CPT International 03/2014

India Special inside! 

3/2014 

Ensuring quality with 3-D 

image processing and robotics 

Interview 

Environmental Protection 

Officer Laluk gives insides on 

her job at Victaulic Drezdenko 

Materials 

Efficient steel casting for 

the production of Mercedes 

Benz turbine housings 

Quality Assurance 

The use of a coating 

preparation plant to improve 

the core-coating process

”What does wear out 

faster – your electrodes 

or the refractories?“ 

”Neither of the two. 

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the wear of refractories and electrodes by thermal and chemical optimization. 

Let’s talk about your goals. We’ll find the right way. 

REFRATECHNIK 

Refratechnik Casting GmbH 

Schiessstrasse 58 

40549 Düsseldorf 

Germany 

Phone +49 211 5858 0 

Fax +49 211 5858 149 

casting@refra.com

EDITORIAL K 

How can the foundry 

nation of India exploit its 

full potential? 

The Indian foundry industry is generally considered very promising. It produces 

for a country with over one billion inhabitants, has a foundry tradition which dates 

back thousands of years and casts over nine million tonnes of products – second 

only to China. Then there is the up-and-coming automotive industry, with its great 

potential – not surprising given the size of the market. India’s foundry industry, 

however, must also overcome major problems. These are described by our author 

Venkatachalam Subramanian Saravanan, Managing Director of Indoshell Cast in 

Coimbatore, India, in our Country Special from page 37. 

The automotive industry is not only important for the capacities of Indian foundries. 

The target markets are similar for foundries in Europe, too. So constant optimization 

regarding materials is all the more important for producing, say, more reasonably 

priced components with the same material properties. Our article from page 10, by 

Timotheus Kaiser, Development Engineer in the Cast Steel Technology Transfer Department 

at Daimler AG in Stuttgart, Germany, examines a material change in the 

casting alloy used for the turbine casings of Mercedes-Benz gasoline engines. 

Two more interesting highlights in this issue involve high-pressure die-casting and 

foundry plant construction: an article by Dr. Patrick Reichen of the Swiss die-casting 

equipment producer Bühler looks at the future of die-casting from page 28, 

seeking an answer to the question of how the challenges of weight reduction, expanded 

component functionalities, and improvement of the resource and cost efficiency 

of castings could be met in a die-casting cell of the future. 

The Düker foundry in Karlstadt, Germany, produces drainage technology and is 

thus in competition with foundries in France, China and India. The centrifugal 

foundry has now improved its competitive position with a new long-term cupola 

furnace from the Essen-based melting furnace expert Küttner, installed in record 

time. Read more about this from page 32. 

In the Country Special in Issue 4, which appears in December 2014, CP+T International 

turns its gaze towards the foundry location South America – a region which is similarly 

promising such as India. Use the opportunity to send us a report about your activities 

there or about products that you market there – we will publish it free-of-charge! 

Have a good read! 

Robert Piterek, e-mail: robert.piterek@bdguss.de 

Casting Plant & Technology 3/2014 3

K FEATURES 

INTERVIEW 

Laluk, Dorota 

Protecting the environment at Victaulic Drezdenko 6 

MATERIALS 

Kaiser, Timotheus; Botsch, Siegfried; Weißkopf, Karl 

Efficient steel casting for turbine housing production 10 

MOLDMAKING 

Hutton, Tony 

Small beads, big impact 18 

PRESSURE DIE CAStING 

Reichen, Patrick 

The future of light metal die-casting foundries 20 

WASTE HEAT RECOVERY 

du Baret, Pierre 

Proven energy efficiency solutions for foundries 26 

Cover-Photo: 

Inspectomation GmbH 

Düsseldorfer Straße 20 

68219 Mannheim 

Tel: + 49 621 / 80 39 66-0 

Fax: + 49 621 / 80 39 66-5 55 

info@inspectomation.de 

www.inspectomation.de 

Robot supported laser scanning system 

with a cylinderhead at Nemak Linz 

20 32 

Weight reduction, expanded component functionalities, 

improvement of resource and cost-efficiency: the die-casting 

cell of the future needs to be versatile (Image: Bühler) 

The Düker centrifugal foundry in Karlstadt, Germany, has improved 

its competitive position in drainage technology with a new long-term 

cupola furnace, installed in record time (Photo: Andreas Bednareck)

CASTING 

Plant and Technology 

3 | 2014 International 

QUALITY ASSURANCE 

Johns, Hayden 

Coating preparation plant improves core coating process 28 

PLANNING AND ENGINEERING OF FOUNDRY PLANT 

Piterek, Robert 

Defying competition with cupola technology 32 

INDIA SPECIAL 37 

K COLUMNS 

Editorial3 

News in brief 48 

Brochures56 

Fairs and congresses / Advertisers´ index 58 

Preview of the next issue / Imprint 59 

37 

In terms of investment and development, the foundry nation India did not meet expectations in recent years. But the number 2 

worldwide is still seen as promising. To defy the big neighbor China, however, many important problems remain to be overcome 

(Photo: Rajesh Pamnani)

K INTERVIEW 

Protecting the environment at 

Victaulic Drezdenko 

The castings company Victaulic owns and maintains foundries in China, Mexico, Poland and the 

USA, and employs around 3,500 people. Its European foundry is located in Drezdenko, Poland. 

The recently modernized facility uses Disamatic pouring equipment for fast order responses and 

the ability to make multiple pattern changes in short order, in ductile iron, for a range of custom 

castings clients across Europe. Ensuring that Victaulic meets and exceeds the demands of European 

environmental legislation is the responsibility of Dorota Laluk, who joined the company in 2008 

as Environmental Protection Officer and today manages a team of five personnel, including two 

maintenance workers, a foreman and an environmental clerk. Laluk has a background in environmental 

protection in the private and public sectors and is a trained sanitary engineer with specialized 

skills in water and sewage technology. She also holds postgraduate qualifications in environmental 

and administrative law 

What is in a typical working day for 

you at Victaulic? 

A typical day for me involves a combination 

of supervising the environmental 

team and monitoring environmental 

management at the foundry, as well 

as working on environmental aspects 

of future Victaulic investment projects. 

I am also closely involved with 

the local authorities and governmental 

agencies regarding future planning. 

I attend and arrange regular meetings 

with external companies involved 

in the preparation of environmental 

documentation, studies and measurements, 

and I review amendments in legal 

regulations. 

What is the working philosophy in 

your environmental department? 

At Victaulic we believe that there are 

no areas of a plant that cannot be 

made more environmentally friendly 

and our goal is to continuously initiate 

and implement improvements to 

all our environmental credentials. 

This is a real challenge that inspires 

us and motivates us to ensure that the 

impact of increased production and 

our technological advances are confined 

to the limits of our facility. 

Are there benefits to working for a 

global castings company like Victaulic? 

Dorota Laluk is Environmental Protection Officer at Victaulic Drezdenko in 

Poland (Photos: Victaulic) 

Victaulic has high quality castings 

foundries in China, Mexico, Poland 

and the USA. The support that I get 

from my global colleagues mainly relates 

to the planning of new investment 

projects. I receive extensive recommendations 

and advice on the 

direction and manner of implementation 

of subsequent stages of projects 

which, upon completion, directly impact 

elements of the natural environment. 

On the other hand, I also try to 

familiarize my global colleagues with 

local legal regulations and administrative 

procedures here in Poland that 

must be taken into consideration in 

any investment process. 

What are the greatest challenges that 

you have recently faced? 

The Victaulic European foundry is a 10 

hectare/24.7 acre site employing over 

400 highly qualified specialists from 

the casting trade, and it is very important 

to minimize disruption to production 

when making any changes. 

6 Casting Plant & Technology 3/2014

We have recently implemented a lot of improvements, 

including a new waste management programme based 

on a new system including improved segregation of waste 

material, outsourcing of waste disposal. We have also initiated 

a programme of continuous departmental training. 

At the same time we have introduced a monitoring system 

for wastewater and sewage. Newly installed equipment 

now allows us to accurately measure quantities of 

water drawn and sewage generated in our facility. We have 

inspected the technical condition of both the water supply 

and the sewage disposal systems and have requested 

expert advice. This gave us the technical basis to embark 

on a project aimed at a thorough reconstruction and modernization 

of the water supply and sewage disposal systems, 

including the installation of a rainwater decanter 

dust extraction system. This system is being built step by 

step without impacting production in our foundry. 

We have also recently updated our foundry operating 

permit to reflect amendments in local environmental legislation, 

and the extensive modernization at the Drezdenko 

foundry in the past five years. 

The Bright 

World 

of Metals 

DÜSSELDORF/GERMANY 

16 – 20 JUNE 2015 

www.gifa.com | www.newcast.com 

What plans are there for the future in terms of reusable 

energy sources? 

Reusable energy – such as wind power – could be an option 

at the foundry in the future. We are developing our 

environmental strategy step by step. The first stage is solving 

the main problems such as sewage-water system and 

chemicals management, and then we will look for different 

forms of reusable energy – it is our future challenge. 

Do you think recent changes at the Victaulic foundry 

have led to demonstrable benefits for the surrounding 

areas? 

Absolutely. One of our most recent investment projects, 

upgrading the sand recycling system at the foundry, has 

produced tangible benefits for our immediate neighbours. 

They understand what we have delivered, and we can now 

count on their greater understanding when new projects 

are being implemented in the future. Victaulic is a good 

neighbour that prides itself on the trust it has built and 

earned with the local community. 

Just down the road from the Drezdenko foundry is a 

Natura 2000 area, a piece of protected countryside of outstanding 

scientific value that is a dramatic reminder of 

how we must work within extremely sensitive parameters. 

What are the main European and regional directives that 

you must meet in your work? 

The main European directives are the directive of the European 

Parliament and the council of September 24, 1996 on 

integrated pollution prevention and control (96/61/EC), 

referred to as the IPPC directive. 

In accordance with this directive, the Victaulic foundry 

in Drezdenko is referred to as an IPPC installation, and due 

to the nature of its business it has been classified as a ferrous 

metals foundry with a production capacity in excess 

GMTN GMTN 

Messe Düsseldorf GmbH 

P.O. Box 10 10 06 _ 40001 Düsseldorf _ Germany 

Casting Plant & Technology 3/2014 7 

Tel. +49 (0)2 11/45 60-01 _ Fax +49 (0)2 11/45 60-6 68 

www.messe-duesseldorf.de

K INTERVIEW 

Casting production at Victaulic Drezdenko. The company manufactures ductile cast-iron components 

of 20 tons of melt per 24 hours. Any 

such facility, in the light of this directive, 

needs an integrated permit, a sort 

of special license, to run its business. 

Equally important are the main Polish 

environmental directives. These 

laws are just like those in other European 

countries. 

The main regional directive that we 

follow in our work is the Polish act on 

the protection of the natural environment. 

This provides rules about how 

the natural environment in Poland can 

be used, and establishes the country’s 

national environmental policy. 

There are other lower level regulations 

that define the manner in which 

water, air, and land can be used, and 

these laws define our detailed procedures 

and policies. 

Is there a lot of variation between 

global regulatory systems? 

There are a lot of different regulations 

across different countries. EU environmental 

law implemented in Poland is the 

most restrictive because of high emission 

standards and extensive administrative 

supervision. There are many reasons for 

this - for instance, US, China and Mexico 

are not signatories to the Kyoto Protocol 

so they aren’t obliged to reduce the emission 

of greenhouse gases. 

Is environmental regulation expensive? 

Complying with environmental regulation 

is undoubtedly costly, and from 

my perspective laws are extremely 

thorough as far as the three elements 

of the natural environment are concerned 

(protection of water, atmosphere, 

and soil). 

My personal opinion is that the bar 

is now sufficiently high in the EU. In 

most cases meeting strict environmental 

standards requires substantial capital 

spending, as every time a foundry 

process is changed it must be analysed 

for environmental implications and 

the consequences of such changes. 

Fulfilling obligations is expensive 

because obtaining decisions requires 

preparation of specialist documentation, 

running expensive emission 

tests, and paying substantial administrative 

and certification fees. 

How important are environmental credentials 

of foundries to customers? 

All EU member states have unified environmental 

laws so European customers 

can easily compare how companies 

meet required standards. Our customers 

usually know the overall environmental 

requirements and ask us about 

our emission standards and our integrated 

permit. 

Government purchasing departments 

in Europe are already extremely 

interested in this information but increasingly 

so are our custom castings 

clients as well. 

Immediate examples would be industries 

such as the automotive industry 

in Germany and Nordic countries, 

where the demand is greater for environmentally 

robust products. Quality, 

of course, is also key, and Victaulic has 

high regard to both its environmental 

credentials alongside the importance 

of maintaining the highest quality of 

manufacturing standards. 

www.victaulic.com 


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K MATERIALS 

Authors: Timotheus Kaiser and Siegfried Botsch, Daimler AG, Stuttgart, and 

Dr. Karl Weißkopf, Daimler AG, Ulm 

Efficient steel casting 

for turbine housing 

production 

In the series production of turbine housings for the exhaust gas 

turbocharger of Mercedes-Benz Otto cycle engines the steel 

alloy DIN1.4849 (GX40NiCrSiNb38-19) is used as standard. 

Exhaust gas temperatures of up to 1,050 °C require special 

thermal material properties. Creep, fatigue and corrosion are the 

main mechanisms responsible for damage occurring during engine 

operation. For series production of these housings, it is indispensible 

to study each process step separately, i.e. melting, 

core package moulding, casting, milling and welding. As the 

high nickel content of the alloy leads to fairly high material 

costs, the development of an alternative alloy with a distinctly 

lower nickel content is under development. To this purpose, it is 

necessary to compensate the positive effects of the high nickel 

content by means of alternative, less cost-intensive alloying elements. 

The new alloy is currently being tested regarding its suitability 

for series production 

Also in Otto cycle engine construction, 

the current technological trend is towards 

turbocharged engine designs for all series. 

This development is spurred by various 

positive effects, such as less pollutant 

emissions, higher engine efficiency and 

reduced fuel consumption. The main engineering 

objective is to increase the power 

P while reducing the stroke volume V. 

This increases the full load ratio and the 

heat flow density. Without changing the 

rpm n, the power of small-volume engines 

can therefore only be increased by 

increasing the boost pressure p in the engine. 

P ≈ V ⋅ n ⋅ p 

As the engine’s efficiency increases, the 

maximum exhaust gas temperature may 

rise up to 1,050 °C. Consequently, the 

turbine housing material must feature 

special temperature-resistance properties 

[1]. 

A part of the energy contained in the 

exhaust gas flow is converted into mechanical 

energy via the turbine of the exhaust 

gas turbo charger. This mechanical 

energy is used for the induction and 

compression of ambient air in the compressor 

housing. The cooled air, on the 

other hand, is guided to the combustion 

chamber. The boost pressure is controlled 

by means of a wastegate. This is a 

bypass which prevents the charger from 

overspeeding at peak load by opening the 

waste gate valve (Figure 1). 

The turbine housing of the turbocharger 

in the Mercedes-Benz four-cylinder 

Otto cycle engine M271evo (150 kW power, 

310 Nm torque at 2,000 1/min) is seriesproduced 

as a steel casting. It is connected 

to the engine via an air-gap insulated manifold 

made of metal sheet [2] (Figure 2). 

The material used to produce the turbine 

housing is the field-tested, heatresistant 

and high-alloyed steel grade 

DIN1.4849 (GX40NiCrSiNb38-19). Its 

nickel content between 36 and 38 %* 

guarantees a fully austenitic matrix over 

the entire temperature range. Figure 3 

shows the grain structure and the dendritic 

structure with the interdendritic chromium- 

and niobium-mixed carbides. The 

images were taken by a light microscope 

(figure 3a), by a scanning electron microscope 

(figure 3b) and by energy-dispersive 

x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) (figure 3c). 

The elemental analysis is given in Table 1. 

The material properties are determined to 

a great extent by the distribution of the 

chromium and niobium carbides. 

