vol 15 no 4 - castings sa...southern africa the science, technology and application of ... metal...

castings sa vol 15 no 4 December 2014 1

Castings SAvol 15 no 4ISSN 1605-7589

Publishing EditorBruce Crawford

Online EditorDamon Crawford

Editorial BoardMarc Hindle

Production ManagerWendy Crawford

ReproductionJericho Graphic Design

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Advertising Bruce Crawford/Wendy CrawfordTel: +27 11 463 0489Cell: + 27 83 628 7654E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.castingssa.co.za

castings sa is published by BA Crawford Specialised Publications (Pty) Ltd. PO Box 69 299, Bryanston, South Africa, 2021

41 Arklow Road, Bryanston, South Africa, 2021

Tel: + 27 11 463 0489E-mail: [email protected]

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CopyrightAll rights reserved. No editorial matter published in Castings SA may be reproduced in any form or language without written permission of the publishers. While every effort is made to ensure accurate reproduction the editor, authors, publishers and their employees or agents shall not be responsible or in any way liable for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies in the publication whether arising from negligence or otherwise or for any consequences arising therefrom. The inclusion or exclusion of any product does not mean that the publisher or editorial board advocates or rejects its use either generally or in any particular field or fields.

castings sa, published every second month, is the official journal of the South African Institute of Foundrymen (SAIF). The information and ideas presented in castings sa do not necessarily reflect the position of the SAIF staff, executive, advisors, sponsors or members.

4 cover storyThe world’s largest coreless induction furnace – ABP Induction

8 industry newsPressure Die Casting; Wage dispute; Insimbi; AFSA; New scrap metals policy; Eskom bailout; Seifsa; Dickinson Group; Exports affecting local companies; The Weir way; Titanium products; Grohe; New services supplier emerges; the dti; Wanderers Engineering; SA’s mineral resources; Procor; SAIF 2014 Annual Golf Day; GIFA/NEWCAST 2015

38 international newsASK Chemicals honoured; Steel vs aluminium; Alcoa moves into 3-D printing; Vacuum oxygen decarburisation; Brembo; German foundry research; Titanium aluminide turbine blades; EMO Milano 2015

46 product review Solimotion FTR20 bulk solids motion detector;High-stability ceramic core material; Bruker Q2 ION metal analyser; Aluminium-oxide cutting wheels

castings saA specialised journal covering the technology,

processors and materials field for castings

volume 15 number 4December 2014

2 castings sa vol 15 no 4 December 2014

EditOR’S COMMEntEffective communication

The impressions of most South Africans visiting an international exhibition,

whether it is in Germany, Japan or the USA, is one of amazement at the size of the exhibition, the technology on display and the professionalism that they experience. With every exhibitor keen to stay ahead of the competition an exhibition presents an ideal opportunity for the company to present ‘what’s new’ to a broader audience, and the information overload can

become daunting. Despite this, reactions include “Why did I not think of that before?” and “Wow! I wish I could afford to incorporate ‘that’ into my production environment”.

For those of us that have been attending these exhibitions for some time we have seen enormous strides in new equipment offerings and technology developments. The design of the machines has changed radically, and the automation and tools that are driving them now were hard to imagine 20 years ago. However, today virtually anything is possible with the electronic and ‘smart’ era that we are currently experiencing.

“The control systems used to run machines are morphing into units that imitate our mobile phones, tablets and other portable devices, both in appearance and functionality. Wi-Fi capability will be the norm. That seeming-ly shapeless concept of computing and storing data in the cloud is shaping up to be a realm of unlimited capacity and power,” is how one scribe describes it.

With all this technology available to us today it is still the ‘basics’ that keep us going, and it amazes me how we do not pay attention these. On one trip recently a number of us South Africans were ‘networking’ on the afternoon before the exhibition began. The outcome was that three different company representatives travelled to Germany to find out that their companies supplied each other in one way or another. They did not know this until they met up in Germany.

There could be a number of reasons for this but it still highlighted that communication, whether in the written or verbal form, is a dialogue for us to stay informed. Sharing information with others and allowing the “free-flow of meaning between people” is necessary to communicate effectively throughout your organisation, no matter how big or small. It allows you to improve current practices, develop better products, install new business growth strategies, and address employee performance issues and more. It can be argued that effective communication is critical to every company’s success.

When an organisation fails to communicate effectively, everyone loses. Good ideas don’t get heard, and opportunities are missed. Problems are discovered too late to take corrective action. Needed changes do not receive the necessary support and are not adopted. Perhaps most important of all, the best possible decisions are not always made.

Effective communication is critical among owners, managers and all employees in order for a company to truly be successful.

The aim of the SAIF is to promote and develop within Southern Africa the science, technology and application of founding for individuals and involved industries.

Membership Fees for 2014Junior MemberR100.00 per annum

Individual MemberR700.00 per annum

Company Member - less than 150 employees R3 000.00 per annum

Company Member - more than 150 employeesR6 000.00 per annum

Retired Member R330.00 per annum

International Member R2 000.00 per annum

All prices include VAT

Council Appointments for 2014/2015President - Takalani Madzivhandila Vice President - Janley Kotze Treasurer - Justin de Beer Constitutional Members

Immediate Past President - Enno Krueger

Elected MembersAndrew McFarlane Adrie El Mohamadi David Mertens Colin Smit Bruce Crawford Cyprian KyaluJohn Davies Dalmari McQueenKevin van Niekerk Joshua van FlymanNigel Pardoe

Western CapePresident - Mike KillainFinancial & Technical Speakers - Dean Horne & Sean StadlerAdministration - Kevin MissenheimerSocial Co-ordinator & Technical Speakers - Mike Killain

Address detailsUniversity of Johannesburg Metal Casting Technology Station - Metallurgy Room G101, John Orr Building, Corner Siemert and Beit Street, Doornfontein, Johannesburg, Gauteng. Postal Address: P.O. Box 14863, Wadeville, 1422.

John Davies - Tel: +27 (11) 559 6468; Cell: 083 630 2809; email: [email protected]

Executive Secretary - Tel: +27 (11) 559 6455; Fax: +27 (11) 559 6526; email: [email protected]

Website: www.foundries.org.za

Contact details for Western Cape: Mike Killian - Cell: 082 442 3785

south african institute of foundrymen


cover story

ABP Induction has recently supplied the largest and most powerful coreless induction furnace in the world rated at 65 000 kgs capacity and powered with a 42 000kW

converter.“Despite the economic woes we have had a very successful

period over the last two years. A notable contract was to build ‘the largest induction melting plant in the world’. The project at Taiyuan Iron and Steel Group Ltd. (Tisco), at Taiyuan in China’s Shanxi Province, was completed earlier this year,” said Dr. Wolfgang Andree, President of the ABP Induction Group, which has a centre of excellence in Dortmund, Germany and operations around the globe in Japan, China, Thailand, India, Russia, Sweden, Germany, Brazil, Mexico and USA.

“Tisco’s order called for a melt shop capable of producing 180 metric tons per hour of ferrochrome, pouring at a temperature of 1,670°C, to produce stainless steel. The determining factor in the design of this high-volume melt shop was the economic advantage of induction melting over arc melting (which is more common in steelmaking operations),

based on significantly lower material losses as a result of the combustion process — specifically, the chromium used to produce stainless alloys.”

“Fifty metric tons from an induction furnace with a tap-to-tap time of 60 minutes is a tremendous achievement, and requires a lot of power,” noted Dr. Andree.

“The furnaces installed include two IFM 9 vessels, from ABP’s line of medium-frequency coreless furnaces for melting and holding ferrous or nonferrous metals. The two units installed have capacities of 30 metric tons, powered by 24,000-kW and a 3,000-kW induction power source. In addition, six IFM furnaces were supplied with capacities of 65 metric tons and powered by three 42,000-kW power supplies and three more 1,800-kW sources.”

“The melt shop design was enhanced by the inclusion of the Ecotop system — a welded steel, refractory-lined furnace hood that attaches to the vessel with a floating system to seal the melt from the atmosphere. A telescoping duct optimises exhaust gas removal.”

The world’s largest coreless induction furnace –

ABP Induction

The ABP medium frequency induction melting system consists of two IFM 9 vessels, from ABP’s line of medium-frequency coreless furnaces for melting and holding ferrous or nonferrous metals. The two units installed have capacities of

30 metric tons, powered by 24,000-kW and a 3,000-kW induction power source. In addition, six IFM furnaces were supplied with capacities of 65 metric tons and powered by three 42,000-kW power supplies and three more 1,800-kW sources

A similarly large-scale induction melting installation took place in India.

“Nalwa Steel & Power contacted ABP Induction to build a melt shop capable of producing 700 metric tons/day of direct reduced iron. It is one of the largest DRI operations in India. The plant melts of 85% DRI to a tapping temperature of 1,640°C, and the liquid metal is transferred to 32- and 38-metric ton ladle furnaces for refining, to produce steel.”

“ABP supplied two 30-metric ton capacity IFM furnaces with a 16,000- kW power source based on ABP’s Twin-Power

concept: a single power source that distributes the energy supply ‘steplessly’ to two induction furnaces, with no switch time losses or overheating in the melt.”

“The two furnaces have the Ecotop fume-extraction system, as well as an automated slag-skimming capability. Also, ABP provided two ladle refining furnaces, 32 metric tons and 38 metric tons, with an electrical rating of 7.2 MVA.”

“The major deciding factor for the decision in ABP’s favour was its advanced automation, high-energy melt process, ABP’s Ecotop system, and the automated slag remover that reduces the number of operating personal. Thirty metric tons

from an induction furnace with a tap-to-tap time of 120 minutes for 85% sponge requires a lot of automation,” Dr. Andree added.

High powered coreless induction furnaces type IFM

ABP Induction medium-frequency coreless induction furnaces Type IFM are utilised for melting and holding ferrous and non-ferrous metals and have a melting capacity of 8 to 65 tons. The furnaces connection capacity is rated at 3 to 42 MW. Coreless induction furnaces of Type IFM are available in various configurations. Type IFM has a high melting rate of up to 52 tons an hour, continuous automatic furnace monitoring and low noise emission.

When asked about the South African operation Dr. Andree said “Essentially we offer turnkey solutions to industry and our strategic aim for ABP Induction Furnaces, Johannesburg is to operate as a service hub for the whole South African market. Sustainable technology plus sustainable partnership will be the main reasons of our future success.”

For further details contact ABP Induction Furnaces on TEL: 011 623 1814/17 or cell number 072 158 1117 or email [email protected]. You can also visit www.abpinduction.com

Left: ABP has recently supplied the most powerful induction furnace in the world for melting steel, with a 65 ton capacity and powered with a 42 000kW converter


Specialist die caster Pressure Die Casting (PDC), based in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu Natal,

has been rewarded for the company’s achievements on a number of fronts with the award of the Nedbank sponsored Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business (PCB) Business of The Year for 2014, in the manufacturing sector.

The awards ceremony was held in November at the Royal Showgrounds and honoured the remarkable achievements of business people in Pietermaritzburg. Previous winners of the award include Somta Tools and Ramsay Engineering.

“We were very proud and honoured to be awarded the PCB Business of the Year for Manufacturing at the Annual Awards Banquet 2014. All credit must go to our management and staff for this award,” said PDC MD Mike Wolhuter. Wolhuter has recently been appointed to the PCB board and is hoping to contribute

to the organisation by representing the manufacturing community of Pietermaritzburg and focusing on issues such as electricity availability, tariffs and other industry issues.

“Some of the factors that influenced the judges decision included the significant growth in company turnover and profit over the past few years. Another reason was that 30% of the company’s turnover this year was for components that two years ago were imported either from China or India and are now locally manufactured cost effectively.”

“Although this ‘home shoring’ exercise has proved to be very successful for us, it is only one of a number of factors that the company and the staff have implemented that contributed positively to the

bottom line.”“The judges also complimented us on the international

competitiveness of the company as more than 50% of product manufactured by PDC is exported.”

