Robust by Design: Mechanical Engineering Shellroom Solutions

Every investment casting foundry presents unique requirements for production demands, environmental variables and ceramic shell requirements. As a specialist supplier of manual and automated shellroom equipment, mechanical engineering serves as the backbone for manufacturing robust shellroom solutions that meet process mandates and foundry capacity.

Engineering excellence at this level requires more than just designing sturdy equipment; it demands a continuous drive to refine and build shellroom systems that are robust for the environments they operate in. From initial requirement consultation and CAD modelling through to fabrication, system assembly, and thorough test & validation, our engineering workflow is structured to ensure every shellroom system is purpose-built for longevity and precision.

Led by a team of 30+ mechanical design engineers at our Telford site in the UK, we have designed and installed more than 450 shellroom systems globally.

“Every foundry project brings a distinct set of requirements. No two shellroom layouts or process parameters are identical. My role as a mechanical engineer is to take customer requirements and design a shellroom system that can be manufactured successfully.  We follow systems from initial order through to installation. We start by scanning through the contract, looking for what is special, anything we need to be aware of when designing that equipment. From there, we work closely electrical engineering, purchasing and manufacturing teams to ensure we can effectively manufacture equipment to contract. This collaborative work continues through to installation on-site,” commented Marcus Durham, Senior Design Engineer: Mechanical.

Our goal remains to provide high-performance ceramic shell-making systems for investment casting that reliably and accurately meet our customers’ manufacturing needs. Whilst some foundries remain working with manual solutions, others are moving towards automated options. This is driven by the desire for manufacturers to minimise labour dependency and reduce operational cost, whilst ensuring ceramic shells of high-quality are produced every time. In recent months, we have worked with a commercial castings foundry to design a compact shellroom system where consultation and design reviews were held regularly to ensure the system meets production needs. Our mechanical engineering team designed and oversaw the manufacture of this project at VA Technology EMT. To maximise efficiency within a compact shellroom floorspace, DD series slurry tanks for shell dipping and fluidised beds for stucco coating were designed at custom sizes, with measurement tools to monitor the process variables in real-time. We bring these projects to life through thorough testing, backed by a team of engineers who are there onsite during the system build, testing and onsite pre-acceptance visits with customers to run through the equipment operation and provide hands-on process guidance. Contact us to learn more about the shellroom solutions we can offer.