Implementation of Metal Casting Best Practices - EERE - U.S. ...

C. Steel Foundry-1
Plant Profile
Steel Foundry-1 is located in a rural community and employs almost 500 people. The size and
location of this facility makes it a large part of the local economy. The facility specializes in
producing carbon and low alloy, heavily cored steel castings primarily for the mining and
construction market.
The facility designs and builds its patterns on site. First, they employ a variety of software to
design the pattern that the pattern shop then builds from wood and coats to extend its life. The
constructed pattern then moves to the molding lines. The facility has two molding lines, one for
the construction of large molds, roughly 120” x 120”, and the other (an automated line) that
produces patterns no larger than 63” x 96.5”. At these lines, molds are produced and coated and
cores are inserted in preparation for the pour.
The plant performs all of its melting in three electric arc furnaces: one of 8-ton capacity, used
primarily to melt ductile iron, and two of 20-ton capacity, used to melt steel scrap. The foundry
has an excellent working relationship with its power supplier and uses the latest in power
demand management and power monitoring equipment. Melting occurs at this facility depending
upon the production schedule and the demand for molten metal. Bottom-pour ladles are used to
pour the molten steel into the finished molds.
Once the casting is poured and cooled, the casting is shaken from its mold and transferred to the
cleaning room. The plant maintains two cleaning rooms: one for castings under 4,000 pounds
and the other for castings over 4,000 pounds. In the cleaning room, workers remove the gating
and riser systems and weld the casting if any discontinuities exist. Depending upon the material
specifications, the casting may also go to one of the 10 heat treatment ovens and quench tanks.
The footprint of the cleaning department is quite large. Once a casting passes through the
cleaning room, if necessary it can move to the machining room to be machined to meet
customer’s specifications.
The facility maintains tight quality control of the metal it melts and the castings it produces. It
has a state-of-the-art complex to perform chemical analysis, physical testing, hardness testing,
and metallographic examination. Furthermore, the facility utilizes several tests to inspect the
castings. At some point in the casting process, the casting goes through magnetic particle
inspection to detect surface or near-surface abnormalities. The facility also performs dimensional
checks on all new pattern equipment and sample parts, and performs periodic production audits.
The facility has a radiographic inspection facility and develops/inspects the film onsite. Finally,
several of the facility personnel have received training in ultrasonic testing.
Onsite Assessment
During the site visit, the plant’s management, designers, metallurgist, plant engineers, and floor
management accompanied the assessment team. The first half of the one-day visit consisted of a
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