The elevated and highly volatile nickel 

price (between approx. 7 and 40 euros / kg 

Ni since 2007, Figure 4) gave rise to the 

task of developing an alternative alloy 

10 Casting Plant & Technology 3/2014 

*Unless otherwise stated, the indicated percentages are mass fractions.

Turbine housing immediately after casting. (Photos: Daimler AG) 

Manifold 

a 

b 

Turbine wheel 

Turbine 

Compressor 

Wastegate 

Figure 1: a) Four-cylinder exhaust gas turbocharger, b) Turbine housing with 

wastegate 

Figure 2: Turbine housing of the turbocharger in the M271evo Otto engine 

a b c 

Figure 3: DIN1.4849 material: a) light microscopic image, b) SEM image, c) EDX image 

with a distinctly lower nickel content 

and testing such alloy’s potential for series 

production. The tests have focused on the 

basic material properties, castability, machinability 

and field performance of the 

parts. The reference basis is always the behaviour 

of alloy DIN1.4849, the standard 

material for series production. Although 

the development activities are primarily 

geared towards the turbine housing for 

the M271evo, also the suitability of turbine 

housings of other design series are 

contemplated. 

Overview 

To obtain knowledge about the alloy’s 

suitability for series production, it is not 

only necessary to investigate the material 

properties required in the particular application, 

but also to examine the individual 

steps of the overall series production 

process. The latter consists of the melting 

process, the making of the core packages, 

the casting process, the machining operations 

and the welding to the manifold. 

Here, the low-pressure casting process 

plays a central role. In the following the 

development steps are eludicated for the 

alternative alloy with a view to its key material 

parameters, its castability and the 


K MATERIALS 

field tests of the turbine housings. Any alternative 

alloy must guarantee that it features 

equal creep, fatigue and corrosion 

behaviour at exhaust gas temperatures as 

high as 1,050 °C as the standard series production 

material 1.4849. The load during 

operation comes mainly in the form of vibrations, 

compressive pressure and cyclic 

temperature variations, all of which cause 

plastic deformations and the formation 

of cracks. These effects are reinforced by 

scale forming on the outside of the component, 

upon contact with the ambient 

air, and inside the component, upon contact 

with the hot exhaust gas. 

Analysis of the complete 

area shown in % 

C Si Cr Fe Ni Nb 

0.3 2.4 20 39 35.5 3 

Position 1 in % 0.1 2 18 45 36 0.5 

Position 2 in % 2.1 0.4 5 6.5 5.2 81 

Position 3 in % 3.8 0.1 84 11 1.5 0.2 

Table 1: Elemental analysis of material 1.4849. Percentage of chemical 

elements 

Materials technology and alloy 

development 

The temperature properties of a material 

depend on a number of parameters, 

such as strength, Young’s modulus, creep 

rate, phase stability, embrittlement, thermal 

expansion, thermal conductivity, resistance 

to oxidation, formation of oxide 

layers and thermo-mechanical fatigue in 

the complete temperature range. These 

properties are determined by the alloying 

elements present in the material. They are 

categorized into ferrite, austenite, carbide 

and nitride forming agents and responsible 

for the formation of the microstruc- 

Nickel price in EUR/t 

50 000 

40 000 

30 000 

20 000 

10 000 

0 

March 

2007 

March 

2009 

Figure 4: Volatility of nickel costs, according to [3] 

March 

2011 

March 

2013 

a 

b 

Figure 5: a) Iron-carbon equilibrium diagram according to [5], generated with Pandat software, b) Fe-C lattice 


ture [4]. Especially the exact specification 

and definition of these alloying elements 

guarantee the required field performance 

of the material. This relationship can be 

briefly summarized as follows: 

a b c 

Heat flow 

Dendrite 

alloying elements -> microstructure -> 

parameters/properties -> field performance 

of the component 

The material DIN1.4849 belongs to the 

group of austenitic, cubic face-centred 

steel casting alloys with a carbon content 

of approx. 0.3 – 0.35 %. Figure 5 

shows the corresponding area in the 

iron-carbon equilibrium diagram and 

the resulting cubic face-centred lattice. 

The effect of the austenite-stabilizing 

elements on the microstructure comes 

from the fact that the γ-phase solid solution 

is expanded to below room temperature. 

This results in a stable microstructure 

over the entire range of field 

temperatures from approx. -40 °C up to 

1,050 °C. Care should, however, be taken 

that a transformation from γ-phase 

to α-phase solid solution is prevented 

because such transformation would result 

in volume changes. Recurrent heating 

and cooling of the material in the 

field leads to component damage. Highalloyed 

austenitic steel casting alloys solidify 

exothermically in a dendrite structure 

(Figure 6). 

Precipitations, impurities and porosities 

form at the dendrite boundaries 

or are pushed forward by the dendrite 

boundaries in case of high melting 

points. The micrograph in Figure 7 

clearly shows the dendritic microstructure 

with its network of carbidic precipitations. 

By hindering dislocations, the 

stable interdendritic particles increase 

the strength of the material. Material 

Figure 6: a) Solidification pattern of the alloy, b) schematic illustration of a 

section through the dendrite, according to [6], c) SEM image 

parameters and other important properties 

can be determined by means of a 

variety of specimens made from gravitycast 

wedges (Figure 8). Tensile and creep 

specimens provide information not only 

about the tensile strength, elongation 

and creep rate at different load stages 

up to 1050 °C ( Figure 9), but also about 

fracture behaviour and embrittlement. 

Creep is a plastic, time-dependent deformation 

of the material under load. In 

the case of embrittlement, new temperature-induced 

phases, such as delta ferrite, 

may be formed. Such phases have a 

negative effect on the material. 

Another critical factor for the lifetime 

of a turbine housing subjected to high 

thermo-mechanical strain is its thermal 

fatigue resistance. Parameters like 

crack formation and propagation, and 

the number and length of any occurring 

cracks are investigated in disc-shaped 

specimens. The material must be resistant 

to oxidation at high temperatures 

due to the fact that it will be exposed to 

high temperatures and aggressive gases 

in the field. Oxidation may cause spalling, 

which reduces the supporting cross 

section and may impair the material’s 

strength. By artificially ageing cubic and 

tensile specimens (Figure 10), phenomena 

like layer formation, spalling behaviour 

and thickness can be examined. 

The SEM image shows the compositions 

of the various oxide layers. A nickel-reduced 

alloy can be defined against the 

field-proven alloy DIN1.4849 by running 

a great number of iterative comparisons 

with alloys and variations of alloys followed 

by appropriate material tests. The 

development approach involved the selection 

of alloys from groups of existing 

materials (including DIN materials) and 

correlating the alloy additions in the 

various material groups with the properties 

determined in the tests. The influence 

of the individual alloying elements 

and their combined effect were examined. 

Also the high-temperature resistant, 

austenitic material, which was developed 

based on tests with approx. 40 

alloys or alloy variants, features a carbidic 

network consisting of finely distributed, 

roundish precipitations of various 

sizes (Figure 11). 

As these particles are particularly critical 

for the properties of the material, they 

were examined in more detail. Figure 12 

a b c 

Figure 7: Microstructure of the series material DIN1.4849: a) cross section through the tensile specimen, b) and 

c) micrographs 


K MATERIALS 

a b c d 

Figure 8: Specimens: a) wedge, b) tensile and creep specimens, c) disk for TMF test, d) cubic specimen for oxidation tests 

shows various TEM (transmission electron 

microscopy) images of carbidic elements 

contained in the microstructure. A 

massive niobium-carbide particle is partly 

enclosed by chromium carbide. Smaller 

precipitations are generally identified as 

CrC. Nitrogen is evenly distributed in the 

austenitic matrix. Near the niobium-carbides 

the nitrogen content is somewhat 

elevated. From this information it can 

be concluded that nitrogen plays a role 

in the formation of the austenitic lattice 

and in the composition of the precipitations. 

Through this, nitrogen determines 

the properties of the precipitations and, 

ultimately, also the behaviour of the material. 

The tests with the new material, which 

features a distinctly lower nickel content 

enabled by the substitution of the nickel 

with alternative alloying elements, 

did not reveal any negative characteristics 

compared to the practice-proven alloy 

DIN1.4849. 

Production process and manufacturing 

technology 

The steel melt is produced in mediumfrequency 

induction furnaces of different 

sizes. For prototypes and small 

series in the early development stage, 

the cores are made by rapid prototyping. 

In series production, cold box core 

packages are used. Specimens and first 

prototypes of the alloys under examination 

are gravity casted. It is important 

to take into account the disadvantages 

associated with this casting 

method, e.g. reduced mold filling parameters. 

Under series production 

conditions, low-pressure casting provides 

a number of essential advantages, 

including higher quality and 

repeatability. Experience has shown 

that the tool wear and tool life in the 

machining process largely depend 

a 

Tension in N/mm² 

bElongation in % 

500 

400 

300 

200 

100 

16 

12 

8 

4 

0 

0 

Figure 9: a) Tensile strength and b) creep-rupture strength (temperature: 

950 °C, tension: 30 MPa) of series material DIN1.4849 

on the toughness of the material being 

machined. Before assembling the 

M271evo turbocharger, the air-gap insulated 

manifold is welded on to the 

turbine housing. 

Room temperature 

Elongation in % 

1050 °C 

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 

Time in h 

Melting process 

The prototype casting line features two 

medium-frequency induction furnaces 

(250 Hz), each with a volume of approx. 

900 kg (Figure 13), for producing 

the metal melt. Up to 60 % of the 

charge material is accounted for by returns. 

The rest are master alloys and/ 

or pure materials. This type of melting 

unit allows the removal of impurities 

from the melt only to a limited extent. 

At temperatures of approx. 1,600 °C, 

the molten metal is poured into crucibles. 

For series production, two induc- 


a 

b 

Figure 10: a) Cubic specimen and tensile specimens after oxidation at high temperatures – the material in the top 

row shows fatal oxidation, the one in the bottom row has a good oxidation resistance; b) individual oxidation layers 

a b c 

Figure 11: Microstructure of the alternative material: a) cross section through the tensile specimen, b) and c) micrographs 

Figure 12: Carbidic particles in the alternative alloy 

tion furnaces each with a melting capacity 

of approx. 4 t are filling the casting 

furnaces. When melting the alternative 

alloy, care must be taken that in the existing 

process the melting sequence of 

the charge materials be adapted to the 

requirements of the new alloy. The different 

alloy analysis requires the use of 

different master alloys. 

Making of the core packages 

For prototypes and small series, the 

core packages, which consist of the 

base core, the cover core and the internal 

cores, are made by rapid prototyping 

printers. These printers deposit 

layer after layer of activated sand and 

binders until the chemically bonded 

mold is complete. The internal contours 

of the casting are molded by 

cores, the outside contour by the base 

and cover core. This technique is referred 

to as the core package molding 

process. It enables prototype cores 

to be made in much less time and at 

much lower costs than the practice using 

core molding tools. Also the design 

effort is greatly reduced, because it is 


K MATERIALS 

Figure 14: Low-pressure casting of 

prototypes, according to [8]. 

Figure 13: Melting process in the induction 

furnace, according to [7] 

possible to have undercuts and there 

is no need to consider draft angles. Series 

packages are made in core shooting 

machines using the PUR cold box 

method (activation with amin gas). 

This guarantees that the cores have the 

required strength and durability and 

can be integrated into the sand cycle 

of a series production process. Transport 

and coating take place fully automatically. 

Setting the various internal 

cores in the base core is done by hand. 

The alternative material does not require 

any modifications to the molding 

or core package practice. 

Casting process 

After filling the molten metal into the 

low-pressure pouring furnace by means 

of a ladle, the core packages are moved 

above the nozzle of the furnace. This 

movement is process controlled. Then 

the core packages are pressure filled under 

counter gravity with a laminar flow 

and at a constant temperature. Thanks 

to the possibility of controlling the 

mold filling process, this special technology 

guarantees high quality and a 

high yield. The casting temperature 

and process parameters, such as casting 

pressures and holding times, can be individually 

adjusted to meet the requirements 

of the specific component. Only 

with this technology is it possible to 

fill the molds of increasingly complex 

and ever more weight reduced components 

in a reliable fashion. Better mold 

filling performance and reproducibility 

are the benefits of this technology 

compared to gravity casting. The lowpressure 

test casting plant, which is exclusively 

used for prototype making, 

has a maximum capacity of 4 t and a 

tapping weight of approx. 1 t per lot 

( Figure 14). For series production, two 

low-pressure pouring furnaces, each 

with a maximum capacity of 6 t, are 

provided. The casting weight, before 

new metal is added from the melting 

furnaces, is approx. 4 t. The casting capacities 

of the prototype and series production 

furnaces are given in Table 2. 

The core packages are docked to and 

undocked from the casting nozzle by a 

swivelling mechanism, which increases 

productivity. The casting temperatures 

are around 1,520 °C. 

Whenever molten metal is poured 

from the melting furnaces into the casting 

furnaces, the alloy analysis is checked 

by spectroscopic measurements. During 

the subsequent material tests in the quality 

assurance department, special emphasis 

is placed on the tracking of porosities 

and undesired inclusions in the 

casting. This makes it possible to directly 

correlate quality with aspects of process 

security as well as the employed gating 

and riser technology, and allows to 

make adjustments where required. This 

applies to both series production and the 

prototype stage. Due to the higher liquidus 

temperature of the alternative alloy, 

the casting temperature must be raised 

by 10 to 15 °C. Further tests are being performed 

to verify whether any fine-tuning 

of the casting pressures and mold filling 

parameters would provide additional 

positive effects. 

Test plant 

1 low-pressure furnace 

Machining 

Machining of the housings in automated 

machining centres includes operations 

like drilling, turning, milling and 

reaming (Figure 15). These are critical 

operations, which are specific to the individual 

component and must be considered 

separately. This applies to the 

flexible machining of prototypes as well 

as to the machining operation in series 

production. Broken tools and excessive 

tool wear have very negative effects on 

productivity. Therefore it is necessary to 

optimize the cutting parameters, tools 

and clamping devices for the respective 

material. With four machining lines in 

series, the average production capacity 

currently amounts to approx. 2,500 

turbine housings per working day. The 

higher toughness of the alternative material 

requires higher cutting forces and 

leads to higher tool wear. Problematic 

operations are defined and optimized by 

adapting certain parameters such as forward 

feed, speed, cutting geometry and 

tool material. A further aspect is that the 

stress and strain situations in the series 

equipment may change as a result of the 

new material. 

Welding of the manifold 

The air-gap insulated manifold must 

be welded to the housing in such a way 

that the joint is gas-tight and capable of 

compensating the operation forces and 

that it has sufficient temperature stability. 

The alternative material is weldable 

under series production conditions. 

Series production plant 

2 low-pressure furnaces 

As of Dec 2011 Nov 2012 Dec 2013 

Parts per working day 1,500 3,000 5,000 

Table 2: Capacities of the test furnace and of the series pouring furnaces 


Figure 15: Series machining operations for turbine housing M271 

a 

Testing of the turbine housing 

Housings of most different designs have 

been tested by means of various programmes 

on test stands to obtain design 

and material-related information relevant 

for the development. As engine test 

stands are extremely expensive, use was 

also made of a temperature-profile-controlled 

hot gas test stand, which offers 

the additional benefit of testing several 

housing or material variants in parallel 

(Figure 16). Both test types are intended 

to simulate a real endurance run 

in a vehicle under real maximum temperatures 

of > 1,000 °C, while cutting 

the actual running time compared to 

how long it would take to perform an 

endurance run in a real vehicle. This is 

achieved by markedly increasing the 

temperature variations between the individual 

cycles. The damage will occur 

at an earlier point in time. Depending 

on the test, the observed defects will be 

specifically evaluated and classified. The 

alternative material housings, which 

were tested on the hot gas stand, the 

engine stand and partly during a vehicle 

endurance run, did not show any extraordinary 

phenomena. After a comparable 

number of engine endurance runs, 

the series material and the alternative 

alloy exhibited cracks in the same position 

of the housing. As these cracks do 

not impair the field performance, they 

were classified as uncritical. 

b 

Summary 

The described process chain from the 

stages of component and/or material 

development, core making, melting 

and casting through to component testing 

is indispensible in order to meet the 

requirements of increasingly complex, 

weight-optimized yet economic castings. 

