China


kind of foundries and will continue in future. Although some of the key foundries, which have advantages of largescale production, strong technical ability and advanced management, are maintain the growth rate of output value in about 10%. Some foundries on the bottom of the industry pyramid are under great survival pressure, even in danger of bankruptcy. There is a greater pressure for business operation at the end of 2016 which restricted by multiple factors, such as the strengthening of national


environmental protection


policies and the drastic increase of the raw materials cost. In general, the output value of general commercial casting is about $1.87 billion in 2016, which is as same as 2015.


Since 2016, the Chinese


government has intensifi ed the enforcement of environment protection laws, as well as implementing a stricter Foundry Industry Access Conditions. The


government has set technologies, thresholds


for foundries with insuffi cient level of energy conservation and environmental protection


eliminated


outdated industrial capacity, and optimized the structure of production, which is exerting a positive impact on the sustainable development of Chinese investment casting industry. In order to satisfy the stricter requirement of energy conservation and environmental protection, most enterprises are investing


more money in the environment-friendly treatment of dusts, fl ue gas and chemical agents. Several energy conservation devices such as the energy saving fi ring furnace have also been widely received. Recently, the labor cost in Chinese mainland is increasing continuously, but the increasing rate is temporarily decreasing. In order to reduce the pressure of labor cost, most foundries have made great effort on the automation and mechanization of the producing process. The equipment factories are exploring on some casing or cleaning facility with strong adaptability, such as the multi-station shell making robots, shell hanging chain and grinding equipment.


In the global competition of general


commercial castings, the emerging countries and regions which can produce investment


castings take pressure to


Chinese foundries, also inspire them to make more technological innovation. Investment Casting Branch Association of China Foundry Association (CICBA) has played an important role in promoting technological progress. It annually organizes management and technical conference, holds exhibitions about materials, equipment and technical services, and also offers training courses to help the foundries. In addition, the development of the domestic market has also brought new hope to the investment casting industry


in mainland China. For example, results in the rapid development of domestic auto, the investment casting market of auto parts has about 15 percent growth. Some foundries are expanding production of turbo charger and new factories is still on the rise. The growth is expected to continue for a period. Considering the two types of foundries, high value-added castings and general commercial castings, the overall output value of colloidal silica shell casting in 2016 in mainland China is about $2.54 billion (see Fig.). The output value has a growth of about 3.5% compared to 2015, of which the proportion of high value-added castings is increasing. To sum up, lost wax casting has a history of thousands of years in China, creating a splendid civilization. Industrialization of investment casting in China has also developed for more than half a century, with a perfect system of raw materials，equipment supplies and outstanding R&D teams formed, which makes China an important member of the global investment casting family. Besides, investment casting market in China remains to be further developed. We believe that investment casting in China still has a bright future and will make greater contribution to the development of global investment casting industry.


This “How-To” booklet is packed with illustrations so you can see problems fi rst hand.


Complete with photos and


descriptions, this valuable tool explains probable causes and outlines suggested cures for each cause.


ORDER ONLINE www.investmentcasting.org January 2017 ❘ 25 ®


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