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Automated air blasting solutions for Aerospace industry

16 September 2009

A year ago this month, Texas based investment casting foundry, Pacific Cast Technologies (PCT) in Albany, Oregon, purchased an Air Blast Room for their facility from Altrincham, Cheshire based Wheelabrator.

PCT particularly offer precision shell cast technology for titanium investment castings and has the technology, equipment and expertise to cast titanium parts in some of the largest sizes and most complex shapes currently manufactured for the Aerospace industry.

PCT were already operating a Wheelabrator Tumblast® machine and as an existing customer, added a new Wheelabrator® Air Blast room to remove the residual shell coating from their investment castings after shake out. The investment casting process is used primarily for titanium and steel alloy components for jet engine parts. The process uses injection-molding waxes and pre-formed ceramic cores in a wax pattern to create the casting. The wax patterns are then dipped multiple times into a liquid slurry and a light sand mixture to achieve a shell thick enough to withstand the mechanical shock of receiving molten metal.

Once the shell is formed, the wax is removed in a furnace, the shells are pre- heated and molten metal is poured into the hollow shell. After cooling sufficiently, the majority of the ceramic shell is removed at a “shake out” or “knock out” stage with the final shell removal takes place in the new Wheelabrator Air Blast room.

Regional manager Kevin Poling, along with Wheelabrators' local distributor, worked closely with PCT in designing     a full-recovery grated floor Air Blast room with an Abrasive on Demand (AOD™) reclaim system. As a result,      there is no abrasive clean-up requirement for the operator. To ensure part visibility for manual air blasting, 6 tube light fixtures were installed, 2 more than standard, to provide extra lighting. The AOD full floor Air Blast room design offers reduced maintenance on equipment and reduced electrical consumption.

Once the air blasting process is complete, the remaining scrap metal is then placed into the company’s Tumblast for cleaning and remelting, reaffirming PCT’s dedication to practicing environmentally-responsible recycling. “We love the equipment as it saves time and material as advertised,” said Jay Wasechek, Facilities and Maintenance Manager.

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