STANDARD ALLOYS

"We may need a bigger door and a higher crane......

2011-03-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

The previous blog showed some parts for this large vertical pump that will be used in the local irrigation canal.

He are pictures of it assembled. This gives a clearer picture of what was done. The bell at the bottom was reconditioned and reused as was the bowl right above it. Everything else on the pump including the discharge head, shafting, impellers, etc. are all new and made using our reverse engineering, casting, fabrication, machining and assembly capabilities.

Once this pump is delivered next week, the customer has another old bell and bowl for us to recondition and use to make another pump for the same pump station. With a dry spring in this area, these pumps are becoming quite important to our customer.

"If you eat rice.......

2011-03-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

......it may come from Texas.....and if it does......it probably used water pumped by this pump which lifts water out of the Neches River and into the LNVA canal.

We recently were asked to "make a pump" out of some pieces the customer had plus a lot of new parts we would manufacture. Almost all of it was made by us including the large discharge head you see in the picture. All of this was done by Reverse Engineering. Why did they come to us rather than buy a new pump? Our delivery was half of the new pump delivery and since we used a few of their old castings, our price was much lower. Now we are discussing making completely new pumps for this pump station.

The flexibility and "Solution Provider" attitude of Standard Alloys continues to be called upon by our customers.

Crisis Management 101........

2010-09-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

The situation happens often at Standard Alloys......older, critical parts needed to prevent shutdown of key operation. In this case the parts are compressor cylinder liners with a water jacket.

From getting the order....to casting.....to machining....to testing.....and to the customer in less than a month. This is the first one and there are 5 more to go.

None of our customers need us all of the time....but all of our customers need us some of the time! We're here when you need us.

Standard Alloys....a KSB Company

Standard Alloys Acquired by KSB Pump Company

2010-07-30T12:53:00.001-07:00

Standard Alloys announced today (7-30-2010) that it has been acquired by KSB Pump Company for the expressed purpose of "increasing their service and repair capabilities in North America". KSB is a German company that operates through KSB-USA located in Richmond, Virginia.

All current management and employees will remain with Standard Alloys and they have been advised to begin preparing for growth and increased capital spending in the near future.

Technological Casting Process Advancement

2010-07-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

Standard Alloys has made great strides in applying the Rapid Cast Technology process to the replacement parts manufacturing process. Here is an example of a recent, rather complex part. What makes this part even more interesting is that we never had access to the physical part and still were able to successfully reverse engineer it. The part was made for a nitric acid plant in Indonesia and the rapid delivery of it was critical.

Through a new camera process, images of it were sent to Standard Alloys. We converted those images into manufacturing drawings which were then sent back to the customer. We also noted certain critical dimensions that we thought should be checked by the customer. Those measurements were sent back to us, and we then finalized the drawings, developed our models and then made the parts using the Rapid Cast process.

Two new technology applications used to satisfy a customer's requirements.

At Standard Alloys we continue to "push the technology envelope" in order to find better ways to solve customer problems.

High Tech / Fast Track.....................

2010-06-24T11:45:00.000-07:00

On two previous blogs we have highlighted this large impeller. It is for a critical pump in a power plant location. It was critical that we make an 8 week delivery or the plant would suffer significant penalties. It was challenging, but it left today....1 day early!!

This is the largest impeller we have made with the computerized core manufacturing process (Rapid Cast Technology). The sand core that we used for the casting was manufactured with this process which shortened the lead time and made a better impeller. The shape control eliminated a lot of the potential hydraulic balance problems and shortened the balance time from several days to several hours.

Standard Alloys continues to strive to use new technology to solve old problems.

"OBSOLETE".......Not a word you like to hear!!

2010-06-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

While in the shop today I noticed this 20 inch compressor piston in the lathe being machined. I looked at the print and noticed that the drawing and pattern date back to "1-20-82". For 28 years we have been making this part for the same refinery. Although the part is probably "OBSOLETE" with the original manufacturer, it is not obsolete here.

Part of the challenge in the world of Maintenance is being able to assure your plant that you will always be able to get spare parts............that's where we come in!!

WORLD RECORD !!!!!!!!!!

2010-05-28T12:38:00.000-07:00

To our knowledge, this is the largest impeller ever made without the use of a casting Core Box. The core used to make this 57 inch impeller was made using a computer model and a RCT sand printing machine.

Why?

First, using this process cut weeks off the delivery since making the core box is the most time consuming part of the process.

