BATNEEC — Best Available Technology Not Entailing Excessive Cost — is one of those regulatory ideas most engineers recognize instinctively, even if they have not encountered the acronym recently. Originating in UK and European environmental regulation, it was intended to prevent poor practice from being defended purely on the basis of cost. Within foundries, BATNEEC … Read more
Your pouring basin decides what enters the mold. If your pouring basin is acting like a funnel, it’s doing two things you don’t want: aspirating air, and collecting and delivering oxides/inclusions straight into the sprue. A good pouring basin isn’t a “nice-to-have.” It’s a flow conditioning device. Best practice:Offset pouring basin (not centered over the … Read more
Porosity has long been one of the most persistent quality challenges in aluminum castings. While macro-porosity can often be identified and removed, micro-porosity—tiny voids dispersed within the casting—poses a more insidious threat, reducing mechanical strength, fatigue resistance, and leak tightness. Among the many factors influencing porosity, the addition of Strontium (Sr), a widely used eutectic … Read more
In modern foundry engineering, “design by analysis” has replaced “design by experience” as the foundation of high-integrity casting manufacture. Gone are the days when gating and riser layouts were drawn from rule-of-thumb. Today, every successful casting begins with data — simulation, metallurgical modeling, and a deep understanding of how molten metal behaves as it fills and solidifies. At Metal Casting … Read more
Introduction Casting is one of the oldest and most versatile manufacturing processes, but it comes with a challenge every foundry engineer knows well: defects. From surface blemishes to hidden internal flaws, defects reduce yield, increase scrap, and can compromise safety if undetected. What often gets overlooked is this: it’s not enough to just notice a defect … Read more
Preserving the Core Tenets of Bottom Fill, Quiescent Metal Control, and Zircon Mold Precision 1. Introduction Frustrated by the constant failure of Aluminum cylinder heads, Cosworth Engineering asked Professor Campbell to develop a new casting process in the late 1970s. The resulting Cosworth Casting Process set a new standard for producing high-integrity aluminum castings for … Read more
The way molten metal is introduced into a mold directly influences casting soundness, defect rates, and yield. Among the available methods, bottom pouring has proven to be highly effective for minimizing turbulence, improving filling patterns, and enhancing casting quality. The velocity of molten metal at the ingates, which dictates whether the flow is laminar, transitional, or turbulent — and … Read more