Rant: The old sand system at the Midvale plant versus the new automated one

Back in 2010, we were still mixing green sand by hand in the big hopper at the Midvale plant, which took three guys about 45 minutes per batch. Now the whole line is automated with that new Palmer system, and the mix is done in under ten minutes with one operator watching a screen. It's way more consistent, but I kinda miss the feel of getting the sand just right by hand. Anyone else's shop make a big switch like that and have mixed feelings about it?

3 comments

3 Comments

riveradams1mo ago

Remember when our shop got the new automatic mullers. Felt the same way, like we lost the skill of judging the sand by its feel and smell. I got over it by helping set the machine's recipes. We used my old hand mix notes as a starting point, which helped a lot. It's like what adams.linda said, the machine beeps but you still need the old knowledge to tell it what to do. Now I trust the numbers, but I'm glad I learned it the old way first.

adams.linda1mo ago

My buddy at the old Johnson Foundry said the same thing when they got the new shakeout. He could tell the moisture by squeezing a handful, but the sensor just beeps at him now.

kevin_singh321mo ago

Actually, the sensor measures moisture content way more accurately than a hand squeeze ever could. It just feels different because the tech doesn't have that human touch.