SNAM Melt Mate can help foundries in optimization of their trim adjustments to achieve the target chemical composition in minimum iterations.
It takes inputs from Thermal analysis (conventional CE Meter) as well as the Spectrometer, and uses advanced formula to calculate Carbon equivalent and recommend the trim adjustment additions.
Chemical compositions of metal achieved using SNAM Melt Mate shows improved metallurgical properties and characteristics.
In cast iron production, one of the most important factor to achieve the desired casting property is
the metal chemistry. Foundries use different tools to achieve the target chemistry. While in some
cases, a known charge material and ratio of addition itself suffices, foundries with better process
control use equipment like Spectrometer, CE meter etc. to arrive at the desired bath chemistry.
Once the details from these chemical analysis tools are obtained, the foundry resorts to manual
calculation to arrive at the trim adjustments. In cases where more than one element is out of the
specified limit, multiple calculations and adjustments needs to be done to arrive at the target
chemistry.
For grey and ductile cast iron, the metal chemistry – generally the Carbon equivalent plays a major
role in influencing the solidification behaviour and the mechanical properties of the casting.
The current App incorporates an elaborate formula for calculations of the Carbon equivalent of the
metal. For the calculation of Carbon equivalent, SNAM Melt Mate considers five elements, Carbon,
Silicon, Manganese, Phosphorus and Sulphur.
Since, the value of Carbon from Spectrometer can be erroneous, the CE meter value is captured for
accurate Carbon content. The values of other elements are taken from the Spectrometer results.
The user can create databases for each target chemistry and can load the given chemistry as target
during use. This saves the additional time for individual value entry.
The software has provisions to save up to 1000 iterations and retrieve for usage. For each element,
the minimum and maximum limits can be set and SNAM Melt Mate makes recommendation for the
given target range.
The multiple trials conducted at the SNAM R&D Centre using Thermal Analysis shows that the metal
prepared using SNAM Melt Mate shows a better metallurgical quality when compared to the metal
prepared using conventional route, with lesser tendency for Carbides and shrinkage.