Recasting a nickel-chromium alloy

Donald R. Nelson, D.D.S.,* Joyce F. Palik, D.D.S., M.S.,** Harold F. Morris, D.D.S., M.S.,*“”
and Martin C. Comella, D.M.D.****
1Jr ivers ty of North Carolina. School of Dentistry, Chapel Hill, N.C.; Veterans Administration Medical Center.
:\llen l’irk, hlich., and Milwaukee, Wise.; University of Detroit, Detroit, Mich.; and U.S. Army .4rea Dental
I.abor;~tory, Fort Sam Houston, l‘ex.

lhe escalating cost of gold has contributed to the The dimensions of the tensile bars were similar to those
widespread use of base metal alloys for fabrication of suggested by Moffa et al. 5 A blind vent was used to
removable partial denture frameworks. The popularity minimize porosity.6 Spruing of each clinical removable
of base metal alloys is further enhanced by their partial denture framework was individually tailored as
resistance to corrosion, reduced weight, and generally required.
more favorable physical properties than those of gold.’ Wax patterns were invested in two stages with
As an economy measure, excess gold (buttons and Investic (Ticonium Co.) and burned out at 1350” F for
sprues) has routinely been recast in combination with 1% hours. Castings were made with a centrifugal
new metal to produce clinically acceptable castings. electromagnetic induction casting machine (Ticomatic,
Although recasting base metal alloys is not as common, Ticonium Co.) at a casting temperature of 2550” F. The
consistent results have been reported when adding new completed castings (rings) were allowed to cool before
metal to previously used metal in the recasting of a removal from the investment. All castings were com-
cobalt-chromium al10y.~ Hesby et al.’ studied the effect pleted by the same technician to minimize the effect of
of recasting a nickel-chromium alloy routinely used for variations in the casting procedure.
fixed partial denture castings through four generations. The initial casting (T,) used 19.5 deadweight ton
They found no significant alteration in the physical of new Ticonium 100 to produce a set of four tensile bars
properties of the alloy after multiple recasting. (Figs. 1 and 2)’ After casting, the metal was carefully
The purpose of this investigation was to determine the cleaned under running water and sandblasted. The
effect of recasting on the physical properties and clinical sprue assembly was then carefully removed from the
characteristics of a nickel-chromium alloy (Ticonium tensile bars, weighed, and combined with an appropriate
100, Ticonium Co, Div. CMP Industries, Albany, amount of new alloy to maintain an approximate 50/50
N.Y.). Excess metal (button and sprues) was combined ratio. The time required to prepare, clean, weigh, and
with new metal for subsequent castings (Table I). This combine the residual sprue assembly with new metal
procedure was followed to simulate actual prosthodontic averaged 14 minutes. The combined alloy was subse-
laboratory conditions. quently used to produce the second casting, a clinical
removable partial denture framework. This sequence
MATERIAL AND METHODS was repeated through 10 generations, as previously
One hundred and one castings were made. Castings described, with every tenth casting producing a set of
consisted of 11 sets of tensile bars and 90 clinical four tensile bars (Table I).
removable partial denture frameworks grouped into 10 On recovery from the investment, tensile bars were
generations (Table I). separated and evaluated for yield strength, tensile
The horizontal method of spruing as described by strength, modulus of elasticity, and percent elongation.
Asgar et al.’ was used for all tensile bar wax patterns. Microhardness determinations were also completed.
Tensile tests were performed on an Instron universal
testing machine (Instron Corp., Canton, Mass.) with a
head speed of 0.1 cm/min and a 500 kg load cell. The
The views expressed herein arc those of the authors and do not graph recorder was set at 5 cm/min.
necessarily reflect those of the United States Army. After rupture of each test bar, ultimate tensile
‘Associate Professor, Dental Service, Veterans Administration Medi- strength was computed by dividing maximum recorded
cal Cemer, Milwaukee, Wise. load by the diameter of the tensile bar. Offsets of 0.02%
‘**Director. Clinical Research Cemer for Restorative Materials,
and 0.2% were used as arbitrary values to calculate yield
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Allen Park, Mich., and
C!linical Associate Professor, Pre-clinical Department, tiniversiry of strength. This was accomplished by plotting lines to
Michigan, Schcx)l of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, Mich. represent each offset parallel to the straight line portion
**“(:olonel. D.C.. U.S. Army Area Dental Laboratory. of the tensile curve. Fractured test bars were then

122 JANUARY 1986 VOLUME S5 NUMBER 1