CASTING INNOVATIONS
Reducing Melt Variability, Cost Through Engineering With customer demands for
increased quality and process con- trols, iron casting facilities are fac- ing growing insistence for elimi- nating variability throughout the casting process, including melting, pouring and molding operations. ProService, Borgoricco, Italy, the engineering partner of Foseco, has developed a software package for iron casting facilities to improve quality and reduce costs in the production of quality castings. The newly engineered approach focuses on two stages in the melting pro- cess: the preparation of the base iron and its treatment in ladle.
Base Iron Preparation In the preparation of iron,
ITACA MeltDeck provides a metalcaster with thermal analy- sis software that allows in-depth analysis by integrating the data coming from spectrometers and temperature probes. Tis informa- tion is presented to operators, who are able to define parameters to be controlled and set a target value for each parameter. Additionally, the ITACA software can set validity times to control iron degeneration. Te procedure module shows the status of the furnaces, so system
operators have timely data that highlights anomalies and stores past measurements. ITACA MeltDeck also is equipped with a module to help operators calculate the amount of materials to be added in the furnace to correct anomalies (or, later, added in the ladle if an in-furnace correc- tion is not possible). Te system can be connected to dosing operations to send instructions for materials and quantities to be released. Te ad- justment of the base iron is not only limited to the primary factors, like the carbon equivalent, to potentially minimize costs, but also can take into account other factors, such as the pearlite stabilizing elements.
In-Ladle Treatment Once the molten metal is out of
the furnace, ProService’s thermal analysis software can continue to evaluate the iron as it’s transported via a ladle. Te software automati- cally collects the results of thermal analysis via a spectrometer. ITACA MeltDeck compares the data col- lected while the iron is in transit with measurements of the base iron to offer continual monitoring, which remain two separate functions in some casting facilities.
Te ITACA MeltDeck software
system also: • Constructs a consistent data-
• Defines and manages custom tar- gets for a specific casting, not only considering the last operation in the process, but managing the process from its base preparation. Te introduction of an accurate
procedure for the preparation of the base metal in melting furnaces can lead to a reduction in the variabil- ity in the final iron (minimizing the effect on the normal series of the worker operations) and reduce internal scrap rate. Because variabil- ity increases costs to address scrap issues, the MeltDeck system has the
potential to: • Minimize the use of corrective materials.
• Save energy by eliminating over- heating in melting furnaces and allowing, in some cases, a reduc- tion of the pouring temperature.
• Use less costly materials in the charge, treatment and corrective operations.
base of production that allows, for each production batch, to reconstruct the whole produc- tion history, in order to identify the source of any anomaly which has occurred.
The variability of iron melting and pouring operations may be reduced with increased observation during base preparation and ladle transport. October 2015 MODERN CASTING | 49
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