Wire LI
In our experience, many foundries have “white” iron in their pouring devices. Additionally, some castings may require a higher level of inoculation due to thin sections. Sometimes inexplicable cementite defects affect castings in the mould, even after in-stream inoculation. The question that arises is: is the in-stream inoculation sufficient to restore the correct level of nucleation in the iron?
In this case it is necessary to introduce a new two-step control logic for inoculation.
ITACA Wire LI has been specially designed to help with the nucleation in the pouring bowl, prior to late inoculation.
THE TWO-STEPS INOCULATION PROCESS
Taking advantage of the total integration and evaluating the quality of the iron for casting in production, ITACA X™ may decide to divide the inoculation process between ITACA Stream and ITACA Wire LI, in order to:
• Optimize the inoculant consumption, by using the correct timing for the dosing;
• Improve the mechanical properties, such as hardness and tensile strength;
• Reduce the scrap rate of the castings.
Based on thermal analysis results, ITACA X™ communicates with ITACA Wire™ and ITACA Stream™ to
optimize the efficiency of the inoculation process.
This is much more important in the case of particular castings, with very thin section, or after a production stop with iron inside pouring furnace.
Using the two-steps late inoculation , it is possible to:
- Achieve higher inoculation yield
- Reduce the consumption of in-stream inoculant, avoiding the waste of inoculant powder that can deposit on the surface of the mould
- Ensure that all the added inoculant goes into the molten iron
- Intensify inoculation level for specific/difficult castings (thin wall, higher mechanical properties requirements, …)
The system can be connected to the pouring device, using the input signal from the stopper start and stop controller.
Stand Alone Version
- High precision wire injection (+/- 0,1%)
- Variable injection speed based on pouring flowrate
- Possible connection with foundry database
- Automatic start and stop (connection with stopper required)
- Up to 150 calibration
Integrated Version (in addition)
- With ITACA X: modification of inoculation level based on nucleation of final iron
- With ITACA X + ITACA Stream: possibility to split final inoculation to improve addition yield
- All data saved inside ITACA X database for deeper process analysis
