One of the most sought after kinds of machining techniques is CNC machining. Machining companies that provide CNC machining services make use of machines that are high speed, repeatable and capable of being programmed. These machines are able to function even when they are unattended. This allows the machining company to manufacture parts or jobs both quickly as well as efficiently. There are also machining companies that have production machining services. Such machining companies have the capacity to give an output of large scale production. They are run with the use of a variety of machining services.
Due to the stainless steel alloy, sidebar and flow channels and heat dispersing elements used in the Investment Castings process to form the chain link, problems of corrosive attack, stress risers, heat concentrations, shrinkage and warping are virtually eliminated. In addition, the casting process produces a chain link having consistently close dimensional tolerances of plus or minus 0.010 inches between the chain pin and pin boss to preclude the entry of grit, sand and other abrasive particles in the chain joint reducing the rate of wear and extending chain link. Because of the close dimensional tolerances and smooth uniform component surfaces, there is no break-in or wear-in for the chain and no additional maintenances required in tensioning the chain. The investment casting process as perfected in the present invention enables the casting of multiple chain links as well as attachment links offering a dramatic savings in time and labor over the traditional one-at-a-time sand casting process. With the perfected casting process, it now becomes possible to customize chain links by manipulating their alloy content rather than by increasing the physical size of the chain link. The inventive chain link produced as a result of the unique investment casting process is designed to operate for a remarkable full 20 year service cycle (the current American water and wastewater industry process equipment design standard) without any replacement of either the chain or the sprockets.