Manufacturing Technology Blog

Iron Alloy

2012-06-20T10:05:00.001-07:00

Iron alloys can be described as alloys which have iron as the principal component. Iron is used as a constituent in majority of the commercial alloys. For example, iron is the major component of wrought and cast iron and wrought and cast steel. Iron can also be alloyed with manganese, silicon, vanadium, chromium, molybdenum, niobium, selenium, titanium, phosphorus, or other elements for

Cast Iron Alloy

2012-06-16T12:28:00.003-07:00

The term Cast Iron can be described as a large family of ferrous alloy. These alloys contain 2-4% carbon, along with silicon, manganese. Cast irons are manufactured and produced in specified shapes for processing by machining, heat treating, or assembly. Sometimes, to meet specific requirement it can be forged or rolled. Casts iron are produced by melting pig iron and then combining it with steel

Ferrous Alloys

2012-06-16T11:54:00.003-07:00

Ferrous alloys are iron based alloys which have found extensive usage in wide range of industries because of its flexibility to meet strength, toughness, and impact of diverse industrial applications. This flexibility depends on the heat treatment processes and methods, which modifies the final micro-structure. Examples of ferrous alloys include carbon steels, stainless steels, alloy steels, tool

Semi-Solid Metal Casting to Reduce Costs

2012-06-08T03:46:00.002-07:00

Semi-solid metal casting (SSM) is a virtually net shape production process which gives manufacturers and users of copper alloy parts a substitute and, in several cases, an economical way to manufacture bulk quantities of parts with superior component quality compared to conventional pressure die casting technique. The capability to apply SSM casting or die-casting with metal in a semi-solid state

Best Foundry Practices

2012-06-08T01:17:00.001-07:00

The metal casting industry has been, and continues to be, an integral component of the industrial backbone of several nations across the world. The industry provides employment to a large number of people and supplies huge amount of castings thereby impacting almost every other industrial and commercial sector. The metal casting industry is also an important recycler of metal scrap, a major

Metal Piles at China Ports indicating sluggish growth

2012-06-07T21:17:00.001-07:00

A reddish-gray mountain range is springing up across China’s eastern seaboard, casting a shadow over the nation’s economy. The mountains are iron ore, a crucial import which’s a lifeline to the world’s largest steel producer, and their size has become a telling, even if imperfect, signal of the Chinese economy’s sharp, sudden sputter. Iron ore stockpiles at Chinese ports this week reached an

Europe steel body asks EU to safeguard imports of metal scrap

2012-06-07T20:51:00.001-07:00

Eurofer has asked Commission to watch and act on trade barriers * Recyclers, scrap traders are worried by increasing protectionism * About 30 countries including Ukraine, Russia restrict exports LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) - Europe's steel industry association Eurofer has asked the EU's executive Commission to monitor and possibly act against nations outside the bloc which restrict exports of raw

New Livonia recycling plant pays cash for metal, electronics

2012-06-07T08:42:00.002-07:00

LIVONIA, Mich. (WJBK) - Every day it's a surprise to see what shows up at Advanced Recycling on Merriman. The recycling plant that specializes in metal and plastic recycling, opened for business in mid-May. According to its owner Michael Bassirpour they're the first metal recycling facility in Livonia. "We buy metal from industrial accounts, manufacturing companies, local residents

Boliden Expands WEEE Recycling Capacity in Sweden

2012-06-07T08:31:00.001-07:00

Swedish metals company, Boliden (STO:BOL) has officially opened a SEK 1.3 billion ($181 million) new expansion of its electronics recycling facility at the Ronnskar copper smelting plant, with a capacity of 120,000 tonnes per year. According to company announcement the increased use of electronic products, shorter product lifecycles and stricter legislation governing electronic waste, means

Things Looking Good for the New Scrap-Metal Plant in Riverton

2012-06-07T08:17:00.001-07:00

RIVERTON – A new scrap-metal recycling plant has started processing test samples and plans to ramp up its production capacity in the coming months. S.I.C. Recycling Inc., a subsidiary of Assumption-based Sloan Implement Co., started the plant just south of Interstate 72 earlier this year. The project got funding of more than $900,000 in financial incentives from the state. “Things have been

Novel Casting Process Could Change the Way Complex Metal Parts Are Made

2012-06-06T10:15:00.003-07:00

A Georgia Tech research team has developed a novel technology which could transform how industry designs and casts complex, expensive metal parts. This new casting technique makes possible faster prototype development times, as well as more efficient and cost-effective manufacturing processes after a part moves to mass production. Suman Das, a professor in the George W. Woodruff School of

Pittsburg State Organised Metal Casting Training

2012-06-06T09:23:00.001-07:00

Pittsburg State University conducted its 12th annual Investment Casting Institute's Industry Certification Course. This year 30 people signed up for the training, coming from parts of the world. Investment casting is used to produce precision parts for various of industries from auto manufacturing to orthopedic implants. Today the students used the PSU foundry to pour molten metal into forms

