On Friday, August 28, 2026, Effort Foundry, Inc., cast a 1958 lb valve body. The total pour weight for the casting was 5,650 lbs. to safely pour this casting, the foundry melted over 6,000 lbs. The mold and cores were made from pheolic-resin bonded ceramic sand in a 64” x 72” mold, 58” high.
To reach this amount of molten steel (ASTM A217 grade WC6 steel) the foundry utilized four induction furnaces—2200 pounds, 1900 pounds, 1500 pounds, and 800 pounds.
After all four furnaces reach temperature, samples are analyzed in the foundry’s on-site spectrometry laboratory. Once released from the laboratory—assuring all metal meets the ASTM A217 grade WC6 requirements—the foundry is ready to tap the heat and pour the casting.
As seen in the video, the casting of this large valve requires 2 ladles—one at 4,000-pound capacity and the second at 3,200-pound capacity.
The metal was tapped from the furnaces at 2980 degrees Fahrenheit and cast at 2840 degrees Fahrenheit.
After sitting in the mold 48 hours to cool down, the “shake-out” process began to remove the valve body from the mold. The attached photo shows the casting after removal from the mold and shot-blasted—standing with the casting is Effort Foundry’s sales manager Tanya Miller.
The next step is to preheat the cast for removal of the risers and gating system, then full heat treat to obtain the required physical properties (tensile & yield strengths, hardness).
Following heat treat, the casting is ground, removing any adhering sand and/or metal fins,
Then it goes through a full inspection that includes a 100% examination both visually and using magnetic particle methods, and then ready to ship to a happy customer.
If you have a large casting that you would like estimated by Effort Foundry, then contact our sales team.