Second, with this process each vane is exactly the same and located at exactly the right vane spacing location giving much better dynamic balance characteristics and hydraulic balance.

This picture shows the manual clean up stage prior to going to the machine shop.

A look at the previous blog posting will show more detail on the core process.

So, how do you make a 55 inch open face impeller without a core box?

2010-05-17T13:15:00.000-07:00

This 55 inch open face impeller was made without making a wooden core box. Rapid Cast Technology was used to create the 2 piece core. Here is the result.

Due to the critical delivery demands for a major power plant, we did not have time to manufacture a core box. Summer is almost here and they needed an impeller. Fortunately we were able to come up with a concept that resulted in our biggest Rapid Cast Core to date.

Pushing the limits of casting technology has become routine at Standard Alloys.

Need a complete pump? Out of Stainless Steel?

2010-05-05T07:59:00.000-07:00

Here is a new pump we just made after replicating the old one. The customer needed stainless steel due to the severe application.

Need a better pump than the one you have now? Let us look at your application and see if we can help.

How "big" is "too big" for Standard Alloys?

2010-03-25T11:44:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure, but...........
this case is "pretty dern close" to being our maximum. It has been a challenge all along the way, but has now passed the pressure test (which is what they are doing in this picture).

Our customers ask us for some very unusual parts, and we do our best to take care of their needs.

"Need a better impeller?"..........................

2010-03-25T11:12:00.000-07:00

When a Rapid Cast Technology sand core......
is produced, the loose sand (white) has to be removed from the cured sand (dark) by a vacuum process. What remains is a sand product that is used in our casting process.

This picture shows a core during the "cleaning" process. This process gives significantly better shape control than the traditional methods of casting pump parts.

We maintain that we can now produce a "better" quality impeller than the original product under these conditions:

1. We have a good sample to begin with.
2. We use our FARO arm to verify all critical dimensions and shapes.
3. We use RCT to make the cores for the casting process.
4. After machining we balance the impellers to the proper standard.

If we do all of the above, the customer will get a product with great shape control, maximum hydraulic balance control, and maximum dynamic balance control. This type product will definitely increase the life of pumps and seals.

If you need a better impeller, contact Standard Alloys.

"How do they maintain such good shape control on Standard Alloys castings?"

2010-03-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

As foundry people can tell you............
you have to have good cores to make good castings. Using the Rapid Cast Technology cores allows us to make better impeller and case castings. If you need superior shape control on your castings, contact us.

Nuclear Power Plant Valve Body

2009-12-29T11:51:00.000-08:00

Standard Alloys recently reached another milestone by replicating and manufacturing a Valve Body destined for a nuclear power plant. In 2009, Standard Alloys and Nuclear Logistics Incorporated (located in Dallas, Texas) noticed that there was a tremendous need for replicated parts in the nuclear power plants around the world. These plants are 30-40 years old and are finding it more and more difficult to locate replacement parts for mechanical products such as pumps and valves. With NLI doing the Marketing and Certification and Standard Alloys doing the replicating and manufacturing, a good team has been formed. Other parts have already been quoted and both companies are hopeful that 2010 will be a year of growth in this industry. None of this could have been accomplished without Standard Alloys' manufacturing abilities and a Quality Assurance system as good or better than any in the industry.

Electropolishing..................

2009-11-30T12:28:00.000-08:00

Here are four of the seven propellers we recently made for a chemical company. The application required that they be very smooth.

They went through an electropolishing process that really turned out well.

This is not a coating but rather a process that chemically "polishes" the material.

If you need a really smooth surface finish, this might be an option for you.

Complete Pump? Yes, we can do it.....

2009-11-02T09:21:00.000-08:00

Here is a complete pump that we recently manufactured for a refinery customer......we reverse engineered the entire pump, made the patterns, cast the parts, machined the parts, coated the cast parts with boron diffusion coating, assembled the pump and shipped. At the customer request we removed the rotor assembly for shipping.

If you have a pump model that is no longer available from the OEM, maybe we can help.

"Automatic Welder" Weld Overlay Project

2009-10-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

We have just shipped this case made of CD4 material with a 3/8th inch "pure nickel" welded overlay over the entire interior of the case.

The welding was done with an automatic welder and produced a fantastic overlay both in weld consistency and depth of weld. For those of us in the metal industry......it was also "pretty".

Need a Unitized Pump?

2009-10-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures of a project we recently completed. A refinery needed us to make a pump out of nothing more than the used casing they had in storage. We made all of the internal pump parts, assembled it into a pump, constructed the base plate shown (in our fabrication shop), and then had the pump performance tested.

