture content. Methods for determining the sand
grading should also be at hand.
It is practically impossible to run a green sand practice without
having accessible sand control equipment. One of the shortcom-
ings of Navy foundries is their failure to see the necessity to install
this equipment, as it is only by the knowledge of such test condi-
tions that any definite improvement can be made in foundry sands.
It is needless to point out that foundry sands are exceedingly im-
portant in the manufacture of steel castings.
STEEL.
The practice in this country is to use a very fast melting cycle.
This is quite different from that of the European practice as
Captain Shane pointed out. The advantage of the fast-melting
practice over a slow practice is that less carbon is lost by oxidation
in the melt-down period, It might be quite possible that the slower
melting practice results in producing better grade steel but on that
point we have very little data. It might help in some of our prac-
tice as in a great many cases the steel making in this country is
merely a melting down practice and not one of steel making at all.
This is especially true in the acid practice. Very little attention is
paid to slags, and as there is no elimination of phosphorus or
sulphur, the practice merely results in melting down and pouring
out. Perhaps if in this case more care were taken with melting
AMERICAN STEEL FOUNDRY PRACTICE. 39
down, a better steel would result. It is my opinion that a number
of American 'manufacturers of steel castings do 'not give enough
time or thought to the making of the steel. IVe'have seen how
important the bend test is in European countries. I n this country
much more importance and stress is placed on the yield point and
the reduction of area. And though the bend test is not mentioned
so often, I believe that excellent bend tests are practically always
obtained. The average physical properties obtained in this country
for the usual run of castings are as follows:
Tensile Strength, pounds per square inch................72,000
Yield Point, pounds per square inch.......................... 40,000
Elongation 2 inches, per cent .................................... 30
Reduction of Area, per cent. ..................................... 50
The average chemical analysis is :
Carbon, per cent .................................................. 0.25
Manganese, per cent ..................... ...................... 0.60-0.70
..
Silicon, per cent .................................................. 0.30
Phosphorus, per cent .......................................... 0.0~
Sulphur, per cent ................................................ 0.0~
It will be noticed that the carbon content is about I 0 poillts lower
than the general European practice .as .Captain Shane has pointed
out. The manganese is also about 10 points lower and the silicon
about 5 points lower than the European practice. This difference
may have a marked significance +-regards the finished product
but no definite,statement can be made as there are no correlated
data on hand that would substantially prove this point.
Speed with a great degree,of accuracy has been obtained in this
country on control analysis. Carbon and manganese can be ob-
tained in 10 minutes. Various methods of conveying rapidly the
sample from the melting floor to the chemical laboratory have been
installed such as aerial trams, pneumatic tubes, and the like. Solu-
tions are kept hot, ready to add to the sample, and the analyses are
turned out quickly with precision. The results are returned to the
melting floor by telephone, or, as in one case, the chemist broad-
casts the results through a loudspeaker and the results are heard
over the entire melting floor.
40 AMERICAN STEEL FOUNDRY PRACTICE.
Some plants use a steel of a different analysis than that given
above. For example, at one plant a silicon content of 0.80-0.90
per cent is used. They claim that they get much greater fluidity
and that their physical properties are very good.
The problem of fluidity is important. In fact, much more
important than most steel casting producers realize. It is true that
the user of the acid practice claims greater fluidity than the basic
practice, while a basic practice operator will claim greater fluidity
for his own produce. Up to the present time little has been done
to obtain reliable information on the subject. Two organizations
have worked somewhat on fluidity using a modification of the
Saeger horizontal spiral mold and they have reported that using
the same practice, the same furnace and all other things controlled
as nearly as possible, that varying degrees of fluidity are obtained.
No steel foundry in this country, to my knowledge, uses a fluidity
test before pouring.
DOUBLE PROCESS MELTING A N D DEOXIDIZERS.
In some plants a double process is carried on. One of the plants
in Western Pennsylvania uses a tilting acid open hearth furnace
to make a 0.30 to 0.35 per cent carbon steel and then pour a por-
tion of the charge out and the remainder of the charge they make
a low carbon 1.50 per cent manganese alloy. Such production
methods are not always the best, though excellent results are
claimed for them.