“But it is not just about product and manufacturing. Mention was made of the company’s strong commitment to its staff, which includes staff education and training opportunities. We also have the only factory clinic in Pietermaritzburg that is licensed to dispense anti retrovirals (ARV’s) to staff.”

“This has resulted in a world class average attendance rate of staff of 98% and an average employee service of 10 years.”

PDC, a specialist die caster of brass and aluminium castings, was established in 1952. The company manufactures a range of components, with weights from just a few grams to 800 grams, with current production runs from 1 000 to millions of components per annum. The manufacturing process that a component follows varies according to its complexity, and sub-assemblies are made according to the customer’s brief.

PDC manufacture more than 100 different components for a number of industries, the primary ones being the architectural and building hardware industry, the fire protection industry, the power reticulation industry, the OEM and aftermarket automotive industry and the plumbing industry.

The company’s tool room is an integral part of the process and critical to the successful manufacture of high quality products. All tools and dies are made and serviced in their own toolroom.

PDC has been a certified ISO 9001 company since 1997 and is audited regularly to ensure conformity and continuous improvement.

“We are a full service supplier working with our customers to provide a die casting solution that includes component design, tooling design, tool and die manufacture, material alloying and analysis, high pressure die casting, fettling and CNC machining, testing and assembly, metrology, packaging and logistics,” explained Wolhuter.

For further details contact Pressure Die Casting on TEL: 033 397 5500 or visit www.pdc.co.za

Pressure Die Casting awarded Nedbank sponsored PCB Business of The Year for 2014

industry news


John Bush - Area Manager, Nedbank KZN Inland hands over the award to PDC MD Mike Wolhuter


A dispute over a wage settlement in the metal and engineering industry is set to drag on as both sides in a court battle have vowed to appeal against an

unfavourable judgment.The Labour Court heard final arguments in the National

Employers Association of SA’s (Neasa’s) bid to interdict any extension of a wage agreement, signed between six trade unions and other employer bodies represented in the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council in July, after a four-week strike by the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and five other unions.

Neasa said it was sidelined during the latter part of negotiations, when the wage deal, including increases of up to 10%, was agreed to, even though this was unaffordable.

It said a deal should have come with commitments to grow the sector, which rivals the mining sector in direct contribution to South Africa’s gross domestic product. Neasa’s opponents, however, said most of the nearly 300 000 workers covered by the council were behind the deal.

Legal counsel for the council and the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of SA (Seifsa), Nazeer Cassim, argued that the court case and comments by Neasa were an attempt to have the centralised bargaining system collapse.

Neasa is the largest employer association by number of businesses, but Seifsa represents more employees. Seifsa’s numbers — which are contested by Neasa — meant that an

agreement between it and Numsa was sufficient to end the strike.

The labour minister has the power to extend a wage agreement to nonparties — even if they are in the majority — if signatories to an agreement are deemed to be sufficiently representative.

Neasa has argued that the October meeting at which the bargaining council members voted to extend the agreement was improperly constituted and unconstitutional.

It said Seifsa was not representative of employers and contested figures given by the bargaining council in a request to formally extend the agreement to all employers.

Labour Court Judge Hilary Rabkin-Naicker reserved judgment but noted the urgency of the matter.

Neasa CEO Gerhard Papenfus said it had won similar legal battles in 2011 and was confident it had proved the bargaining council had failed to follow its constitution. It would "most definitely appeal" should it lose its application. Mr Papenfus has repeatedly said the court battle is not an attack on collective bargaining.

Bargaining council general secretary Thulani Mthiyane said it would appeal against any unfavourable judgment. The meetings had been properly constituted, and the council had made it clear it was open to all solutions. This included arbitration between Seifsa and Neasa on representation in council structures.

Wage dispute set to drag on in metal sector


Insimbi expecting lower earnings as a result of Numsa strike

JSE listed Insimbi Refractory and Alloy Supplies announced that it expected its earnings and headline earnings a share from continuing operations for the six months ended

August 31 to be between 22% and 27% lower than that of the prior corresponding period.

The company stated that the decline in earnings could be attributed to the four-week strike by the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa in July, which had a significant impact on Insimbi’s foundry and aluminium businesses.

“Unfortunately owing to intimidation during the strike, the other sectors of Insimbi’s business which did not fall under Numsa, [such as] cement, paper and pulp, and textiles were also affected as this made logistics impossible,” Insimbi explained, adding that it was important to note that all operations performed well during the rest of the reporting period.

Insimbi would release its interim results by November 30.

Appointed IKN GmbH agents The Insimbi Group is pleased to announce that IKN GmbH

appointed Insimbi Alloy Supplies (Pty) Limited to act as their sole agent for the Sub Sahara African region.

IKN GmbH is a medium size company located in Neustadt near Hanover, Germany. The company’s root and strength within the cement industry is the field of clinker cooling, namely the IKN Pendulum Cooler®. At the beginning, IKN revolutionised the cement industry with the development of the clinker inlet distribution system, called KIDS®. Whereas it has been introduced as an upgrade to existing clinker coolers, today it forms an integral part of the IKN Pendulum Cooler®.

Further innovations, such as the highly precise and wear-less mobile frame support, called LPS®, manifested the company’s success. In 2002, IKN extended its activities further by acquiring PSP in the Czech Republic. With the integration of the PSP Pyro engineers, the company extended its competence towards the entire kiln burning line under the name of IKN.

IKN and PSP together provide excellent know-how and in-house manufacturing capabilities for entire greenfield installations and refurbishment projects.

Over the years, the core business of Insimbi has expanded and today the company operates seven divisions, which are

based on industries and geographic locations, as follows:• Refractory Division which services the steel industry’s

refractory requirements• Speciality Division which services the welding and

optical industries• Steel Division which services the steel industry's

raw material requirements• Foundry Division which services the foundry industry,

both automotive and heavy• Non-Ferrous Division which services the aluminium

industry• Rotary Division which services the cement industry’s

refractory requirements and• KwaZulu-Natal Division which services the

KwaZulu-Natal and Mozambique markets • Western Cape which services the Western Cape

markets in all of the above products

The expansion of Insimbi’s core business has resulted in the strengthening of the company’s technical back up and product ranges into the following major manufacturing industries:

• iron and steel• ferrous and non-ferrous• aluminium smelters• foundries• copper mining• paper mills• sugar mills and• electro platers

Insimbi also caters for the small niche suppliers and markets and has over time diversified into a number of different product lines and fields, namely:

• ceramic bricks/linings• aluminium alloy• chemicals• technical textiles and• kiln re-alignment and mechanical preventative services

For further details contact Insimbi Alloy Supplies on TEL: 011 902 6930 or visit www.insimbi-alloys.co.za

AFSA plans international aluminium conference and exhibition

As part of the overall strategy of the Aluminium Federation of South Africa (AFSA) to assist in favourably positioning the South African aluminium industry, the industry body

will host an International Aluminium Conference and Exhibition from 16 – 18 March 2016 at the Lagoon Beach Hotel in Milnerton, Cape Town, Western Cape.

“The local aluminium industry held a strategic session in September, where a vision of doubling aluminium production by 2018 was articulated. Local players need to be ready to tap into growth opportunities in the South African aluminium industry which is the objective of the planned conference and exhibition,” said Mark Krieg, executive director of AFSA.

The event is aimed at industry, professionals and academics allowing both industry presentations and papers as part of the conference programme. It is envisaged that the conference will be coupled with the bi-annual meeting of the International Aluminium Institute (IAI).

The focused conference agenda will address aspects such as identifying required technologies along with the desired types of industry practice. Alongside conventional exhibition opportunities, the event will also offer interactive exhibition/technology opportunities.

The key thematic areas identified and planned for the conference are:

New technologies and innovation. Possible topics include:• 3D printing• New alloy development• Welding• Friction stir welding• Design and simulation• Aluminium powder• Energy cost saving• Adhesives• Surface finishing• Emerging applications• Aluminium application in the green economy• Green building codes• Architectural• Renewable energy• Recyclability of aluminium• Use of aluminium as an energy substitute• Aluminium in transportation• Talent-driven innovation (employment for the future)• Interactive workshops• Skills and training

For further information on the conference or AFSA, please visit www.afsa.org.za or afsa-aluminium-conference.co.za or contact Rentia Malan Email: [email protected]



New scrap metals policy critisised

Fresh amendments to the policy on scrap metals will not remedy long-standing viability issues in the sector since the Department of Economic Development introduced

measures a year ago to curb the exports of waste metal, according to a report in Business Day. This is the view of industry players commenting on new amendments published in September.

Non-Ferrous Metal Industries Association chairman Bob Stone said the amendments did not improve the operations of firms in the sector. "In fact, they have the potential of making the situation worse for the beneficiation industry," he said.

Existing policy allows local buyers of scrap metal such as foundries, mills, minimills and secondary scrap processors to get it at a preferential price of 20% below the international spot price that South African exporters can get for ferrous and nonferrous waste metal.

The policy will remain in place for the next five years and will be reviewed again in a year’s time.

However scrap merchants have blamed foundries for not making valid offers to purchase scrap in an effort to frustrate their exports. Foundries have meanwhile blamed merchants for finding ways to inflate the preference price.

The International Trade Administration Commission (Itac) said the new amendments "consolidate" all the amendments made to the initial policy guidelines published in August last year.

Certain definitions were added to clarify concepts such as what a valid offer entails. "As the price preference system has only been in force for one year, it is a bit early to make any conclusive judgment on its impact," Itac said in response to questions. "The intention of the commission is to conduct an impact study a year from the latest amendment to the guidelines."

Details of noticeOne year ago the

Economic Development Department introduced Guidelines for the Export of Scrap Metals providing an opportunity for local consumers to purchase scrap metal at a price below the perceived market price. This policy has had several challenges and to date very little benefit has been accrued to the metal casting industry. Notice 815 of 2014 19 September 2014 in the Government Gazette, published by the Economic Development Department International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa Export Control (Itac) states:

In September 2013,

the Commission introduced a Price Preference System (PPS) pursuant to which it would not allow the exportation of scrap metal unless it had first been offered for sale to the domestic scrap consuming industry with the intention to domestically beneficiate such scrap metal. Under the PPS, exporters are required to offer scrap metal at 20% below the international benchmark price.

The Commission recommended that a review of the applicable preferential rates be conducted one year after the date of its implementation. The review aims to determine a price preference level that is sufficient to assist the metals beneficiation industries.

Interested parties are hereby invited to submit comments on the following proposed amendments to the price preference levels:

• An increase in the price preference rate for steel (including stainless steel) scrap metal from 20% to 30% below the international benchmark price;

• An increase in the price preference rate for aluminium scrap metal from 20% to 25% below the international benchmark price; and

• the existing price preference rate of 20% to remain for all other types of scrap metal.

Representations and comments had to be submitted within a period of four (4) weeks from the publication of this Notice to Mr Dumisani Mbambo at Tel: 012 394 3743 or Email; [email protected]. The SAIF, AFSA and other interested parties have submitted comments and the outcome is awaited. No details of when this will happen are available.


Eskom bailout must not strain economy

South African smelters and foundries could face even steeper power price rises in the next five years than expected,

after the government stepped in to bail out the utility, Eskom, which has a cash shortfall of R225 billion.

Cabinet approved a package of measures to bail the power utility out of its financial troubles, including an equity cash injection of undisclosed scale, tariff increases, a plan to raise additional debt, and managed load shedding schedules to cut the use of costly diesel-powered gas turbines.

"Eskom is facing significant challenges that threaten its sustainability," a statement from National Treasury said.

The recently-announced measures aimed at helping Eskom out of its financial crisis and ensuring energy security must not add further pressure to the economy, says Cabinet.

“All of this will have to be done in a manner that does not add further pressure to the nation’s finances,” acting Cabinet spokeswoman Phumla Williams said in a statement.

At the same time, government would like to ensure that poor households were cushioned, as far as fiscal resources allowed, from the impact of the tariff adjustment. “In summary the package consists of, among others, an injection by government of additional equity into Eskom to help the utility strengthen its balance sheet, enabling it to borrow more from financial markets.”

