About Eagle Alloy | Steel Foundry
Eagle Alloy is a steel foundry that is part of the Eagle Group, a metalcasting and machining company comprising two foundries and a machine shop. What sets the Eagle Group apart is our expertise in various casting methods, offering a broad range of value-added and specialized services. The Eagle Group’s companies offer steel and stainless steel castings, precision investment castings in both ferrous and non-ferrous alloys, machining and assembly services.
Based in Muskegon, Michigan, Eagle Alloy is the largest foundry within the Eagle Group. With over 240,000 square feet of manufacturing space, we are a leading shell-mold foundry specializing in pouring various grades of carbon and stainless steels. Our expertise lies in producing high-quality shell-molded steel and stainless steel castings, and we’re proud to be recognized as one of the premier steel foundries in the United States.
Steel casting is our primary focus at Eagle Alloy, however we excel in casting a wide variety of alloys. For detailed information about the alloys we work with, please refer to our Materials Specifications spreadsheet.
Intro to Eagle Alloy
CASTING INDUSTRY TRENDS: WHY CHOOSE STEEL CASTINGS?
Steel is a popular casting alloy. It offers several advantages for manufacturers due to its composition, primarily consisting of iron (Fe) and carbon (C). Alloy steel, including stainless steel, includes the addition of elements like manganese (Mn), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), molybdenum (Mo) and vanadium (V). These and other elements can be added in varying quantities to obtain or increase certain desirable properties (1). For example, stainless steel resists corrosion, while carbon steel provides superior hardness, making each type of steel advantageous for different applications. This potential for customization allows steel to offer unique benefits.
Beyond enhancing mechanical properties, alloying steel can improve wear resistance, high-temperature capabilities, magnetic response, or adjust thermal expansion. Steel castings can be seamlessly welded, allowing integration with other steel components in complex structures.
Steel castings offer unmatched geometric design flexibility not achievable through other manufacturing techniques. By pouring molten steel into customized molds, highly complex shapes and features can be created. The ability to tailor geometry and wall thickness to service specialized needs makes steel castings ideal for high-performance connections, internal passages, unique materials for harsh environments, and large structural components.
Both of Eagle Alloy’s primary processes, shell molding and airset casting, are optimized for steel casting production.
Read more about our casting processes below.
THE CASTING PROCESSES AT EAGLE ALLOY
Shell Molding
Shell molding is a highly precise and repeatable casting method, widely accepted as the standard for medium to high-volume production projects. Compared to other casting processes, shell molding provides higher quality surface finish and better dimensional accuracy. The process also limits common sand defects, and sand used in the molds can be recycled—leading to cost savings and improved sustainability (2). When you tour Eagle Alloy’s shop floor, you’ll see our busy shell molding machines, which handle most of our orders.
Our customers often refer to us as the nation’s top shell mold steel foundry. The shell mold process provides exceptional tolerances at +/- .030 per inch and excellent dimensional consistency from order to order. For a better understanding how shell molding works for steel castings, please watch our video animation or download our detailed Shell Molding Process Guide.
Airset Casting
While the bulk of Eagle Alloy’s products are created using shell molding, airset casting is another production method we employ for low quantity production runs, or for part numbers that are too big for shell molding. Our airset molding line runs with medium tolerances of +/- .060 per inch, making it ideal for quick prototypes before a shell pattern is available.
Airset casting, also known as no-bake casting, doesn’t require heat for sand bonding. Despite this, the airset process achieves superior surface finish and tighter dimensional tolerances compared to other methods like greensand casting. The key lies in using finer sand, which bonds well due to specific chemical additives. Airset-cast steel parts consistently exhibit high quality, with minimal surface defects. Opting for airset casting can often lead to savings on machining costs. For more details on airset casting, explore our blog post “Getting Started with Airset Casting” or download our airset casting specifications and tolerances.
WHAT’S INSIDE OUR FOUNDRY
Foundry Equipment
As technology evolves, we make upgrades to our casting facilities. In 2021 we added a Palmer M300XLD No-bake Sand Mixer to our equipment list, ensuring that Eagle Alloy is ready for another four decades of high-quality airset castings. This move underscores our commitment to staying at the forefront of the foundry business and ensuring top-notch quality in our castings.
Visit the Eagle Group Blog for posts on our new equipment.
Hazard Mitigation
Our Environmental, Health & Safety Specialist ensures Eagle Alloy’s compliance to OSHA, EPA, and other regulatory standards and ensures we maintain and submit safety, accident, environmental, and industrial hygiene files and records as required. This commitment to safety and compliance is just one facet of our dedication to excellence in the foundry industry.
In addition to recent upgrades to our casting facilities, one safety feature we’re excited about is called the supercone. The supercone is a dust collection system that removes fine particulates like silica or zircon sand from the air. “OSHA’s crystalline silica rule puts airborne silica and exposure to crystalline silica high on their safety agenda (3).” Eagle Alloy is committed to compliance, and our new machines are built with enhanced features to protect the health and safety of our workers.
We also strive to continuously improve our processes with the goal of increasing efficiency and sustainability.
CERTIFICATIONS
Eagle Alloy proudly holds ISO certification, emphasizing our commitment to safe, reliable and high-quality products and services. We also adhere to other global directives such as PED, RoHS, and REACH to ensure compliance and customer satisfaction. Read more about our certifications and commitment to customer service below.
ISO and PED Certifications
Eagle Alloy’s ISO and PED certifications meet the following standards:
- ISO 9001:2015 – ANSI/ISO/ASQ Q9001-2015
- Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) Annex I, Paragraph 4.3 of 2014/68/EU or 97/23/EC 7/2
RoHS and REACH Compliance
Eagle Alloy fully complies with both the RoHS directive and RoHS2 (Directive 2002/95/EC and Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of 8 June 2011) and the REACH regulation (Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006) governing Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals.
ITAR and SAM Registration
In addition to our certifications, Eagle Alloy is registered with ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) and SAM (System for Award Management). These registrations streamline our ability to handle manufacturing projects for U.S. Government contracts, including those from the Department of Defense.
Visit our Certifications page for more information.
CUSTOMER COMMITMENT
At Eagle Alloy, we focus on serving companies that prioritize the reliability of a full-service steel foundry across all business aspects, including Service, Quality, Delivery, and Cost. Our customer base spans over 250 active clients across 25 different industries.
Our “customer-first” approach is ingrained in everything we do. What makes us unique among steel casting companies is that our sales department also serves as our production control department. This enables us to consistently provide the industry’s shortest lead times for order shipments. We actively encourage customer input and feedback through various channels, and you can see our commitment in action by speaking to our very first customer, who has been with us since our establishment in 1979.
(1) Thomasnet, Material Properties of Iron and Steel Castings
https://www.thomasnet.com/articles/custom-manufacturing-fabricating/material-properties-of-iron-and-steel-castings/
(2) Team Xometry, Shell Molding: Definition, Purpose, How It Works, Advantages, and Examples
https://www.xometry.com/resources/casting/shell-molding/
(3) S. General Services Administration – Office of Management and Budget, Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202110&RIN=1218-AD18