The deoxidizers are much the same the world over. Aluminum,
ferro-silicon and ferro-manganese are the most important. Ferro-
titanium, calcium silicide and sodium are also being used. There
are many ideas about the time and the method of addition. Some
additions take place.in the furnace, others in the ladle and others
even in the mold. I n general, these practices are the result of ex-
perience rather than anything founded on scientific correlations.
Herty’s work on deoxidizers for the open-hearth furnace is the
orily reliable source of information. His experiments have led
him to believe that an iron alloy of manganese and silicon added
to the furnace seems to be the best deoxidizer.
The pouring ladles used in steel casting manufacturing are
mostly bottom pour, especially for the large castings. The small
AMERICAN S T E E L FOUNDRY PRACTICE. 41
castings are poured from the top pour ladles and the teapot ladles.
I n the latter case the metal is poured from the ladle into hand
shanks and then carried to the molds.
HEAT TREATMENT.
The heat treatment of steel castings in this country consists
mostly of normalizing. Heating in the furnace, holding for a pre-
determined time and cooling in air. In many cases this treatment
is followed by a draw at temperatures of 900-1100 degrees F.
It is claimed that by the normalizing temperature greater yield
points are obtained and that the furnaces are released for further
treatments. In many cases two cars will be available for each car
type furnace so that while one car is in the air cooling another car
can be in the furnace heating up. In this way greater production
is maintained. I n some places, one big plant in particular, no heat
treatment at all is given to the castings. At another foundry
the castings are shaken out of the sand as soon as possible and
while hot are transferred to, an annealing furnace that is up to
temperature. The castings are then slowly cooled. There are
many different practices of heat treating but the full anneal is not
the most widely used practice. The industry feels that the Navy’s
methods of heat treatment are considerably behind the times; if
that is the case, some of the European heat treating methods are
considerably ancient too. It is rather difficult to prove this point
as steel with good physical properties comes from both methods.
CR€LLS.
The steel founders of this country are sadly in the need of edu-
cation on the use of chills. Chills from those of the horseshoe type
as used in Europe to bars 54 inch by 3 inches or maybe even larger
have been used in this country as internal chills. To use internal
chills and to use them properly is a science and not an art as most
foundrymen believe. Chills of all shapes are used. We would do
well if we limited all internal chills to horseshoe nails and some
section spirals. Chills improperly used have been the source of
more trouble in the foundry than they have corrected, The Navy’s
foundries, likewise, have not given as much consideration to chills
42 AMERICAK STEEL FOUNDRY PRACTICE.
as they should. Some foundries are using a large number of
external chills, but care must be taken to form them to the shape
of the casting. At a foundry in the Eastern district the external
chills are cast fastened on the main casting. Thus the chills cast
on a casting will be used in molding the following one.
CLEANING CASTINGS.
The operation of cleaning castings has progressed so much in
the last few years that considerable speed can be obtained. Steel
shot have somewhat supplanted the sand blast, and the grinding
wheels are so readily manipulated that a cleaning room can be run
on a time production basis. In some plants two cleaning rooms
are provided, one for the cleaning of small castings and the other
for large castings. The use of synthetic sand has reduced clean-
ing costs considerably.
In some cases there is considerable welding done on the castings
and in other cases practically none. It has been the general plan
of the producers to finish castings with surface conditions as per-
fect as possible.
NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING.
Many manufacturers of steel castings have used X-ray radiog-
raphy as an inspection medium of their castings. There are many
jobs today that require X-ray radiography. Considerable interest
has been given to the Navy’s method of gamma ray radiography
and various large steel casting organizations have become familiar
with its use and feel that it is a real tool in the hands of competent
foundrymen. The staff of the Naval Research Laboratory feels
that its greatest benefit is not as an inspection medium but as a
method of sound casting production. Pilot castings should be
radiographed completely and in this manner the location of defects
can be found and the molding and casting procedure so modified
as to give perfect results.
PERSONNEL.
I should like to say a few words about the foundry personnel.