Once that was done, the pump and base were sent to the refinery where they installed all the equipment on the base plate. Currently the pump is installed and working well.

Have a casing and need a pump? Let us see what we can do for you.

Rapid Cast Technology Machine "In Action"

2009-10-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

Curious as to how the machine works?

We are frequently asked how the RCT machine makes the sand shapes we use in our casting process. The print arm moves back and forth dropping "binder" on a layer of sand just like an ink jet printer drops ink of paper. Once this layer is printed, the table drops .011 inch, covered with sand again and then the next layer is printed. Layer by layer the sand shape is constructed over a period of hours. When finished the loose sand is vacuumed away leaving the sand shape that we are needing.

If you need extraordinary shape control in your castings, let us show you the advantage of RCT (Rapid Cast Technology).

Big CD4 Case.............

2009-09-11T13:25:00.000-07:00

This big case made of CD4 material will also have a 3/8" thick solid nickle overlay on the interior. Who but Standard Alloys could make this one?

Not just Castings........Fabrications, too.

2009-09-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

We're putting the final touches on this pump base made in our fab shop. Next it's off to the machine shop. This base (designed and fabricated here) is for a pump that was completely remanufactured at Standard Alloys.

Not just Pump Parts....Compressor Parts, too

2009-09-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

Don't forget, we can make your pistons at Standard Alloys.

OBSOLESCENCE protection.................

2009-08-27T08:17:00.000-07:00

47 years ago the reciprocating pump fluid end on the left was made at Standard Alloys out of Alloy 20 material. Recently the customer contacted us to see if we could make a replacement fluid end.

Ok, so we did have a little trouble finding the pattern and core boxes....but we still had them and found them. Below is the new one.

If you like your old equipment and want to keep it running, you should let us get involved in your replacement parts business.

The cases keep on coming..............

2009-08-26T11:17:00.001-07:00

We often talk about cases.

Everyday we get new requests for cases. Throughout industry cases that are normally viewed as a "non-wear" item are found to be a "slow wear" item. After 30, 40 or 50 years, people are finding them beyond another run cycle and look for an exact replacement. That is what we offer.

When you need a case, we'll be there to help.

Rapid Cast Technology in action..................

2009-08-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

We are making great strides in developing applications for this new technology. If you want a better impeller than the one you have, we can do it with computer generated shape control. Ask us how!!

What's big and shiny and looks like GOLD?

2009-08-26T11:07:00.000-07:00

But it's only bronze!

We still think it is quite special. If you need some big impellers, give us a call.

Before and After...........................

2009-08-26T10:58:00.000-07:00

Several weeks back I put the picture of the rough casting noted below on the blog. The casting weight is over 12,000 lbs.

Now I am pleased to put the finished part picture on here as well.

This is the largest pump case we have made. It will soon be going to a major refinery for installation.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly.....

2009-07-22T13:26:00.000-07:00

"NO" Junior ain't ugly and "YES" He can make a "dang good" shaft.

We get some pretty rough looking equipment in here but we make sure it is like new when it leaves. Give us a shot at your pump repair. sales@standardalloys.com

Horizontal / Vertical.....we do 'em all.....

2009-07-22T13:17:00.000-07:00

We do pump repair and do it well. Our advantage is that we make our own cast and machined parts in our plant and then use those parts to repair your pumps. Here are two pumps in our shop today. One is a vertical pump and one is a horizontal pump. We can repair your pumps and do it well. sales @standardalloys.com

Mixin" It Up.......

2009-07-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

Here is a mixer that is quite hard to cast......unless.....you are using Rapid Cast Technology. With this process a sand core is made that makes each blade exactly the same and also locates them at the perfect location. We are improving the shape control of castings and we will tell you how we do it. sales@standardalloys.com

"OUR BREAD AND BUTTER"........

2009-05-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

In business you are often called upon to do many different things, but you have to know what you consider your "bread and butter". Our "bread and butter" is making impellers.

Thousands of pumps in industry today have a Standard Alloys impeller quietly running in them year after year. Customers often ask "how can you show me that you can make good impellers?" We always try to give a reasonable answer, but the real test is the fact that people buy our impellers and use them time after time.

If you are having trouble getting good impellers, it might be better to try a place where impellers are their "bread and butter" instead of a foundry that makes impeller castings along with a thousand other castings. sales@standardalloys.com

Just another "CASE" in process

2009-05-13T12:06:00.001-07:00

In all the industries we serve, we are finding that cases are becoming an increasing problem. Being able to cast and machine cases is a growing business at Standard Alloys.

