During the 1980s the steel plants' production needed the integration of elements such as additives and inoculants to improve the metal treatment process.
After a little while iron foundries themselves, producing nodular iron castings, identified the same necessity for ladle treatment of cast iron.
The state of the art regarding the ladle treatment methods though has developed over the years from the Sandwich ladle treatment method to the Tundish ladle treatment method and finally to the Cored wire treatment method.
In the last few years the Cored wire treatment method has represented the latest innovation in terms of cast iron treatment processes.
Such system distinguishes itself from previous methods because it guarantees bath homogeneity and it ensures control on the alloy quantity inserted in the bath.
Fassmet has been able to apply such advantages to its Cored wire system by advancing:
- The state of art of the mechanics: Fassmet Cored wire feeder allows the insertion of one or more cored wires within the same treatment cycle. The wires are injected directly inside the ladle. In case of spheroidization, the magnesium reaction is guaranteed to happen repeatedly at the bottom of the ladle once ladle has been filled with liquid cast iron. With one Fassmet cored wire feeder, cast iron can be treated for inoculation, spheroidization and any other alternative treatment. Such treatments’ customization is preconfigured; such configuration can be changed at any time the foundry has the necessity to without incurring in high costs of substitution of the entire equipment;
- The related automation: Fassmet program allows to control accurately time and injection speed of the cored wire so that the exact alloy quantity is introduced in the ladle, to configure autonomously and store settings of cored wire specifics and treatment specifics for treatments’ repeatability, to store of all treatment cycles for production traceability. Furthermore, Fassmet allows to customize the program in the native language and to conveniently export all data acquired. Finally Fassmet grants technical remote assistance to avoid as much as possible any kind of problem in real time when using such system.
- The designing of the Cored wire station: specific design and engineering of the station is developed and customized each time for the foundry in order to meet the specific needs and ensure an optimized installation of the Cored wire system for the safety of the foundry operators and the overall working environment. In such way, Fassmet is able to guarantee the minimum impact of the fumes and the sparks generated during treatment time as well as to maintain efficiently the use of the treatment ladle over a long period of time. Where possible, Fassmet is able to adjust its Cored wire system to work with pre-existing treatment ladles without again incurring in further costs of substitution.
Fassmet Cored wire systems allow to fasten the treatments’ time and to treat cast iron quantities from a few hundred kilograms up to several tons in the most efficient and safest way possible for the foundry operator as well as the foundry overall.