Challenges to the US Metal Casting Industry

2008-08-25T03:46:00.000-07:00

Metal casting is one of the oldest and most important industrial sector of United States. The industry was first established in 1642 in the US and since then has helped the country to become the world's most admired industrial nation in manufacturing, science, defense, medicine and aerospace. Fundamental to the America's economy, metal casting continues to play an important role in the success of

World Leaders in Casting Production

2008-08-25T00:31:00.002-07:00

According the 41st Census of World casting Production, the world metal casting production reached 91.4 million tons in 2006 – an increase of 7.2% over the previous year. Of this total increase, ferrous castings saw an increase of 6.6% while non-ferrous castings grew by 10%. According to the report, China is way ahead in the race with a reported production of 28.1 million tons in 2006. The

An Introduction to the Casting Molds

2008-08-18T23:52:00.000-07:00

Metal casting is generally a manufacturing process wherein a liquid material is emptied into a mold, which comprises a hollow opening of the desired form or shape and is then allowed to solidify. This solidified casting is then removed and broken out so as to complete the procedure.While sand is used as the primary mold material, there is a metal that is used as the mold. Typically, a cast

Major Cast Metals – Characteristics & Applications

2008-08-14T03:36:00.000-07:00

Although a variety of metals are used in metal casting, the major ones are Grey Iron, Ductile Iron, Aluminum, Steel and Copper Base. These cast metals are listed below, with their percentage usage, characteristics and applications -Grey Iron Use – 54%Characteristics – Heat resistance, damping, economical, low shrinkage and high fluidity.Applications - Automobile cylinder block, clutch plate,

Important Rules to Make Good Castings

2008-08-12T00:44:00.000-07:00

In the recent few years, we have witnessed a considerable improvement in our knowledge of metal casting methods and techniques. With this enhanced understanding, the list of requirements has been consistently corrected as they have become known. Industry experts have identified several rules and

Learn the Basics of Metal Casting Crucibles

2008-08-08T04:08:00.000-07:00

A crucible can be defined as a pot in which a metal is held, while it is melt in a furnace. It is generally made of clay graphite and silicon carbide.Crucibles Shapes:Metal casting crucibles come in two shapes – “A” shape and Bilge shape.Bilge shaped crucibles have the shape of a barrel. The region in the middle part of the crucible is known as bilge, which is the widest part of the crucible and

Recycled Foundry Sand – Uses & Applications

2008-08-06T05:29:00.000-07:00

Recycled Foundry Sand can be defined as a resultant product of the of the ferrous and nonferrous metal casting industry, where sand has been used for centuries as a molding material because of its superior thermal conductivity. In present day foundries, sand is generally recycled and reused through different production cycles. According to industry experts, approximately 100 million tons of sand

Copper – An Introduction to the Versatile Metal

2008-08-04T23:41:00.000-07:00

For around 5 millennia, copper was the only metal known to man, and hence has all the possible metal applications. It was the 1st metal mined and produced by man, and has great significance in older

Aluminum : Facts Behind the Metal

2008-08-04T03:20:00.000-07:00

A metallic element with symbol Al, aluminum is the 3rd most plentiful element of Earth's crust, behind that of oxygen and silicon. The metal has strong affinity towards oxygen and hence is not found in the elemental form but in combined states, such as silicates or oxides.Bauxite is the main mineral ore of aluminum, which is abundantly available in tropical areas, such as - Africa, the West

Metal Casting Applications in Japan

2008-08-02T04:33:00.000-07:00

As like in Germany, the uses and applications of CAD solid modeling are limited in Japan. Again, as enabling technique for rapid prototyping (RP) machines, a CAD solid model should be designed before a component can be fabricated. The applications of 2-D CAD is very common in Japan. Mostly a 2D CAD

Advantages of Die Castings Over Plastic Components

2008-07-31T23:51:00.000-07:00

A highly preferred casting method among manufacturers and designers, die casting is an efficient and economical process that offers several advantages for creating parts and components. Because of these advantages, die casting becomes an obvious choice when selecting a manufacturing process for a

EASTPO 2008 - 10th Shanghai International Machine Tool Fair

2008-07-30T03:05:00.000-07:00

World's largest consumer of machine tools – China, hosted the 10th edition of the premier manufacturing technology show in Shanghai, the eastern city of the country. The event was held from 9th July to 12th July in the Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC) and by seeing the overwhelming response of the exhibitors and visitors, experts are considering it has a huge success.The event,

Buying Tips - Cast Metal Components

2008-07-29T22:59:00.000-07:00

Cast metal components are not products, which are generally bought out from market; most often they are custom made objects, designed and engineered to meet the specific requirements of a particular customer. As such, we can say that cast components high value and high volume commodity items, where price is the main buying criterion.Cast components are considered as high-value manufacturing