“To ensure that government’s financial resources are not strained, the equity injection will be funded by leveraging non-strategic government assets.”

Williams said other elements of the package included a strong improvement in Eskom’s operational efficiencies, which would reduce costs, and a R50 billion increase in debt raised by Eskom, which would be supported by the existing government guarantee.

Further, government would back Eskom’s application to the National Energy Regulator of SA for an adjustment to the tariff, which was in line with normal regulatory processes.

Other elements included demand management measures, refinements to energy policy, and expansion of the independent power producer programme.

“In terms of cushioning poor households, government will strengthen oversight of the free basic electricity grant.”

This would ensure that allocations were used effectively, as well as encourage municipalities to improve the efficiency with which they maintained their networks and supplied power to consumers.

“These measures are necessary for South Africa to raise economic growth to a rate which is sufficient to create more jobs, reduce poverty and inequality,” it said.

The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) has announced that it would host a high level Metals and Engineering Indaba in

Gauteng next May as part of efforts to revive the fortunes of the important, yet embattled, manufacturing subsector.

Lamenting the decline in manufacturing’s economic contribution from over 20% of gross domestic product in 1983 to only 16% in 2013, CEO Kaizer Nyatsumba said the conference would bring together business owners, trade unionists and policymakers from across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to deliberate on turnaround strategies.

Invitations have been extended to Trade and Industry

Ministers from across the SADC region and South Africa’s Minister, Dr Rob Davies, had already indicated his eagerness to participate.

Captains of industry had also been invited and would participate in panel discussions along with leading economists and trade unionists.

The intention was to develop the indaba into a yearly event, with the inaugural two-day gathering to be held at Emperors Palace, in Ekurhuleni, on May 28 and 29.

Nyatsumba also announced that the organisation would be launching the Seifsa Awards for Excellence in 2015. The awards, which would take place on March 19, would seek to “recognise, celebrate and encourage excellence in the metals and engineering sector”.

Seifsa unveils indaba as part of steel, engineering revival plan

Allied Mineral Products, Inc. (USA) has appointed the Vereeniging based Dickinson Group of Companies as their

agents to market, sell and distribute their range of monolithic refractory products throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, including KwaZulu Natal.

Allied Mineral Products, Inc. offers a wide range of monolithic refractories, precast shapes, and technical services for companies in the foundry, aluminium, steel, cement, power, minerals processing, boiler, and heat treating and forging markets.

Allied, has designed, manufactured and sold monolithic refractories to the foundry industry since 1961.

Allied Mineral Products, Inc. designs and manufactures monolithic refractories and precast refractory shapes. The company's product solutions include castables, dry vibratables, wet rammables, precast shapes, bricks/mortars, gunning materials, plastics, mica and cloth slips, plane products, fluxes, installation equipment, fiber insulation products, refractory coatings – additives, and stopper rods and nozzles.

The company offers products for coreless and channel induction, gas-fired, blast, shaft, electric arc, heat treat, forge, and vacuum coreless induction furnaces; and cupolas, ladles, and incinerators applications in foundry, steel, aluminium, heat treating, forging, industrial, and precast refractory shapes industries worldwide. The company serves its customers through sales and service representatives.

Some of the brand names include Dri-Vibe™, Minro-Al™, L-Cast™, Minro-Sil™, Ladle Vibe™, V-Cast™, Quick Cast™, Matricast and Matriflo.

The company was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, USA. It has manufacturing and office facilities in Columbus, Ohio; Tholen, Holland; Germiston, South Africa; and Tianjin, China. The company also has manufacturing facilities in Energieweg, the Netherlands; Foshan, China; Poços de Caldas, Brazil; and Brownsville, Texas.

In January 2008 Allied Mineral Products, Inc, acquired the remaining 49% shareholding of AMETSA from their joint venture partner Insimbi Alloy Supplies.

Allied Mineral Products, Inc. and Metallurg South Africa (Pty) Ltd., which subsequently changed its name to Insimbi Alloy Supplies after a MBO in 2005, formed their joint venture company - AMETSA (Allied Metallurg South Africa) - in August 1997 and initially operated primarily as a sales organisation until June 1998, supplying monolithic refractory products to the South African market, manufactured by Allied Mineral Products, Inc.

During this period a manufacturing facility was being set up in Germiston, Johannesburg, and the company began supplying locally

manufactured product in March 1998.At the time AMETSA offered a complete range of

monolithic refractory products, including dry vibratables, low-moisture castables, castables for aluminium, coreless and channel induction furnaces, ladles and pouring units, blast furnace trough systems, arc furnaces, aluminium reverb and holding furnaces, in addition to plastics and ramming mixes to the South African market.

The Dickinson Group of Companies is a furnace and industrial services company focusing on the mining, smelting and mineral processing industries. The Group procures and manufactures refractory materials and specialises in the installation, repair and maintenance of refractory linings, furnaces, kilns, ovens, dryers, refractory fibre and anchor systems. The Group manufactures and installs anchor systems for all types of monolithic, ceramic fibre and brick refractory linings and customises refractory precast shapes. Its services include a furnace and industrial demolition service and turnkey refractory projects.

For further details contact the Dickinson Group of Companies on TEL: Tel: 016 421 3720 or visit www.dgrp.co.za

Dickinson Group of Companies appointed agents for Allied Mineral Products

This is according to steel and steel products manufacturer Scaw Metals Group’s head of operations Steve van Wyk at the company’s Union Junction steelmaking plant in

Germiston, east of Johannesburg, in an Engineering News article.

He stated that scrap metal was a key raw material for the company, but that increasing volumes of scrap exports also posed a risk to the company’s goal of doubling its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation by 2018.

Van Wyk noted that the scrap industry was extremely competitive in terms of collection and suggested that export tariffs be implemented to plug any gaps in the system.

It had been previously reported that Scaw CEO Markus Hannemann had also expressed concern that securing sufficient scrap metal of the correct quality in order to ensure the efficient and sustainable operation of numerous electric arc furnaces is a key challenge currently faced by the Scaw Metals Group of Ekurhuleni.

The company is hoping that the recent promulgation of

new scrap metal regulations will close the loopholes that allow strategic ferrous scrap metal to leave South Africa’s shores and frustrate access to it by local manufacturers like Scaw, which operates large scrap collection and processing facilities that house Africa’s largest scrap shredder.

As 100%-recyclable steel is arguably the most recycled material on earth, every new steel product contains steel scrap.

Ninety-three-year-old Scaw produces more than of half-a-million tons of liquid steel a year from scrap and directly reduced iron (DRI) from its three DRI rotary kilns.

Meanwhile, Van Wyk said, technology trends in cast production included the need to simplify product ranges and automate processes, adding that cast production is fairly labour intensive.

“Scaw Metals has plans in place to automate some of its processes. We have a project to install an automated process line by foundry equipment manufacturer Omega Foundry Machinery. This R150 million project started at the beginning of the year and is expected to be completed by the end of the year,” he revealed.

The new process line will enable Scaw Metals to automate and streamline its railway components manufacturing.

The company, which has a yearly turnover of R8 billion and a yearly sales volume of 775 000 tons, also aims to add more value to its products, focusing on downstream product beneficiation.

Scaw Metals’ Union Junction, located on 370 hectares, is the group’s largest manufacturing site, and its scrap-processing division recycles 460 000 tons of scrap a year, with scrap accounting for 55% of the total cost of production.

The Union Junction plant has a yearly revenue of R2.3 billion and sales volumes of 359 000 tons per year.

Opportunities for the plant lie in a cogeneration project to produce electricity using off gases to fire the operation’s boilers, regional infrastructure projects and an increase in African steel consumption.

Scaw, which has manufacturing and distribution facilities in South Africa and Australia and bases in Ghana, Zambia and Namibia, markets a wide range of products that include grinding media, rolled products, cast products and wire rod products, which are supplied to the global construction, railway, power generation, mining, concrete, marine, engineering and agricultural markets.

Scaw’s products have found their way into prestigious sporting arenas like the Olympic Stadium in Sydney, and the stay cables that support the Nelson Mandela Bridge in Johannesburg, are the products of Scaw, the majority shareholder of which is the State-owned Industrial Development Corporation, which has a 74% interest in the group.

Black economic-empowerment consortium Main Street 510 Pty Ltd, which is made up of Inzingwe Holdings, Shanduka Resources and the Southern Palace Group, holds a 21% stake, and the company’s employees own the remaining 5% of the company through an employee-share ownership plan trust.

Exports affecting local companies’ access to good quality scrap metal

Access to good quality local scrap is being hampered by increasing exports of this material.



Scaw also owns the Australian PWB Anchor chain business, which has a manufacturing facility in Melbourne and a distribution network throughout Australia.

Scaw turns over R7 billion to R8 billion a year and employs 7 000 people including contractors.

The company’s cast products division produces specialised cast-steel products used in the mining, railway, power and engineering industries.

Its five South Africa-located foundries have distribution facilities across Australia and an extensive network that enables the cast products division to streamline production of a wide variety of products, including large-girth gear segments; large high-chromium iron coal-pulverising wear parts; mill liners; slag pots; locomotive frames and cast mono-bloc railway wheels.

As an energy-intensive manufacturer with a large reliance on electricity, the need to ensure stable electricity supply at competitive prices is another challenge Scaw is tackling.

The company’s grinding media division is the largest producer of cast, high-chrome grinding media in the southern hemisphere and the leading producer of high-chrome and forged grinding balls, serving primarily the African platinum, copper and gold mining industries.

The high-chrome ball and forged steel grinding media plants are both located at its Union Junction base in Germiston.

The platinum, copper, cement and power generation industries are the main users of high-chrome ball grinding media, for which Scaw holds a technology licence with industry leader Magotteaux.

Billets produced by Scaw’s rolled products division are rolled into reinforcing bar, grinding media feedstock, sections, low-carbon wire rod, high-carbon wire rod, reinforcing coil, mining

bar and rounds, products which are either sold externally to a range of customers in the construction and manufacturing industries, or used internally in grinding media and wire rod.

Wire rod productsFormerly known as Haggie Rand, Scaw’s wire rod products

division manufactures and distributes specialised steel rope, wire, strand and chain for mining, industrial, construction and offshore oil drilling applications. Its three sub wire rope, wire and strand, and chain products divisions each operate their own manufacturing facilities.

Steel Wire Rope manufactures ropes for shaft and surface mining, offshore oil and gas exploration, marine applications, conveyors, aerial ropeways, staywire for power lines and earthwire for electrical purposes under the Haggie® brand.

The Wire and Strand subdivision, the only South African producer of prestress concrete strand, used to improve the strength of concrete in the production of beams, floors and bridges, produces a range of high-carbon wire products for the construction, mining and industrial sectors.

A significant proportion of prestress concrete strand is exported worldwide as Scaw has achieved the necessary accreditation in all major markets.

The Chain Products subdivision, which is based in Vereeniging, produces the highly regarded McKinnon and Max-Alloy products, which are exported to more than 40 countries worldwide. The Chain Products factory also exports a large percentage of its product range into premium markets such as Europe given the business’s various prestigious accreditations and innovative products.

For further details visit www.scaw.co.za


Weir Minerals Africa has procured their castings from local foundries or imported them from Weir Minerals foundries located elsewhere in the world since 2006.

This arrangement worked well in some respects; however, it also had its drawbacks. First and foremost, the company did not have sufficient control over the quality of material used or the processes employed at the contracted local non-Weir Minerals foundries. The obvious problems such as overall quality of castings, erratic delivery and lead times would frustrate the company no end. Importing castings from Weir Minerals in-house foundries abroad added unnecessary shipping costs, and the logistical problems made it very difficult to support response times required by the Weir Lean Manufacturing systems that were in place. Weir China was considered as an alternative but this would still have resulted in prohibitive lead times, and potentially the loss of local employment opportunities.

