Warning: a new guy at our shop in Toledo tried to pour a big bronze casting without a proper choke last week.

He set up the gating system with just a sprue and a runner, thinking it would fill fine. The metal came in too fast, caused a lot of turbulence and slag got trapped. We ended up with a major defect right in a critical section. Now the foreman wants us all to go back to using chokes on anything over 50 pounds, but some of the older guys say it just slows the line down. What's your shop's rule on this?

2 comments

2 Comments

val_craig15d ago

Oh man, that's a tough lesson to learn. I've been that new guy, rushing and thinking I could skip a step. Your foreman's rule sounds smart to me, even if it grinds the gears a bit. A little slow now beats a ruined casting every time.

baker.simon15d ago

It's not just about speed, it's about the whole process being right.