The Process Behind Our Large Machine Bases and Frames
The C.A. Lawton Co. in Minster is your place to turn for large machine bases or frames.
Our facility is mastering these large iron castings and meeting our customers’ expectations.
We recently delivered several large machine bases weighing over 17,000 pounds.
Why Choose Minster for your Large Machine Bases and Frames?
Our Minster facility specializes in large iron castings for the most demanding applications.
You can count on our castings to deliver unparalleled durability and precision.
Mix that with over a century of foundry experience, custom solutions and engineered solutions and Minster is the place for you.
The Process of Making Your Large Machine Bases and Frames
You may be curious as to our process to produce these large castings.
Well, it all starts with an initial consultation where customers can provide their requirements and specifications to our engineering team.
“Once the quote is provided and once we move forward with the order, that’s when we would get the pattern shop involved,” said plant manager Steve Johnson.
Minster works with all three parties moving forward: the customers, production and the pattern shop.
“We go through the part, the complexity, how we would make it, how large it is, how long it will take, how many cores and what the pattern would look like,” said Johnson.
He went on to say the pattern shop would want to understand how they would build the tooling and Minster would want the customer to understand what the finished part is going to look like.
Once the initial purchase order is made, there will be bi-weekly meetings to keep the customer in the know of every step of the process. This includes sending them pictures, updates, etc.
When the pattern shop is done with the tooling, Minster begins to run the cores. Once those cores are complete, they ram the molds, set the cores in the molds, close them up and pour the molten metal. The finishing touches are provided by the cleaning rooms once the casting is poured and cooled.
Johnson said “It’s a petty seamless process now that we’re making these castings and it seems to work very well. Customers stay close to the process the whole time and we never get far away from what their expectations are. It’s been a great success so far.”
Applications for Iron Frames and Bases
Our large iron machine bases and frames are engineered to withstand the most demanding industrial environments.
Here is a list of common applications for these bases and frames.
C.A. Lawton Minster's Capabilities
C.A. Lawton in Minster pours two grades of iron in the foundry. Gray iron and ductile iron, with several different grades between the two.
Minster has two production floors:
-Main Floor: Flask molding and castings between 3,000 and 45,000 pounds
-Side Floor: Loop molding area that is flaskless and castings between 200 and 3,000 pounds
Overall, C.A. Lawton Minster can pour gray and ductile iron from 200 pounds all the way up to 45,000 pounds.
As mentioned before, Minster has an in-house pattern shop with years and years of experience. They also have two on-site pattern storage buildings, as well as a third storage building just 15 miles away.
Give Us a Call Today for a Quote
“We have a ton of experience here in Minster. We’ve been in the foundry industry for years and years and years, especially in the job shop-large casting world,” said Johnson. “We have really high expectations of ourselves and we understand customers have high expectations of their suppliers.”
C.A. Lawton Minster is a division of the Lawton Standard Co., which owns 6 foundries and 2 supplier/distributors.
You can learn more about our Large Machine Bases and Frames by clicking here.
Read more about what the Lawton Standard family of companies can do for you, by clicking here.
Or give Minster a call at 419-628-1762 and call Lawton Standard at 1-800-Castings.