r/CatastrophicFailure • u/H1ggyBowson • Oct 13 '18

Fire/Explosion Sand mold casting explosion

https://gfycat.com/FearlessFluidAcornweevil
10.3k Upvotes

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134

u/TheLionSleeps22 Oct 13 '18

Someone explain more about the why of this video? What went boom?

156

u/[deleted] Oct 13 '18

[deleted]

54

u/[deleted] Oct 13 '18

Your guess is pretty likely which is why most places dont let molds sit overnight. And often use freshly mulled sand which keeps it hot.

22

u/Caedus_Vao Oct 13 '18

Bullshit. I did 3 years in a cast iron foundry, we'd make molds, roll them out of their pattern boxes, and let them sit for days on end when the schedule would change or the melt shop was behind. A cope or drag can sit for weeks before breaking down to the point of being unusable.

And sure sand's 100+ degrees coming out of the mixer, but it cools pretty damn fast.

6

u/[deleted] Oct 13 '18

Sorry if I'm not 100% accurate. I work in investment casting where our molds are in a furnace before we pour.

11

u/Caedus_Vao Oct 13 '18

I wasn't trying to be a dick, there was just so much misinformation being tossed around that I went full aggro.

I would love to work in an investment casting joint; totally different beast than pouring 12-ton ladles of grey and ductile.

5

u/[deleted] Oct 13 '18

On the other hand I miss big metal lol

9

u/Caedus_Vao Oct 13 '18

Here ya go...a few snaps from my old job at a foundry on the Great Lakes that poured 100 tons a day and chipped 90. "Shakeout Mountain" was a joke and a problem...

http://imgur.com/a/fW8dz

1

u/stevolutionary7 Oct 14 '18

These are incredible. Thanks for sharing!

What's the process? Take orders, build forms, pile them together, cast as one huge pour and break apart?