Foundry Practice
Foseco’s technical journal and is provided free of charge to the foundry industry. First published in 1932, Foundry Practice aims to keep customers informed of the latest developments in our proprietary products and services and encourage the implementation of best practice.
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Foundry Practice Magazine
Foundry Practice 264
June 2015
June 2015
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There has been huge growth in the production of Aluminium Road Wheels over the past decade with the great majority being manufactured by the low-pressure diecasting process. The quality requirements of these safety
critical castings are as high as any Aluminium component made today and Foseco has developed a suite of products aimed at improving the quality of the castings produced while also improving the profitability of the process. This concept of an Integrated Solution Package for a particular casting and process will be further developed in the future.
Energy efficiency is becoming an increasingly important factor in the use of crucibles. Rising energy costs and CO2-emissions are becoming the centre of attention and energy efficiency is playing a much more important role. The energy consumption when operating a crucible furnace initially strongly depends on the type of furnace
and the way it is operated and maintained, but is also strongly influenced by the thermal properties of the crucible material.
Studies have shown that the new and improved ENERTEK crucible quality is able to significantly reduce energy consumption in comparison to other crucible qualities. An additional effect in holding operations is the improved temperature control. This can lead to a reduction in the rejects for temperature related casting problems.
The effect of any one piece of equipment on overall aluminum foundry Performance is generally not well understood. The Foseco Crucible Throughput Monitor (FCTM) was developed as a solution to challenges associated with tracking efficiency of an electric-resistance crucible furnace.
FCTM features molten metal throughput monitoring, plus continuous energy and temperature measurement. It has been used to compare relative performance among multiple furnaces but, perhaps more importantly, FCTM data analysis techniques can be used to isolate key process steps (casting, charging, rotary degassing, etc.) as a function of energy, time and temperature. With this, effects of individual process parameters on furnace performance can be observed, providing quantitative feedback and efficiency fine-tuning potential down to the level of a specific activity on an individual furnace.
The quality level expected from aluminium castings continue to rise every year in order to meet the growing performance standards. The starting point for any casting is the analysis and quality of the alloy with which it is to be made; there is therefore a growing need to measure, understand and control the quality of the melt before pouring.
This paper looks at different techniques for measuring and benchmarking the quality of the melt in terms of hydrogen content and level of inclusions. By measuring these both before and after melt treatment it is possible to gauge the effectiveness of that treatment and by monitoring the melt through the handling and pouring process it is possible to highlight weaknesses in the melt handling and pouring process.
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To ensure that the correct casting quality is achieved then a more effective and technically sound melt treatment is essential. SMARTT is an innovative process control, installed on a PC and LAN connected to the PLC of the rotary degassing unit. It analyses all incoming parameters like ambient conditions or melt properties and calculates the best treatment parameters for the rotary degassing process just before each treatment. This optimisation guarantees a constant melt quality after each treatment and provides a data logging option.
Examples from foundry trials illustrate the influence on treatment parameters based on variations on incoming parameters and different customer requirements.
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The solution for your dosing furnace: Completely dry installation with Insural precast shapes and high insulating backing materials. Huge energy savings, no sintering, low density index of the melt immediately, easy cleaning.
A market analysis among our customers showed clearly, that there is a strong need for optimisation in terms of cleaning and avoidance of corundum growth. To solve these problems, extended trials with different INSURAL recipes have been made.
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This paper investigates the use of pumping rotors applied on a rotary degassing machine that offers a practical and affordable method of retaining consistent melt quality within a radiant heated holding furnace. Segregation and lack of homogeneity can result in cold defects, shrinkage porosity, irregular grain refinement, inclusions or porosity defects.
A series of water model trials compare the mixing capabilities of different rotor designs. Trials in Montupet Ruse (BG) have been undertaken to confirm the positive model results of the pumping XSR and FDR rotor designs under foundry conditions.
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Articles highlight the latest innovations and show case studies of how we have worked with customers to improve processes, productivity and ultimately profitability.