As a result of the above mentioned, as well as the commitment to customers in Africa and in particular South Africa, it was decided by Weir Minerals to invest in the manufacturing capacity of the African organisation. One of the first initiatives targeted by the company was to commission a greenfields foundry at its South African operations in Isando, Gauteng.

The opening of the foundry took place in November 2006 with an initial investment of R12 million. The introduction and location of the foundry was ideal in that it would fulfil all Africa’s needs and also be of sufficient capacity to export medium size castings, whilst creating jobs and supporting the local economy. An additional bonus was that the company already had a large machining shop on site.

Subsequent growth in the company led to more investment in the Isando foundry, and today this facility produces in the region of 15 tons of castings per day comprising of 70% white irons and the remainder is a mixture of SG and cast iron. This however, is only a fraction of the castings required by the organisation.

Weir Minerals AfricaWeir Minerals Africa specialises in the delivery and support

of a wide range of minerals equipment solutions including pumps, hydrocyclones, valves, dewatering equipment, wear-resistant linings rubber hose and sheeting, screening machines and crushers. Its broad portfolio of highly engineered core mill circuit products finds application in critical customer processes and is backed throughout the product life cycle by high levels of aftermarket support.

To help companies in the mining industry achieve increased operating efficiencies and throughput, Weir Minerals Africa supplies high-performance equipment, including the latest materials science has to offer. The ‘Total Cost of Ownership’ theme underpins the design of all equipment with emphasis on

issues around engineering, hydraulics and the range of materials, as well as ease of component change-out, repair and maintenance. Its comprehensive portfolio of high performance pumps and superior minerals processing equipment is designed and manufactured to meet the highest specifications – for robust and reliable use in the world’s most demanding environments.

All this is backed up by a service and support programme – including installation and commissioning, condition monitoring and plant optimisation, emergency repairs, on-site or in-shop servicing, customer training and asset management expertise.

A massive focus on boosting its service business has produced service models that enhance customer experience through a greater understanding of their operations. Customer service is also elevated by

Doing it the Weir wayHeavy Bay foundry in Port Elizabeth takes shape.

Management at Weir Minerals Africa: Rob Fawcett Sales, Marketing and Engineering Director (Africa and Middle East),

Gavin Dyer Regional Managing Director, Johan de Lange Regional Financial Director (Africa and Middle East) and Chris van

Rensburg, Plant Manager Heavy Bay Foundry in Port Elizabeth

A view of the main foundry of Weir Heavy Bay Foundry


extensive ongoing investments into Weir Minerals Africa’s manufacturing and service infrastructure, and by adopting a highly flexible approach to designing service packages for customers.

Weir Minerals Africa places value on collaboration to gain a better understanding of the markets it serves, as well as the specific technology and support requirements of customers in these markets. This reflects Weir Minerals Africa’s commitment to designing and manufacturing the most appropriate solutions for customers, a philosophy that also enhances its own and supplier operations.

Investment in Heavy Bay foundry in Port ElizabethThe benefits of the investment in the Isando foundry had an

immediate impact. Customers have the assurance that quality issues are resolved at source; there has been a reduction in lead times and a dramatically improved response time to customer demand.

However, with respect to the profile of the Isando foundry, Weir Minerals Africa was still limited to the size of casting manufactured. The Isando foundry relies on two furnaces, each with a capacity of two tons per melt. Not operating in a dual melt situation has restricted the foundry to producing castings up to two and half tons per casting, and today Weir Minerals

Africa offer product that can weigh up to 42 tons once fully assembled. Individual castings can weigh up to 18 tons.

In line with its policy of controlling the quality and service for its supply chain, Weir Minerals Africa looked at investing in facilities that would be capable of not only producing the company’s requirements from an African perspective, but also having sufficient capacity to supply other businesses within the Weir Group globally, as well as offering a large, heavy casting service to third parties.

In May 2013 an agreement was reached with John Exley, a prominent businessman in Port Elizabeth to acquire the plant, equipment and buildings of Xmeco Foundry, a specialist large casting foundry based in Markman Industria Township, Port Elizabeth, South Africa from the Xmeco Group.

The Weir wayXmeco Foundry has been manufacturing large, heavy

castings in SG, high chrome and various alloyed steels since the early eighties. Run as a family owned business until its acquisition by Weir Minerals Africa it supplied general engineering castings, including pump components to Weir. The foundry has also been one of the few foundries in South Africa to undertake the supply of large bells and these can be heard ringing throughout South Africa.

Weir Heavy Bay Foundry installed a new 20 ton an hour continuous mixer

supplied by Lauds Foundry Equipment. The mixer is the first that Lauds have

developed to be fully remote controlled through a tablet and an

operator station. The unit’s discharge height is 2.2 metres and the mixer is fitted complete with a Temperature

Sensitive Auto Blend 3000, the Lauds auto calibrate system, fume

extraction, automated guard cleaning and blending gates to facilitate the selection of the different sand/mix

requirements. Being fully remote controlled enables the operator to pin

point exactly where he requires the mixer to position itself during operation. The operator can position himself up to

50 metres away from the mixer and have full operational control guiding the

mixer smoothly into selected positions during the moulding of large boxes

A component that has been shot blast

Weir Heavy Bay Foundry can cast large castings. This is one half of the pattern for a DN 1800 valve gate


The foundry has been supported on the machining side by an associated company, Xmeco Heavy Engineering, which is located on the same site. This arrangement is still in place thus ensuring that all castings leaving Weir Heavy Bay foundry will be machined to customer requirements.

The Weir Heavy Bay Foundry occupies a 5.2 ha site that is situated less than eight kilometres away from the Port of Ngqura, the heart of the Coega Industrial Development Zone.

“The site is big enough to allow us to develop the facilities to cater for future planned growth and market demand,” said Rob Fawcett, Sales, Marketing and Engineering Director (Africa and Middle East) for Weir Minerals Africa.

“However since we acquired the Heavy Bay Foundry just over a year ago we have concentrated on transforming the facility to align with the Weir way.”

“The Weir Group has a system of engineering excellence which includes global best practice sharing, Design Centres of Origin and Group specific Environmental Health and Safety Management systems which adhere to both local and international codes of best practice.”

“Quality is a central philosophy at Weir Minerals and its quality strategy has brought about a fundamental shift from quality control to quality assurance. While quality control calls for an inspection at the end of a process, quality assurance focuses on redesigning the elements of a process in order to ensure that the quality of the product is 100% when it reaches the customer.”

“The focus is to continually introduce world class quality principles to the business. The quality strategy is applied to the total supply chain, from the supplier base to final delivery, and internal manufacturing Standard Operating Procedures are reviewed and updated regularly.”

“The Environmental Health and Safety Management system that the Weir Group employs is equally important. The responsibilities of Weir leaders and managers in relation to creating safe working environments, is fundamental. Nobody working for Weir needs to be reminded of the critical importance of safe workplaces. But beyond that, continuously reminding ourselves of the important role we can

each play as individuals in ensuring these safe workplaces to safeguard that colleagues, clients, suppliers and friends are not injured on a Weir site.”

“While we have robust systems and processes in place to manage safety, what’s equally important is the responsibility that we share in pointing out unsafe practices or acts whenever we see them. From top to bottom each employee is constantly reminded of the accountability and the understanding that it is their duty to implement improvements on a regular basis.”

The buy-in at the Heavy Bay Foundry“I was tasked to implement the Weir way at this facility

and I can proudly say that we have had employee buy-in from the beginning. The biggest task has been changing the facility to one that complies with Weir’s standards, which is no mean feat. This is ongoing, but we have now reached a point where our standards are being met, however we will not be content until everything is completed. Going forward it will be

Weir Heavy Bay Foundry has its own coreshop

Prior to the acquisition, manual measurement and templates were used to see if the castings were in specification. Weir Heavy Bay Foundry purchased two Romer 7-axis arms from Retecon Machine Tools, which have been integrated with

an RS1 laser scanner. Weir Heavy Bay Foundry is now able to deliver 3D scanning solutions for a variety of applications, use it for feature inspection to CAD, free-form surface inspection to CAD and reverse engineering. The Romer 7-axis arms are

portable arm systems and this gives the company complete accuracy of measurements, no matter how complex they are

The patternshop has installed a Haas GR-712, which is a gantry-style router with 3 683 x 2 159 x 279mm travels and a 40-taper milling head


the responsibility of local management to implement all the identified changes - from infrastructure to the processes that we believe is necessary to ensure that Weir HBF becomes a best in class foundry.”

“I will give you some examples that have transformed the foundry. Externally and internally most of the buildings have been upgraded. Polycarbonate sheeting has replaced small and broken windows thus allowing natural light throughout. All the power cables have been replaced and enclosed to adhere to regulatory standards. All walkways are now demarcated and clear signage has been erected. There are many other safety improvements that have been made like installing screens, railings and covers.”

“Storage areas have been upgraded. The gas, flammable liquids and chemical areas have new compliant enclosures that, as an added bonus, have also contributed to efficiencies and cost savings.”

“Even the sand silos and storage bins have been refurbished and now look like new. The dust extractor units have been upgraded to bag filter systems. And many other aspects throughout the foundry have been attended to.”

“All the changes may be small individually, but collectively they have contributed to this facility’s journey towards a world class foundry that provides customer confidence, both locally and internationally. While adopting and implementing our quality and environmental health and safety management systems, each employee goes through extensive training, and comprehensive records are kept in each instance. This allows us to monitor and have traceability and accountability.”

“To show our appreciation we have completely revamped the change room and ablution areas, and in September we inaugurated a new canteen in the name of the founder John Exley Snr.”

New equipment “Besides implementing all the safety, process and cosmetic

changes, the manufacturing area has seen some investment. This included purchasing new equipment, upgrading and refurbishing existing equipment and generally organising the various areas to streamline the operations.”

“Some of these changes included a new 20 ton an hour continuous mixer that has been installed by Lauds Foundry Equipment. Heavy Bay Foundry Lauds Screw Extended Height Techno Articulate Continuous Mixer is as follows;

The mixer delivers a range from 10Mt through to 20Mt per hour. The mixer is the first that Lauds have developed to be fully remote controlled through a tablet and an operator station. The unit’s discharge height is 2.2 metres and the mixer is fitted complete with a Temperature Sensitive Auto Blend 3000, the Lauds auto calibrate system, fume extraction, automated guard cleaning and blending gates to facilitate the selection of the different sand/mix requirements. Being fully remote controlled enables the operator to pin point exactly where he requires the mixer to position itself during operation. The operator can position himself up to 50 metres away from the mixer and have full operational control guiding the mixer smoothly into selected positions during the moulding of large boxes.”

“Four new 20-ton driven moulding tables have been installed in the large casting bay to significantly improve the production rate. A new 160kW Ingersoll Rand compressor has replaced 4 old piston-type compressors that are now museum pieces.”

“We have one of the largest installed bases of Demag cranes in the Eastern Cape and the existing overhead cranes have now been serviced and are on a monitoring system for future services.”

“The 5000m2 pattern shop and storage facility, which is housed in a separate building, now has a racking system to ensure that patterns are correctly and efficiently stored. Every pattern, of which we have well over 1000 are now uniquely marked to provide complete traceability. Better still, we know exactly where they are in the storage area.”

“A Haas GR-712, which is a gantry-style router with 3 683 x 2 159 x 279mm travels and a 40-taper milling head, has been added to this department. Its 10 000-rpm spindle and powerful 11 kW vector drive system provide the power for light machining and cutting. The machine, which was installed in September 2014, can cut and machine other materials. However, we have specifically purchased the Haas to assist in manufacturing new patterns and where necessary, refurbishing existing patterns.”

Taking centre spot in the laboratory is the new Spectro spectrometer

One of the melting stations at Weir Heavy Bay Foundry in Port Elizabeth

A new Struers Tegramin material preparation system for grinding

and polishing of specimens has been purchased for the laboratory


“We are busy moving certain of our furnaces in the melting department to make us more efficient with the workflow. The furnace controls have all been upgraded and we are looking at adding new furnaces to give us more capacity and efficiencies.”

