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Global trends in foundry technology and

casting production

Dr.-Ing. Gotthard Wolf, German Foundry AssociationFarouk Varachia, Metal Casting Technology Station, SA

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Content:

> some statistics

> market trends

> basic expectations of our customers

> technical trends

> the South Africa foundry industry tomorrow

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Foundry production in the world 2009

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Market trends for the foundry industry

> market volume

> global or regional market

> tendencies

> technical trends

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Specific consumption of castingsto

per

1 M

io. €

adde

d va

lue

Quelle: DGV, ifo-institut

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Worldwide movement of castings consumption

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Shipping costs and container shipping times

USA

Europa

Indien

9 ct pro kgDuration 30 Days

10 ct pro kgDuration: 50 Days 11 ct pro kg

Duration: 65 Days

11 ct pro kgDuration 30 Days

9ct pro kgDuration: 25 Days

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Global or regional casting market?

Arguments pro and contra Global Regional

Logistic(Just in time / Shipping time / Safety of production)

-- ++

Quality costs - +

Development partnership - - ++

Cultural differences - +

WagesProduction costs Materials

Energy

++00

- -00

Forced local content(castings with high valence)

+ -

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Tendencies

1. The regional casting markets will dominate

2. In medium-term the production will follow the key market

3. The European and American market remains but the economic growth will be in Asia

4. Following the OEMs, companies build their new automotive foundries in the emerging markets.

5. We will see a regional casting market but global enterprises

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Growing markets for castings until 2015 (Basis 2010)

Germany Europe NAFTA / USA Asia

Automotive ++ 0 (+) 0 ++

Engineering ++ ++ - +

Energy management

+ + + ++

Construction industry

- 0 0 ++

Electronics - - - ++

Ship building - 0 - 0

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Technical trends

> Enlargement of the added value chain> Development partner> Inhouse machining

> Start-optimazation of production> reaching the Crest-line> process planning

> Trend towards complex light weight castings> Complex castings> Minimization of wall thickness> multi-material-castings

> Energy and material efficient foundry process

> Low-emission – moulding and core sands

> Avoiding of non added value steps in production> Heat treatment> minimizing of fins and fettling

> Automatisation of foundry processes

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The portion of the added value of automobile supplier industry will arise clearly pro-rata and absolut

Quelle: VDA 2004

Production automobiles

(in million pieces)

Supplier and

Service Provider

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Enlargement of added value chain

Casting production

Enlargement of in-house production depth- machining- assembly of modules

Development performancecomponent design

design-/component calculation

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Basis expectations of the customer to the development partner:

Support in component development

abilitiy for data handling

guaranteed component properties and costs at time of quotation (series production readiness)

process and component optimazation during running serial production

cooperation with service providers (special know-how)

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Basics for Function Layout and Design

Product and Function Know-how

- function of module

- integration of module

- design criterions

- calculation of the ‘component strength‘

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Start-optimazation by specific start- and quality management with all partners of supplier chain

Quelle: VDA 2004 Days of production

Unitsper day

Crest-line

Goal Additional production time

= additional costs/

loss in turnover

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Importance of process planning phasewill increase

> Time frame is getting closer

> Standards with regard to the calculatory accurancywill rise

> Components will be designed closer to the ‘limits‘, so the process frame is getting closer

> Process control and compliance of assured properties in competition to alternativ production technics are demanded intensively

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Process planning with traditional tools due to the compexity of pocesses and demands on the accurancy of the planning are at their limits

New tool:

Computer aided process-simulation

> of all subprocesses in terms of production planning> of the total process in terms of sequence planning

and optimazation of the total costs

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Complex light weight castings(e.g. Fluid management housing)

Quelle: Verband der Aluminiumrecycling-Industrie e.V. (VAR)

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Minimaziation of wall thickness(e.g. Crankcase, grey cast iron)

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Multi-material castings(steel sheet / Aluminium casting)

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Energy and material efficient foundry processes

Changing the focus from

end-of-the-pipe-technologies

> air cleaning with scrubbers

> dumping of waste material

to

integrated environmental protection

> low grade emission processes

> minimization of process materials

> energy efficiency and CO2-reduction

> low emission products

> reuse of recycled products

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Energy and material efficient foundry processes(Recycling of moulding sand, dust and slag - Inside and Outside the Foundry)

Cementproduction

Foundryroad constructionasphalt production

Mining industry

raw materials

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0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

Ben

zol [

mg/

m²]

1 2

Benzol

Serien-Furanharz-System Askuran LS-System (Neuentwicklung)

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

Tolu

ol [m

g/m

³]

1

Toluol

Serien-Furanharz-System Askuran LS-System (Neuentwicklung)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Xylo

l [m

g/m

³]

1

Xylol

Serien-Furanharz-System Askuran LS-System (Neuentwicklung)

Low emission - moulding and core sands(No Bake Binder, BTX emissions)

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0,000

0,010

0,020

0,030

0,040

0,050

0,060

0,070

0,080

0,090

BTX

[%]

Coldbox-Biosystem Coldbox-KlassischesSystem

Coldbox-Silikatsystem Coldbox-Lösungsmittelfrei

Fe-Bindersystem / Fe-binder system

Benzol / benzene[%] Toluol / toluene [%] Xylol / xylene [%]

Low emission – moulding and core sands(Cold box binder, BTX emissions)

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Avoiding of non added value steps in production(e.g. Heat treatment of cast iron)

Energy consumption:

Melting: 550 - 800 kWh/t

Ferritizing/:Perlitizing 650 - 750 kWh/t

Stress reliefheat treatment: 350 - 450 kWh/t

Avoidable by modern process technology

No added value!

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Avoiding of non added value steps in production(Minimizing of fettling by avoiding fins and joint flash)

Quelle:

as cast as cast too!

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Automatisation in core shop

Deburring

For automatic deburring with robots brushes ortemplates are used.

Remaining burrs are removedwith the help of a string ofpearls, before the core isput down and broughtto moulding.

[Source: www.robotec.de]

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Automatisation in core shop

Automatic coating of cores is at the today's timestate of the art.

[Source: www.robotec.de]

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Automatisation – Moulding Plant

The robot cell has three different stations

> Depalletizing of the cores andturning over the empty corepackages

> Setting cores and filters

> Unpacking and suppling filters

[Source: Giesserei 94 (2007) Nr. 7, Seite 70-72 ]

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Main challenges regarding the productiontechnology in foundries

Expansion of the value added chain by:- building of an extended development capacity- integrating machining as well as assembly capacities in the foundries

Trend towards complex lightweight construction castings- Rise in number of patterns because assembly variants will disappear- Demand for individual material properties - Reduction of planning stage and start-up time- Development of production flexibility and new logistics patterns

Constant refinement of production technology and production control to meet the demands ot these complex circumstances

> High capital asset in automation and mechanical processing

Skills and qualification of staff must grow accordingly