REFCOSTIX 3400 Case Study

From Waste to Profit: A Simple Upgrade Delivers Peak Financial Returns for Foundries

Product: REFCOSTIX 3400 Mold-Seal

Application: Gray & Ductile Iron Foundry (no-bake molding)

The Challenge: Cope Rope Causing Flashing, Runouts, and Rising Foundry Costs

Two U.S. iron foundries producing complex gray and ductile iron castings in flask and flask-less molds faced ongoing quality and cost challenges tied to an outdated mold sealing approach. For years, the operation relied on traditional ¾-inch cope rope to seal parting lines—ultimately causing variability and inefficiency into the molding process.

Key issues:

• Excessive flashing: Cope-rope often failed to compress evenly, causing parting-line flash.
• Runouts & leaks: Older tooling and thin mold sections led to frequent runouts.
• Labor burden: Twisting and cutting rope around sprues increased cycle time and ergonomic strain.

The impact extended beyond the mold line. Increased flashing drove longer cleaning and finishing cycles, runouts resulted in scrap and rework, and labor inefficiencies inflated overall operating costs. Over time, these compounding issues limited throughput and made it difficult to achieve consistent casting quality.

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The Solution: REFCOSTIX 3400 Mold-Seal

To address these challenges, the foundries replaced cope rope with REFCOSTIX 3400 Mold-Seal from REFCOTEC. REFCOSTIX 3400 is a liquid, pumpable mold seal that applies quickly and consistently, eliminating the variability and labor associated with rope-based sealing. The material conforms to surface irregularities and compresses under cope weight, filling micro-gaps along the parting line and preventing leak paths that lead to flashing and runouts.

Results:

The measurable impact was immediate and substantial. Within the first year of using REFCOSTIX 3400, the foundry achieved:

• 50% reduction in overall flashing (thickness and area)
• 30% reduction in cleaning and finishing time
• >80% reduction in runout-related molds

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Economic & Operational Gains:

• Reduced scrap and rework from cleaner parting lines
• Faster throughput due to less flashing and finishing
• Improved operator efficiency with no rope cutting or twisting

Conclusion:

REFCOSTIX 3400 has proven to be a superior alternative to traditional cope rope—delivering measurable improvements in quality, labor efficiency, and cost control. For foundries focused on consistency and performance, modern mold sealing isn’t just cleaner—it’s smarter.

"I can’t see any reason a foundry would still use cope-rope on their parting-lines. REFCOSTIX 3400 is saving us close to seven figures a year.” — Foundry Manager

For more information or to request a product sample, contact us.