I finally saw a pour go wrong at the old Johnson Foundry in Toledo
We were casting a big engine block order, about 2 tons of iron. The ladle operator didn't preheat the new transfer ladle enough, and the thermal shock caused a massive breakout halfway across the floor. The foreman, Pete, yelled 'Shut it down!' and we lost the whole heat. Now some guys say we should mandate a full 30-minute preheat for ANY new ladle, no exceptions. Others think that's overkill for smaller jobs and just slows production. What's your shop's rule on this?
Forget the 30 minute rule, that's just killing time. We do a quick 5 minute torch check on new ladles for anything under a ton and it's fine. Lost heats cost way more than a little extra caution.