Engineered Cooling technology allows casting materials with advanced properties to be achieved through controlled cooling of the parts.
Premature removal of the pieces from the sand mold allows a natural austenitization process that, followed by cooling, also natural, and maintenance without heat input at the selected temperature, allows obtaining ADI (Austempered Ductile Iron) grades that meet standard requirements. .
Thus, this technology developed and patented (EP3539687A1) by AZTERLAN makes it possible to obtain ausferritic materials without the need to carry out the conventional austempering heat treatment, making use of the energy stored in the pieces after their solidification.
Ausferritic materials have an optimal specific strength, as well as an excellent strength-ductility and strength-toughness ratio, together with a lower density.
Additionally, these materials have a high fatigue limit and high resistance to friction, as well as very good castability, which allows complex geometric shapes to be achieved.
For these reasons, these materials can replace forged and cast steel and even aluminum in some applications.
Engineered Cooling® technology makes use of the heat retained in the pieces to, through controlled cooling, dominate the metallurgical phases that take place during solidification. Thanks to this, it achieves the ausferritic phase without the need for subsequent heat treatments.
The elimination of this heat treatment provides significant advantages in terms of saving time, logistic costs and energy costs.
Control of the solidification process and mastery of the metallurgical characteristics associated with it is one of AZTERLAN’s main lines of research for iron foundry.
AZTERLAN has developed a specific technology to ensure the formation of the ADI microstructure using the Thermolan® thermal analysis system.
The Thermolan® metallurgical quality system has a quick cup and a specific module to ensure the industrial production of ADI.
“The Foundry of the Future is that of connected processes that is able to take advantage of the knowledge generated inside the company at the same time that it keeps learning from its manufacturing and market experience.
Along with a deep knowledge of metallurgy, Industry 4.0 technologies, advanced data management systems and machine learning technologies have landed in this industry to transform the way castings are conceived”.
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