With times to market, i.e. the time 

span needed to develop an idea into a 

product, becoming increasingly shorter, 

combining rapid prototyping with 

an existing series casting process provides 

the preconditions for near-series 

casting design and development. For 

complex components, the low-pressure 

process, which has been adapted to the 

material steel, is much superior to gravity 

casting in terms of quality and reproducibility. 

The successful testing of 

the general properties, the production 

chain and the field performance have 

revealed the enormous potential of 

this alternative material. The economic 

benefit lies in the marked reduction 

of the nickel content and the associated 

savings on raw material costs. The possibility 

of an implementation in series 

production is under investigation. 

Special thanks go to the research and predevelopment 

department in Ulm, to the development 

department in Untertürkheim 

and to the foundry and machining shop in 

Mettingen who have played an active part 

in the investigations and successful manufacturing 

of the turbine housing. 

Presented at the 7th Conference on Foundry 

Technology in Engine Construction by 

the VDI (Association of German Engineers) 

in Magdeburg, February 5 – 7, 2013. 

References: 

www.giesserei-verlag.de/cpt/references 

Figure 16: a) Engine test stand, b) hot gas test stand 


K MOLDMAKING 

Author: Dr. Tony Hutton, LKAB Minerals GmbH, Essen 

Small beads, big impact 

For a long time, bauxite has been used in the production of shaped and unshaped products for 

the refractory industry. An additional application has been developed in more recent years, 

utilizing Bauxite in the foundry industry. The synthetic, spherical sand ‘MinSand’, which is produced 

from bauxite, is used to improve the standard mold material for cores and molds and is a 

cost-effective alternative to zircon sand. MinSand can be used with all types of castings 

Production of beads 

After fusing and super-cooling in 

an electric arc furnace, air is blown 

into a jet of liquid bauxite to obtain 

the spherical shaped grains/beads of 

MinSand. The beads are classified into 

different particle sizes by screening, 

some examples of these are shown in 

Table 1. 

MinSand when used as a core and molding sand for the foundry 

industry (Photos: LKAB Minerals) 

Sieve AFS 50 AFS 65 AFS 90 

425 μm 11,5 

300 μm 28,5 23,8 6,9 

212 μm 35 28,9 33,5 

150 μm 23,5 24,5 33,5 

106 μm 2,9 15,9 9,8 

75 μm 3,5 4,3 

53 μm 0,8 

Table 1: Weight percentage of several particle sizes of MinSand, other sizes 

available on request 

Flowability, thermal + dimensional 

stability and core strength 

The spherical shape of the sand- binder 

mixture produced with MinSand significantly 

improves the flowability compared 

with other mold materials available 

on the market. The rounded grain shape 

also creates strong binder bridges which 

results in the need for reduced binder additions 

when utilizing MinSand. Studies 

have shown that the binder additions for 

core and mold production with MinSand 

compared to silica sand can be reduced 

by about 40 %. The low addition of binder 

resin also means that MinSand can be 

utilized with any coating systems. 

The fire resistance of a core and molding 

sand plays a major role in the stainless 

steel and cast steel industry, where the 

highest casting temperatures are achieved. 

MinSand is suitable as a mold material for 

these types of casting as it has high refractoriness 

(sintering temperature > 1,950 °C), 

it is not prone to mold material-metal reactions 

and is resistant to metal penetration 

even in highly thermally stressed castings. 

The heat resistance of MinSand is attributed 

to its high alumina content. 

Due to the very small linear expansion 

of MinSand, castings can be produced 

with a high level of accuracy. This 

is also a special advantage for the nonferrous 

light metal castings in which intricate 

cores are produced, for example 

a lattice consisting of MinSand can be 

used in the production of water jacket 

cores for cylinder heads. Due to the 

high strength, tension cracks are avoided 

in the core and the mold material is 

even suitable for thin-walled castings. 

In the casting of grey and ductile iron, 

veining can often arise if using quartz 


sand, which often succumbs to quartz inversion; 

this can be avoided through the 

use of MinSand. MinSand is extremely 

stable and allows the casting of complex 

shapes without casting defects. Moreover, 

the molding sand is an alternative 

to cold-box mixes with gas-forming additives 

which helps produce heavy metal 

castings without any metal penetration. 

Summary 

The spherical shape of the sand-binder 

mixture produced with MinSand significantly 

improves the flowability compared 

with other molded materials available on 

the market. Because of this, along with the 

excellent refractoriness, low linear thermal 

expansion, high dimensional stability, 

good gas permeability and the reduction 

in binder additions required, MinSand is 

an excellent addition to special molding 

sands for the foundry industry. 

www.lkabminerals.com 

Micrograph of MinSand: The nearly perfect spherical shape of the beads improves 

the flowability compared with other mold materials 

Setting The Standards For Highest 

Efficiency In Thermal Processing 

October, 07.-09. 

Düsseldorf, Stand 10C11 

MultiMelter©, total burner capacity: 11MW, 240t per day, content: 85t 

PulsReg® Medusa Regenerator 


K PRESSURE DIE CASTING 

Illustration of a future die casting cell (Photo: Bühler) 

Author: Dr. Patrick Reichen, Project Manager R&D, Bühler AG Die Casting, Uzwil, Schweiz 

The future of light metal 

die-casting foundries 

Cost and resource-efficient die casting from the point of view of a machine manufacturer 

They need to have thinner walls and be 

even lighter; they are more complex to develop 

and more functional in their application 

and still be produced in a way that 

saves resources and reduces costs: these are 

the demands placed on castings for automobile 

construction. This is the challenge 

for modern and future die casting: larger, 

more complex structural components 

made of aluminum and magnesium replacing 

costly multi-part structures while 

placing new requirements on die casting 

technology. Nowadays, real-time controlled 

die casting systems already guarantee 

reproducible results and parts of the 

highest quality. This is the basic prerequisite 

for the integration of additional functions 

and for further development of die 

casting to create components with greater 

flexibility in design while using the minimum 

of materials and energy. Increasing 

productivity and quality is crucial to 

maintaining long-term competitiveness 

in the die casting technology. The new 

opportunities and associated new challenges 

are discussed below. 

The optimization of energy consumption 

and the associated reduction of 

CO 2 emissions are top priorities for our 

society in the 21st century. In addition, 

our resources are finite which is why we 

all need to be searching for opportunities 

to use them as efficiently as possible. 

The governmental regulation of 

emissions standards for vehicles in particular 

has led to a paradigm change resulting 

in the promotion of innovative 

concepts for light construction. Despite 

global efforts to reduce the use of non- 


Figure 1: Options for application and possible savings in weight when aluminum die cast structural components are 

used for the body structure of cars (Graphics: Bühler, Annual Report 2010) 

renewable energy, the worldwide demand 

for individual mobility has been 

unrelenting. Independent studies of 

trends and markets conducted by wellknown 

automobile manufacturers and 

research institutes have shown this to be 

true. Optimistic predictions talk about 

a doubling of production volume for 

automobiles within the next 20 years, 

whereby the classic drive technologies 

will be replaced with new, future-oriented 

technologies. Regardless, an increased 

use of light and highly resilient 

materials is to be expected. Aluminum 

and magnesium will play a crucial role 

in this (Figure 1). 

With the demand for efficiency and 

sustainability, die casters have encountered 

new and recently yet unknown 

challenges not least of which is to master 

the die casting process and to ensure 

the required level of quality. There is an 

overall trend towards more complex 

components with increased functionality 

and lower weight at lower costs. Various 

approaches to solutions are under 

discussion so we will take a closer look 

below. 

Keyword: structural 

components 

In addition to substituting heavy materials 

such as steel with lighter metals, 

the use of structural components 

contributes to reducing the weight of 

automobiles (Figure 2). This makes it 

possible to effectively reduce fuel consumption 

and, as a result, CO 2 emissions. 

How ever, vehicles running on 

gasoline or diesel are not the only ones 

to benefit from the light construction; 

electric or hybrid vehicles also benefit: 

batteries and additional drive elements 

such as electric motors increase 

the weight. This can be compensated 

for by the strict use of light construction 

for the bodies of the vehicles. Structural 

components made of die cast aluminum 

provide additional options. They 

play an ever-increasing key role in the 

construction of new vehicles now and 

in the future. 

Difficult challenges 

The requirements placed on such components 

are high: particularly in the area 

of support structures and vehicle bodies, 

they have to withstand highly dynamic 

stresses and meet the strict requirements 

of the vehicle manufacturers in terms of 

crash safety and joining technology. This 

requires a consistent, high-level uniform 

process to be implemented. Only then 

can the good mechanical properties be reliably 

maintained. In addition, structural 

components must be easy to weld, clinch 

and bond. Despite strict requirements 

of the automotive industry, production 

must be cost-efficient. This means that 

the entire process chain of die casting 

must be carried out and monitored within 

narrow boundaries from the selection 

and handling of the melt through die design 

and casting technology to clear labeling 

of each individual casting. 



Figure 2: Estimated worldwide production of automobiles (Source: PwC) as compared to forecast use of materials 

(Graphics: McKinsey, Advanced Industries 2012) 

The right process, the right plant 

engineering 

Structural components unify the function 

of many metal component parts, 

thereby reducing the complexity required 

for body construction. By integrating 

many components into a single 

casting, they continue to become larger 

and more complex. In order to minimize 

their weight, wall thicknesses have 

been reduced from the current 2.5 to 3 

mm to less than 2.0 mm in the future 

and are only reinforced according to local 

requirements. In order to ensure reliable 

production of such components, 

having the right process run on machines 

and systems designed for that 

process is critical. 

Even thinner wall thicknesses call for 

even shorter die filling times; even larger 

castings with long flow paths for the 

molten metal require very accurately dimensioned 

locking units. To fulfill these 

tasks, very efficient and highly dynamic 

shot ends with little scattering of the 

process parameters are required. Hydraulic 

clamping cylin ders directly on 

the tie-bars allow for each tie-bar to be 

clamped individually and therefore allow 

a homogenous distribution of the 

locking force. This results in very little 

flashing and very little need for postprocessing. 

This is how stable processing 

conditions can be guaranteed. In addition, 

the unique control of the casting 

process in real-time ensures an extraordinarily 

high degree of reproducibility 

over the entire production process. 

Air-tight and free of turbulence 

In order to achieve the low vacuum in 

the cavity that determines the component 

properties in die casting, die casting 

dies designed accordingly and a 

high-performance die vacuum technology 

are required. Wear resistance and 

thermal insulation of the shot sleeve are 

crucial: they guarantee the tightness of 

the vacuum system between the shot 

sleeve and the plunger and reduce the 

heat loss of the molten metal in the shot 

sleeve. Turbulence must be reduced for 

ladling metal from the dosing furnace: 

that is the only way to ensure that the 

molten metal in the shot sleeve is low in 

oxide and hydrogen and ready for the 

next die filling process. 

Precision – in post-processing 

In addition to how the material is molten 

and die cast, post-processing, thermal 

treatment and logistics of the 

components must also be taken into 

consideration. Errors made when the 

die releasing agent is applied, could increase 

porosity due to gas which would 

have a negative effect on the quality of 

the weld. For this reason, there is a clear 

trend for such castings toward using a 

minimum of die releasing agent when 

spraying. However, this requires that 

the temperature control concept be adjusted 

for the die inserts in order to dissipate 

the process energy efficiently. 

The ejection and extraction of the 

castings in particular and the subsequent 

cooling has a significant effect on 

warping. The large-scale dimensions of 

structural components present a new 

challenge for high-volume production: 

trimming of components in the die casting 

cell requires large trimming presses 

and an optimized flow of material for the 

cast part as well as for recycled materials. 

A thermal treatment process that is not 

set correctly could lead to an increase in 

rejects during production since the required 

mechanical properties cannot be 

attained in a reproducible manner. 

Keyword: lost core 

The potential for light construction has 

been further expanded with a process 


Figure 3: Tools such as Bühler’s «Event Analyzer» support foundries in their strategic optimization of the OEE (Overall 

Equipment Efficiency). The process data from the die casting machine are analyzed, statistically evaluated and made 

available to the user as well-founded analyses. They help the user to recognize the most common sources of mistakes 

independently and to implement necessary measures (Graphics: Bühler) 

that has been advanced by pioneers for 

years: lost core technology. The internal 

design of a casting can be even more 

complex, and geometric undercuts can 

also be made. This allows for a previously 

unknown component design and an 

even higher degree of functional integration 

that is sought after, for example, 

for cylinder crankcases with closed deck 

construction. 

In this process, the water jacket is 

formed with a salt core that is flushed 

out later with water under high pressure. 

The use of salt cores in a die casting 

machine does not pose any problems 

since they, in contrast to sand cores, are 

not abrasive and do not cause any wear. 

This is how components from gravity 

and sand die casting can be substituted 

and produced even more economically 

with pressure die casting: pressure die 

castings are near net-shape and require 

fewer post-processing steps. Another advantage 

of the lost core technology is the 

100% inline 

New capabilities in quality 

assurance: flexible laser gauging 

of complex castings – 

now 100% inline 

Booth 1D08 

www.inspectomation.de


excellent quality of the surface of the cast 

wall by the salt core, comparable to the 

roughness of a die cast component. That 

is why lost core is particularly well-suited 

for manufacturing components for guiding 

flowing media, such as water and oil. 

Aluminum castings with salt recesses 

demonstrate very little flow resistance. 

When the salt core that determines 

the internal shape of the component is 

created, the appropriate salt solution and 

process parameters play a crucial role. 

This guarantees the stability of the core 

while making it possible to extract the 

core subsequently. The die casting machine 

manufacturer thus becomes the 

technology partner who supports customers 

throughout the entire process: 

from the initial idea to the production 

stage from component design for the salt 

core application to the die and salt core 

concept in the die casting process. 

Keyword: improving the 

efficient use of resources 

Special attention must be paid to the use 

of energy and materials during die casting. 

The die and the gating system play a 

crucial role here. The melting and holding 

processes alone use between 50 and 

70 % of the energy required for the entire 

process. A lot of energy is consumed 

initially to melt and overheat the metal 

to then solidify it in the die shortly 

afterwards and to cool and extract 

the casting. The die temperature control 

concept plays a critical role in determining 

the cooling time and, consequently, 

the cycle time of the casting 

process. The classic surface cooling by 

spraying with water-soluble die releasing 

agents uses up to 50 % of the entire 

cycle and the same in terms of energy 

and resources. 

Reducing the use of materials 

In turn, the design of the shot system 

is critical for the amount of material 

used. Thin-walled castings use the 

greatest portion of material for the gating 

proportionally. The material must 

be returned and melted down again 

which results in additional use of energy 

and, at the same time, loss of material 

due to slagging. Cost-effectiveness 

demands sophisticated gating concepts 

that make it possible to substantially reduce 

the amount of returns. Consistent 

optimizing at an early stage of the concept 

is key to sustainable, economic success. 

Dies used for numeric simulation 

and with which more precise and faster 

filling an solidifying simulations are created 

to find the right gating, ventilating 

and cooling systems, are continue to be 

developed. These methods will grow in 

importance along with the practical experience 

of the caster. In addition to the 

material and its solidification and casting 

properties, post-processing, thermal 

treatment and logistics of the components 

are also taken into consideration 

for the overall analysis. Knowledge of 

the individual process steps and how 

they affect costs and function should be 

learned through well-founded training. 

The only way to prevent costly mistakes 

is to have well-trained experts. 

Keyword: increasing 

productivity 

The best indicator of the productivity of 

a die casting cell are uptime and the efficiency 

of the die casting process, i.e. the 

number of castings produced per unit 

of time. However, how can we measure 

this as objectively as possible? The following 

method of measurement was recently 

recommended throughout the 

industry: the OEE «Overall Equipment 

Efficiency» – or in other words, the comparison 

between the theoretically output 

capacity and the actual capacity of 

the plant. Of particular interest is the fact 

that this method of calculation includes 

the performance of the entire die casting 

cell, i.e. the die casting machine and peripherals, 

while taking into account the 

factors of time, velocity and quality in a 

meaningful and reliable manner. The reliability 

and uptime of individual components 

is therefore less important for 

the output capacity of the die casting 

cell. It is much more determined by the 

weakest link and the interaction of the 

individual components and sub-processes 

of the production chain. A clear connection 

between all components that are 

relevant to the process is the key to uninterrupted 

and cost-efficient production. 