“The heat treatment ovens have also been refurbished, which included the control panels being upgraded.”

“Prior to the acquisition, manual measurement and templates were used to see if the castings were in specification or patterns were correct. This is critical in most cast components, including pumps. To ensure that our customers have access to the best quality, however, we purchased two Romer 7-axis arms, which are integrated with RS1 laser scanners. We are now able to deliver 3D scanning solutions for a variety of applications, use it for feature inspection to CAD and free-form surface inspection to CAD. These are portable arm systems which give us complete accuracy of measurements, no matter how complex they are.”

“We have made some minor improvements to the fettling department, including the installation of four small fettling booths, with future plans to purchase much larger booths.”

New laboratory“Our metals sampling and testing

department needed upgrading to the

latest technologies. As a result we have completely rebuilt our laboratory, inside and outside, and added a host of new equipment. Taking centre spot is the new Spectro spectrometer. Amongst the other new equipment is a Struers Tegramin material preparation system for grinding and polishing of specimens.”

“To ensure that our quality systems are aligned across the company and with Group and Divisional policies, we will be 14001 and 18001 certified by the end of the year, with 19001 being implemented next year.”

“We now also have a seat of the Magmasoft casting simulation software, as well as Siemens NX design software and a CAD/CAM package. This puts us in a position to offer clients design, simulation, casting and machining services for as cast castings from two hundred kilograms up to 20 tons –

the complete value chain. Not many operations can offer that service.”

“Another big advantage of this foundry, and indeed one of the main reasons it was chosen as an acquisition target, is its proximity to the deep water Port of Ngqura. Typically, one of our clients in the Canadian oil sands business uses very large pumps and pump

components, and a single pour for a component or part could

be up to 20 tons. Being so close to a major port will help us achieve significant savings in logistics costs when exporting.”

“Currently we have enough capacity and capabilities to fulfil most of Weir Minerals Africa’s requirements within the target range of the two foundries, as well as to continue servicing external clients, no matter what their request. We currently produce up to 650 tons of castings per month, but intend ramping this up to over 1000 tons per month in the next three to five years.”

“During the whole takeover and the implementation of the Weir way, which incidentally goes further than the work environment, we have retained almost all employees at the time of acquisition. We have also reduced our scrap rate down to below four percent and are looking at improving that figure.”

For further details contact Weir Heavy Bay Foundry on TEL: 041 461 1407 or visit www.weirminerals.com

The foundry has been supported on the machining side by an associated company, Xmeco Heavy Engineering, which is

located on the same site

More castings waiting to be machined

All castings leaving Weir Heavy Bay foundry will be machined to customer requirements

A finished pump component

Local production of titanium

metals is still a long way off, though

encouraging progress had been made in developing a suitable technology, MPs heard recently.

South Africa has the world’s second-largest reserves of titanium — an extra-strong, corrosion-resistant metal that is used in aircraft, ships and medical implants — but currently exports the raw material for beneficiation elsewhere.

"Considering the value chain of titanium, SA is currently at the bottom of the chain, mining and exporting the mineral as titanium-bearing slag while all titanium metal has to be imported at high cost to the country. This is considered to be a market failure," Bloemfontein’s Central University of Technology’s Willie du Preez told Parliament’s trade and industry committee.

The briefing on titanium formed part of the committee’s colloquium on beneficiation. Titanium oxide is found in ilmenite deposits in Namakwa Sands on the Western Cape coast and in the sands of Richards Bay, where it is mined by Tronox and Richards Bay Minerals respectively.

Mr du Preez said titanium slag sold for about $1.45/kg and a titanium ingot cost about $20/kg.

He said if a pilot project to produce titanium powder from titanium petrochloride, which was being conducted by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, was successful, a feasibility study costing about R80 million and funded by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and Tronox would be undertaken, possibly next year.

If the study was successful, a 500-ton-a-year demonstration plant would be built, followed by a manufacturing plant producing about 20,000 tons of titanium a year. "People are excited about the progress," Mr du Preez said, though he

noted that if each stage was successful, the construction of a manufacturing plant was only likely in about 2020-22.

"The development and commercialisation of beneficiation processes do not happen overnight — perseverance is required, especially when unforeseen stumbling blocks or delays are encountered." For example, it took about 20 years before Sasol was in a position to produce synthetic petrol from coal.

Mr du Preez said it was crucial that funding for research and development, which had cost about R250 million so far, was sustained.

The Department of Trade and Industry has targeted development of a local titanium manufacturing capability in the latest version of its industrial policy action plan. An interdepartmental titanium task team has been formed with representatives from the departments of science and technology, trade and industry, mineral resources, and public enterprises, and from the IDC.

Mr du Preez told the committee government recommendations on the local manufacture of titanium and titanium oxide products dated back to 1999 but it was only in 2009 that a Titanium Centre of Competence was established to co-ordinate research and development as well as commercialisation of the product.

This was stimulated by the interest of major aerospace players Boeing and Airbus and the growth of local demand for the product.

He said the centre was developing a number of technology platforms essential for production of a range of products, but had to be industrialised and commercialised. At any point there were 80 researchers and 20 postgraduate students in SA who were involved in developing the technology building blocks for a local titanium industry.

African National Congress expert on beneficiation Ben Turok bemoaned the slow progress and said that in technological innovation, risks had to be taken.


South Africa working towards making titanium products, MPs told

Hope that the building sector was back on a growth path has been dashed. Last year’s promising recovery has been hammered by South Africa’s fading economic

prospects. “Things have got a lot tougher of late,” says Italtile CE Nick Booth.

This was followed by JSE-listed Distribution and Warehousing Network (Dawn) announcing that it was not pleased with its financial results for the “disruptive and difficult” 2014 financial year. However “the company was excited about its recently announced joint venture (JV) agreement with Grohe International, which placed it on a new global growth path,” CEO Derek Tod said recently.

During the 12 months ended June 30, Dawn’s profit declined, from R159 million in the prior financial year, to R81.51 million. Headline earnings per share (HEPS) dropped by 24% year-on-year to 50.1c, while earnings a share, at 31.6c, were 53% lower than that of the prior year.

Dawn recently announced that it had formed a JV with Grohe in a R880 million deal to globalise its manufacturing operations.

“We are by no means downplaying the short-term dip in earnings, but far more important is the future of the group

and that we are positioning it to achieve significant upside, within South Africa, in Africa and internationally,” Tod said at a presentation of the company’s full-year results, pointing out that the Grohe transaction was only the first step in the company’s strategic refocusing process.

In terms of the JV agreement, which was still subject to Competition Commission approval, Grohe would buy 51% of Dawn’s Watertech and Sanitaryware companies for R880 million, to be managed under a new company, Main Street, in which Dawn would hold 49%.

The benefits for Dawn related to this transaction included an increase in production volumes to enable full use of the company’s existing logistics capabilities and access to Grohe’s global distribution network.

However, from the second half of the 2015 financial year, the group expected to see the benefits of cost cuts and significant upside from the Grohe transaction.

“The Grohe transaction has changed the face of the group. We see improvements in earnings from the second half [of the 2015 financial year], as we see the benefits of the additional trading and distribution volumes come into play,” Tod said.

Dawn looks to the future with Grohe


In many ways heat, pressure and chemistry are also in play in a metal casting industry that faces a combination of short- and long-term obstacles. There is an ongoing

economic slump, a shortage of young, skilled workers, tightening environmental standards, and smarter, more sophisticated global competition.

A generation of future leaders is coming of age in this setting, being shaped by the events and circumstances around them.

Mineral Zone (Pty) Ltd is a company that has emerged this year that is being led by a relatively young leader but through his experience and years in the industry is getting close to being a veteran.

Brendan Homann studied metallurgy at Wits Technikon before gaining seven years experience in different departments at Thomas Foundry. From there Homann spent 12 years at Insimbi Refractory and Alloy Supplies before moving onto a specialised mineral house for a couple of years.

I was curious to know why when I questioned Homann about trading in an area that is very competitive? “Quite simply we believe in ourselves and our abilities to service the market in a unique and innovative way.”

“I have over 20 years of experience in the foundry and refractory industries and I am not getting any younger. It is the old cliché if you do not try you will always be left wondering. My partner in Mineral Zone, Adrian Pearson and I did not want

to be in that position,” explained Homann.“During this time Adrian and I have networked worldwide

and believe that we can have an impact on the local industry as a specialist supply partner. Fortunately we are in a position where we have low overheads. But it is not just about being price competitive. And we are not just limited to South Africa. We have been trading on the world's stage, servicing the metallurgical and mining sectors with a range of metals and minerals, ore and services.”

“Together with our partners, we specialise in domestic and international trade of consumables and specialised products for customer needs. Our international and local supply chain partnerships have strengthened our position in delivering to our customers with sustainable and respected assurance.”

“Mineral Zone is a complete solutions company supplying the industry from mine to furnace, from source to customer. Our synergy extends to after sales service and consulting ensuring complete peace of mind.”

“The range of products we supply and keep stock of in our Irene, Gauteng warehouse includes foundry chrome sand, chrome ore, metallurgical chrome concentrate of all grades, chemical grade chrome concentrate, foundry consumables and specialized refractory ingredients. In this regard we have been blessed with the recent awarding to Mineral Zone by Elkem the agency for the Elkem Microsilica, Sioxx, Si-NINE and

Silgrain ranges”“We intend to concentrate in

these areas but we are completely adaptable to satisfy our clients needs.”

“Metal casting as we’ve known it is changing by the day. But it’s also being propelled — and soon guided — by the innovative approaches of a new generation much needed in the industry. Together we are shaping the industry’s future. We are servants to put in, not masters to take out and in that we have a responsibility to ensuring the growth and enrichment of the industry in South Africa, an industry incredibly wealthy in invaluable knowledge and experience. It is our responsibility to tap into that knowledge and to share it.”

For further details contact Brenden Homann of Mineral Zone on TEL: 079 692 7626 or visit www.mineralzonesa.com.

New metals, minerals, ore and services supplier emerges

Heat, pressure and chemistry. They are three elements that help determine the hardness, shape and definition of castings.

Adrian Pearson and Brendan Homann


Department of Trade and Industry export promotion and marketing chief director Zanele Sanni has invited manufacturing and advanced manufacturing companies

from Shenzhen, China, to invest in South Africa, noting that Chinese investors could also access the additional special support measures offered by the South African special economic zones (SEZ) programme.

Speaking during the second leg of the South African expos in China, in Shenzhen, Sanni said South Africa was fast becoming a centre of manufacturing excellence that offered unparalleled opportunities for foreign and domestic investors.

China Council for the Promotion of Investment and Trade (CCPIT) director-general in Shenzhen Tao Yongxin said the city was interested in getting its business people to invest in South Africa.

He noted that, since China and South Africa had very good political relations, the CCPIT was willing to work with the dti to ensure that activities resulting in trade growth between the two countries took place.

“We would like to build a more pragmatic relationship with South Africa to also get South African companies to invest in Shenzhen. We are willing to assist the South African businesses with facilitation of processes to ensure they get credible partners from our region,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sanni highlighted that South Africa was keen to learn more about Shenzhen’s industrial parks, science and technology zones and SEZ programme.

“The Guangdong province where Shenzhen is located has transformed areas along its 4 300 km coastline into strategic and profitable transport hubs,” stated Sanni.

She added that collaboration in this area could fast-track the South African government’s plans to exploit the latent potential of its oceans economy, which could contribute R177 billion to the gross domestic product.

The dti encourages China to invest in South African manufacturing sector


Just over a year ago the Brakpan, Gauteng CNC machining and extruder supply company decided to open a foundry that would compliment its existing

casting supplier, and increase the range of fully machined components that it offers.

“Having never been in the foundry business before, there was a huge amount of planning and learning that had to be overcome before we could even place the first orders for equipment and consumables. However we had the advantage of starting off with a clean slate,” explained Hendrick Strydom (Jnr) Managing Director of Wanderers Engineering.

