Per, thanks for taking the time to talk. You’re the driving force behind the test foundry. What is its purpose?

Per: We opened the test foundry in 2024 for intensive process development because we’re committed to developing new non-iron applications within green sand. DISA equipment already produces castings from alloys like aluminum and brass all over the world, but we want to push the limits of what’s possible.

More non-iron foundries are choosing green sand simply because its efficiency cuts casting costs and increases productivity while maintaining quality. Our test foundry will prove their current castings will work with our process too.

What kind of work will the foundry do?

We’re supporting customers with non-iron, end-to-end process development and trialing their – and our own – castings. One day, we’ll have a no-bake steel foundry moving into green sand, on another, a green sand iron foundry testing aluminum.

The test foundry has already proved to a major US-based foundry that a DISAMATIC D3 vertical moulding line is a great choice for their brass castings and we will also help customers wanting to develop iron castings.

How is this facility different from DISA’s previous testing programs?

This is our second dedicated, fully equipped test foundry and we can easily set it up to pour iron, steel, aluminum and copper alloys. We have vertical moulding machine fed by a small sand plant, a furnace that can melt any alloy, a core shooter and other tools like a spectrometer to give full control over chemical composition and MAGMASOFT to aid gating and feeding design. 

Which parts of the green sand process do you have to change for non-iron?

There are many variables we adjust for each alloy: different sand mixes and sand quality, redesigning gating and feeding, or maybe trying another type of core binder. If we see any issues like inclusions, then we can quickly tweak settings and go again. 

Existing DISAMATIC foundries switching to new alloys already know the green sand process, what the machine is capable of and how to handle the moulding process, giving them a good head start. It’s a big opportunity for them too.

You also have a Simpson sand reclamation machine installed. How will that be used?

We use it for customer tests. Customers send us samples of their used sand, and we clean it to three different levels, then we run lab tests on the samples. That will demonstrate what percentage can be reused and how effective pneumatic reclaim is for their sand.

This demonstrates the performance of pneumatic cleaning on the customer’s actual sand and the wide range of different cleaning levels that are possible. These results are the best starting point for fact-based discussions with the customer about how to reuse their sand.

What’s happening in the test foundry at the moment?

Today we’re working with a customer on a steel casting to prove that casting this part in green sand will give the quality required. Next, we’re testing steel container corners and then digger bucket teeth. The latter is a very common, high volume wear part that can be made much more efficiently in green sand compared to no-bake which has cost and quality issues.

We’ll be focusing on a different alloy every few months and we’ll be updating everyone via our LinkedIn channel. It’s hard to make a breakthrough on your own. Partner with us if you have a non-iron casting you would like to produce in green sand – we’re here to help!

Per, thank you for your time!