Update: I was sure that new ceramic foam filter for our aluminum pours was just marketing fluff, but after a month of cleaner castings with 30% less slag, I'm sold.

Our shift lead in Toledo insisted we give it a shot, and now I'm curious if anyone has tips for getting the most pours out of one before it degrades.

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jana16d ago

Preheat it slowly to avoid thermal shock cracks... we ruined a couple by just tossing them in. Keep your metal temperature steady too, big swings seem to wear them out faster. A quick backflush with argon between pours if you can swing it clears out the gunk and buys you more time. Ours lasted almost twice as long once we got the hang of that.

grant.richard15d ago

Is all that extra work really worth it for a crucible? We just heat ours up with the furnace and never had one crack on us. Metal temp swings happen all the time in our shop and things are fine. The argon purge sounds like a hassle for maybe a little more life, but not double. Seems like overthinking it.