The company purchased a site in Springs, Gauteng, did the necessary civil changes and machinery, mostly supplied by Lauds Foundry Equipment, began arriving in August.

At the time of going to press the foundry was not quite ready to start operating fully but a few test melts and pours had taken place. A broader story on the new foundry will appear in the next issue of Castings SA.

For further details contact Wanderers Engineering on TEL: 011 813 1651.

Wanderers Engineering’s greenfield foundry close to going into production

Wanderers Engineering’s greenfield foundry is close to going into production. Test castings have been produced

The only real competitive advantage the local automotive industry has over international competitors is the availability of natural resources in the country, says

National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa president and Toyota South Africa Motors CEO Dr Johan van Zyl in an Engineering News article.

“We have to ask ourselves, why would anyone want to come here to produce cars? What makes us better?”

Van Zyl says there are several steps in the automotive assembly chain where South Africa has proved uncompetitive, with the country having, for example, the highest labour costs among the Brics countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

“That space is taken. Where will we find our competitive advantage?”

While South Africa’s auto industry does have several strengths, the country’s natural advantage also does not lie in the design and development of new vehicles, believes Van Zyl, and neither so in manufacturing, logistics, the selling of vehicles, or in providing aftersales service.

South Africa’s competitive advantage lies in its natural resources.

“The beneficiation of our mineral resources is key.”South Africa uses its lead resources optimally in the

production of car batteries, for example. However, it does not use iron-ore, locally produced resin, or copper – from

South Africa or Zambia – in the same manner.Van Zyl says the steel used in a locally produced vehicle

amounts to around 830 kg on average, with another 235 kg of aluminium, 28 kg of copper and 68 kg of resin used.

The current local content on vehicles produced in South Africa is around 40%, or 290 kg of steel, 96 kg of aluminium, 16 kg of copper and 3 kg of resin, with the rest imported.

Should imports be reduced by 10%, an additional 103 000 tons of resources a year will be beneficiated in South Africa, saving the country R2.5 billion a year, says Van Zyl.

However, in order to achieve this, it is necessary to sell and build more cars locally, and to invest in, and develop the skills and technology base needed to increase the local parts content of vehicles built in South Africa.

Van Zyl also questions why South African manufacturers should pay dollar-based prices for commodities, such as steel, produced at a rand cost base.

Also, with South Africa having 80% of the world’s platinum reserves, why “do we only have 15% of the world’s catalytic converter market, and not 40%?”

Van Zyl adds that the automotive industry in South Africa “cannot create jobs. Economic activity creates jobs”.

He notes that the manufacturing industry in South Africa is declining, with the motor industry now contributing 30% to domestic manufacturing, which he regards as “scary”.

SA’s mineral resources are auto industry’s only true advantage – Van Zyl


Procor Steel and Foundry Supplies recently installed new drying ovens at their facility in

Brakpan, Gauteng. The new drying ovens or, baking ovens as they are sometimes referred to, are part of the company’s strategy to improve on the quality of the exothermic sleeves that the company manufactures and supplies to the foundry industry, while reducing gas and electricity consumption.

“Feeding aids like insulating or exothermic riser sleeves and hot-toppings can improve the overall quality and cost of steel castings. Their uses have been studied long and well, however these materials can impact the chemistry of the metal in the riser and potentially in the casting,” said Fubio Ciani, owner of Procor Steel and Foundry Supplies.

“This new development, where we have installed a new 15 station drying oven forms, part of

our strategy to upgrade our manufacturing and processing equipment to improve the performance of our products that we supply, by investing in the company and to portray Procor, as a brand, as a quality supplier,” explained Ciani.

“The installation of the new ovens was a lengthy process, which started in February 2014, as the old ovens had to be dismantled to make space for the bigger and more efficient ovens, while at the same time keeping our production and deliveries on schedule.”

“The new oven has been supplied and installed by Technifurn and has resulted in us now only having a drying period of the exothermic sleeves of about eight hours, which is half the time that the old ovens took. The drying racks have been increased by three, which is 25 percent more than what we had previously, and there has been a significant drop in electricity and gas consumption. This all adds up to higher production, quicker turnaround times, better

environmental controls and cost savings.”

Procor is planning on having an open day to introduce customers to the company’s manufacturing facilities, in particular the new drying oven and the other recent developments that have taken place at the company. The date is still to be confirmed.

Procor, established in 1997, supplies exothermic foundry sleeves, foundry spirits and other mould coats, putty, monolytics to line ladles, hot toppings for Irons and SG irons, steels and non ferrous metals, aluminium slip for pattern boxes, parting powder to prevent sticking to the wood moulds, sealant, mouldable and mastic adhesives, sodium silicate, core glue and breakdown agent. Earlier this year the company was awarded ISO 9001:2008 certification.

The company is located in

Vulcania, Brakpan, Gauteng and has a staff complement of 32.For further details contact Procor on TEL: 011 740 1450

or visit www.procor.co.za

Procor installs new drying ovens for manufacturing exothermic sleeves

Procor is planning on having an open day to introduce customers to the company’s manufacturing facilities, in particular the new drying oven

and the other recent developments that have taken place at the company. The date is still to be confirmed


The SAIF Council would like to thank the following companies for sponsorship of prizes, tee boxes and greens: Ametex, Applied Casting Solutions, BSD Refractory

Supplies, Ceramic & Alloy Specialists, Crawford Publications, Endeco, FP Speciality, Foundryworx, Foseco South Africa, Guestro Automotive, IMP Scientific, Insimbi Alloy Supplies, JC Impellers CC, Knight Sales, Lauds Foundry Equipment,

Lil Sales, MIS Engineering, Nicast, RelyIntraCast, SAIF, Shareek Consulting, SI Group HA, Southway Refractories, Spectro Analytical, Thos Begbie and VIP Metals.

The competition on the day was four ball alliance with two scores to count and four scores to count on the par 3s.

The closest to the pin prizes on the 5th, 7th, 11th and 15th holes were sponsored by SI Group HA, Insimbi Alloy

Supplies and the SAIF. The longest drive prizes on the 4th and 18th holes were sponsored by VIP Metals and Lil Sales.

The winners on the day on a score of 100 points were Greg Smith, Bertie Francis, Bryan Chalmers and Jube de Jager. They were followed by Enno Krueger, Emile Timmins, Gerrie Pretorius and Duan Maritz in second place on a score of 99 points. In third on a score of 98 points were

PK van der Merwe, Shaun Thiart, Danie Meyers and Dirk Kruger, and in fourth place were Shaun and Dylan Walker, Charles McGeer and Riaan van Tonder.

A special mention must be made to Procor Steel and Foundry Supplies who raised R4 500.00 for the SAIF, via a challenge they gave to the participating golfers on the hole they sponsored.

The South African Institute of Foundrymens' Annual Golf Day took place on Thursday 13th November 2014.

The event was held at the Reading Country Club.

SAIF 2014 Annual Golf Day

In third place were Dirk Kruger, Shaun Thiart, PK van der Merwe and Danie Meyer

In fourth place were Dylan Walker, Charles McGeer, Riaan van Tonder and Shaun Walker. McGeer also won the

longest drive prize on the fourth hole, sponsored by VIP Metals

Members of the winning four ball Greg Smith, Jubie de Jager, Brian Chalmers and Bertie Francis. The first prize was

sponsored by Endeco cc in memory of the late Luis Dias. Luis’ wife Rosemary handed over the prizes

Coming in second on a score of 99 points were Enno Krueger, Emile Timmins, Duan Maritz and Gerrie Pretorious

A special mention must be made to Procor Steel and Foundry Supplies who raised R4 500.00 for the SAIF, via a challenge they gave to the participating golfers on the hole they sponsored


Dudley de Beer, of the sponsors Insimbi Alloy Supplies, with Peter Victor who won the closest to the pin prize on the 11th hole

Colleen Boyce, of the sponsors SI Group HA, with Naas Grobler who won the closest to the pin prize on the 5th hole

Mark Hughes won the closest to the pin prize on the 7th hole

Gary Coull won the closest to the pin prize on the 15th hole

The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) invites South African exporters in the foundry machinery and plant construction, casting machinery and equipment,

and melting processes as well as moulding and core making to participate on the National Pavilion at GIFA/NEWCAST, from 16 - 20 June 2015, in Düsseldorf, Germany.

GIFA/NEWCAST 2015 will showcase a full range of foundry plant and equipment, including melting furnaces, sand mixing and moulding lines, core making machines, fettling machines as well as metal castings and other foundry services.

Companies in the following product group are

encouraged to apply:• Foundry plants and installations• Melting plants and installations• Refractories technology• Plants and machinery for moulding and core making• Moulding sands and moulding auxiliaries• Moulding sand preparation and sand reclamation• Gating and feeding technology• Casting machines and pouring equipment• Knock-out, fettling, finishing• Pattern and die making

• Control systems and automation• Environmental protection and waste management• Information technologies• Cast metal products used in various applications in

the mining, automotive, rolling stock, aerospace, medical and other specialised markets

• Consulting, skills development, training and education along with other specialised services.

the dti will offer the following financial support to

qualifying firms: • Exhibition space and booth rental costs• Freight-forwarding of display materials• Air travel assistance up to R17,000.00

(SMME’s & BOE’s only)• Daily subsistence allowance of R2,300.00 per day

(SMME’s & BOE’s only).

The deadline for submission of complete applications is 16 February 2015.

For more information visit www.gifa.com. National Pavilion application forms and guidelines can be downloaded via the dti website: http://www.thedti.gov.za/trade_investment/docs/emia/national_pavilions_manufacturing_app.pdf

Invitation to participate at the GIFA/NEWCAST 2015 National Pavilion in Düsseldorf, Germany

from 16 – 20 June 2015


At the beginning of October, the BMW Group held its “BMW Supplier Innovations

Award 2014” ceremony to celebrate the achievements and innovations of its suppliers. ASK Chemicals was awarded as one of the eight most innovative suppliers in the category sustainability. The prize was accepted by CEO Frank Coenen, ASK Chemicals, for the development of the INOTECTM generation of inorganic binders for high-volume series production in engine casting.

The industrial implementation of this innovation was a joint feat by BMW and ASK Chemicals, which set high benchmarks for emissions protection and economy. In addition, both partners were willing from the very beginning to systematically make the project a reality, despite the enormous demands of the production process.

“In the years of collaborative development between ASK Chemicals and BMW, the composition and manufacture of inorganic binders were perfected to such a degree that they were able to replace organic binder systems in high-volume series production. This has enabled the BMW Group to implement zero-emission foundries and to further improve

working conditions for its employees. At the same time, productivity and the quality of the casting components have increased,” said BMW of its reasons for honoring ASK Chemicals.

Working together, BMW and ASK Chemicals have developed and brought to market a key technology that is a major milestone for the automotive industry. Many renowned car manufacturers have followed this example and are today also intensively utilizing inorganic core production technology.

“The innovation award is an incentive for us to keep on researching and developing products, in order to bring these to industrial viability together with our partners. However, the idea and the innovative product are nothing without the resolute will of the user to successfully implement a new technology on an industrial scale,” commented Frank Coenen, CEO of ASK Chemicals, on accepting the award.

For further details contact Applied Casting Solutions on TEL: 011 922 1701 or visit the website www.chemsystems.co.za or www.ask-chemicals.com

international news

ASK Chemicals honoured with BMW Innovation Award

for Sustainability

Working together, BMW and ASK Chemicals have

developed and brought to market a key technology that is a major

milestone for the automotive industry


Steel vs aluminium: Mercedes swaps aluminium pistons for steel

Innovative engineering from Mercedes-Benz once again provides trendsetting impetus in passenger car diesel technology. The world’s pioneer in diesel technology from

Stuttgart is the first to replace the hitherto conventional aluminium pistons in passenger car diesel engines with a new high-tech generation of pistons made of steel.