The foundry superintendent is in control of every phase of the
foundry practice in this country, and in general the foundry super-
AMERICAN STEEL ' FOUNDRY PRACTICE. 43
intendent is a practical man, a good molder, and perhaps a good
practical steel melter. The Engineer or the Metallurgist has little
actual contrd over plarlt supervision. More technical supervision
and control would help the foundry immensely. The,main concern
in the country has been, of course, to develop the machine and to
increase production. It is rather difficult to get trained young men
to become apprentices in a steel foundry as they dislike the idea of
the low pay they are required to take, and foundry work has been
associated with the class of dirty work. We have apprentice sys-
tems in this country but they are far from the type that is needed
to train men to be technically trained plant operators. Of course,
the organization is not entirely to blame that the grade of men
that accept apprenticeship are not of the right caliber. However,
I believe more constructive thought could be given to the develop-
ment of personnel. The steel foundry today needs technically
trained men who know a great deal 'more about theory and less
about the mechanical application of molding. An organization that
can boast of a consultative board consisting of practical men, and
technical men, where the problems of the foundry are considered
and solved, will produce a higher grade product.
DESIGN A N D DEFECTS.
It is needless to say that the design of a steel casting has
considerable to do with the condition of the finished product. It is
the opinion of many that most of the defects that are found in steel
castings are the result of the casting design. If a knowledge of
the casting conditions that steel undergoes were in the hands of
casting designers, then we could expect better castings. It is not.
of course, the fault of the designers especially that they have no
book of rules by which they may design a casting. It is more the
fault of the steel casting manufacturers that such a set is not avail-
able. How many casting designers are technical men who have
studied the factors involved in the manufacture of steel castings?
How many designers have conferences with technical men to find
out the practicability of their design? Of course, the answer is-
very few. A number of the casting organizations have in their
staff casting designers that redly look at the casting from the man-
ufacturer's viewpoint as well as for the strength characteristics,
but these men are in the minority.
44 A M E R I C A N STEEL F O l l N D R Y PRACTICE
The Navy is as hadly off in this regard as other organizations.
Some of the Fastings of Naval design are of such a condition that
there i s little wonder at the defects found. These designers un-
doahtedly know perfectly the .;trurtural features necessary in the
castinf: but they have not considered the variables arising in the
manufacture of that casting. Of course, it is not their fault a4
they are not familiar with that phase. The fault lies in lack of
technical information and lark of intimate cooperation with the
casting manufacturer. T h e Naval Research Laboratory, with it.;
small staff in steel casting research, is attempting to make some
headway in this field with the idea of collecting technical informa-
tion. The research will he long and tedious as there are so many
establishetl ideas and prejudices that must he shaken down to ;i
tirm qcientific hasis.
RESEAR( I f .
There is a great need for resarcti in the steel casting industry
Some of the commercial organizations are attempting t o carry 011
one phase or another in this field. They have, however, I)etn more
interested in their own special prodticts than in basic untlerlying
problems. The American Foundrymen‘s Association and Ihttelle
hfemorial Tnstitute are also interested. T h e former has done con
siderahle in its activities on the research of foundry sands and thc
latter has been interested in alloy *eel castings. A11 of thew
qoups are neces.&ly helpful to the industry but it i s thought
that the Naval Research Laboratory’s plan of r e e a r d l i s more
basic and in time will prove more helpful.
There is another type of technical control that is availah4e. 1x1
the industry there ate two organizations, the Steel Casting De-
velopment Bureau with Mr. George Batty as Director, and the
Electric Steel Foundries Research Group with Major Bull a s IX-
rector, that offer their constituent foundries valuable service.
These organizations consist of competitive steel foundries that
have come together and estabiished a central organization for d i s -
semination of technical information. They have recognized the
need for technical con&. Through this organization they solve
p d e m s involving sand tecbmque. molding practice. melting
muthods and the various problems that daily present themselves in
AMERICAN STEEL FOUNDRY PRACTICE. 4s
a steel casting industry: It is noteworthy to point out that the
organizations of these groups compete against each other for thdr
business. Individually, they would be unable to maintain a tech-
nical staff but collectively they can do so. The result is that .tay
deem technical information is not competitive ia nztute and that
by it they are able to produce better steel castings not only for the
good of the industry and their consumers but also for the good of
their own name.
It is interesting to note that while competitive organizations
can do this, the Navy does not attempt to correlate the technique,
melting and molding practices of its various foundria and ia this
case the foundries are all under one general orgwimtion.
As can be seen the American practices do differ s om eww from
those of the European,but this does not mean that good stad cast-
ings cannot & produced in this country. In fact, thousands of
tons of excellent high grade castings are turned out yeorly. But
there are also many cases where better castings can be produced.
Such production can only be attained through thorough kpowladge
and application of correct casting design, technical supervision of
foundry manipulations, and diligent research.
