Ongoing investment in research and development to acquire the latest technology and modern production methods in metal castings development has resulted in castings manufacturer Steloy Castings taking about 70% of the market share by providing valve products to the mining industry.

The company explains that the addition of the Magmasoft program to its product offering has ensured that the casting process is simulated from beginning to end without the initial outlay for raw or special materials.

“We have been using the Magmasoft program in our castings designs for about three years. Its simulation capabilities allows Steloy Castings not only to determine casting integrity but also to predict certain quality levels when developing the high-alloy and highly specialised castings for which Steloy is renowned,” says Steloy Castings group sales manager Leon Reeves.

The company’s valve components are cast for applications where severe corrosion, high pressures and high or cryogenic temperatures are prevalent, and is typically used in stainless steel, nickel-based corrosion-resistant alloys, carbon steels and low-alloy steels. The components are typically used in applications for exploration and refining and at mining and chemical plants.

“Castings are produced at our three plants, all of which have access to centralised solidification analyses and modelling using Magmasoft,” says Reeves.

Magmasoft is designed to predict total casting quality by simulating mold filling, solidification and cooling. It also simulates strains, microstructure formation and property distributions in casting manufacturing processes.

Casting quality is defined by several requirements and is affected by multiple processes during casting production. Magmasoft is designed to support all aspects of casting manufacture, from casting design, melting and metallurgy, pattern and moldmaking, as well as casting, to heat treatment, fettling and repair.

Magmasoft can be used in all cast materials, ranging from grey iron, sand and die-cast aluminium to large steel castings. It is also applicable to all casting processes, allowing the die casting to optimise tooling designs, reduce cycle times and predict defect formation before the tool steel is cut.

With its modular design, Magmasoft contributes to cost reduction along the complete process chain of a cast component - from conceptual design, final component design, tooling layout and prototyping to process optimisation, reliable production and quality management.

Cost Benefits
Using Magmasoft in casting design is beneficial because it has robust and rapid layout of the rigging of risers, ingates, chills and vents. It also contributes to cost efficiency by avoiding casting defects that arise from miss runs, turbulence, oxide, gas porosity and shrinkage.

The program reduces material use, percentage of returns over productivity, quality costs related to energy use and die life, as well as cycle times and die-costs by increasing the efficiency of heating and cooling lines.

It also supports the expert by verifying process parameters and predicting robust production windows, which minimise the start-up costs caused by gating, riser and process layout modifications.

The program improves internal communication and cooperation of internal and external customers. “Magmasoft has boosted our customer’s confidence in our product through the proactive demonstration of foundry competence,” says Reeves.

“The benefits of using this program are numerous. For example, there is a reduction in the trial-approval process for first-of-its-kind casting, in that the entire method and casting process can be simulated upfront, without the cost or time involved when actually producing a trial castings. Also, the quality of the castings has been elevated, scrap has been reduced and time to market has been significantly enhanced,” concludes Reeves.