Herman Oberth Award Castings

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Herman Oberth Award Castings
The University of Alabama at Birmingham May 2008
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Southern Tool (Anniston, AL) creates the shell by
first filling the pattern with special wax and
allowing it to solidify over 24 hours for
dimensional accuracy
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After wax solidification, Southern Tool coats the
wax with 11 layers of ceramic, then autoclaves
the shell to vaporize the wax
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John Griffin Engineering Manager
Tim Lebeau Graduate Student
Earl Pearce Ladle Handler
John Griffin, Earl Pearce, and Tim LeBeau discuss
the pouring scheme
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Suiting up for the pour - the target tap
temperature is 2150 F, so heat-protective
clothing is important
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Earl Pearce - a real foundryman ready to pour!
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John Griffin removes slag from the liquid copper
bronze - an alloy consisting of 95.5 copper,
2.5 silicon, and 2 tin
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Tim checks the temperature with a thermocouple to
see if the heating rate is adequate the current
temperature is 1985 F
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Lift Coil Furnace
With the temperature now at 2185 F, John
prepares to raise the Lift Coil Induction furnace
and remove the crucible
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Dr. Alan Druschitz Research Professor Head of
the UAB Casting Engineering Laboratory
Dr. Alan Druschitz assists in attaching the ladle
holder
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Harry Littleton Engineering Director
Harry Littleton operates the crane holding the
ladle and positions it for the pour
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Tim removes the shell from the pre-heating
furnace set at 600 F, and steadies the shell in
the sand flask for the pour the metal pouring
temperature is 1951 F
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The second shell is poured - a total of 100 lbs
of metal for both castings
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Both castings will be completely solid in less
than 20 minutes
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After cooling, the ceramic shell is removed
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Sand-blasting after shell break-out and removal
of excess pour metal with an abrasive cut-off
wheel reveals the finished casting
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Special Thanks To
Southern Tool of Anniston, AL John Wilson J.
Michael Simmons The University of Alabama at
Birmingham Dr. Alan Druschitz John
Griffin Harry Littleton Michael Renfro Tim
LeBeau Dr. Preston Scarber, Jr.