If we can help solve your problems, let us know. sales@standardalloys.com

"YOUR JUNK" is our opportunity...........

2009-05-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

We will make this pump "sparkle" and bring it back to "as new" condition. When we repair a pump we offer the ability to make any part in the pump in our shop. No need to wait on the OEM to make the parts.

We will take this pump apart, draw the parts, make the replacements and re-assemble the pump. You will like what you get back when we do the repair. sales@standardalloys.com

"BLOWHARDS", yes we have them in our sales department, but....

2009-05-13T11:51:00.000-07:00

when you need to move a lot of air, like this 40 inch blower does, you need a good part. Using our Rapid Cast Technology process we can make sure that all vanes are exactly the same and properly spaced. Notice the vanes on this part. If you need "shape control" let us offer you a solution. sales@standardalloys.com

12,260 lbs of metal right out of the sand!!

2009-04-28T08:01:00.001-07:00

When a major refinery needed a very large part made, we found a way.

This case is the heaviest part we have ever made in 1 piece. The picture was taken right after it was removed from the sand and obviously before any of the excess metal had been removed.

How did we make it? That's a secret, but order one and we'll tell you.

Now it's off to the machine shop.

Got a casting problem? We'll try to come up with a solution.

sales@standardalloys.com

Complicated shapes just got "easier to" make.........

2009-04-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

Rotors are really hard to make. We have made them for years but due to the geometry, the cores that are used to make them are very complicated.

However, now with Rapid Casting Technology you can make almost any shaped core you want simply by 3-D modeling the part and using the new computer controlled sand printer.

Below is a picture of a rotor being cleaned up as it prepares to go through the balancing process. The shape was so exact that the large part required "minimal balancing" to get it within spec.

The upper 2 pictures are of the two sand core pieces used to make the part. Again, these were not made by a "core box" but rather by the Rapid Casting Technology system.

Complicated shapes are not nearly as tough of a challenge now with the new technology available.

sales@standardalloys.com

Shaft deflection.........how to "decrease" MTBR !

2009-04-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite books we have around here is the small little book "PUMP ENGINEERING MANUAL" produced by DURCO many years ago. Our copy is from 1980. On page 129 they present a simple explanation on the relationship between the shaft deflection and the problems in trying to seal a pump. You simply have to make sure your shaft material is straight! If not you make a bigger hole in the packing than the OD of the shaft......therefore the pump leaks. With mechancial seals you have much bigger problems when the shaft is bent.

Many people (including Standard Alloys) can make good shafts. Make sure you specify what is important to you..........straightness, material, fits, surface finish where it is needed, keyway size and shape, etc.

We have a solution for your shafting problems. sales@standardalloys.com

Gold? No just bronze, but we treat them like gold....

2009-04-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

because we love impellers! sales@standardalloys.com

When you have trouble with your Rotor Assemblies...

2009-04-13T09:08:00.000-07:00

here is what we can do after you send your old rotor to us:

1. Survey your equipment and give an "as found" report with any level of detail that you require
2. Reverse Engineer some or all of the parts
3. Make any or all of the parts needed using our Foundry and Machine Shop

4. Repair your assembly or make you a complete new assembly.

At Standard Alloys, we are here to offer you solutions. sales@standardalloys.com

SO......what do you do with 80 years worth of patterns?

2009-04-09T11:50:00.000-07:00

We have thousands of patterns and core boxes some of which are decades old. We have 7 warehouses full of these patterns and each year have to find room for more since we are still making them.

We frequently use patterns made 30 years ago since the pumps are still in operation.

If you are worried about being the owner of obsolete pumps and concerned about where to find obsolete pump parts, we can help. sales@standardalloys.com

What is a ....CORE BOX?

2009-04-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

We can make cores with a computerized system or use the traditional core box method. Put simply a wooden pattern is used to imprint the exterior shape of a part in sand creating the mold. The interior shapes of the part are created by putting sand cores in the mold. The cores are created by using wooden core boxes (pictured here). Sand with a binder is put in the core box and allowed to harden. The core is then removed from the core box, coated and baked to make it strong enough to survive the heat of the molten metal. Once the core or cores are located in the mold and the mold is put together, metal is poured. sales@standardalloys.com

How to make a large blower with multiple vanes?

