A trial assembly of a mold and its cores before the actual metal is poured. Foundry workers close the mold with clay balls or strips placed inside, then open it again to measure how much the clay was compressed. This confirms the core prints seat correctly, verifies the metal wall thickness, and ensures the cope and drag mate without crushing the sand.
The core shifted on the last run, so do a full try-off with clay balls before we close this one up for good.
A failed try-off usually means sand needs to be shaved from the core prints or the pattern has warped.
Also heard as
- tryout
Related terms
Core print
A projection on a casting pattern that creates a seat in the mold to hold a sand core securely.
Corebox
A mold used to shape and pack sand into a solid core for creating internal cavities in a casting.
Cheek
The intermediate section of a multi-part casting flask located between the cope and the drag.