Case history: Kansas Castings finds payback in upgrading its coreroom.

Metalcasting facilities looking to upgrade their processes in order to maximize their profits often overlook the coreroom, where it historically has been hard to achieve a return on investment. Kansas Castings, Belleplain, Kan., was producing its shell cores with the same technology that was used in the 50s and 60s for that reason.

"The simple fact is, we don't see the payback there, usually," said Ron Pomeroy, president of Kansas Castings.

Still, room for improvement existed in its coremaking. Most of Kansas Castings' older equipment included manual or semi-automatic machines that didn't make a consistent core.

"Without an automatic machine, shell cores often are made too solid, so you're wasting sand; or they are made too thin, so they break," Pomeroy said.

Harrison Machine Co., Erie, Pa., recently developed a new dual station core machine that automatically produces cores quickly and consistently, with a promise of a speedy return on investment. The machine is designed to produce cores in two different boxes in one cycle. One corebox shifts to the center for the sand to be blown in while a finished shell core is removed from the other corebox. Then, the corebox in the center shifts to the right while the now empty corebox moves to the center for sand investment. The machine features a bulk bag at the top that feeds the sand through a pressurized tube. Spill sand goes back into the feed system.

With the aim of achieving consistency in its coreroom, Kansas Castings installed the dual station shell core machine at its facility. Pomeroy said that the new machine has resulted in decreased sand waste and labor.

Startup times are quicker as well due to the machine's heating system. A new corebox is put on high heat to warm up quickly. Thermocouples keep the cores at the right temperature when on a lower heat setting.

"If you consider startup and cycle time together, the machine reduces our cycle time by 10%," Pomeroy said. "And at that point, one operator can run two machines."

Eventually, Pomeroy envisions the new Harrison machine replacing at least two existing machines and possibly a third. He calculates that a return on investment will be reached in a year and a half.

"We've seen a reduction in material used and reduced our amount of scrap cores."

Harrison also makes a line of coldbox dual station automatic core machines. Visit www.harrisoncore.com for more information.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]