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Melting and elaboration of alloys

LBI develops alloys according to your needs in order to achieve the mechanical and physical properties specific to a particular application.

Standard and special alloys

In addition to alloys specified by the most common material standards (EN, DIN, ASTM, BS, WNr., NF, SEW…), LBI also casts many different alloys further to its customer’s special requests (for example particular chemical analysis, restriction, special targets for mechanical properties…). This is all possible thanks to the advanced knowledge of its foundry workers and to its adaptive equipment.

Another advantage of its particular competences in alloying is the possibility to reuse the shavings of metal (swarf) left from the machining process. This recovery of the shavings enables a very interesting reduction in production costs.

Elaboration of alloys

  • From the beginning of the production process, the furnace charges are perfectly monitored by computerisation, with each following step thoroughly controlled.

  • Each liquid melt is analysed through automatic spectrometry.

  • Each element of the chemical makeup are is carefully controlled in order to achieve higher mechanical and physical properties than those requested in the standards.

  • A final sample is taken from the ladle, just before the centrifugal casting (or spun casting) operation takes place and is analysed and kept for a minimum period of one year.

Les Bronzes d'Industrie – Process and Know-how - Melting and elaboration of alloys

Melting

Designed to limit the time of melting and to obtain optimal mixing in the liquid baths, the 24 melting furnaces at LBI (from 300 kgs up to 14 tons each) enable us to achieve the metallurgical quality and homogeneity of the alloys produced.

The stainless steels produced in induction furnaces can be operated under very severe conditions.

The combination “induction melting and centrifugal casting (or spun casting) process” leads especially, as far as austenoferritic steels are concerned, to very high quality levels, similar to those obtained on pieces cast under vacuum or with AOD converter.

Length

4,5 m

Max length
Diameter

6 m

Max outer diameter
Weight

20 t

Max weight

Dimensions and shapes

Centrifugation is mainly reserved for hollow cylindrical parts (rings, tubes, etc.). The raw external profile, generally of revolution, can be stepped (several different diameters), with flange(s) or even conical shapes.

The bore, which is cylindrical because cores are not used, is obtained by the quantity of metal introduced into the centrifugation shell.

The large fleet of tools, of more than 1,500 shells, makes it possible to achieve the dimensions and shapes requested very closely enabling an economical solution with little waste.

Other manufacturing steps

Phone +33 (0)3 87 71 15 11
E-mail commercial@lbi.fr

26 rue de la République
57360 Amnéville, France.

LBI Foundries Group

LBI is a company of the LBI Foundries group