Rant: My pour cup failed mid-cast and I lost a whole molding shift

I was working on a batch of small valve housings last Tuesday at the plant near Miller Road. Everything was going smooth until I went to pour and the bottom of my cup just let go. Molten iron spilled across the floor and I had to shut down the whole line for cleanup. Took me and two other guys almost three hours to get the sand scraped up and check for any damage to the floor plates. Turns out I had a hairline crack in the cup I didn't catch during preheat. Now I'm checking every single cup with a flashlight before I start a pour. Has anyone else had a cup fail on them like that and found a better way to spot cracks early?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_daniel15d ago

Man, bet it's from thermal shock not a crack.

sean4815d ago

Did you try letting it cool slowly under a towel, that fixed mine for good lol.

the_felix15d ago

Heard a guy on a repair channel talk about this exact thing. Said rapid temp changes make the glass expand and contract unevenly, then bam hairline crack shows up later. Towel trick sounds smart though, traps the heat in so it cools way slower. Might have to try that next time, my old one cracked just sitting there after a sear lol. Thermal shock makes total sense for why it happens even without dropping it.