Targeted optimization 

The cell Control system of current die 

casting machine integrates all of the 

activities of the system peripherals 

throughout the process in monitoring 

and documenting the process. Interfaces 

to higher level systems make it possible 

to collect, analyze and safeguard all 

the data in a central location over the 

long term. Furthermore, they support 

the operator with a sophisticated diagnosis 

system in optimizing the entire 

die casting process and, therefore, the 

OEE. The control system logs important 

information regarding the operating 

status of the machine and its peripheral 

equipment, and any alarms that may 

have been sounded. 

These logs should then be actively 

used for continuous improvement of 

the process and for understanding the 

most common sources of error. Using 

specialized software packages, such as 

e.g. the Bühler “Event Analyzer” (Figure 

3), makes it possible to evaluate the data 

as needed. Downtimes can be assigned 

to corresponding alarms, and any process 

errors can be identified. This is a key 

benefit to a foundry: it can increase the 

productivity and quality of its die casting 

process in a targeted manner while 

improving profitability. 

Conclusion 

The challenges of the future for die casting 

can be met with new innovative 

concepts and consistent implementation 

along with existing expertise. 

These challenges are a result of requirements 

for weight reduction, expanded 

functionality of components as well 

as improved resource and cost efficiency 

of the castings to be produced. Machine 

concepts and technologies are being 

continuously improved. However, as 

die casters are confronted with changing 

processing conditions, they need to 

rethink how they operate. In order to 

manufacture components of the highest 

quality in a cost-efficient manner, all 

measures must be coordinated individually 

to meet the different requirements of 

the component to be produced and the 

particular production process. As a technology 

company with a global presence, 

Bühler stands ready to invest its knowhow 

and qualified personnel as a partner. 

www.buhlergroup.com/die-casting 


7 - 9 October, 2014 

Messe Düsseldorf, Germany 

VISIT US 

at Stand No. 

10 E02

Orchid waste-heat-to-power solution at the FMGC foundry in Soudan, France (Photo: Enertime) 

Author: Pierre du Baret, Enertime, Puteaux 

Proven energy efficiency solutions 

for foundries 

French company Enertime has developed an Organic Rankine Cycle system for waste heat recovery 

and power generation for foundries to self-produce their electricity and save up to 30% on their power 

bill. The pilot of this system named Orchid has been working in a foundry in France for 18 months 

Orchid is a waste-heat-to-power solution 

based on the Organic Rankine Cycle 

(ORC) principle. The system by Enertime 

from Puteaux in France works 

the same way as the steam power cycle 

mainly used in power production 

systems: heat is converted in mechanical 

energy, which is then transformed 

in electricity using an alternator. The 

main difference is that ORC works 

with organic fluids that have a lower 

boiling point, therefore enabling the 

use of lower temperature heat sources. 

Organic fluids also reduce drastically 

operating costs while there is no need 

to man the power plant. 

Orchid offers new perspectives for 

energy saving in the industry – especially 

for energy intensive industries 

such as foundries – being able to convert 

200 °C heat sources into power 

with a 17 % efficiency. 

Enertime offers MW-size ORC systems 

dedicated to the industry. The 

company has taken into account industry 

specific requirements for its 

systems to be the more suitable to the 

industrial environment. The organic 

fluid used in Orchid is a refrigerant 

produced and available worldwide. 

The fluid is not toxic and not flammable 

and is kept in a closed loop, preventing 

any additional hazards for a 

plant, says Gilles David, CEO at Enertime 

and former head of AREVA Bio- 

Energy Division, Courbevoie, France. 


WASTE HEAT RECOVERY K 

Besides, ORC presents major advantages 

compared to the steam cycle. 

“Compared to a steam power cycle, ORC 

systems need very low maintenance, 

display good part-load efficiency, high 

availability and can be operated without 

permanent monitoring,” he said. 

“Daily operation and maintenance can 

be carried out without specific qualification.” 

The main reason is that there 

is no risk of steam condensation in the 

turbine in Organic Rankine Cycle systems. 

Water is a wetting agent so when 

steam is expanded in the turbine, water 

drops can form and damage the blades. 

In contrast, organic fluids used in ORC 

are called ‘dry’ fluids, i.e. the fluid expanded 

in the turbine is always in a gaseous 

phase. This means the life of the 

turbines is increased and operational 

and maintenance costs are reduced. 

Orchid produces between 500 and 

1,000 kW of electric power depending 

on the available amount of heat. 

The unit is based on a tailor-made axial 

turbine and is specifically designed 

to work in an industrial environment. 

It is quite compact to be easily installed 

on site. The whole system fits on one 

skid of 40 feet, it is directly operational 

once installed on site and connected 

to the heat source, it can be installed 

outdoor and can work in any weather 

condition and finally it can be operated 

by the client staff. Enertime has remote 

monitoring and can control the 

system from a distance and intervene 

on site if necessary. 

The ORC system can work with any 

kind of heat source. The unit can recover 

heat from a number of different sources 

singly or in combination. The heat can 

be brought to the ORC unit using steam, 

pressurized water or thermal oil. 

For example, on the FMGC foundry 

site in Soudan in Western France, Orchid 

recovers heat form the blast cupola 

furnace producing cast iron (Figure 1). 

Orchid recovers waste heat from the 

cupola to generate electricity, which is 

directly used by the foundry and could 

also be exported to the grid. “We are 

seeing more and more international 

visitors and they are all impressed with 

the simplicity and compact size of our 

solution.” says Gilles David. 

Orchid is self-reliant and causes no 

disturbance to the manufacturing process. 

Site staff just has to start the system 

and make basic checks which can 

be done by the regular maintenance 

team. The system also allows remote 

Figure 1: Schematic 

illustration of the Orchid 

solution for the 

use of waste heat for 

electricity generation 

(Image: Enertime) 

control by Enertime. Orchid covers 

up to 30 % of the electrical consumption 

of the foundry at full load. It is 

designed to work for 20 years and this 

power-plant can payback itself in five 

years with a MWh price of 100 euros. 

Orchid can work 24/7 but can also easily 

be started and stopped regularly. It 

works 5 days a week at the FMGC, following 

the plant activity. 

Enertime takes into account the 

specificities of each client’s site and 

constraints to offer the most relevant 

solution. With power ratings from 

500 kW up, foundries, steel factories 

and other industries can choose a customized 

system delivered as a turnkey 

solution. Orchid can also work in 

CHP (KWK) mode when hot water is 

required on site. 

The Orchid system at the FMGC 

foundry has been installed thanks 

to the Total-Ademe program for energy 

efficiency in the industry. Enertime 

has sold another 600 kWel 

unit for combined heat and power 

that was commissioned in September 

2014. 

www.enertime.com 


K QUALITY ASSURANCE 

Author: Hayden Johns, Foseco South Africa, Alberton, South Africa 

Coating preparation plant improves 

core coating process 

There is a continuing requirement for foundries to manufacture increasingly complex, high performance 

castings – while driving down production costs. A significant proportion of production 

costs can be attributed to re-work due to surface defects and these can be eliminated or significantly 

reduced through the use of the correct refractory coating. To make the right choice and to 

minimize the many variables that have to be considered in this field one solution is the application 

of an automated coating preparation plant 

Coating preparation plant (CPP) 

The choice of coating is specific to the 

metal/mold interactions that are to be 

overcome, and the rheological properties 

can be tuned to the application 

requirements, however a coating will 

only achieve optimum performance 

when it is applied at the correct layer 

thickness. If the layer thickness is too 

thin, the coating will not provide adequate 

protection and if it is too thick 

there is the risk of scabbing defects, 

the formation of runs and drips and 

the cost penalty of using too much 

coating. The layer thickness of the applied 

coating can be controlled by diluting 

the as supplied coating, with a 

higher dilution resulting in a reduced 

layer thickness. Therefore, variations 

in dilution through poor process control 

and measurement, will lead to 

variations in applied layer thickness, 

resulting in variations in surface finish, 

defect levels and re-work costs. 

Fanuc robot dipping (Photo: Foseco) 


Traditionally coating dilution has 

been controlled through intermittent 

measurements of the diluted product 

using viscosity cups or baume, however 

the intermittent nature of these 

tests and the dependence on an operator 

to interpret results and ensure 

the coating is homogenized after dilution, 

inevitably leads to application 

variations. 

These variables can be minimized by 

the application of an automated coating 

preparation plant (CPP), and this 

paper outlines the benefits of such 

a system in which coating density is 

continually monitored, and additions 

of either coating or dilutant are added 

and homogenized to ensure the product 

is always optimally supplied for 

the defined application. The CPP has 

been developed specifically for metalcasting 

operations by ProService Srl, 

Padova, Italy, and is distributed exclusively 

by Foseco International Ltd. 

The CPP is designed to accommodate a 

wide range of application methods including 

spray, dip and over-pour, and 

can be connected to all major packaging 

systems from drums to bulk silos. 

The CPP can be configured to work automatically, 

manually or intermittently 

dependent on the foundry process. 

Features and benefits of the CPP include: 

»» 

Continuous monitoring (independent 

of operator) 

»» 

Controlled layer thickness 

»» 

Reduced coating consumption 

»» 

Optimized drying 

»» 

Fewer scrap cores/molds 

»» 

Reduced casting scrap and defects attributed 

to poor coating practice 

»» 

Improved traceability and quality 

control 

»» 

Reduced risk of coating contamination 

and bacterial attack 

»» 

Improved working environment – 

specifically the handling of solvent 

based coatings 

»» 

Improved productivity 

»» 

Reduced casting manufacturing 

costs 

»» 

Improved profitability 

Introduction 

Atlantis Foundries (Pty) Ltd is a major 

South African and international truck 

The Atlantis Foundry in Atlantis near Cape Town in South Africa is the leading 

automotive foundry in South Africa (Photo: Christian Steinkamp) 

Figure 2: Scheme of the storage tank and CPP tank (Photos + Graphics: Foseco) 

engine block producer with an output of 

68,000 t of grey iron per year ( Figure 1). 

The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary 

of Mercedes-Benz South Africa 

and part of the Daimler group. It is 

the leading automotive foundry in the 

country. 

Atlantis Foundries’ plant is located 

in Atlantis, approximately 50 km 

north of Cape Town along the west 

coast of South Africa. The foundry had 

been using Foseco products for the past 

thirty years. The engine blocks that are 

produced at Atlantis Foundries are primarily 

shipped to America and Europe 

with a smaller number being shipped 

to other parts of the world. 

Being an international player in the 

automotive industry, Atlantis Foundries 

strives to keep abreast with all 

available technology. Foseco South 

Africa saw the need for the company 

to take advantage of the available 

technology on offer from Foseco and 

thus entered into discussions with Atlantis 

management and engineers regarding 

the optimization of their coating 

application. Foseco proposed the 

so called total coating management 

concept which would enable Atlantis 

Foundries to achieve the highest standards 

possible in coating technology. 

Atlantis foundries background 

to CPP installation 

Foseco first approached Atlantis in: 

»» 

2007: First proposal for CPP given to 

Atlantis Foundries 

»» 

2009: Due to economic recession the 

project was placed on “hold” 


K QUALITY ASSURANCE 

»» 

2010: Project to convert from solvent 

based to water based coating started 

»» 

2011: Proposal for a dual solvent & 

water based CPP given to Atlantis 

Foundries 

»» 

2012: Atlantis placed order for the 

CPP and dip tank 

»» 

2013: CPP and dip tank installed and 

commissioned by Pro Service/Foseco 

in January 2013 

Atlantis Foundries used viscosity as 

their main control for the coating but 

it can be shown that this can be influenced 

by a number of variables. 

Example: the viscosity control specification 

is normally not re-adjusted 

in the cooler or warmer periods of the 

year. However, the viscosity is highly 

influenced by temperature, and without 

compensation the result will be a 

By converting the applied control 

measures from viscosity to density, 

variables such as temperature are 

eliminated, because the solids content 

of the coating is kept constant and the 

product application consistency is lifted 

to a new level of quality. 

After CPP installation: 

»» 

Coating controlled by CPP using 

“density sentinel” probe 

»» 

Constant density readings (3 decimal 

places) 

»» 

Fanuc robot dipping (Figure on p. 28) 

»» 

Constant wet film thickness readings 

»» 

Decrease in coating related scrap 

Figure 3: Functional scheme of the CPP tank and dip tank 

CPP configuration (Figures 2-5): 

»» 

Coating storage tank: 2,000 l capacity 

»» 

CPP tank: 560 l preparation tank 

supplying coating 

»» 

Via diaphragm pump to dip tank 

»» 

CPP fitted with both “density sentinel” 

and “viscosity sentinel” systems 

»» 

Dip tank: 2,200 x 1,200 mm x 

1,000 mm high and fitted with a 

swing arm 

»» 

Coating runs via gravity back into 

coating collection tank and using a 

diaphragm pump, it is pumped back 

to CPP preparation tank 

»» 

In-line modular filters are installed 

to remove sand deposits from the 

coating and protect the CPP equipment. 

Figure 4: Holding tank and filters 

Prior to the installation of the coating 

preparation plant: 

»» 

Coating control using manual flow 

cup viscosity 

»» 

Flow cup viscosity reading was operator/cup 

dependant 

»» 

Manual dipping 

»» 

Difference in wet film thickness depending 

on flow cup viscosity and 

dipping time 

»» 

Coating related scrap 

difference in the final layer thickness 

applied, which then impacts on the 

casting output efficiency. 

This limitation can now be overcome: 

The coating preparation plant 

(CPP) automates the coating preparation 

from its supplied state through 

dilution to a defined specific density 

and subsequent control and monitoring 

on a continuous basis to ensure the 

consistency of the application. 

Coating application consistency: 

the total coating management 

concept 

Foseco, together with its partner 

ProService have developed a standalone 

system which utilizes the accuracy 

of density measurement to 

control coating consistency prior to 

application. 

The density sentinel probe has been 

developed to operate effectively in the 

core shop and molding line environments 

of a foundry. 

As illustrated in Figure 6, the applied 

wet layer thickness will be consistent 

as the coating density is maintained 

within the specified limits and controlled 

closely around the target specification. 

This is because the measurements 

are continuous and not open 


to operator interpretation, which 

can lead to inaccuracies that will lead 

to poor coating application and increased 

cleaning/fettling and scrap 

costs. Coating application consistency 

was also improved by the introduction 

of robotic dipping which provided 

controlled dip times and core manipulation. 

When the Coating Preparation 

Plant was first installed the density 

range was set to between 1.1 % and 

1.5 %, this was subsequently reduced 

to between 1.02 % and 1.03 %, indicating 

that the density can be controlled 

to a very high tolerance. 

The design of the coating preparation 

plant was adapted to the specific 

requirements of Atlantis Foundries, in 

that it: 

»» 

reacts immediately to the coating 

density changes, ensuring a continuous 

control of the coating density. 

It should be noted (Figure 3) that 

over a 24 h period the Density Sentinel 

has conducted 226 tests and adjustments 

to the coating were made 

when required 

»» 

the unit is fully operator independent, 

ensuring manual input does 

not affect coating consistency 

»» 

it is possible to measure the coating 

density at the required depth (for example, 

in the case of the dipping application 

of cores: it is important to 

verify that the coating density value 

does not alter according to the dipping 

depth) 

»» 

the density sentinel is not affected 

by the turbulent flows inside the 

tank 

»» 

the measurement has a very high 

level of precision (three decimal 

points) 

»» 

the new sensity sentinel Plus allows 

for the creation of databases, 

to calculate statistics and to 

monitor the entire coating shop 

from one or more stations. 