The advanced high-strength steel pistons will reduce fuel consumption by around 3% and lower carbon dioxide and pollutant emissions compared with their aluminium counterparts, according to Stuttgart, Germany-based Mercedes-Benz.

Diesel engines, long the hallmark of power and fuel economy, are making another leap forward with Mercedes Benz’s pioneering work in steel piston design.

Passenger cars have typically been equipped with aluminium pistons for the sole reason that they’re lighter than their steel counterparts. Although aluminium can slash the weight of an auto’s engine the metal’s biggest drawback is its high rate of thermal conductivity. Because of that attribute higher combustion chamber temperatures can’t be reached and aluminium piston engines run with decidedly less efficiency.

While steel pistons have been widely used in commercial and heavy vehicles for decades, Mercedes is forging a new path by offering steel pistons for passenger cars.

According to Mercedes’ engineers the new steel pistons will debut in the 2015 V6 E 350 BlueTEC sedan. Aside from generating the same amount of power (258HP) as its aluminium piston antecedent, the steel pistons will also improve the luxury vehicle’s fuel efficiency by roughly three percent. What’s more, each of Mercedes’ steel pistons will be smaller than its aluminium counterpart and sport a more exacting tolerance, reducing the gap between the piston and its cylinder housing and reducing untreated emissions.

When trying to "lightweight" something made out of steel, the designer's natural inclination is to turn to aluminium. But the R&D guys over at Mercedes-Benz recently did the opposite of that, and scooped up a Materialica Design and Technology Award for their trouble.

The MDT Awards are part of recently-held trade fair Materialica, which is dedicated to "Materials applications, surface technology and product engineering," and were intended to highlight lightweight design in transportation.

To that end Mercedes took an aluminium piston design for a diesel passenger car and replaced it with a redesigned steel one.

To the layperson, this doesn't make sense on two levels. First off the cylinder block was left aluminium, which expands and contracts at a different rate than steel, which is why aluminium cylinder blocks are usually paired with aluminium cylinders. Secondly, even your first-year ID or engineering students understand that steel is heavier and denser than aluminium, hardly a good choice of material for a lightweighting competition.

But what Mercedes realised was that by using steel, they could make shorter, more compact pistons (presumably operating within a cylinder of similar displacement), producing the same or better performance while using less overall material and thus, cutting the weight. As for the expansion problem, according to Mercedes, "The lower expansion of steel as operating temperatures rise ensures increasing clearance between piston and aluminium housing. This reduces

friction by 40 to 50 percent." The piston rings presumably take up the slack.

The improved pistons are good enough to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by two to four percent, and "the reduction in fuel consumption is even more pronounced at lower and mid-range

engine speeds," writes the company. "These ranges play an important part in everyday driving."

While we assume the automotive future will be electric or at least hybrid, it's interesting to see that innovation in fuel-burning engines is still continuing (perhaps spurred by the non-internal-combustion competition), producing this unexpected steel-for-aluminum swap. With any luck, the materials science will trickle down to other industries.

In 1936 Mercedes-Benz became the first company in the world to launch a diesel passenger car, thus taking on its role as a diesel pioneer. Stuttgart’s automotive engineers consistently reinforced this leadership position over the decades that followed through the introduction of numerous technical innovations that have contributed significantly to making the passenger car diesel engine what it is today: powerful and yet economical – in short, efficient.

German automaker Mercedes-Benz will replace aluminium pistons with high-tech steel pistons in one of its diesel passenger vehicles.


Alcoa Inc. is working rapidly to adopt 3-D printing to manufacture parts for jet engines and other products, the aluminium maker's chief technology officer said recently,

underscoring the importance of the emerging technology and the company's desire to cut production costs.

“You are going to see it have a big impact in industry,” Ray Kilmer, Alcoa's technology chief, said at the company's annual investor day presentation in New York.

Three-D printing promises to cut product development costs by 25 percent, cut in half the time it takes to make parts for customers and enable rapid redesign of complex products that was not possible before, Kilmer said.

The technology uses three-dimensional printing machines and related products in a process called additive manufacturing, which can deposit thin layers of metal, plastic and ceramics atop one another, using a digital blueprint to produce a precise component or product. Such machines resemble ink-jet printers in homes and offices but are larger and more robust.

The company has a team at the Alcoa Technology Center in Upper Burrell and at other locations working on 3-D printing production.

Technology is “a gigantic advantage that powers every one of our businesses,” CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said at the investor day. Aerospace, automotive and consumer electronics components are its biggest businesses.

Kilmer said the company's strategy is focused on the “relentless pursuit of taking costs out” of production. Gains from productivity improvements totaled $862 million through the third quarter and are expected to reach $1.1 billion for the full year, exceeding the $850 million target for 2014, the company said.

Using a jet engine fan blade as an example, Kilmer said Alcoa's research shows production time from design to finished product could be reduced from a year to 25 weeks. A large part of that reduction is the ability to virtually model via computer the casting process for each part instead of the traditional

methods of making dies.“More research is needed, but we will be able to print some

of these parts directly (instead of casting),” he said.Product development costs could be 25 percent lower and

enable the ability to quickly design new iterations of complex products that is not possible with traditional forging technology, he said. Kilmer was not available for additional comment.

Alcoa's development work is done in house, and it is looking at acquisitions, Kilmer said. “We have a large focus group looking at 3-D printing” for use in multiple applications, he said.

Alcoa moves into 3-D printing for part manufacturing

At the recent IMTS 2014 exhibition in Chicago, USA the world’s first 3D-printed electric car was 3D printed and assembled. The process started with a design competition. The winner was Italian Michele Anoe with his ‘Strati’ design, meaning ‘layers’ in his native language. Printing began at the start of IMTS and only took 44 hours to complete. Made of carbon-fiber reinforced polymer, the same plastic as Legos, the car was printed on a large-scale additive printer. The wheels and hubcaps were also 3D printed using the direct metal process. The result is an electric car that drives at a top speed of 40 mph and only consists of about 40 parts, versus 20 000 parts in a regular car. The decreased production time can dramatically shift the industry as consumer demand for customised products in less time continues. The direct digital manufacturing technique could revolutionise the industry


Vacuum oxygen decarburisation from Siemens launched at voestalpine Giesserei Linz GmbH

With rising expectations from automakers and commercial vehicle manufacturers, and increasingly for oil-exploration and

mechanical engineering applications, steel foundries are getting serious about their clean-steelmaking technologies. One obvious effect is a new class of vacuum treatment plants scaled to metalcasting operations.

Higher-grade steels require secondary treatment, often carried out under vacuum, and while such plants are common in primary steelmaking and stainless steel production, they have been less common for producers of steel castings. And, it’s not only the scale of the vacuum operations that have changed, but also the process and control technologies used to execute that stage of production.

Degassing steel under vacuum generates gases and vapors that may be dangerous to the operators, as well as the capital equipment. Essentially, CO and H2, along with the fumes of volatile metals, are released from the steel surface. Metal and metal-oxide gases partially condense on cold elements and generate a fine dust. That dust must be efficiently separated in special bag filters, cyclones, and containers so that it does not reach the vacuum pumps.

Explosion protection in vacuum plants, especially those that generate a large quantity of CO by using oxygen for decarburisation, has been accomplished by over-pressure flaps at the metallurgical reaction vessels, alarm devices for water leaks, sensors for pressure and temperature as well as emergency venting with nitrogen.

With the introduction of mechanical vacuum pumps, more efficient gas cooling and dust separation became necessary.

During a typical steel degassing process, potentially flammable fuels as CO or H2 are produced, but such gases are not dangerous unless mixed in the right concentration with oxygen. So, oxygen increases the risk of explosion.

Yet, oxygen cannot be eliminated, as leakages cannot be ruled out completely, and the use of oxygen is mandatory for certain manufacturing processes. Primary vacuum pumps that require high-volume air-cooling may increase the chances of an explosive gas-mixture. The entire arrangement is a complex one that many steel foundries have not taken on — until recently.

A vacuum oxygen decarburisation (VOD) plant from Siemens Metals Technologies, with a capacity of 50 metric tons, commenced operation at voestalpine Giesserei Linz GmbH. The Austrian company is thereby adding to its equipment for secondary metallurgical treatment of steel castings for

sophisticated applications in the energy and mechanical engineering industries. The plant features electrically driven mechanical vacuum pumps instead of steam injectors and therefore does not require any steam generator.

For the new vacuum oxygen decarburisation plant at voestalpine Giesserei Linz GmbH, Siemens handled the configuration and supplied all the core components. These included, for example, a special ladle hood made of copper-plated sheet. This minimises the occurrence of baked slag on the upper edge of the ladle and on the vacuum lid. The scope of supply also included the vacuum lid, an oxygen-blowing lance system, a gas cooler and a filter system, mechanical vacuum pumps and the hydraulic system. The order also included a water management system matched to the overall plant as well as the complete automation technology and instrumentation.

As one of the first VOD systems worldwide, the plant in Linz uses a combination of electrically driven, mechanical vacuum pumps to generate a vacuum. This includes roots blowers and screw compressors. Unlike the conventional steam injectors used in secondary metallurgy, these do not require any process steam, so there is no need for any external steam or the installation of a separate boiler to generate steam.

Further information about solutions for steel works, rolling mills and processing lines can be found at www.siemens.com/metals.

Plant broadens product portfolio with sophisticated steel castings for energy and mechanical engineering industries. Electrically driven vacuum pumps make steam consumption superfluous.

voestalpine Giesserei Linz GmbH is completing its secondary metallurgical treatment options with the new vacuum oxygen decarburisation plant. This enlarges

the product portfolio and will play a major part in achieving cost-efficient production.Siemens Metals Technologies’ design for Voestalpine’s VOD uses a combination of

electrically driven and mechanical vacuum pumps to generate a vacuum


Italian brake manufacturer Brembo has announced its $100 million investment in a

new cast iron facility near its Homer facilities in Michigan, beginning the process of vertically integrating its production capacity in the United States. Construction will begin in 2015 and is expected to be completed in 2017, allowing Brembo to bring together all phases of production for greater process efficiency. Once completed, the plant will have an annual output of up to 80,000 tons in brake disc castings and add 250 jobs there and at the company’s Plymouth, Michigan, research and development centre and headquarters.

The realisation of a new foundry in Michigan reinforces the company’s commitment to the North American market, which has grown substantially over the past five years and is slated to become Brembo’s number one geographic market by the end of 2014.

“Following the opening of our Plymouth headquarters and R&D centre in 2010 and two months away from the completion of the recent Homer plant expansion, we are glad to announce this significant investment, which will reinforce the link between Brembo and the United States, one of the most important automotive markets in the world,” said Alberto Bombassei, chairman, Brembo S.p.A. “The increasing number of global platforms being built by vehicle manufacturers prompts us to seek the best possible integration between the different stages of the value chain, replicating the integrated production model that we have

adopted for some time now in our facilities in Italy, and recently in Poland and China.”

This investment will be financed with cash flow generated by the group and will be supported by incentives from the State of Michigan and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. Brembo began its expansion in North America in 1988, but its recent growth was

spurred by the purchase of the Hayes-Lemmerz Automotive Brake Component division in November 2007, when it acquired the manufacturing facility in Homer, Michigan, as well as one in Apodaca, Mexico.

In 2010, Brembo opened its American headquarters and R & D Centre in Plymouth, Michigan, and expanded the Homer plant earlier this year. Brembo also has a facility in Mooresville, N.C., near the headquarters of several major racing teams. Brembo’s high performance brake systems have supported F1, IndyCar, NASCAR, Le Mans and MotoGP, among others.

For further details visit www.brembo.com

Brembo investing $100 million in new USA plant

Professor Gotthard Wolf has become the new director of the foundry institute in Freiberg, Germany. He took up the position of professorship for foundry technology at

TU Bergakademie Freiberg on 1st August following the retirement of Prof Klaus Eigenfeld in the autumn of 2013.

