Facility

Engineering: Building accurate patterns is the first step to a dimensionally accurate casting. At Northern Stainless we have partnered with skilled pattern makers to build tooling to your manufacturing design. If you do not have existing tooling, we can build your equipment guaranteed and competitively priced.

Rigging a customer's pattern correctly yields a sound casting. Knowledge of gating, metals poured, and cooling rates are all required when setting up a pattern for Stainless Steel. In cases when existing customer pattern equipment arrives at our shop, the tooling is checked for accuracy and stainless shrink rates. Our pattern technicians, engineer, and sales staff work in coordination to complete all pattern set up requirements.

Sample castings are verified and documented to customer drawings and specifications.

Core Making: Northern Stainless is most competitive and successful on complex pressure retaining castings, which most likely have complicated fragile cores. Pump impellers, volute cases, and diffuser bowls all require very smooth internal passageways for performance. We use a variety of core sands and processes depending on the casting type and customer specifications.

Molding: The Northern Stainless Air Set molding system is known for combined flexibility, modern material handling, and mixing equipment. This molding system supports all types of pattern equipment, with an emphasis on quality. We mostly run cope/drag boards, but we also frequently mold squeezer match plates and loose patterns.

Wisconsin is known for its quality foundry sand and Northern Stainless benefits from this geographical advantage. Our indoor silos house sand certified to a specified grain size distribution, which yields superior casting finishes.

Our latest investment towards improving quality and productivity is our IMF molding system which was installed in November 2006. The heart of this system is a PLC controlled mixer, which through a recipe management systems is capable of using two distinct binder processes and two different types of sand to create the best possible sand mix for the current job being molded.

Our wide range of mold sizes that can be run on this new system, gives our jobbing shop the opportunity to be cost competitive on large and small castings, from 1-1000 pieces.

• Small molds: 12" x 12" to 28" x 28"
• Medium molds: 30" x 30" to 48" x 48"
• Large molds: 50" x 50" to 100" x 60"

Of special note is our sand reclamation system which recycles processed sand, providing cost savings to our customers as well as benefits to our environment.

Melting: The stainless steel melting and pouring operation is most critical in the making of a quality casting. Predetermined procedures must be followed consistently to control variables in the melting and pouring process. The integrity of the alloys we pour is the backbone of the end product we sell.

Final predetermined temperatures are reached and the furnace is tapped into the preheated pouring ladle. It is imperative that the metal gets to awaiting molds in a timely manner to maintain the extreme temperatures. This traveling molten metal can be as hot as 3000F. Our experienced employees quickly and smoothly fill the molds from the ladle of molten metal.

In September of 2007 we completed the installation of a new Inductotherm VIP 600 Kw melting system with a 1650 pound furnace. In addition our melt deck contains a 450Kw Pillar Mark VIII with an 1100 pound furnace and a 275 Kw Pillar Mark V with a 500 pound and a 1000 pound furnace.

Melt Laboratory: The chemical analysis of each heat of metal we pour is confirmed by our spectrometer, documented, and certified to specification. We also perform mechanical tests and report physical properties if required by specification.

Casting Upgrades: The Northern Stainless cleaning room handles a variety of castings. We utilize a unique upgrading process which feeds castings to grinding cells. This process also allows for expedited processing for less than lead time customer requirements.

Pressure Testing: Pump castings and other pressure containing castings are pressure tested at Northern Stainless. This procedure allows us to evaluate and prove the integrity of our castings. We guarantee no leaks through casting walls.

Shipping: Castings are packaged and ready for shipment to customers.