Coating preparation plants have been 

installed by Foseco at many foundry 

locations globally and have been 

shown to deliver consistent coating 

dilution, eliminating variability of 

coating application and reducing subsequent 

casting defects and scrap associated 

with poor coating practice. 

Figure 5: Panel, storage tank and preparation tank on the right 

Figure 6: Illustrating the maximum and minimum targets for density 

Conclusion 

As the demand for more complex, 

critical castings increases, the higher 

quality standards are set, the function 

and performance of the coating 

utilized in the foundry process becomes 

critical. For example, the impact 

of a high performance core coating 

on the overall production cost of 

a typical automotive foundry can be 

significant, allowing foundries to reduce 

their fettling, cleaning, and casting 

inspection operations. The coating 

cost is typically a fraction of the 

total manufacturing costs and usually 

would be less than 1 % of total production 

costs. For Atlantis Foundries 

to maintain a competitive edge within 

the foundry automotive market 

and their need to produce increasingly 

complex, higher quality castings, 

at increased production levels 

and with lower overall costs, they had 

to get the competitive edge by investing 

in a CPP to optimize the coating 

preparation and to ensure the consistency 

and quality of the components 

being cast. 

www.foseco.com 


Inductive holding: The melt from the new cupola furnace is transferred to the 50-tonne holding furnace 

(Photos: Andreas Bednareck) 

Author: Robert Piterek, German Foundry Association, Düsseldorf 

Defying competition with cupola 

technology 

A new cupola furnace at valve manufacturer Düker: some in the sector will prick up their ears at 

this news, given the company’s past experiences with the construction of gas-fired cupola furnaces. 

But this chapter in the 101-year history of Düker in Karlstadt has now finally come to an end. 

Its commitment to the aggregate as such continues. A new coke-fired plant was commissioned in 

late March 2014. An important component in Düker’s success – in Germany and worldwide 

It is another major investment in the 

industrial location of Germany: Düker’s 

new melting plant in Karlstadt. 

And, like at Walter Hundhausen further 

north in Schwerte a few years 

ago, the Directors Torsten Stein and 

Martin Simons have also opted for a 

cupola furnace – in order to be more 

independent of the high electricity 

prices in this country. At its two sites 

in Laufach and Karlstadt Düker produces 

fittings, pressure pipe fittings 

and valves for drinking water and gas, 

as well as tubes and fittings for drainage 

technology. Torsten Stein, Technical 

Director at this foundry in the 

state of Franconia since 2010, is convinced 

that the company will continue 

to be able to defy the competitive 

pressure from France, China and India 

– even for mass-produced components 

such as drainpipes and fittings: 

with better quality and greater customer 

benefit because the pipes and 

connectors come from a single source, 

and because of the better availability 

of the products due to the shorter 


Liquid iron leaves the aggregate at about 1,500 °C via a heat-insulated channel 

distances between customers and producer. 

Stein counts off the competitive 

conditions in Karlstadt on his fingers: 

“In terms of raw materials prices we 

are almost as well armed as China or 

other markets. Also regarding energy 

prices – with coke as the energy carrier. 

There is one difference: “ wages” he 

adds and continues: “We need to improve 

productivity in this area.” This 

is precisely why the company, together 

with the Hengst berger family from 

Böblingen in the neighbouring federal 

state of Baden-Württemberg as new 

partners since 2004, has now invested 

about two million euros in a modern 

long-term cupola furnace. Düker spent 

another million euros to move installation 

of the fittings from the Düker site 

in Laufach (almost 45 kilometers away) 

to Karlstadt. Stein knows that greater 

productivity can be achieved through 

the use of modern equipment: “We already 

have a new centrifugal casting 

system for pipes. What was missing so 

far was a modern melting operation. 

We are modernizing the works step-bystep.” 

These are strategic investments 

that are also, however, intended to 

demonstrate the company’s commitment 

to the industrial location of Germany 

and the Main-Franconia region. 

The new cupola furnace 

replaces two old plants 

One reaches the cupola furnace 

building by crossing the spacious 

100,000 m² grounds located between 

the Rive r Main and the railway line 

on one side and the B27 highway on 

the other. The new melting aggregate 

from the Essen-based furnace specialists 

Küttner has been constructed on a 

steel frame. The molten iron flows via 

a long channel into an unheated forehearth 

which is regularly tilted to fill 

the ladle held by a hall crane. Then 

it continues to the inductive holding 

furnace, which can hold a total of 50 

tonnes of melt. The new plant replaces 

two hot-blast cupola furnaces which 

were struggling with high energy losses 

because of insufficient lower throat 

suction. 

In addition, alternate operation was 

very complicated because the plants 

had to be regularly relined when work 

finished. As a result, the management 

decided on a low-maintenance longterm 

cupola furnace which, with its 

melting rate of 11 tonnes per hour, had 

a similar capacity to the old furnaces. 

In addition to the energy and maintenance 

arguments, the clincher for the 

cupola furnace was the charge which 

– because the main material at Karlstadt 

is cast iron with lamellar graphite 

– was considerably more economical 

than with an electric furnace. The 

input material for the melt consists entirely 

of scrap and chips. “This is only 

possible with cupola furnaces,” stresses 

Stein. 

From a fitter to Technical 

Director 

It is easy to see the Director’s passion 

for casting. One can feel that he is at 

home here. He describes the work steps 

in great detail – although time is short 

because he has to catch a plane to Co- 


K PLANNING AND ENGINEERING OF FOUNDRY PLANTS 

Melt transport: With the help of a hall crane, ladles constantly commute between 

the cupola and the holding furnaces 

penhagen. Maybe it’s because, as a 

former fitter, he understands the men 

here at the works better than others. 

“Like me, the men at the foundry are 

totally committed. They don’t dither 

about,” he says. Pessimism about 

the future of iron casting is also not 

his thing. He is particularly optimistic 

about the new high-silicon spherical 

casting materials: “They offer considerably 

greater elongations with the 

same strengths. We can therefore reduce 

the safety reserve for new designs 

in Laufach. This means a saving of 60 

kilograms in weight for a butterfly disc 

with a nominal diameter of DN 1200 

for fittings, which we can only achieve 

by using this new group of materials,” 

he says, providing an example. He believes 

the future lies in high-quality 

castings that combine complex functions, 

and in hybrid solutions using 

differing casting and steel alloys and 

produced in a composite casting process. 

Düker produces, for example, housings 

for steam regulating valves in 

which a Hastelloy valve-seat is molded. 

Centrifugal tube plant: Tubes with a nominal diameter of between 50 and 150 millimeters are produced here 


Cooling rotating molds in the centrifugal casting plant 

Another example is the production of 

a brake drum using a centrifugal casting 

process with which a brake lining 

made of cast iron with lamellar graphite 

is inserted into a housing made of 

cast iron with spherical graphite using 

a composite centrifugal casting process. 

After training to become a maintenance 

mechanic, attending a course 

on foundry technology in Leipzig, and 

studying to become an industrial engineer 

in Gießen-Freidberg, Stein joined 

Dükar after various positions with the 

companies Olsberg and Bosch-Thermotechnik 

in Lollar. 

Plant start-up just one hour 

late 

During his 24-year career, Stein has 

relatively frequently participated 

in installations and repair work on 

foundry plants, e.g. the expansion of 

molding plants and crucible furnaces 

with equipment from ABP and HWS. 

But they never went as smoothly as 

this time. He praises the collaboration 

with Küttner and cupola furnace 

experts such as Dr. Thomas Enzenbach, 

who successfully recalculated 

the combustion chamber for the aggregate. 

During the conversion phase 

(between early October 2013 and early 

January 2014) an average of between 

35 and 50 workers were busy on the 

new installation and demolition of 

the old furnaces. Pre-mounted steel 

components were put up using truckmounted 

cranes. Whereby the constituent 

parts had to fit perfectly with 

one another to prevent any wastage of 

time. 

“It was critical that the construction 

work took place outdoors, but we were 

lucky with the weather,” reports Stein 

and continues: “We started up the 

plant just one hour late – this is very 

unusual.” 

One secondary objective whilst 

planning the new cupola furnace system 

was its modern exploitation of 

waste heat, intended to supply energy 

for the tube coating plant in future. 

The coating was previously baked on 

at 150 - 160 °C using gas. Düker’s plans 

to utilize waste heat thus clearly exceed 

what is usual at other foundries, where 

The molding plant at the Düker 

works in Karlstadt. This is where the 

fittings or connectors for drainage 

systems are produced 


K PLANNING AND ENGINEERING OF FOUNDRY PLANTS 

waste heat is mainly exploited for heating 

halls or the water used for industrial 

purposes. 

Multitasking: A ladle for the centrifugal tube casting plant is simultaneously 

filled and deslagged at the holding furnace 

Casting with the help of centrifugal 

acceleration 

The modern centrifugal tube casting 

plant is at the heart of production at 

the site. 30 rotating molds – whose vibrations 

and rotation noise are clearly 

audible throughout the plant – are 

used here. Two tubes are cast here simultaneously. 

“Casting equipment is 

prefilled with the necessary melt quantity, 

which is poured into the molds by 

tilting. The melt runs to the back and 

is forced against the mold wall by centrifugal 

force,” explains Stein graphically. 

“The quantity determines the 

thickness of the tube – 44 kilograms 

of melt is used in this case.” The tube 

is cooled to 400 °C in the mold and 

then pulled out. 22,000 tonnes of 

good castings – tubes and fittings that 

are poured on the molding plant from 

Künkel-Wagner – leave the works every 

year and are used for drainage systems 

in buildings or tunnels. “When you 

look up in a multi-storey car park and 

see the reddish-brown tubes there is a 

50 % chance they were made by Düker,” 

says Stein. The drainage systems 

are not only sold in Germany, however. 

About half of all production is destined 

for other European countries, as 

well as Turkey, Singapore, Taiwan and 

North Africa. Düker is a global player – 

and has no intention of losing this status, 

even after 100 years of production 

in Karlstadt. 

Tubes in front of the Düker works ready for dispatch. About 40 trucks collect 

tubes and fittings here every day 

www.dueker.de

Photo: Rajesh Pamnani 

India Special 

Foundry pioneer at the threshold 

of modern age 


The Indian foundry industry is the number two in casting production worldwide surpassed only by China. To compete, 

foundry pioneer India has to provide reliable energy service, modernize its plants and improve the image of the 

industry sector (Photo: Andrey Khrobostov - Fotolia) 

Author: Venkatachalam Subramanian Saravanan, Indoshell Cast, Coimbatore 

Strategies for growth of Indian 

foundry industry 

India is currently ranked second in global casting production but compared to China the gap is approx. 

31 million tons. Here, V S Saravanan, general manager of Indoshell Cast, an spheroidal 

graphite and grey iron shell molding foundry in Coimbatore, India, gives a candid view of the 

strategies for development of the foundry industry in India 

Though it is difficult to narrow down 

the gap, to achieve 20 million metric 

tons (at time of writing - now 30 million) 

of casting production in the year 

2020 the plan is to pump 20,000 crore 

rupees [crore = 10 million] into the Indian 

foundry industry. However, unless 

the industry operating system is regulated 

with technological upgrades it 

will be difficult to achieve this target. 

Though the foundry industry is a 

mother industry for other engineering 

and automotive industries there is lag 

in the following areas when compared 

to US and European countries: technology 

adoption, energy conservation, 

training, improvement in work culture, 

and government partici pation. 

These macro factors cover the entire 

micro level factors. The output per person 

of foundries in Europe or in the US 

is significantly more when compared 

to Indian foundries. As per current 

production data the output per person 

per year in Europe is nearly 100 tons 

compared to India where it is estimated 

to be only about 4.5 tons/year. To 

achieve this output Europe and other 

US foundries are using automation, 

modern machinery and the lat- 


We look after every 

grain of sand 

Top-10 Casting Countries 

China: 1,357 

India: 1,618 

U.S.: 3,596 

Japan: 2,584 

Russia: 3,111 

Brazil: 1,725 

Korea: 2,454 

France: 3,783 

Italy: 1,488 

Germany: 6,481 

Pneumatic conveying 

technology 

For dry, free flowing, abrasive 

and abrasion-sensitive material 

0 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 

Thousands of tons 

Figure 1: Average casting production per plant in the year 2009, 

Courtesy: Modern Casting – 44th census of world casting production 

est technologies. Work discipline 

also plays a vital role. One can advocate 

that investing for modernization 

or automation is costlier 

than spending on more labour in 

India, but it is not going to be the 

same situation forever because: 

cost of labour is increasing, there 

are difficulties in getting skilled labour; 

more process variations are 

needed to reduce scrap; customers’ 

expectations in terms of quality 

and delivery are growing; managing 

risk on labour related issues 

is now becoming difficult; other 

industries are relatively in favourable 

conditions in attracting people; 

and health conditions and 

physique are changing the individual’s 

ability to do manual labour. 

So it is worth investing in modernization 

through gradual technology 

upgrades to avoid future 

threats. Countrywide average 

output per year in a foundry is 

shown in the Figures 1 and 2. 

From the chart it can be seen that 

Germany, the US, France, Russia, 

Japan and Korea are achieving a 

better average than India and China. 

It shows that India and China 

are far below in modernization of 

foundries. 

As stated by the China Foundry 

Association, China has a clear 

strategy on growth to reach 

50 million tons of castings in 

the year 2020. At present in China 

there are about 30,000 foundries 

with each foundry producing 

1,100 tons per year on average. 

China is planning to improve the 

average output of a foundry to 

5,000 tons per foundry in the 

year 2020 and reduce the number 

of foundries to 10,000 from 

30,000 to manage the above said 

issues which can be achieved only 

through automation and modernization 

( Figure 3). The same 

strategy also has to be adopted 

in India to achieve the expected 

growth within the stipulated 

time. To achieve the 20 million 

ton mark before 2020 it is imperative 

to grow at the rate of 10.5 % 

year on year. This seems to be an 

achievable target but needs a lot 

of combined effort amongst the 

entire foundry industry and the 

dependant industries such as 

Core sand preparation 

technology 

Turn-key systems including sand 

and binder dosing and 

core sand distribution 

Reclamation technology 

Reclamation systems for 

no-bake sand and core sand 

Year 

Electrical energy requirement 

at power station bus 

bars in GWh 

Annual peak electric 

load at power station 

bus bars 

2016 bis 2017 1,392,066 218,209 

2021 bis 2022 1,914,508 298,253 

Table 1: Electrical energy demand projections 

Konrad-Adenauer-Straße 200 · D-57572 Niederfischbach 

Phone ++49 27 34 / 5 01-3 01 · Telefax ++49 27 34 / 5 01-3 27 

e-mail: info@klein-ag.de · http://www.klein-ag.de 


SPECIAL 

39,6 

Gussproduktion in Mio. t 

9,05 8,24 

4,79 4,76 4,2 3,24 2,23 1,97 1,96 

China India U.S. Germany Japan Russia Brazil Korea Italy France 

Countries 

Figure 2: Top 10 casting producers as per 45th census of world casting production 

automobiles and auto components, 

railways, power sector, tractor industry, 

earth moving machinery, pumps, 

compressors, pipes, valve and pipe 

fittings, electrical/textile/cement/ 

agro machinery, machine tools and 

engineering industries, sanitary castings 

in conjunction with the various 

foundry and engineering associations. 

Active participation of all the 

above said groups and involvement of 

government is very much essential. 

Foundry associations should act as a 

bridge between the foundry industry 

and government to reap the benefit 

in time. 

The Indian foundry industry provides 

jobs for approx 500,000 people 

directly and about 1,500,000 people 

indirectly. So 2,000,000 people are 

producing 9.05 million tons now per 

year which is an output of 4.5 tons 

per person per year, against 100 tons 

per person per year in the European 

foundry industry. The gap between 

the two outputs is quite large. 

The average output of Indian foundries 

is currently comparable to China. 

The 45th census of casting production 

shows India to be producing 9.05 million 

tons with about 4,500 foundries 

which results in an average output of 

about 2,011 tons per foundry per year. 