Wolf studied at RWTH Aachen and worked at Mahle Ventiltrieb GmbH in Stuttgart, followed by the Institute for Foundry Technology (IfG) in Düsseldorf. He has been the CEO of the German Foundrymen’s Association (VDG) and was a member of the executive board of the Association of the German Foundry Industry (BDG). He is also a past president of the World Foundry Organization. Most recently, he worked as a partner at Baker Tilly Roellfs, an international operating consultancy agency. His teaching expertise ranges from Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences and University of Duisburg-Essen to AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland.

“The decisive point for accepting the professorship call at Bergakademie Freiberg was the extraordinarily good scientific environment for teaching and research in the field of foundry technology,” he said. The 56-year old also cited the concept of close connections between research areas within the faculty and university as part of the decision. Wolf is looking forward to leading research in the field of foundry technology at the newly renovated institute and laboratory facilities. TU Bergakademie Freiberg is equipped with the largest experimental foundry shop of German speaking universities.

Prof Wolf will focus his research on innovative process technologies and optimisation of foundry processes, and his teaching on foundry process technology and factory planning. As a key topic, the energy and material efficiency in foundries will be included - a problem affecting the entire foundry sector. Closely related is the topic of process automation.

New face for German foundry research


Electron beam additive manufacturing process breakthrough

for titanium aluminide turbine blades

Italian aerospace company Avio has worked with Swedish additive manufacturing specialist Arcam to produce metal turbine blades for GE's GEnx jet engine, used on

the Boeing 787 and 747-8.Arcam technology uses electron beams rather than the

laser sources favoured by other additive manufacturing equipment makers, calling its process electron beam melting or EBM. The high power process can build blades from layers of powder that are more than four times thicker than those used by laser-powered 3D printers.

Using a 3 kW electron beam gun, said to be 10 times more powerful than the alternative laser beams, eight stage seven blades for the low pressure turbine element of the GEnx engine were produced in just 72 hours. "This is very competitive with casting, which is how we used to make them," says Mauro Varetti, advanced manufacturing engineer at Avio, which is owned by GE.

The key focus of the project was to improve the manufacturing of parts made from titanium aluminide (TiAl), a material that is 50% lighter than the nickel-based alloys typically used for low pressure turbine blades.

Blades made from the material can reduce the weight of the entire low pressure turbine by 20%. "Although the material is expensive, the weight savings and the fuel consumption savings tied to weight reduction more than pay for it," Varetti says.

Titanium aluminide is notoriously hard to work with - companies normally using lost-wax casting or spin casting to

make such parts. A problem is that the material has a very high contraction ratio, meaning it can become fragile and is prone to cracks as it cools. The EBM printer method solves these problems.

GE will start testing blades printed for the GEnx engine at its test facility in Peebles, Ohio, USA. The parts will also go inside the company's GE9X, a new jet engine for Boeing's next-generation long-haul plane, the 777X.

EBM machines are now working inside Avio's new 20,000 sq ft plant near Turin, Italy. Dedicated to additive manufacturing, the factory opened last August.

GE is building a new factory in the US for making 3D-printed jet engine fuel nozzles for its LEAP engine. The factory will eventually make up to 40,000 parts per annum.

UCIMU, the operating structure of UCIMU-Sistemi per produrre, the association of Italian manufacturers of machine tools, robots, and automation systems will host

the next edition of the EMO trade show on behalf of CECIMO.EMO covers the entire bandwidth of the global machine

tool market. At its last edition, EMO Hannover 2013 over 2,100 exhibitors from 43 different countries were present to showcase their innovations to industrial users from around the world under the event's slogan of 'Intelligence in Production'. Over the six days of EMO, the event attracted a total of just under 145 000 trade visitors from over 100 different nations. Visitors from outside Germany numbered more than 50 000, or one in three.

A long-lasting successful partnershipVDW (Germany) and UCIMU (Italy) are member

associations of CECIMO and they represent the two most important European countries in terms of machine tool production and consumption. Both organisations have an excellent track record in organising EMO on behalf of CECIMO, and CECIMO is very pleased to continue the fruitful collaboration.

‘Let’s build the future’ at EMO Milano 2015 Italy will host the 2015 edition of EMO at the prestigious

exhibition centre Fiera Milano from 5 to 10 October. Visitors can expect to find machines to build the future: cutting-edge solutions making it possible to achieve what mankind has imagined, technologies to improve our quality of life, and much more. The wide offer of machine tools presented will attract users from all the sectors using metal working systems. A record number of visitors are expected at the 2015 edition of EMO Milano because it takes place during the last stretch of Expo Milano 2015, and because the Italian government has agreed to refinance its "Sabatini" law, which has been such a boost for the purchase of machine tools in Italy.

Metalworking News and Trade Fair Travel packageMetalworking News and Trade Fair Travel are working

on a package to include attending the Springboks versus Scotland rugby game in the Rugby World Cup 2015 before continuing on to EMO 2015. The game takes place on Saturday 3 October 2015 at St James Park, Newcastle. This is an exciting opportunity for you to combine a bit of pleasure with work. Hotel rooms etc. have already been booked in Milan for the exhibition. For further details contact Trade Fair Travel on TEL: 031 916 1414 or visit www.tradefairtours.com

EMO Milano 2015 metal working trade showEMO is the leading international trade fair for the machine tool industry.


In order to ensure a continuous flow of recycled material to the melting furnace, blockages must be detected. The Solimotion FTR20 bulk solids motion detector is the

perfect candidate to be put in charge of monitoring.More than a third of copper production at Aurubis, the

world's largest recycler of copper, is achieved as a result of processing debris containing copper and precious metal such as dross, slag and dust as well as PCBs, electronic scrap, used catalytic converters and materials from the waste industry. The recycling materials are first checked for consistency and chemical composition and then comminuted. The raw material is then fed into a bath smelting furnace via an enclosed conveyor belt. The material can get jammed here, which could lead to a blockage - but not when the Solimotion FTR20 bulk solids motion detector is on guard.

This non-contact device based on microwave technology works with an operating frequency of 24GHz and a transmission power below 100mW. For detection of the bulk solids movements, microwaves are transmitted and then reflected by the material. The Solimotion measures the strength of the reflected, frequency-shifted energy (Doppler Effect) and creates from it a display value, which is indicated via LED bars. The FTR20 operates like a binary switch, i.e. it detects two states: material movement and no material movement. The optional analog 4-20mA output signal also allows continuous detection of changes in the mass flow. With an unobstructed beam path, the range of the Solimotion is up to 20m, dependent also on the reflection characteristics of the particular bulk solids.

At the push of a buttonInitial commissioning can be performed quickly and easily

due to the automatic alignment function and just one push of a button. The manual alignment option of the FTR20 also enables individual adjustment to the application with the help of customisable functions. In addition to an adjustable

hysteresis, a switching delay and

attenuation, the detection range or the gain

can be adjusted so that even bulk solids with very low

relative permittivity (dielectric constant, such as expanded

polystyrene, can be detected reliably. The configuration is stored internally and is maintained even if the supply voltage is interrupted. When in operation, no further input is necessary. To check, a PLC may be situated downstream or a data logger is available, the FTR20 provides the option of simulating an output signal.

Applications The Solimotion FTR20 is ideal for the continuous

monitoring of pneumatic and mechanical bulk solid transportation processes. The compact device can be used wherever cost-effective monitoring of bulk solids movements (flow/no flow) and changes to the flow behaviour is required, e.g. in metering systems, silos, above conveyor belts, before strainers and filters, after discharge and at bucket conveyors.

For further details contact Jan Gerritsen of Endress+Hauser on TEL: 011 262 8000 or visit www.za.endress.com

Morgan Advanced Materials has introduced P-59 ceramic, a high-silica core-type material with a fine particle size distribution. The P-59 material is a

further development of the previous P-52, and according to Morgan it represents “a breakthrough into the high-stability realm of materials.”

P-59 is intended for directionally solidified (DS) and single-crystal (SX) investment castings with thin cross sections that P-52 and P-57 core material cannot address.

Used in investment casting of jet engine turbine blades, P-59 reportedly delivers critical benefits to the final product, such as increased fuel efficiency. In order to achieve greater efficiency, engines must run at extremely high temperatures, which demands superior air cooling

capabilities. One element of that air cooling capability is a small, thin, trailing edge portion of the core. With its fine particle-size distribution, P-59 is able to achieve a trailing edge that is up to 20% thinner than that produced by

other materials.Even with its fine particle size, P-59 is

able to maintain other critical properties for investment casting, such as stability, crushability, and leachability.

In addition to the aerospace market, ceramic cores from Morgan are used regularly for castings of other products, including industrial gas turbine (IGT) blades for power generation.

For further details contact Morgan Advanced Materials South Africa on TEL: 011 815 6820 or visit www.morganthermalceramics.com

High-stability ceramic core material

product review

Blockage detected - danger averted!


Norton | Saint-Gobain has introduced an upgrade to its Norton Gemini RightCut Wheels, providing the best

aluminium oxide (A/O) option for cutting steel and ferrous metals.

The latest generation Norton Gemini RightCut wheels are 100% A/O abrasive, infused with a new bond technology and process, for a thinner wheel design and low kerf loss. Strong, extra-thin 1,1mm wheels result in less material waste and quick cutting action. Providing a clean, precise, straight, burr-free quality cut, RightCut wheels offer up to 20% faster cutting than a standard wheel. The wheels are longer lasting, extending wheel usage up to 70% more than conventional wheels.

Also, the new Norton Gemini RightCut wheels require less pressure while cutting, giving operators a more comfortable, easier-to-use cut-off method.

"Our exclusive new design on the Gemini RightCut wheels will outlast

and out-cut competitive A/O blades," according to Debbie Gaspich, director of Product Management, North America. "Operators will also appreciate a comfortable cut, as the wheels quickly and easily slice through a variety of steels."

Norton Gemini RightCut wheels are a cost-effective cut-off solution

for portable, guarded right angle grinders and are ideal for numerous

metal slotting and cut-off applications including on bolts and studs, angle iron,

tubing and sheet metal in a variety of materials ranging from carbon to stainless steel.

Type 01 (100 – 180mm) and Type 27 (100 – 200mm) wheels are available.

For further details contact Willie Gillan on TEL: 012 657 2800, or email: [email protected]

Bruker Q2 ION metal analyser now also available for zinc The success story of the metal analyzer Q2 ION continues.

Bruker Elemental GmbH has the Q2 ION now extended by a further NE application. It is now

available to use on Zamak alloys for die-cast zinc such as ZL0400, ZL0410, and ZL0430 which can be analysed. But also the composition of electroplating zinc and many other alloys of zinc base can be quickly, accurately and reliably determined with Q2 ION.

The analysis of zinc-base makes Q2 ION attractive for zinc die casters, re-melters, and manufacturers of pipe fittings, zinc recycling, galvanizing plants, and many more…

The optical emission spectrometer Q2 ION corresponds to the request of many customers for a small, simple and easy-to-use system for metal analysis. Therefore, special emphasis was paid to a simplified operation, minimized maintenance, short analysis times and a rapid start-up routine. The system is ready for use

after a few minutes. This also makes it ideal for on-site use. The Q2 ION can also be used on steel, iron, aluminium, and copper applications.

The Q2 ION - the perfect symbiosis of simplicity and analytical performance!

Bruker Elemental GmbH is a leading manufacturer of stationary and mobile optical emission spectrometers (OES), handheld XRF and CS / ONH elemental analyzers. For more than a decade, customers have been supplied with powerful spectrometers. Bruker Elemental exports products all over the world.

For more information, contact your nearest IMP branch, Gauteng TEL: 011 916 5000, Kwazulu Natal TEL: 031 764 2821, Western Cape TEL: 021 852 6133, Eastern Cape TEL: 041 364 2544, Free State TEL: 018 293 3333 or email [email protected] or visit www.imp.co.za

Aluminium-oxide cutting wheels for cutting steel, ferrous metals

“Our exclusive new design on the Gemini RightCut wheels

will outlast and out-cut competitive A/O blades”

vol 15 no 4 - castings sa...southern africa the science, technology and application of ... metal...

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