ITP Metal Casting: 2002 Metal Casting Industry of the Future ...

In 2003, the Metal Casting IOF program will focus upon three research areas. These areas include:
• Advanced Melting: Research in this category will establish new melting technologies and
practices to dramatically improve the energy efficiency of melting. Melting represents
approximately 55 percent of the overall energy costs in metal casting operations.
Improvements in the melting process will have a large impact on energy consumption and
cost savings for metal casters.
• Innovative Casting Processes: This area of the portfolio includes research that advances
energy efficient casting processes as well as practices that increase yield and reduce scrap,
thereby reducing the amount of metal which must be remelted. Casting processes include, for
example, lost foam, die casting, investment casting, semi-solid casting, permanent mold, and
next generation ferrous castings. Innovations in these casting processes are being made
through developments in sensors, material properties and performance, computer-based
modeling tools, and reduction in machining requirements.
• R&D Integration and Analysis: This area of the portfolio includes research and technical
assistance that integrates applicable OIT technologies for improving energy efficiency and
reducing emissions in metal casting practices. Research in this area includes improvements
to the general energy efficiency of plant operations through BestPractices and Industrial
Assessments as well as research to identify new uses for casting byproducts.
Integrated Assistance for the Metal Casting Industry
As illustrated in Exhibit 17, the Metal Casting IOF has funded $18 million in research with an
additional $23 million provided by industry cost-share over the period of 1997 to the present.
A number of other EERE programs have performed research related to metal casting. These
include NICE 3 , Innventions & Innovations, and the Aluminum and Steel IOFs. Combined, they have
provided approximately $19 million in funding on current research and technical assistance relevant
to metal casters and leveraged an additional $19 million in cost-share.
Exhibit 17
Leveraging Funding for the Metal Casting Industry
(Million Dollars)
Total
$42
$37
Metal Casting Program
$23
$18
Other IOF Programs
(R&D related to casting)
$19
$19
$0 $10 $20 $30 $40 $50 $60 $70
$80
Industry Cost Share
DOE Funding
17