If the industry is to achieve 20 million 

tons by 2020 then the average 

output needs to increase to 4,444 tons 

per year with the existing 4,500 foundries 

or the number of foundries needs 

to increase to 9,945 with the current 

average output of 2,011 tons per year 

per foundry. Suddenly doubling the 

number of foundries or output within 

a short span of eight years seems a very 

difficult task. To achieve the 50 million-ton-mark 

with 10,000 foundries 

China is planning for complete modernization 

and mechanisation. They 

are also planning to allocate 5 % of 

the total investment for environmental 

protection. 

New technologies 

Increasing average output from the existing 

foundries is rather easier than 

increasing the number of foundries 

with the existing ground. To increase 

the average output from the foundry 

with enhanced quality and achieve 

long-term goals there is no other option 

but to adopt new technologies. To 

do so it is also essential for appropriate 

training. 

New technology and technological 

upgrades can be made in: mold making; 

patternmaking with CAD/CAM 

systems; modern simulation software 

to validate the gating and risering system; 

automation; and melting and 

pouring. 

Although often costly in the first instance 

many of these upgrades show 

quick pay-back and help in terms of 

environmental and health and safety 

concerns, along with reductions 

in reject castings. Other technologies 

which need to be widely used in 

the Indian foundry industry include: 

de-gating machines, trimming presses, 

robotic grinders; the implementation 

of ERP/SAP systems for scheduling, 

planning, dispatch, production 

logs, rejection analysis, pay rolls, absentism 

analysis, inventory controls 

and for other documentation which 

can effectively save man hours; advanced 

inspection equipment; and 

modern handling equipment. 

The foundry environment in the 

country also needs to be improved 

with the use of new age pollution control 

equipment and practices. This is a 

vital area normally not focused on well 

by many Indian foundries. Good dust 

and fume extraction systems should 

be installed to keep the foundry clean 

and provide an improved working environment. 

Recycling of sand must be 

more widely adopted to save natural 

resources, to avoid contamination of 

external environments and to achieve 

some cost benefits. Recycling of foundry 

sand is very much an essential in 

the future. 

Foundry pioneer with long 

tradition 

India is a pioneer in the casting field. 

There is evidence that the country 

started casting parts before 3,000 BC 

and there is a 1,600-year-old iron pillar 

in Delhi which clearly confirms 

the Indian metallurgical strength. It 

is an irony that India is now acquiring 

knowledge from other younger coun- 

40 Casting Plant & Technology 3/2014 

R

tries. If the reason for this pathetic situation 

is analysed it becomes evident 

that it is due to inadequate focus on 

R&D. The Indian foundry industry is 

still not addressing the problems and 

demands of the day and not thinking 

of innovations. This situation must 

be changed. There are lots of experts 

in the country but their expertise and 

experience have not been effectively 

utilized. We now need centralized 

R&D centres for all the foundry clusters 

with the required testing facilities 

and effective participation of Indian 

casting experts. 

The above list of innovations can 

grow further since there is no limit for 

using new technologies. Benchmarking 

should be done on various factors 

such as rejection level, yield, energy 

30,000 

Number of Company 

25,000 

1,000 

1,600 

2007 2010 

Jahr 

Figure 3: China foundry industry 

Average Annual Output (t) 

15,000 

10,000 

5,000 

2,500 

2015 2020 

1984 - 2014 

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Reduce 

Focus 

Eliminate 

Strategy 

Pollution 

Prevention 

Treat & 

Dispose 

Recycle 

Reuse 

Waste Management 

Controll & 

Disposaö 

All media, 

Air, Water, Soil 

Raw Materials 

use 

Energy 

Personal Management 

Work Procedures 

Impact of 

Products 

Figure 4: Concept of eliminate, reuse, reduce and recycle 

consumption, productivity, output 

per person, effective floor space utilization, 

raw material consumption, inventory 

level, delivery period, development 

lead time, emission levels of 

dust and fumes, generation of wastes, 

manufacturing costs etc. among the 

foundries in India which are producing 

the same products and using the 

same processes. After that, similar 

benchmarking should be done across 

the world to improve individual standards 

and to elevate the overall standard 

of the Indian foundry industry. 

Energy conservation 

India’s dream for super power in the 

year 2020 is largely dependent on energy. 

During 2010-2011, base load requirement 

was 861.591 gigawatts (GW) 

against the availability of 788.355 GW, 

i.e. at 8.5 % deficit. During peak loads, 

the demand was for 122 GW against 

availability of 110 GW i.e., 9.8 % deficit. 

In a May 2011 report, India’s Central 

Electricity Authority anticipated, 

for 2011-2012, a base load energy deficit 

and peaking shortage to be 10.3 % 

and 12.9 % respectively. The peaking 

shortage would prevail in all regions 

of the country, varying from 5.9 % in 

the north-eastern region to 14.5 % in 

the southern region. The 17th electric 

power survey of India reports for 

2010-2011, India’s industrial demand 

accounted for 35 % of electrical power 

requirement, domestic household use 

accounted for 28 %, agriculture 21 %, 

commercial 9 %, public lighting and 

other miscellaneous applications accounted 

for the rest. 

The demand projections in India 

for the year 2016-2017 and 2021-2022 

are given in Table 1. If current average 

transmission and distribution average 

losses remain the same (32 %), there is 

a need to add about 135 GW to power 

generation capacity, before 2017, to satisfy 

the projected demand after losses. 

But it is expected that demand for 

electricity may cross 300 GW because: 

India’s manufacturing sector is likely 

to grow faster than in the past; domestic 

demand will increase more rapidly 

as the standard of living increases; and 

about 125,000 villages are likely to get 

connected to India’s electricity grid. 

It is estimated that by 2030 India 

will be the third largest energy consumer 

after China and USA. Now India 

is the 6th largest energy consumer 

in the world and the energy consumption 

per unit of GDP is 3.7 times that 

of Japan, 1.4 times that of Asia and 

1.5 times that of USA. This is indicative 

of a high wastage of energy but at 

the same time a very high energy saving 

potential. 

In the above deficit power situation 

concern is raised about the growth of 

an energy intensive industry which is 

playing an important role in the nation’s 

continued economic development. 

India needs to work aggressively 

amid many hurdles to sustain the 

growth of this industry. 

There are a number of barriers 

which are curtailing the energy efficient 

working of this industry: 

»» 

Lack of training and awareness on 

energy conservation

»» 

Lack of standardization on equipment and devices 

»» 

Lack of financing and incentives on getting energy efficient 

machines 

»» 

Lack of effective co-ordination with one another 

»» 

Complacency – self-satisfaction with the own performance 

»» 

The wrong assumption that energy monitoring and energy 

efficient equipment are expensive 

Now more quality system certification bodies and private 

agencies are instilling the importance of energy conservation 

through energy audits. Anyone can use this facility 

to reduce energy consumption and to improve effective 

utilization of energy. Even application of mind and 

common sense can generate considerable savings. 

The concept of eliminate, reuse, reduce and recycle can 

save a lot. A systematic study of the concept reveals ways 

to save material, money and time (Figure 4). 

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CREATING FOUNDRY 

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SOLUTIONS 

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Reclamation of foundry sand 

The necessity of sand to the foundry industry is as important 

as the melting of raw materials because the rapid depletion 

of sand from the sand mines has forced the foundry 

industry to buy sand from other sources which may be 

located far away from the foundry or to import the sand or 

use the available sand in the market with some deviation 

in the required quality. All these increase the cost of manufacturing. 

Also sand costs increase when the availability 

of sand is reducing which leads to a very difficult situation 

for the foundry industry to survive – it is a buyer’s market. 

In terms of ecological factors, foundries are facing difficulties 

in disposing of waste foundry sand. The industry is 

now under the focus of the Pollution Control Board of India 

to limit industrial wastes. The reduction of existing land 

previously used for landfill sites has led to a precarious situation 

for foundries needing to dispose of waste molding sand. 

The solution is to reclaim the sand effectively. It is possible 

to have common reclamation plants for a group of foundries 

having the same casting process and this needs to start now. 

Need for training 

In India generally there is a lack of interest amongst students 

to work in the foundry industry due to the nature 

of the job and its environment creating a growing need 

to change the atmosphere of this industry and thus the 

mindset among young people. 

Training improves ‘operator skills’ which in turn reduces 

the manufacturing cost by means of improved productivity 

and reduced wastage. It initiates the thought 

process of the employee on process improvements, waste 

minimization, efficiency improvements, work culture 

improvements etc. which finally give benefits to both the 

individual and the foundry. An effective training program 

makes employees feel more valued to the foundry 

which in turn improves their work discipline. 

Though the Indian foundry industry is the backbone 

for all the country’s other engineering industries, it has 

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very few training institutions. The 

China Foundry Association has set up 

nationwide training centres and provides 

training for 10,000 people every 

year. To combat the lack of interest in 

selecting the foundry industry as a career 

nation-wide training institutions 

and research centres are to be established 

by the industry and foundry related 

subjects can be mandated in engineering 

studies. Foundries can also 

participate along with the training institutes 

in developing good candidates 

by providing some financial attractions 

to instigate the desire for foundry 

related studies and a future career in 

the industry. 

Once employed in the industry 

refreshment training should be provided 

as a part of a company’s development 

and upgrading to ensure 

employees work in a better way and 

training in technical know-how is 

essential, but other areas like safety, 

material handling, work culture, 

personality developments etc. also 

have to be focused on. A safe operation 

is the result of successful integration 

of a number of operational 

systems and techniques which 

results in a safe working environment 

with properly and adequately 

trained employees. 

Work culture improvement 

Work culture improvement is one of 

the important factors to attract young 

educated people to this industry and 

to create a good work discipline. In the 

author’s perception there is a little lag 

in work culture in the foundry industry 

when compared to other industries 

due to the nature of the job. 

The following things have to be considered 

to improve the work culture: 

»» 

Mindset about the foundry industry 

has to be changed 

»» 

Training programs are needed to improve 

work culture and lead to improvement 

in the entire organization 

»» 

Everyone in the organisation should 

consider housekeeping (5S: Sort, set 

in order, shine, standardize, sustain) 

as an integral part of the business 

and daily activities. It should not be 

thought of as additional work with 

secondary priority 

»» 

Each foundry should have a code of 

conduct and educate the employee 

to oblige 

»» 

The importance of basic disciplines 

and morals should be indoctrinated 

regularly to all employees 

»» 

Modernization and environmental 

improvements are needed through 

technology upgrades 

»» 

The allocation of budgets every year 

for environmental improvements, 

work culture improvements, employee 

health care, motivational 

programs etc. 

»» 

Equipment should be bought with 

necessary pollution control features 

»» 

Good housekeeping depends on level 

of awareness and active participation 

of all employees and top management 

Generally it is thought that foundry 

work is a rough and tough, dirty job. 

Because of this mindset the foundry 

has become the last preference for 

those who are seeking a job. So getting 

good people from the educational 

institutions is very difficult since 

good students are preferring jobs in 

IT industries, machine shops or even 

in assembly shops. It is imperative to 

change this attitude and make this 

industry attractive to people. To do 

this it is important to concentrate 

on modernization, environmental 

management, induce improvements 

through technology upgrades 

to provide a clean environment and 

work space where everyone can work 

peacefully. 

During the process of focussing on 

outputs the surrounding atmosphere 

in the foundry deteriorates over a period 

of time. Additional efforts should 

be put in place to maintain a good environment. 

Allocating funds every year 

for various improvements as aforementioned 

is important but many foundries 

are not doing so. Production 

equipment is now available with good 

pollution control features which is often 

not considered in the budget. This 

attitude has to be changed and equipment 

bought with the necessary pollution 

control features. 

Top management support is critical 

in developing a “green foundry”. Each 

foundry should have a code of conduct. 

Discipline in work is imperative. 

Many foundries in the south are using 

migrated labour and have relaxed job 

disciplines and requirements to meet 

their production requirement. Effort 

should be made to follow some basic 

disciplines. 

Participation from government in 

the following aspects would promote 

general improvement of Indian foundries: 

»» 

Consideration of the foundry industry 

as a continuous process industry 

and extend uninterrupted power 

supplies 

»» 

Streamlining procedures for quicker 

environmental clearances 

»» 

Introduction of green channel 

clearance for the foundry industry 

subjected to fulfilment of certain 

conditions to expand capacity 

to meet increasing demand. This 

would also help in foreign investment 

in this sector with new technology 

»» 

Provision of low cost funding for 

technology upgrades to promote 

investment in modern, cleaner and 

environmentally-friendly foundries 

»» 

Creation of a council to look after 

the needs of the foundry industry. 

»» 

Increasing export benefits 

»» 

Consideration of tax holidays as the 

gestation period for foundry investments. 

It will reduce the tax burden 

to the investors for that stipulated period 

and can stabilize the operations 

»» 

Extending financial assistance for 

introduction of wind power, renewable 

power and captive generation 

and 100 % depreciation for renewable 

power plants must be made 

available 

»» 

100% depreciation can be extended 

on power conservation equipment, 

energy efficient equipment, productive 

equipment and equipment used 

for pollution controls and preventions 

»» 

A centralized disposal park for solid 

waste disposal with oxidation fields 

and natural bio-degradation plant 

for recycling 

»» 

Allocation of sufficient funds to construct 

a centralized STP (solid waste 

treatment plant) 


»» 

Increasing the foundry clusters and 

establishing a centre of excellence 

for promoting training and education 

in modern foundry technology. 

»» 

The incorporation of foundry education 

in all the ITIs which are located 

in the foundry clusters 

»» 

Streamlining import duty structure 

and reducing import duties on raw 

materials such as pig iron, resin etc. 

and banning export of key inputs 

such as pig iron, coal and iron ore 

»» 

The imposing of prohibitive export 

duties alternatively to conserve natural 

resources and make availability 

of key inputs better at reasonable 

prices to domestic industry 

»» 

Extending financial support for 

benchmarking projects on recycling, 

innovative productivity improvement 

and green foundry pro jects 

»» 

Providing 100 % depreciation for 

investment in environmentallyfriendly 

equipment and promoting 

recycling and effective utilization of 

natural resources. 

»» 

Privatization of industry enabling 

foreign companies to invest or enter 

into joint ventures with Indian 

foundries. Foreign Direct Investment 

(FDI) projects should 

be permitted for several international 

corporates from the USA, 

the EU and East Asian countries 

to establish their foundry operations 

in India. For example Volvo 

foundries in Chennai and Suzuki 

in Haryana, Hyundai Motors 

tie up with Delphi. When Indian 

foundries join hands with global 

players, technology upgrades and 

transfer of new technologies will 

result. When compared to China 

the Indian FDI are only one tenth. 

Now S&P has warned that the investment 

rating will be on the negative 

side. 

Conclusion 

In spite of the hurdles, the Indian 

foundry industry should grow but to 

become stronger government participation 

in the development process is 

vital with foundry associations playing 

a crucial role. Foundry associations 

and various foundries must converse to 

develop new ideas and transfer knowledge 

for sustainable overall growth. 

The goal of 20 million tons in 2020 

can be achieved with modernization, 

with disciplined skilled employees and 

with good internal and external environment 

for foundry operations. 

This article is based on a fuller paper 

which was originally presented at Sourecon 

2012, Coimbatore (India). It was 

printed in the Indian Foundry Journal 

Vol 58, No 7, July 2012 and is reproduced 

here with the kind permission of the publishers, 

the Institute of Indian Foundrymen. 

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SPECIAL 

Vacuum impregnation system by Ultraseal. The British company runs a subsidiary in Pune, India (Photos: Ultraseal) 

ULTRASEAL INDIA 

Vacuum impregnation for an 

expanding automotive sector 

The recent change in government 

in India has led to a rise in optimism 

about the long-term prospects for the 

automotive sector there following the 

recent economic downturn and consequent 

stalling of its previously rapid 

expansion. 

“India is predicted in its automotive 

production to become the third-largest 

global producer by 2020,” said Stephen 

Hynes, Marketing Director of Ultraseal 

International, Coventry, UK. “It has 

huge potential”. 

“Global OEMs are bringing with 

them a sharper focus on quality and 

the country’s automotive supply chain 

is becoming more sophisticated in order 

to meet this challenge. 

