Mechanical engineers design most machinery or equipment for optimum in-service performance. The castings that are used in the production of this equipment are usually more than adequate to do the job. The main problem is that while the operating performance of the machine is very good, very little attention is given to the design criteria or the castability of the component castings. There are many different rules of design and solidification that need to be followed in order to properly design a Gray or Ductile iron casting. Violation of basic design criteria can generate high residual stresses, poor casting tolerances after machining, scrap due to defects, lost machining time and casting failures in the field. All these casting design problems add up to an increase cost of manufacturing for both the Foundry and the Casting user. We at Kulp Foundry would like to offer our services to our customers in the areas of technical support or training in the basics of casting solidification, design and metallurgy. The following is a listing of some of the topics that we would cover: Basic concepts of solidification. Grey & Ductile iron Metallurgy Castibility differences between Grey & Ductile iron. Why castings shrink. Why castings fail. Dimensional tolerances of castings Designing castings to: Reduce scrap. Reduce solidification stresses. Improve Machinability. If you have an interest in any of the above information, please contact us by phone, fax or E-mail. Kulp Foundry, Inc. 30 Stokes Avenue East Stroudsburg, Pa. 18301 Phone 570-421-8450 Fax 570-421-8016 E-mail info@kulpfoundry.com