2026 Green Sand Production Seminar (GSPS)

Tuesday, September 1, 2026 to Wednesday, September 2, 2026

MTI American Colloid Co

2870 Forbs Avenue
Hoffman Estates, IL 60192-3702
United States

29 Seats Remaining

Join us September 1 & 2 in Hoffman Estates, IL at American Colloid Company for this members-only two-day seminar. We will focus on all the Green Sand basics! From Incoming material to what is meant by "clay activation". We will learn about the different parts of a muller and maintenance best practices. We will follow the sand grain through molding, pouring, shakeout, all the way to disposal or return sand. We will dive into both primary and secondary sand tests, and what they are measuring and how to best utilize the data you collect. The seminar will discuss dust collection, measuring your system volume and other critical operational green sand parameters. If you are new to the sand system, or have been running sand tests, but want to know what their significance is, this is the seminar for you.

Anyone from your member company is invited to attend!

Production personnel or members of any area of management can benefit from learning more about the science and controls beyond on-the-floor training.

Recommended Hotel:

Marriott Chicago Northwest: 4800 Hoffman Blvd, Hoffman Estates, IL 60192

Room Block Information is coming soon!

Agenda

September 1
8:30 AM - 9:00 AM	Welcome & Overview; Life Cycle of a Sand Grain & Water High level overview of a foundry green sand system The necessary evil, water. How to measure it, and why it's critical to have the right amount Water Classification: Free Water, Water in the Clay, Cooling Water Sand Cooling Key Test: Moisture, Temperature, Compactability Presented by Michelle Ring, DIS
9:00 AM - 9:45 AM	Sand Raw sand: How it is processed, measured and transported Type, Shape and Sizing Sand Segregation & Contamination Key Tests: pH, ADV, GFN, Screen Distribution Presented By: Dorothy Havlin, The Nugent Sand Company
9:45 AM - 10:00 AM	Open Discussion Open Discussion Q&A on Silo Maintenance, Segregation & Transportation of Raw Materials
10:00 AM - 10:15 AM	BREAK
10:15 AM - 11:00 AM	Clay A closer look at What is Bentonite Clay? How is it processed? Different types of clays Clay Additives Clay Activation - The need for water continued Key Test: Methylene Blue Presented by Liam Miller, American Colloid Co
11:00 AM - 11:30 AM	Carbon Seacoal & Carbonaceous Materials Causticized Lignite Why seacoal control is especially important in Ductile Iron Key Tests: LOI, Carbon/Sulfur, Volatiles Presented by Kiel Krause, American Colloid Co
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM	Run the Test: Group 1 Lab Tour Moisture, Compactability, GFN, Screens, MB Clay, Carbon/Sulfur
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM	LUNCH
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM	Mulling & Mixing Adding Energy! More on coating sand grains with clay Mullers and Mixers - what is happening inside the big steel box? Plows/Wheels, Wear & Settings (basic) Types: Mixer, Batch Muller, Continuous Muller Mull cycle - why you should know yours Key Test: Total Oil & Grease Presented By: Tom Arenholz, Simpson Technologies
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM	Open Discussion Open Discussion Q&A on Muller Maintenance
2:30 PM - 3:15 PM	Automated Compactability Controller How it works Controller Equations: Key Measurements, TCC, SPC Consideration of testing location / distance to molding Key Tests: Sand Temperature, Conductivity, Compactability (again), Green Strength, Batch Weight
3:15 PM - 3:30 PM	BREAK
3:30 PM - 4:15 PM	Molding Molding Types and Functions including: Flask vs. Flaskless & Horizontal vs Vertical Squeeze pressure, venting, mold transfer and handling, Operational Considerations Molding Specific Defects Key Test: Mold Hardness Presented by: Matt Meyer, Sinto America
4:15 PM - 5:00 PM	Pouring & Cooling Pouring and effects on the mold Mold Metal Interface (including mold coatings) Mold Breakdown Time and thermal effects on sand and ductile iron (metallurgically speaking) Key Tests: Wet Tensile & Hot Strength Presented By Eric Nelson with EN Consulting
5:00 PM - 5:30 PM	Run the Test: Group 2 Lab Tour Mold Hardness, Specimen Weight, Green Strength, Permeability, AFS Clay, Wet Tensile, Hot Strength
September 2
8:30 AM - 9:15 AM	Shakeout, Return Sand, Disposal & Dust Collection Dust Collection Shakeout & Shot Blast Operations Attrition, Core Butt Removal & Sand Carryout In-house Reclamation: Mechanical, Thermal, Advanced Oxidation Disposal & Beneficial Reuse Key Tests: AFS Clay, Surface Finish & Dust Sampling Presented By: Jay Morrison, Carpenter Brothers, Inc.
9:15 AM - 10:00 AM	Mass Balance Systems Best Practices and Developing & Implementing Mass Balance Systems with Al Jacobson & David Kesse
10:00 AM - 10:15 AM	BREAK
10:15 AM - 11:00 AM	Lab Testing - Additional Tests & Best Practices Sample Collection Gage R&R / Consistency between operators / shifts Calibration of equipment / drift 3rd Party Testing: Frequency, Reading the Reports, Sample packaging Key Tests: Specimen Weight & Permeability With Kiel Krause
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM	Workshop Workshop: BYOSS: Reading a Sand Plant Drawing (Bringing your own Sand System Map is optional but encouraged)
11:00 AM - 11:30 AM	LAB TOUR GROUP 3
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM	LAB TOUR GROUP 4
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM	LUNCH
1:00 PM - 1:45 PM	Hypothetical Scenarios & Applying What You've Learned See real world examples of issues that come up. Case Studies and Examples of what to do. Presented by: David Kesse, Elkem
1:45 PM - 2:30 PM	Hypothetical Scenarios & Applying What You've Learned Solving the Green Sand Equation: What variables to control and what constants to maintain to get the desired results. Presentations by: Al Jacobson, American Colloid Company
2:30 PM - 2:45 PM	BREAK
2:45 PM - 3:30 PM	Open Discussion Bring your suspected sand related defects and let's all take a look and make predictions and map out next steps of action.

For More Information:

Tammie Sparks

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Cancellation Policy: No registration fees will be refunded for cancellations made less than 10 full business days prior to the meeting start date. Registered no-shows, who have not paid in advance, will be invoiced for the event. If you wish to cancel, contact us at tammie@ductile.org

Based upon the advance registrations, DIS commits to a guaranteed meal count for that event, prior to the event. DIS pays for those meals regardless of whether all registered individuals actually attend the event.

Please note that DIS has no control over the hotel cancellation policies, and all individuals are responsible for their own hotel reservations and cancellations.