One problem that undermines the 

quality of automotive parts, especially 

those that have to operate under pressure, 

such as engine blocks, is casting 

porosity, a natural phenomenon which 

occurs during the casting process and 

which is difficult to eliminate altogether. 

Vacuum impregnation with porosity 

sealant is a reliable and permanent 

solution to the problem and Ultraseal 

International, one of the global leaders 

in the field, has noticed that more 

manufacturers are turning to vacuum 

impregnation as a routine quality enhancement 

for automotive parts. 

“Porosity consists of microscopic 

holes in a cast metal part which can be 

critically damaging to the performance 

of a part,” explained Mr. Hynes. “For example, 

if a hole runs from one side of a 

part to another it can create a leak path. 

“Often these are invisible to the naked 

eye and will only show up when 

the part fails a pressure-test. To avoid 

this, many manufacturers now routinely 

vacuum impregnate all of a production 

run.” 

Ultraseal has a long-standing joint 

venture, Ultraseal India Pvt. Ltd, 

which is based in Pune, one of the centres 

of automotive production in India, 

as well as a network of franchised job 

processing shops that provide Vacuum 

impregnation. 

The Indian subsidiary, established 

more than 25 years ago, manufactures 

vacuum impregnation equipment for 

the domestic market and supplies Ultraseal’s 

products including its renowned 

PC504/66 methacrylate-based sealant 

which is highly popular in India. 

“Companies in India recognise the 

importance of selecting processes and 

products that meet with the approval of 

global OEMs when making automotive 

parts,” said Mr Hynes. “Global approvals 

are the key to winning contracts. 

”India is a global player and it is 

adopting global standards. That is 

why more and more OEMs and multinational 

companies are exploring the 

cost and environmental advantages 

offered by recycling sealants such as 

Rexeal 100.” 

Recycling sealants are especially suited 

to use in locations where there is a 

shortage of water supply, or tough en- 


vironmental regulations around the 

disposal of waste water. Acute water 

shortages are widespread in India, 

which by UN definitions is a “waterstressed” 

country. 

Vacuum impregnation takes place 

in three stages. Firstly the parts to be 

impregnated are lowered into an autoclave 

and a vacuum applied in order 

to draw air out of any porosity, then a 

porosity sealant in liquid form is introduced. 

It is drawn into any porosity 

in the casting. Secondly, the casting is 

washed to remove excess sealant and finally 

the casting goes to the “hot cure” 

tank where it is lowered into hot water 

at a regulated temperature at which 

the sealant will rapidly form into a solid 

but flexible plastic, sealing any porosity. 

The impregnation process does 

not cause any dimensional changes to 

the part. 

With conventional sealants, the 

chemical is washed away, along with 

the wash water, in the second stage of 

Casting with porosity damage 

the process. In contrast, up to 95 % of 

a recycling sealant applied can be separated 

from the wash water and returned 

to the autoclave for immediate 

re-use in the first step of the process. 

Significant cost savings can be made, 

along with the environmental benefits 

of using less chemicals and water. 

“In India, the shift towards using recycling 

sealants has been gradual but, 

it is now gaining greater momentum,” 

explained Mr. Hynes. “OEMs and multinational 

companies have been leading 

the way in using recycling sealants. 

www.ultraseal.co.uk 

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Agtos.indd 1 29.01.14 14:30 


K NEWS 

FAT 

Regeneration of used sands 

Due to its mechanical properties 

as well as its strength and temperature 

resistance, silica sand is used 

in the industry for multiple purposes. 

Today, an increasing number of 

castings produced for mechanical 

engineering and automotive applications 

are highly core-intensive. 

The complex geometry of the castings 

calls for a constantly high level 

of precision, sustainability and 

repeatability down to the smallest 

detail. Therefore, foundries place exacting 

requirements on the quality 

of the casting and on the productivity 

and flexibility of the plant technology 

employed. Quality assurance 

starts at the very first step – namely 

with the sand. The castings must feature 

a high surface quality, which is 

only achievable through high-grade 

sands. However, the job is not done 

when the casting has been made because 

huge amounts of used sand 

arising in the foundry still have to 

be taken care of. The used sand – and 

here we talk about tons of sand – is 

usually dumped in landfills. To minimize 

the costs of used sand disposal, 

Förder- und Anlagentechnik GmbH 

(FAT), based in Niederfischbach, 

Germany, developed a highly compact 

thermal regeneration plant capable 

of processing used sands into 

a regenerated product that has the 

quality of new sand. This thermal 

regeneration plant offers a profitable 

recycling process for used sand. 

Approx. 95 % of the used sand treated 

in the plant is recirculated to the 

process as regenerated sand of new 

sand quality. The remaining 5 % are 

blended with new sand. The thermal 

regeneration saves approx. 95 % of 

the costs associated with the procurement 

of new sand and the disposal 

of used sand. Assuming a new 

sand price of around 25 Euros/t and 

disposal costs of about 25 Euros/t, 

the thermal regeneration plant pays 

back within a period of two years. 

The process reduces waste and saves 

resources. It serves as a value adding 

and promotionally effective environmental 

protection measure. The 

thermal regeneration treatment of 

the used sand takes place in a furnace 

developed by FAT specifically 

for this purpose. The furnace is designed 

for continuous operation in 

order to protect the furnace equipment 

and save energy. Thanks to the 

small thickness of the sand layer inside 

the furnace, every sand grain 

is at all times in contact with the 

flame. Hence also very fine-grained 

sands can be regenerated. The loss 

on ignition of the resulting regenerated 

product is

RÖSLER 

Fully automatic vibratory 

finishing 

The components of a customer of Rösler 

Oberflächentechnik GmbH, Untermerzbach, 

Germany, until now had to be 

protected against „nicking“ during the 

finishing process requiring manual labor. 

This challenge was solved by the 

installation of an innovative, fully automatic 

cleaning, deburring and polishing 

system which allows the finishing 

of around 30 different work pieces 

without the parts ever touching each 

other during the process. For this application 

Rösler not only developed the 

material handling concept but, with 

the High-Frequency-Finishing (HFF) 

system, also a completely new vibratory 

finishing method. 

At the center of this fully automatic 

system is a robot equipped with a gripper 

that vibrates at very high frequencies 

during the HFF process. Different 

grippers are utilized to accommodate 

the various work piece shapes and sizes. 

After the machining operation the parts 

are placed on a conveyor belt in an exactly 

defined position. Once they arrive 

at the finishing system the robot picks 

up four parts at a time. In a first step – 

degreasing and cleaning – the robot dips 

the parts into a cleaning tank. This is 

High-Frequency-Finishing (HFF), a newly developed 

vibratory finishing process produces excellent 

and repeatable deburring and polishing 

results in very short cycle times (Photo: Rösler) 

followed by the HFF 

vibratory finishing 

process including a 

rinsing and blow off 

phase. Finally, the robot 

places the aluminum 

components 

back on the conveyor 

belt for transport to 

the next manufacturing 

operation. 

During the HFF process 

the robot gently 

dips the high frequency 

vibratory gripper 

with the 4 mounted 

work pieces into the 

work bowl filled with 

spherical stainless 

steel media. The gripper 

vibration with 

3000 revolutions per 

minute (RPM) and the 

movement of the steel 

media induced by the vibratory drive of 

the mass finishing machine produce an 

intensive and homogeneous media 

flow around the work pieces. Furthermore, 

during the finishing process the 

robot can take the work pieces out of 

the work bowl to turn them at a defined 

angle and dip them back into the media 

mass. These two independent media 

movements, in combination with the 

compound and media precisely adapted 

to this process, yield excellent and 

absolutely repeatable deburring and 

polishing results in very short cycle 

times. 

Depending on size and shape of the 

respective work pieces, the complete 

operation, including picking the parts 

up and placing them back on the conveyor 

belt, lasts between 180 and 300 s. 

www.rosler.com 

9 TH ALUMINIUM TWO THOUSAND WORLD CONGRESS 

5 TH INTERNATIONAL ICEB CONFERENCE 

TWO EVENTS IN ONE: THE STRENGTH OF SYNERGY AND THE POWER OF INNOVATION 

FLORENCE - ITALY 

12 -16 MAY 2015 

Palazzo Affari Downtown 

Conferences, Workshops, Exhibition, Plant Tours, Social Events 

Event organized by: 

THE ALUSPECIALISTS’ MEETING 

INTERALL 

International Aluminium Publications 

Interall: Via Gino Marinuzzi- 38 - 41122 Modena- Italy Tel. +39-059-282390 - Fax +39-059-280462 

aluminium2000@interall.it - www.aluminium2000.com 

ICEB Organizing Committee at University of Bologna: 

Viale Risorgimento 2 - 40136 Bologna- Italy - iceb.din@unibo.it - www.ice-b.net 

ICEB 

International Conference 

on Extrusion and Benchmark 

Institut für 

Umformtechnik 

und Leichtbau 

Ask for Special 

Delegate Offer, 

mentioning code: 

Al2000 CPT 

CONGRESS 

Main Subjects: 

ALUMINIUM TWO THOUSAND 

CONFERENCE TOPICS 

Markets & Strategies, Alloys Billets & Related Equipment, 

Rolling Technology, Architecture & Special Uses, 

Transport & Automove Industry, Anodizing, Coang, 

Automaon, Measuring, Tesng & Quality Techniques, 

Advanced Applicaons & Research, Environmental 

Protecon & Recycling, Casng & Die Casng 

ICEB & EXTRUSION SESSIONS TOPICS 

Process Sustainability, Process Management, Process 

Monitoring, Plant & Process, Process Simulaon, Product 

Quality, Alloys, Dies, New Processes 

Special Focus: 

• Market and Strategies and “New Emerging Countries” 

• Extrusion Technologies and their analysis by FEM 

simulaon 

• Applicaon of nanotechnologies in the aluminum 

industry 

• New Light Alloys 

• Advanced Finishing Workshop 

• Courses for Extrusion Soware 

Ofcial language: ENGLISH

DÜSSELDORF/GERMANY 

16 – 20 JUNE 2015 

The Bright 

World 

of Metals 

TECHNOLOGIES PROCESSES APPLICATIONS PRODUCTS 

gmtn1502_00128.indd 1 10.07.14 08:57 

Call for papers 

As a part of GIFA/NEWCAST 2015, the BDG 

Bundesverband der Deutschen Gießerei-Industrie e. V. 

and the VDG Verein Deutscher Giessereifachleute 

e. V. are again organizing conferences focussed 

on topics of interest to the metal casting industry, 

such as: 

the GIFA-Forum 

is primarily addressed to foundry suppliers and deals 

with topics like 

> melting and casting processes 

> pattern and die making 

> moulding and core making 

> manufacturing technology including machining 

> foundry engineering and equipment 

> foundry chemicals 

> foundry consumables 

the Technical Forum in cooperation with 

VDI (Verein Deutscher Ingenieure) 

offers researchers, managers and foundrymen the 

opportunity to get information on the latest trends in 

casting technology focussing on 

> R&D on casting processes 

> process simulation 

> process control 

> automation 

> information management 

> environmental sustainability and conservation 

of resources (casting processes) 

the NEWCAST Forum 

presents perspectives for the application of state 

of the art cast materials and products. The technical 

presentations will concentrate on 

> new casting product development 

> substitution of materials and processes 

> component design 

> optimization and simulation 

> light-weight design 

> environmental sustainability and conservation 

of resources (products) 

This forum is intended to support a mutual dialogue 

between suppliers, designers and foundrymen and 

achieve synergies for both research and industry. 

Both English and German (with simultaneous 

translation into English) presentations will be 

accepted at all the conferences. 

Please send a short abstract and your vita by 30th 

November 2014 to: 

Bundesverband der Deutschen Gießerei-Industrie 

attn.: Simone Bednareck 

Hansaallee 203, 40549 Düsseldorf 

E-Mail: simone.bednareck@bdguss.de 

Tel.: +49 (0)211/6871-338 

Fax.: +49 (0)211/6871-364

Opening ceremony for the new Bühler factory in Wuxi near Shanghai. The location is the new Chinese headquarters 

for the Buhler Group (Photo: Bühler) 

BÜHLER 

Die-casting machines for China 

The city of Wuxi is located just half an 

hour from Shanghai with the the highvelocity 

“Bullet Train”, just one of the 

many signs of China’s technological 

and economic success. China’s growth 

and technological development are key 

reasons why Bühler, Uzwil, Switzerland, 

opened the new factory in Wuxi. This 

new facility allows the company to respond 

to the growing need of the producers 

of the die casting industry in 

China for machines of the quality that 

distinguishes Bühler. 

In order to meet this demand, Bühler 

has invested 50 million Swiss Francs 

(around 41 million Euro) into the new 

factory. “This shows that we believe in 

and are committed to the Chinese market”, 

Jonathan Abbis, President of the 

Die Casting division at Bühler, said in 

his speech at the inauguration of the 

new manufacturing plant. “In building 

the factory, we did not compromise on 

a single item. In Wuxi we are producing 

machines of the exact same level of 

quality and reliability that our customers 

have come to expect from all Bühler 

machines.” 

80 guests – representing around 50 

companies from all over China – came 

to the inauguration to see for themselves. 

In the new factory, Bühler is producing 

Ecoline and Ecoline Pro die-casting 

machines. Currently the factory has 

a capacity of about 200 machines per 

year with the potential to produce up to 

300 machines annually. In order to ensure 

the quality of the production, 35 % 

of the total investment in Wuxi was allocated 

for state of the art machining 

equipment. “If we produce parts ourselves, 

the transfer of knowledge will be 

so much easier”, said Robin Lu, President 

of the Die-Casting division Bühler 

China. 

However, it is not only about equipment. 

Wuxi is the headquarters of Bühler 

China. The location is not only used 

for manufacturing, but it is also used for 

research and development, sales and 

service, as well as a training center. “Besides 

Europe and the USA, China is one 

of the three large centers for our business”, 

said Marcello Fabbroni, Head of 

Product Management and Marketing at 

Bühler. “Of course, it is crucial that we 

maintain a presence on site in all of 

these centers”. 

The market for die-casting machines 

in particular will continue to develop 

very quickly in China. Next year, we expect 

growth of approximately 10 % for 

the production of components manufactured 

by the die casting division. 

“That is huge”, said Fabbroni. Of course 

this is not only a quantitative development. 

“It has become clear that Chinese 

customers are increasingly paying more 

attention to quality. This represents a 

great change in thinking.” And Bühler 

is perfectly situated to cope with China’s 

demanding growth. 

www.buhlergroup.com/die-casting 

THE 

INDUCTION 

FURNACE 

SPECIALISTS 

NEW FURNACES 

REBUILT FURNACES 

SERVICE 

SPARES 

SALES: +44 (0) 1902 722588 SERVICE: +44 (0) 1440 710603 www.induction-furnaces.co.uk 


K NEWS 

IMF 

Lift off for furan molding plant 

With an annual capacity of 20,000 t 

and a manpower requirement of just 

ten workers, the latest molding plant at 

one of Italy’s principal foundries provides 

a master-class in how to manage 

an increase in demand for both size of 

castings and quantities. 

When VDP Fonderia SpA, Vicenza, 

Italy, approached a tried and trusted 

Layout of the new furan molding plant (Image: IMF) 

supplier, they had confidence that 

their demand for consistency, quality 

and delivery could be met because of a 

20-year relationship which had proven 

itself in the past. IMF Impianti Macchine 

Fonderia Srl, Luino Varese, Italy, 

responded with the design and installation 

of a new molding plant for the 

production of flasks using an automatic 

transfer and elevated car. The result 

is a plant that can produce up to four 

molds per h in box sizes of 2.5 m x 

3.6 m of castings up to 10 t in weight. 

The investment was made to satisfy 

the growing needs of the energy, ship 

building and mechanical sectors. VDP 

supplies and has seen the foundry to 

be able to deliver the quantities needed 

in the necessary time frames. 

The design incorporates a novel 

racked storage system which can store 

up to 132 molds thanks to high speed 

elevators. The plant uses an automatic 

transfer and elevated car system which 

has a lifting speed of 40 m/min, a transfer 

speed of 120 m/min and a maximum 

elevation of 18 m. The vast construction 

facilitates the cooling of very 

large castings and enables the foundry 

to use available space in a vertical way. 