2009-04-08T08:46:00.000-07:00

We recently got the opportunity to make the very large blower wheel pictured here but had to insure the vane shape and vane spacing was very, very accurate. Using a traditional core box to do

this would not have worked. We used a two piece, computer generated sand core to make sure that every vane was identical and the location or "clocking" was perfect. Here you see the core we used. sales@standardalloys.com

What is a "COPE" and a "DRAG" ?

2009-04-06T12:16:00.000-07:00

This is not too important for a parts user, but you may want to know what a cope and a drag are (when it comes to casting).

When making a casting, the mold is made in

2 parts and then assembled into one part.

Within the mold, the "cores" are located to create the inner shapes of the part. The lower part is the drag and the upper part is the cope. You actually set the cope on top of the drag.

Once this is done, melted metal is poured into the top of the mold in order to make the part. In these pictures, the one with the chains is the cope. It is ready to pick up and set on the drag. sales@standardalloys.com

Yep, we got 'em.....PATTERNMAKERS!

2009-04-06T11:59:00.000-07:00

You may not need them today, but if you are in the pump business, you will need them sometime.......patternmakers! As a pump gets older, the greater the odds that either the parts have become obsolete, or that the OEM simply has lost track of the patterns and core boxes.

When this happens, it is not too hard to get a print. The hard part is to take that print, create parts out of wood that "mirror-image" the metal part needed and to cast that shape. That is when you need our services. sales@standardalloys.com

Yes we can make "BOWLS".....

2009-03-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

What a simple part, but yet people frequently miss the chance to upgrade the metal on their bowls in order to end up with a much longer "part life". The cost to upgrade metal is not as much as you might think, but may make your bowl last a lot longer.

Want to know more? sales@standardalloys.com

Well maybe not the "LIBERTY BELL", but.....

2009-03-30T11:29:00.000-07:00

but Sylvia is proud of it anyway. This very large suction bell was made for a local power company and is one of the largest parts we've made around here. It was a bit more of a challenge than we have anticipated but we got it done and now we are going to make them another one.

Just in ........."CASE" !

2009-03-30T11:11:00.000-07:00

35 years ago when I was logging in pump spare parts for the warehouse at Hess Oil in the Virgin Islands (yea, tough duty), we never set up pump cases as spare parts because they were not a "wear item".

Well, they do wear but do so very slowly. Now all over industry these 30-50 year old pumps are still in service but are coming to the end of their useful life. We get them in daily here at Standard Alloys and the owners are always in trouble.

We suggest you do some planning for these problems and use the OEM or people like us to make sure your processes have pumps to keep you running.

Contact us and we'll help you find a way to stay out of trouble. Don't wait until it is too late. sales@standardalloys.com

Need A Parts List?

2009-03-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

Over the years we have accumulated thousands of prints and casting patterns as a result of making parts for our customers. We have now found a way to make those patterns and drawings available to any of our customers. We have developed a computer system that cross references your pump parts identification or part numbers with the drawings and patterns we have in our inventory. We call this system the "COMMON PARTS INTEGRATOR" .

Using this system we can give you back a listing of your parts with our associated drawing number and pattern number. When you need something quickly, this list can be used to see if we have what you need. Several of our customers keep this information available and check it first when a part demand becomes known.

This is simple and requires very little from the customer, so let us know if you want more information. Email sales@standardalloys.com if you want to learn more about this system.

Rapid Casting Technology

2009-03-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

For the past year we have been upgrading our technology in the Foundry. To be honest, the Foundry Industry has been doing the same thing for a long, long time. We are pleased to report a lot of progress in this area using the new Rapid Casting Technology. With this technology we are able to convert pattern making from an "art" to a "science".

A few simple definitions:
1. pattern- a wooden part that is made to define the external shape of the part in the sand mold.
2. core box- a wooden part or parts that are used to create a sand shape that creates the internal shape of the part being made.
3. core- the sand part held together by a binder in a shape that forms the internal shape of the part being made.

With the new technology we can make the sand core without the wooden core box. This is done with a computerized machine that starts with a 3 dimensional model of the part and makes the core.

We are now using this technology to make impellers that are exact in shape. This increases the efficiency of the impeller since the shape is exact and thus the hydraulic balance is "almost" perfect.

Contact us for more info.......

Something New from Standard Alloys

2009-03-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

Several years ago we tried to start a quarterly mailout to our customers. We found this to be difficult, especially keeping up with internet addresses. Now we have decided to create a blog that people can check when they want. We will try to put information related to our business that is of interest to our customers.

I hope you enjoy our postings.