As a cast iron cookware importer, it’s your responsibility to protect your customers from hazards and other types of quality defects. And due to the unique properties of the iron alloy, production processes can lead to many different kinds of casting defects.
Let’s explore some of the most common defects in cast iron cookware to help you avoid a potential recall and improve your product quality.
1. Pinhole
Pinholes are a common casting defect found in all cast iron products, including cookware. These holes are almost always visible to the human eye but don’t appear on the product until after mechanical processing.
2. Sharp flash
Sharp flash is generally considered a major or critical defect in cast iron cookware. Flash is commonly seen on post-production, pre-packaged cast iron cookware. This casting defect occurs due to a molding plate issue. Flash can be caused by: an insufficient clamp force, poorly fitted molding plates
and overfilling during injection processes
3. Rust
Rust, or oxidation, occurs when a cast iron surface dries after a wet surface preparation. This defect is usually easy to spot because it affects the cookware’s outward appearance.
4. Sand Inclusion
Sand inclusion is one of the most frequent causes of casting rejection. Sand inclusion appears as lumps of sand grains near the surface of a casting.
5. Chip
A chip is a common and visible casting defect that appears as a small notch or incision in casted products. It’s usually found at the edges of cookware products.
6. Crack
A crack is a more serious quality issue than a chip. Cracks are usually located on the bottom wall of a piece of cookware and are clearly visible to the human eye.
7. Wobbling / Warping
Wobbling or warping occurs on the bottom or base of cast iron cookware. Long or flat castings are more easily deformed and will form a curving shape, usually close to the thickest part of the wall.
8. Black Residue
This kind of defect appears as an obvious black spot present in irregular positions and locations on the surface of cast iron cookware. Fingerprint traces remain at the surface of the casted cookware, causing oxidation.
9. Wall Thickness Variation
This casting defect appears as variation in the thickness of a panel or wall of a cast iron pan or pot. The wall thickness of certain areas exceeds your desired standard or tolerance
10. Dent / Dimple
All measures to prevent delamination of the shell and strengthen the bonding force between the layers can help eliminate dents.
You might also try: Increasing the temperature of the dewaxing medium to shorten the dewaxing time
Avoiding large, flat structures and flat plane or upward pouring. If necessary, set process ribs and process holes to prevent defects from occurring during pouring. Reducing shell moisture. A shell that’s too wet isn’t suitable for high-temperature furnace roasting.
11. Uneven enamel
This defect occurs when the manufacturer inconsistently applies enamel coating to the raw cast iron cookware.
Enamel can be applied to raw cast iron either through a dry application or wet application process. In both cases, operators might unevenly apply enamel on the product, leading to this defect.
12. Foreign material in enamel
Foreign material, such as dirt, human hair or insects, can be introduced to cast iron during the enamel process or the molding process.
Foreign material can appear within the enamel or even the raw cast iron body. Visible foreign material often hurts the item’s overall appearance.
13. Enamel drip
Enamel drip is the byproduct of an improper wet application of a liquid glaze, otherwise known as a glaze slurry. Larger drips often appear as a droop and smaller drips appear like a beaded tear. Enamel drips often occur when the enameled cookware is left to dry slowly at a low temperature.
14. Enamel Shade Variation
Enamel shade variation appears as a hue or brightness deviation from your specified color standard.
Many cast iron cookware buyers and retailers choose bright, glossy, visually-appealing enamel to coat their products. And the product color can be a deciding factor for some consumers, who want to display their cookware on their countertops.
15. Color stain/ spot
Similar to shade variation, a color stain or spot appears as a different colored toner on the glaze surface or as dirt material in the glazing.
But while shade variation is visible as a different hue or brightness of your specified color, a color stain appears on your cookware as a different color entirely. The incorrect color is usually confined to one spot.
16. Orange peel
Orange peel is a major quality issue in enameled cast iron cookware. After the products are fired, the enamel surface resembles that of an orange peel – bumpy and uneven.
Conclusion
With cast iron cookware’s recent surge in popularity, competition between cookware brands is fierce. You’ll need to manufacture a quality product that’s both safe and visually appealing if you want to be a major player in the cast iron cookware space—that’s no simple task.
