US metal caster Sure Cast Foundry, part of the Nordstern Group, has relocated to a new facility in Minnesota and invested in a new automated moulding line to answer safety concerns and improve production times.
In 2021, aluminium greensand foundry, Sure Cast Foundry was looking to increase capacity, improve quality and most importantly, improve ergonomics and safety for employees. The foundry was running three jolt squeeze machines and a rota-lift, with very slow cycle times and variable quality due to all the manual processes and limited sand control. The manual processing led to many safety issues with lifting patterns and lifting moulds. With these goals in mind, the foundry purchased a FDNX-1 16x20 flaskless moulding machine in September 2021 from Sinto America.
In June 2022, Sure Cast Foundry was also able to relocate to a new facility, with the option to expand another 10,000 square feet, and the FDNX was installed with Sinto’s service team. Sure Cast was able to begin production the week of 20th June 2022, meaning that in just three months, Sure Cast was able to close in on the goals they had in mind when purchasing the FDNX. They have more capacity, faster cycle times for moulds, better quality castings and no ergonomic issues for the machine operators.
Sinto’s FDNX-1 automated moulding machine accommodates any 16” x 20” pattern or smaller with adapter and has an average maximum mould rate of 90 moulds/hour. The FDNX is ideal for foundries looking to switch from manual to automatic moulding, with aeration sand filling technology for producing high quality castings.
Sure Cast Foundry is already looking towards what the future looks like for their business. “We are planning to invest in more automation in moulding,” says general manager, Andrea Lindquist. “We hope to eliminate more jolt squeeze machines and our rota-lift machine and replace with more automatic machines over time. We also plan to vertically integrate and add machining capabilities to our facility.”
In a statement, Sinto America said: “The Sinto team is thankful for the confidence Sure Cast has in Sinto’s moulding equipment and looks forward to many more years of furthering the foundry partnership.”
Sure Cast Foundry, part of the Nordstern Group, is located in Blaine, Minnesota and has been producing top quality sand castings for a diverse and comprehensive range of industries for over 40 years, specialising in low-volume, short-run sand castings. Along with the foundry in the United States, Nordstern Group operates a permanent mould foundry, a coating business and a tooling technology business in Winnipeg.