sentations and new ideas; although, at the end of day, they still are bound by budgets. What has changed is purchasing’s open mindedness, outside-of-the-box and green light think- ing, especially in conservative markets. People everywhere are very open to improvements in safety, quality, productivity and efficiency.


How do you see the industry developing through 2015? Te population growth in the developing countries will


continue to fuel local growth. In mature economies where population growth is less rapid, you will see less growth in casting capacity. Our goal is to monitor this on a continual basis and re-strategize our available human and machine resources to make sure each market is serviced appropriately. Right now everybody sees BRIC as booming, but we feel the Western markets are also ready for a spring-back.


What are the melting trends you have observed among your customers in the metalcasting industry?


Lightweight alloys are on the upswing quite a bit, and


induction is becoming popular because casting facilities are moving away from pollution generating systems and moving toward greener operations. Plus, some materials are not safe to work with in any environment other than a controlled atmosphere, where induction lends itself better than other traditional technologies. Induction has been replacing arc and cupola installations at an increasing rate around the world because induction offers efficiencies that cannot be found in other methods and also reduces your carbon footprint. One area that is very important in today’s economy is steel melting for billet production. Using induction technology to melt steel from scrap or direct re- duced iron is more economical than other methods, which is the new trend for mini steel mills.


What equipment advances has Inductotherm made? Traditional induction equipment technology has progres-


sively been upgraded with changes in solid-state technology since the 1960s. Everything we could package in one unit, we now can package within less than half of the real estate. Equipment is smaller and more efficient, thus giving a big- ger bang for the buck. Our most recent inverter systems are now approaching 98% efficiency. Each alloy has a different melt efficiency but, in general, we have improved efficiency by 3% over the last couple of years. Te improved efficiency stems from smarter power supply, coil and furnace construction. Less energy is wasted and more goes into the melt. Auxiliary equipment such as heat recovery systems has


become commonplace because customers are conscious of their carbon footprint and electric and gas bills. Tey are looking for ways to recoup lost and unused energy. Te next technology leap we’ve seen is in communications. Every piece of our equipment is Ethernet compatible and incorporates text messaging and remote log-in. Mobile tools have become so commonplace, they are now standard. When the BRIC countries say they want the latest technology, this is an example of what they mean. Today’s decision makers


当代人的采购观念有了整体的变化。他们思维新潮， 并且容易接受新的推荐、介绍和思想观念，尽管最后 依然受到预算不足的制约。真正变化的是采购中的开 放性思维，跳出束缚的绿色思维，尤其在保守的市场 如日本。人们对安全、质量、生产力和效率等方面的 建议持开放态度。


您觉得到2015年工业会如何发展？


在发展中国家，人口增长会继续给当地的增长带 来动力。在人口增长缓慢的发达国家，铸造产能的增 长会放慢。我们会保持持续关注并且重新规划我们的 人力和设备资源，确保每个市场都得到恰如其分的服 务。现在大家都觉得金砖四国迅速发展，但我们觉得 美国市场会迎来另一个春天。


就您所见，您觉得铸造业中熔炼将会如何发展？


轻合金的应用增长十分可观，由于天然气在铸造 方面的应用中的日益减少，感应加热会应用更广。并 且，有些材料只有在可控气氛中加工才能保证安全。


Inductotherm在设备上有什么进展？


从1980年代以来，传统感应设备技术逐步被固态技 术取代。我们可以把各种器件装进一个单元，现在可 以用不到半套场地。设备变得更小更高效，这给投资 带来了更大的收益。


总体上我们在过去几年内提高了3%的效率。效率 的提高主要来自于更好的线圈和炉子结构，能量损失 更少，更多的能量用于熔炼。


由于用户对碳排放和电与燃气账单更加关注，因此 辅助设备如热回收系统也开始流行起来，他们正在寻 求找到回收未利用能量的方法。


我们已经预见到的下一个技术上的飞跃将在通信 方面。我们的设备都是与以太网兼容，并且整合了文 字信息和远程登录。移动工具如此普及，已经成为标 准。当金砖四国说他们要最新的技术，这就是他们想 要的。现在的决策者们大都在三四十岁，并且从小伴 随着计算机长大，所以他们需要这种技术。


64 | FOUNDRY-PLANET.COM | MODERN CASTING | CHINA FOUNDRY ASSOCIATION Winter 2012


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