METALLURGICAL STRENGTH
I am a foundry metallurgist who has specialized in tooling design, particularly gating and risering.
This is my niche. Few pattern guys really understand fluid flow of molten metal or solidification/thermo-dynamics of casting.
On the other hand, few metallurgists have really worked intensively in gating, much less in tooling design. As a metallurgist
experienced from estimating, through tooling design, product launch and scrap/cost reduction, I see problems before they happen and
diagnose problems correctly to solve them quickly.
As a true metallurgist, I am most familiar with ductile and grey iron chemistry. I may not know the grades of aluminum and steel or
brass alloys as well, but I understand the effects of each individual element, especially on flow and shrinkage. You'll find I bring unique insight when
problem solving in any cast metal.
I'm excited about recent new areas of metallurgy. One is cryogenic treatment of parts and tooling for wear resistance. This is an exciting and untapped
field for foundries. Also of importance, I have developed unique methods for treating ductile iron with magnesium. Please see the details under "Patented Solutions".
My metallurgy began with smelting of secondary scrap aluminum in my father's business. Nights of hands-on
stuffing a hot furnace gave me a healthy respect for molten metal and the men who shape it. I learned non-ferrous
metallurgy from Dr. David Sanders and ferrous metallurgy from Professor Wright, both at the University of Alabama.
At Lynchburg Foundry I grew in grey and ductile metallurgy from Dr. Harvey Henderson, Mr. Otey Meriwether, and Mr. Pat Dirom.
No other foundry since has had the variety of castings and casting techniques as LFC. My experience here included vertical gating
(in shell molds). Dr. Steven Karsay opened my eyes to the mysteries of graphitic iron solidification. I found being a student of
fluid dynamics and thermodynamics in college was the perfect but rare background for tooling engineering for proper gating & risering.
My techniques could be called "controlled pressure" gating & risering, a hybrid of pressure systems and non-pressure systems.
I call it, "Herron Hybrid Gating".