Controlling Parameters for

Energy Savings at various Stages of

Grey & Ductile Iron Casting
Production
S. K. Paknikar
Metallurgical & Foundry Consultant, Pune, E-mail : skpaknikar@gmail.com

Introduction such a way that during melting, electrical energy be at as

In the present scenario, production of quality castings
with economical parameters at all stages is very
important. It starts from melting stage to fettling, heat
treatment and machining processes. So, saving of energy
in all sections of foundry has to be strictly followed by
the engineers and shop-floor foundrymen in all types of
foundries. Then only foundries can be in tune with the
Honourable Prime Minister’s slogan “Make in India” and
can enter the global casting market successfully.
minimum as possible. Please note that the cost of melting
is about one-third of the total cost of castings. Quality
and the chemical composition of each raw material like
pig iron, C.R.C.A. steel scrap and pure metals like copper,
nickel etc. must be very pure pig iron like sorel metal can
be used to maintain the metallurgical quality of liquid
metal (Fig. 1).

Stages of Production
Production stages in a foundry are as follows :
• Selection of raw materials for castings.
• Melting of metal in furnace.
• Repairing and patching of furnace.
• Mould and core making processes.
• Tapping the liquid metal from furnace and pouring
into moulds.
• Shake-out of casting and reclaiming returned sand,
cooling of sand.
• Fettling/machining of casting, cleaning of casting
and casting surface finishing. Fig. 1 : Effective use of Sorel high duty pig iron.
• Heat treatment if required to control the mechanical
properties. Melting of Metal in Induction Furnace
• Microscopic examination and N.D.T. Testing. • The sequence of addition of different raw materials
charged into furnace is very important as it will
Practical Tips to Control Energy and Cost of
decide the total time of one heat that is energy
Castings consumption in “kWh” for one heat.
Practical tips to save electrical energy, manual energy, to
• The spectroscopic analysis during melting must be
follow the correct procedure to achieve correct quality
of casting and keep product cost at competitive rate in displayed in the melting shop so that the chemical
global or Indian market are as follows: composition of liquid metal can be controlled
precisely. Figure 3 refers to Chemical composition
Selection of Raw Materials for particular grade of It can also be controlled by using Carbon Equivalent
casting
Meter and the cooling curves on the Meter are as
Raw materials required for melting should be selected in shown in Fig. 2.

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Vol. 62 • No. 9• September 2016 Indian Foundry Journal
 Fig. 2 : Use of C.E. Meter and Cooling Curves.

Fig. 3 : Chemical composition in melting shop.

• Use of modern instrument based on Laser to

measure temperature of liquid metal which is more
instant and can be recorded efficiently resulting in
savings of manpower in Melting Shop ( Figs. 4 & 5).
Moulding and Core Making
• Properties of green sand has to be measured not
by old processes but by Laser Instruments which is
the most accurate and done instantly by modern B
methods, saving a lot of energy for testing of Fig. 4 : Use of laser temperature measurement.

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Indian Foundry Journal Vol. 62 • No. 9 • September 2016

Fig. 5 : Recording of temperature and variation of energy.
properties of sand used for moulding by green sand
moulding process (Fig. 6).
Fig. 6 : Use of laser to measure AFS fineness of
silica sand.
Tapping the Liquid Metal from Furnace and Pouring
into Moulds
• Tapping temperature should not be too higher
than the solidus line of the grade of metal as per
composition. There are possibilities of occurring
defects, like shrinkage defects, in castings. If it is too
low, then casting defects like cold shut or misrun
may form in castings.
Shake-out Time for Casting and Reclaiming Returned
Sand, Cooling of Sand
• The shake-out of casting is also important, if the
castings are taken out before they are not completely
solidified, cracks may be observed in the castings.
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Vol. 62 • No. 9• September 2016
• During knock-out, there is a mixture of burnt silica
sand and core sand, which are to be separated before
sending sand for reuse. Here also a large amount
of energy can be saved by using newly developed
proper techniques.
Fettling, Cleaning and Surface Finishing of Castings
• Fettling of casting section is mostly neglected by
foundrymen. However, it is important to achieve
good surface finish and quality of castings. There
is tremendous scope of energy savings during
finishing of castings.
• It also reduces cost of castings, which is one of
the important factors to be considered. It further
improves the aesthetic look of casting in as-cast
condition. Some customers insist on this factor.
Heat Treatment to Control the Mechanical Properties
• If strength of casting is to be enhanced by heat
treatment as per specifications, then energy
requirement increases. However, if heat treatment
like annealing, just to remove internal stress, can be
avoided, then there will be energy savings.
Microstructure Examination and NDT Testing
• Microstructure of castings is very important as
all mechanical properties are dependent on
microstructure of castings, as per various grades of
castings. If modern techniques are used in casting
preparation, then a lot of manual energy can be
saved.
• Modern techniques of etching after polishing are
also useful to confirm the microstructure of casting.
Modern machines are available for etching, which
save energy.
• For some specifications, Non-Destructive Testing
(NDT) is necessary. In such cases, modern NDT
Testing is done to find out defects in sub-surface of
castings on-line to reduce energy requirements for
identifying internal defects in castings in order to
find out the root cause of defect forming.
Conclusion
Focussing on energy savings at various stages of
production to reduce cost as well as conserve natural
resources is need of the hour for moving towards smart
foundry.
Indian Foundry Journal