Foundry (P107)
The foundry lab supports instruction in the Manufacturing Processes and Systems course, the Metalcasting course, research, and student projects. Twice a semester the foundry is opened outside of normal class hours to allow students to pour decorative castings or their own parts. The foundry uses the green sand process and can melt 100 lb of steel and 50 lb of aluminum. Cores, which make internal cavities in castings, can be made using the sodium silicate process. This process does not require dangerous curing gases and can be cleaned up using water. Students have built parts for the formula race car and home light fixtures. There is also an active student chapter of the American Foundry Society, which sponsors tours of local industry, on-campus speakers, and talks at local high schools.
Equipment
- 100kW Inductotherm induction furnace
- 100 lb box unit for steel and cast iron
- 50 lb lift coil unit for aluminum
- Osborn jolt-squeeze machine
- MIFCO 125 lb capacity muller
- 100 lb capacity resin bonded sand mixer
- 8lb capacity variable speed mixer
- Belchfire ladle preheating system
- Reliacheck OxyLab
- Marshall reusable immersion thermocouple
- Thermal analysis system for cast iron chemistry
- Data acquisition system
- Various patterns
- Molding tools
- CO2 gassing system for coremaking
- Scales
Corporate Sponsors
The foundry at SVSU would not be possible without the support of industry. The students and faculty would like to thank all of the companies for their support.