The company is used to working vertically 

with existing model stores located 

on several levels to offer a speedy 

and efficient method of storage, managed 

by an automated system for easy 

transfer to different departments. 

IMF has supplied VDP for 20 years and 

this latest project tested their skills in pushing 

boundaries but, together with VDP, the 

solution was found and the plant is now 

up and running and meeting its objectives. 

As part of the order, IMF also supplied a 

60 t/h furan mixer to feed the plant. 

Using the principal adopted by car manufacturers, 

VDP operates a CRM-style computer 

system to ensure everything is made 

to a specific schedule and literally comes 

together at a set time. This highlights the 

ability to control the production cycle and 

eradicate stock and supply problems. 

VDP prides itself on its abilities to 

respond to customer needs and has 

continued to invest in the latest technology 

at its modern foundry in 

Schio, Italy. The foundry provides a 

variety of nodular and grey iron castings 

from 3 kg to 100 t in weight using 

electric melting and both manual 

and automated processes throughout 

the site. Specific features include automatic 

handling systems, 

continuous mixers, four 

automated storage logistics 

and quality control 

systems. The company 

incorporates both an automatic 

molding plant 

for smaller castings and 

hand molding to manufacture 

various products 

in a wide range of large 

sizes. 

Five electric melting furnaces 

with a capacity of 

17-60 t/h produce a melting 

output of approx. 

170 t/day and the ladles 

are operated using an automatic 

handling system. 

What the company describes 

as a “mighty robot 

on rails” operates on the 

furnace line. 

Commenting on the 

latest venture Ciro Radice, 

Executive Vice President 

of IMF, said: “We 

are delighted that the new molding 

plant is helping VDP meet its commitment 

to customers and maintain quality 

castings. It is a large-scale plant and 

the lift and racking system is an important 

part of it. IMF is happy to work 

with customers to improve their facilities 

and help them cope with production 

demands.” 

www.imfluino.it 

Originally published in the April 2014 issue 

of Foundry Trade Journal. It is reprinted 

here with the publisher’s permission. 


ON TECHNOLOGY GmbH 

OLOGY WITHOUT 

STEIN INJECTION TECHNOLOGY GmbH 

Hagener Straße 20 - 24 

D-58285 Gevelsberg 

Germany 

Telefon: +49 / (0) 2332 / 75742-0 

Telefax: +49 / (0) 2332 / 75742-40 

E-Mail: stein@sit-gmbh.net 

Internet: www.sit-gmbh.net 

Titel Key_Casting 2014.fh11 23.05.2013 12:35 Uhr Seite 1 

Probedruck 

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K 

Alle Seiten 30.04.14 14:05 

BÜRO FÜR ANGEWANDTE 

MINERALOGIE 

High temperature coatings 

for nonferrous metalcasting 

Boron nitride (BN) is an advanced 

ceramic material with outstanding 

chemical and thermal properties. 

It is often called “white graphite” 

because it has a graphite-like structure, 

but in contrast to graphite, it 

is white. It is an excellent high-temperature 

solid lubricant, is stable at 

high temperature and – most important 

for casting and foundry applications 

– is not wetted by many 

metallic melts like aluminium, magnesium 

and zinc. 

In order to be able to use the advantages 

of boron nitride in casthouse 

and foundry applications, the Büro 

für angewandte Mineralogie, Tönisvorst, 

Germany, developed the original 

Alu-Stop LC Boron-Nitride-Coatings 

on the basis of high quality boron 

Boron-Nitride-Coatings are excellent 

high-temperature solid lubricants 

that are not wetted by metallic melts 

like aluminium, magnesium and 

zinc (Photo: Büro für angewandte 

Mineralogie) 

nitride particularly for the application 

within casting shops. These coatings 

are applied like ordinary house paints 

by brushing or using a spray gun. 

They are perfect release agents used in 

aluminium foundries for the protection 

of ladles, dies, ingot mold, permanent 

molds, thermocouples and 

ceramic structures. These coatings 

provide an excellent non-sticking and 

lubricating surface to which neither 

aluminium nor magnesium will adhere. 

The coatings are also proven release 

agents for coating thimbles, transition 

plates and refractory linings of distribution 

troughs of DC (Direct Chill) 

casting machines. During casting 

breaks, these coatings ensure the perfect 

and easy release of remaining aluminium 

without damaging the refractory 

substrate. 

The original Alu-Stop LC Boron-Nitride-Coatings 

are directly available 

from the manufacturer as water-based 

paints as concentrates as well as readyto-use 

formulations. For an easier application 

in suitable environments, 

these coatings are available in aerosol 

cans too. 

www.alu-stop.com 

umatic Conveying-, 

ing- and Injection-Systems 

mised and cost-optimised technical solutions, systems 

pplications 

The KEY to Casting Industry and Suppliers 2014 

THE KEY TO CASTING INDUSTRY AND SUPPLIERS 2014/2015 

2014 

The KEY 

to Casting Industry 

and Suppliers THE KEY 

TO CASTING INDUSTRY SUPPLIERS 

2014 /2015 

opment of specific customised process technologies 

atic Conveying-Systems e. g. for core sand, filter dust, 

aking shop and blasting material 

on- and Dosing-Systems for the Cupola furnace 

lete service from design and consulting via erection 

stallation to start-up 

lifetime = less maintenance = higher productivity 

xible ceramic lined hose 

MPROMISE 

2014. 14,8 x 21,0 cm, 72 pages 

ISBN 978-3-87260-176-6 

Order your free sample copy! 

The Key to Casting 

Industry and Suppliers 2015 

GIESSEREI-VERLAG GMBH 

P.O. Box 10 25 32 · D-40016 Düsseldorf 

Fon +49 211 6707-561 · Fax +49 211 6707-547 

E-Mail: annette.engels@stahleisen.de · www.giesserei-verlag.de 

The_Key_Casting_85_128_E.indd 1 02.09.14 09:33 


K NEWS 

MBF 

QSB+ certification for French 

aluminium foundry 

MBF Aluminium plant has been rewarded 

for the certification “Quality System 

Basics Plus” by a representative of the 

purchasing department of the French 

car manufacturer PSA Peugeot Citroën. 

The certification QSB+ offers to MBF 

Aluminium the opportunity to acquire 

General Motors as a new customer, 

because this certification is a basic requirement 

for business cooperation 

with the US-auto manufacturer. Furthermore 

this certification confirms a 

good level of industrial organization of 

the company. MBF intends to conquer 

new markets with the new certification. 

It is important to know that MBF Aluminium, 

after being certified ISO/TS 

16949 (international quality standard) 

in March 2013 (renewed in 2014), has 

obtained the important certification 

MBF Aluminium has been rewarded with the QSB+ certification by PS Peugeot 

Citroën and now intends to conquer new markets 

ISO/TS 14001 (international environmental 

standard) thanks to its commitment 

in the environmental protection: 

this will allow the company to enter the 

German market. 

MBF Aluminium, is part of CMV 

Group, a leading European specialist in 

high pressure die-casting, machining 

and assembling of aluminium parts in 

large series for the automotive industry. 

It employs 260 people in its two plants 

of Plan d’Acier and Etables (both France) 

and counts on 34 high pressure die casting 

machines and on 46 CNC machining 

centers. The company produces an 

average of 4 million castings a year. 

www.mbfaluminium.fr 

4 

ALUMINIUM 2014 

7 – 9 Oct 2014 | Messe Düsseldorf 

10th World Trade Fair & Conference 

www.aluminium-messe.com 

Organised by 

Partners 

ALU_174x128+3_GB.indd 1 02.06.14 10:23 


ASK CHEMICALS 

New Chief Executive Officer 

ASK Chemicals, Hilden, Germany, 

is pleased to announce the appointment 

of Frank Coenen as its Chief 

Executive Officer, succeeding Stefan 

Sommer in the role. Mr. Coenen most 

recently served as Chief Executive Officer 

of Tessenderlo Group, a global, 

Belgian-listed specialty chemicals 

group. 

ASK Chemicals also extends its appreciation 

to outgoing Chief Executive 

Officer Stefan Sommer for his leadership 

over the past four years. Mr. Sommer 

led many important accomplishments 

in that period, from the creation 

of ASK Chemicals as an independent 

business in 2010 to its successful sale to 

Rhône. 

www.ask-chemicals.com 

Frank Coenen (on the picture) 

succeeds Stefan Sommer as Chief 

Executive Officer of the specialty 

chemicals producer ASK Chemicals 

(Photo: ASK Chemicals) 

X:\00-Küttner-Image\AA01-Inserate\04-Aluminium\Aluminium-Praxis\2014-Giesserei_174x128.cdr 

Mittwoch, 13. August 2014 17:44:01 

Farbprofil: Deaktiviert 

Composite Standardbildschirm 

100 

100 

95 

95 

75 

75 

25 

5 

0 

Competence in Aluminum Melting 

25 

5 

0 

100 

100 

95 

95 

75 

75 

25 

5 

0 

Küttner GmbH & Co. KG, Essen/Germany 

Aluminium Division 

+49 (0)201 7293 260 

ist@kuettner.com 

www.kuettner.com 

Our expert team is looking forward to seeing you 

on ALUMINIUM 2014 in Dusseldorf 

stand 10H40 

25 

5 

0 


K BROCHURES 

Shaft furnace technology for scrap and waste recycling 

6 pages, English 

A brochure outlining the Küttner Oxycup shaft furnace iron making process. From 

self-reducing carbon bricks, which are made among others of BOF and BF sludge, 

dusts and carbon fines, the furnace produces liquid hot metal similar to blast furnace 

quality. The benefits of the process include the recycling of by-products, export 

of surplus gas and saving of resources 

Information: www.kuettner.com 

Industrial safety products 


A catalogue about head, face and eye protection gear offered by Aschua Rudolf 

Uhlen. The catalogue contains a wide selection of hard hats, hard head brackets, 

headgear, face shields, protective goggles as well as heat shields made of wire cloth 

with various types of lenses and lense frames. 

Information: www.aschua-uhlen.de 

Virtual product engineering 


A brochure summarizing the fields of application of virtual product engineering solutions 

developed by ESI. The company offers an integrated suite of coherent, industry-oriented 

solutions that aim to replace physical prototypes by realistically simulating 

a product’s behaviour during testing and to fine-tune fabrication and 

assembly processes. 

Information: www.esi-group.com 

Automatic sand testing 


A product brochure featuring automatic sand testing systems supplied by Sensor 

Control. The systems of the SPC series come in three versions: with sampling on a 

belt transfer point or belt discharge point; with sampling directly from the mixer; 

and with sampling directly from a belt conveyor. 

Information: www.sensor-control.de 


Quick connector systems 

24 pages, English, German 

A comprehensive catalogue of measurement and quick connector systems offered 

by Innomatec. Detailed information is provided concerning the fields of application, 

operating principle, accessories, technical drawings and data, as well as standard dimensions 

of the great variety of available systems. 

Information: www.innomatec.de 

Vibrating and conveying equipment 

24 pages, English, German, French 

This brochure outlines the range of vibrating and conveying solutions offered by 

ConviTec. These include shake-out systems, cooling conveyors for castings, picking 

conveyors, furnace loaders, sand regeneration plants, screens, and drying and dosing 

systems for bulk materials and unit loads. 

Information: www.convitec.net 

Bulk handling 


A brochure presenting vibratory and bulk handling equipment and associated services 

offered by interVIB. Information is provided about the company’s solutions for 

vibratory, bunker discharge and resonance conveyors, screening technology, shakeout 

systems, cooling conveyors and vibratory lump breakers. 

Information: www.intervib.de 

Industrial optical 3-D scanner 


This product brochure describes the features and capabilities of the Atos Triple Scan 

3-D Digitizer, an industrial, high-resolution, optical 3-D scanner developed by GOM. 

The system measures different object sizes and surface finishes providing parametric 

inspection and evaluation, section-based analyses and trend analyses in areas such 

as quality control, reverse engineering, rapid prototyping and digital mock-up. 

Information: www.gom.com 


K INTERNATIONAL FAIRS AND CONGRESSES 

Fairs and Congresses 

ALUMINIUM 

October, 07-09, 2014, Düsseldorf/Germany 

www.aluminium-messe.com 

11th China International Foundry Expo 2014 

October, 14-16, 2014, Shanghai/China 

www.bciffe.com 

Metallurgy India 

October, 28-30, 2014, Mumbai/India 

www.metallurgy-india.com 

ISIC - International Seminar of Investment Casting 

November, 08-10, 2014, Kaohsiung/Taiwan 

www.foundry.org.tw 

CastTec 2014 

November, 20-21, 2014, Bielefeld/Germany 

www.casttec2014.de 

EuroMold 2014 

November, 25-28, 2014, Frankfurt/Germany 

www.euromold.com 

5th International Foundry Congress & Exhibition 

December, 02-03, 2014, Lahore/Pakistan 

www.pfa.org.pk/info/5th-IFCE/21/0 

ALUCAST 2014 

December, 04-06, 2014, Bangalore/India 

www.alucast.co.in 

Advertisers‘ Index 

AGTOS Ges. für technische Oberflächensysteme mbH 47 

voestalpine Böhler Welding GmbH 9 

Büro für angewandte Mineralogie 36 

Giesserei Verlag GmbH 53 

GLAMA Maschinenbau GmbH 25 

GTP Schäfer GmbH 53 

Hüttenes-Albertus Chemische Werke GmbH 60 

Inspectomation GmbH 23 

Interall S.r.l. 49 

Jasper Ges. für Energiewirtschaft & Kybernetik mbH 19 

Klein Anlagenbau AG 39 

Küttner GmbH & Co. KG 55 

Meltech Ltd. 51 

Messe Düsseldorf GmbH 7 

Reed Exhibitions (Deutschland) GmbH 54 

Refratechnik Casting GmbH 2 

RGU GmbH 43 

RWP GmbH 41 

STEIN INJECTION TECHNOL. GmbH 45 


PREVIEW / IMPRINT K 

Preview of the next issue 

Publication date: 5 December 2014 

Selection of topics: 

Temperature measurement during 

casting at Euro Metal in Budapest. 

Railway technology business provides 

a solid basis for the iron foundry 

(Photo: Warren Richardson) 

R. Piterek: Hub for rail technology in southeast Europe 

The Hungarian iron foundry Euro Metal, which belongs to the German foundry group DIHAG, casts brake parts for trains in the Hungarian 

capital Budapest. Together with a German and a Polish foundry, the company covers the markets in Europe 

Special: South America 

With over 200 million people, Brazil is the most populous country in South America. When it comes to foundry products, the four-time 

world champion in football is ranked 7th worldwide with an annual production of around 3.3 million tons. In addition to Brazil, Argentina 

and Chile are also interesting foundry nations in South America. The special gives an overview of the region’s potencials and risks 

N. Erhard et al: Modern pressure die-casting – fit for the future with innovations! 

The article gives an overview of the state of the art in hot and cold-chambered pressure die-casting machines. The modern plants provide 

opportunities for die-casting foundries such as real-time control or priming or the so-called Vacural process for the manufacture of weldable 

die-castings 

Imprint 

Pub lish er: 

Ger man Foundry As so ci a tion 

Ed i tor in Chief : 

Michael Franken M.A. 

Ed i tor: 

Robert Piterek M.A. 

Ed i to ri al As sist ant: 

Ruth Fran gen berg-Wol ter 

P.O. Box 10 51 44 

D-40042 Düsseldorf 

Tele phone: (+49-2 11) 68 71-358 

Tele fax: (+49-2 11) 68 71-365 

E-mail: re dak tion@bdguss.de 

Pub lished by: 

Gies se rei-Ver lag GmbH 

P.O. Box 10 25 32 

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Tele phone: (+49-2 11) 69936-200 

Tele fax: (+49-2 11) 69936-225 

E-Mail: cpt@stah lei sen.de 

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ISSN 0935-7262 


HÜTTENES-ALBERTUS 

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CPT International 03/2014

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