The development could be of interest to powder metal producers wanting to reduce impurities in molten metal pours.
The refractory coating is a proprietary ceramic slurry formulation that is applied to a resin-treated Silica mesh. After coating, the filter material is dry-cured to ensure its higher rigidity and an extended temperature threshold.
The Cerra-Flex filter cup, says Comanche, is fully capable of filtering molten metal alloys (removing slag) before they reach the reaction-chamber where the high-pressure water jets hit the metal stream.
So confident are Comanche Technologies of the importance of this development that they are prepared to offer free samples of the product for trials. “We’re more than happy to provide free test samples for any powder metal facilities who would like to run their own on-site trials to determine if the Cerra-Flex filter cups meet their slag removal goals,” said Jason Hitchings, general manager.
“Cerra-Flex® refractory cloth filters combine the strengths and experience of two foundry industry leaders. Ametek has marketed Flexsil® silica mesh filter cloth for more than 10 years, while Comanche Technologies has more than 30 years experience in metal filtration applications,” said Jim Visnic, vice president and general manager of Ametek Chemical Products.
“We are very pleased with the early performance of Cerra-Flex® refractory cloths. They greatly increase the range of metal casting applications for Flexsil® filter cloths, while simultaneously reducing operating costs and improving casting quality,” said Jason Hitchings, General Manager of Comanche Technologies.
“Flexsil® and Cerra-Flex® refractory cloth filters serve dual roles by filtering impurities from the molten metal.”