Use of no-bake mold process to manufacture railroad couplers

Abstract

A railroad coupler assembly having at least a body and a knuckle both formed in a no-bake manufacturing process, the body and the knuckle having dimensional tolerances of distances between features that wear during operation that are about half those obtained from a body and a knuckle manufactured by a green sand process, resulting in increased fatigue life compared to the body and the knuckle manufactured by a green sand process. The body and the knuckle resulting from the no-bake manufacturing process have no observable laps, scabs, chaplets or welding in critical areas of the body and knuckle, which are reflected in surface conditions matching SCRATA (Steel Castings Research and Trade Association) values of: D1 (laps); E1 (scabs); F1 (chaplets); and J1 (welds).

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.