Iron Pot Factory

Never seen a hand held spark surfacing, depositing....spinning edm tool.
https://youtube.com/shorts/UlGjFs1macM?feature=share

https://rocklinmanufacturing.com/bl...lectrospark_deposition__hard_surfacing/ar/69/

 

So the Indians have mastered the art of stainless steel casting using an oil fired furnace and sand moulds. Not sure what grade of stainless steel it ends up as:"Is it Shiny?"...."Yes"..."Ok that's perfect!". Also the crucible is so thin, it springs a leak before they can pour from it .

 

The rebuild is interesting too.

 

Nothing too complex about how they build the furnace, looks like curved fire bricks and bentonite/water paste for mortar. No need for good insulation if it's buried in the ground: even the surrounding dirt was red hot. The air gap between the furnace bore and the crucible wasn't too big either.

 

Handy sand prepping technique.

 

Very handy indeed. I got a chuckle out of it.

Pete

 

Ipsa

 

A few comments on the video on what I tried to deduce from the info provided.

1) I am guessing the person in the video was perhaps an owner (he had pretty nice clothes and newish boots that were not cheap) of a business that must employ quite a few molders. I say that as the amount of sand ingeniously mulled with the garden tiller was huge (and the melting furnace also quite sizeable) and was open to the air. So, within a short time after mulling the sand would dry significantly as it was laid out in a relatively thin layer as opposed to being in a big pile. At the rate the molder videod was going, it would take half a month to use the amount of sand that was mulled. Sure he could sprinkle it from time to time with his garden hose. But, it makes sense to me that ordinarily a good number of people would have been molding.

2) The gating with four blind risers on this apparently thin pattern was surprising. Given the thinness of the pattern, I am surprised he needed risers at all.

3) It seems like slightly inclining the molds sprue-down would have been advantageous. You can see the haphazard flow pattern of the aluminum as indicated by its surface finish. By using 4 gates, he can flood the metal into the mold pretty quickly though it appeared his pouring temp was fairly low since his aluminum flowed pretty thick.

4) I liked the cardboard shield he installed on the wheel grinder---it likely eliminated the annoying bits of hot aluminum flying off the wheel and into his face.

5) I think his business was fairly prosperous: He had a good-sized stock of aluminum ingots stacked up---not the often- seen pile of scrap bits of all sorts. His flasks and pattterns looked to be of very good quality. His building looked to be in good condition and relatively clean. He had a first-rate sand blasting cabinet.

The product he makes looks to be of good quality with a nice final finish.

Is it a stretch to try to come to all the conclusions listed above? Sure. But fun nevertheless.

Denis

 

Neat welding clamp.