Month: May 2023

Radiography Testing (RT) also popularly known as a type of Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) uses Gamma rays or X-Ray testing as a component inspection method to detect volumetric casting defects by foundries or investment casting manufacturers, which can not be seen by naked eye.

A big stand-out factor from the competitors within the Investment casting industry is that we have in-house Radiography testing (RT) facilities. We at Austin Alloy Cast, use IR 192 & Co 60 Gamma rays sources to inspect the casted metal through Radiography Testing (RT). We have separate facilities for both the sources – IR 192 and Co 60. Tests using both the sources separately have many advantages. Cobalt 60 (Co 60) and Iridium 192 (IR 192) produce high energies which makes it possible to penetrate thick materials in short exposure of time. Cobalt-60 emits a 1.33 and a 1.17 MeV gamma ray, and iridium-192 will emit 0.31, 0.47, and 0.60 MeV gamma rays. Due to this our team is able to detect casting defects in thinner as well as thicker metal components during the inspection.

Necessity of Radiography testing in the Investment casting industry and the method we use for inspection:

> The method detects thinner as well as thicker wall size metal components.

> Verify internal flaws on complex structures like porosity, cracks, shrinkages

> Detects external as well as internal flaws or defects due to greater penetrating power.

> RT is mandatory for castings used in Hazardous environments like Oil & Gas to prevent leakages that could in some cases lead to fatalities.

We use various other NDT methods like Dye Penetrant Testing, Magnetic Particle Testing and Ultrasonic Testing depending on the requirements of the project, alloy types, component types and other factors. Our experts have many years of experience tackling the complex flaws and issues arising during the manufacturing process. Which is a value addition to the advanced technology.

Comprehensive investment casting manufacturing facility at one place makes you worry-free for your metal components casting projects. Get in-touch on the below given contact details to discuss your next project.

Stainless Steels are the best materials when you want your components to be corrosion-resistant, aesthetic surface finish and long lasting. And for the same reasons Stainless steel investment casting is the preferred casting process to manufacture the components which are used by food processing, medical, mining, and general engineering industries. The Investment Casting process was first used 5500 years ago and since then has evolved to what it is today. Investment Casted components are used globally in a variety of industries. Germans call it Feinguss, Italians call it Microfusione and it is also called precision casting.

Details you would want to know about steel investment casting.

Before you start any project and choose steel casting for it, here are a few questions answered. If there are still any questions, please feel free to contact us on details given at the end of the post.

What are the advantages of the steel investment casting process?

There are many advantages to choosing a stainless steel investment casting process. First of all stainless steel is a corrosion resistant material, so it adds to the life value of the component. It has excellent precision tolerance which other metals don’t have. And third is that you can achieve superior surface finish through the process.

What grade of steel is best for my industry?

300 series grade steel has good corrosion resistance and softer material. This grade of steel is best for food processing and medical industries. 304, 304L, 316, 316L are 300 series of stainless steel grades.

400 series steel has high strength quality but rigid nature so can be difficult to bend. So, this grade of steel can be used for making general engineering parts or machine tools. 410 and 416 are both 400 series steel grade.

What components or machine parts can be manufactured through the steel investment casting process?

● Valve bodies including gate valve castings, ball valve castings, butterfly valve castings, globe valve castings, triple eccentric valve castings, knife gate valve       castings, pressure relief valve castings

● Pump castings like centrifugal pump casing, closed & open impellers, lobe pump bearing housings, lobe pump rotor housing, split case pump housing

● Investment Castings for heavy equipments like Hydraulic cylinder castings

● Investment Castings for measurement instruments like flow meter bodies, pressure transmitter housing & cover

What is the general steel investment casting process?

Steel or any other investment casting follow following process:

1.   Tool Making

2.   Wax Injection

3.   Pattern Assembly

4.   Shell Coating

5.   Dewaxing

6.   Pouring

7.   Shell Removing

8.   Heat Treatment

9.   Finishing

10. Final Inspection of the raw casting

11. Other value added processes like machining

Is the steel investment casting process costly?

The cost of steel investment casting is medium to high. Investment casting, popularly known as lost-wax casting process takes longer time than other casting processes but offers great versatility in complex geometry and materials.

Have more questions? Reach us on the details given below.

In oil & gas, marine or any industries, where the process piping system is installed, valves are one of the most crucial parts of the system to control the flow. Valves are used to stop, allow or reroute the flow of fluid, gas or chemical. To make this process smooth different kinds of valves are used to manage the flow depending on the functionality and requirements. Gate valves are very popular for the processes. If gate valve investment casting is done right, the pipeline process runs smoothly for a longer period of time. Gate valve failure like seat or wedge corrosion, stem break-off, etc. can arise if the gate valve investment casting manufacturer has no adequate knowledge or facilities to adhere to the tight tolerances and manufacture it according to the technical literature. One can obviously repair a malfunctioning gate valve but it’s always better to prevent it from malfunctioning.

Valves are critical components in a piping system. It may contribute 15 to 30 percent of the total piping system cost. So, the engineers have to choose the right quality of valves at the design stage only. Failure of valves can result in entire piping system failure and a lot of cost of the project. Gate valves are the most common types of valves used in any piping system.

How gate valve casting by Austin Alloy Cast helps make your piping system smooth in the harshest environment?

Austin Alloy Cast has vast experience in valve casting. In fact, 50-60% of our total revenue is derived from the Valve industry. As a renowned investment casting company, Austin understands the requirements and mechanism of valves and its applications. Austin Alloy Cast supplies the valves and other metal components to leading oil & gas, marine, food processing and other companies globally. Austin has developed advanced facilities at their casting foundry to bridge the gap between the requirements of the piping system and making it efficient.

If you need consulting for your next project for gate valve casting or any other metal component casting, Austin Alloy Cast can be contacted on the below given details.

India casting company Austin Alloy Cast offers Investment Casting solutions to industries like oil and gas, food processing, heavy earth moving, marine, medical and general engineering. These industries need fully machined components to be casted in a foundry. Austin Alloy Cast has advanced casting foundry setup in Western India.

Each industry has a different set of requirements for machineries. And so the size and complexity of machinery parts are different based on the requirements. Heavy earth moving industry uses bigger machine parts however metal components used in general engineering are comparatively small in size. Even in one industry two departments may require different sizes of investment casting components.. For example, the food processing industry. A small part like butterfly valve investment casting is used for the process valves in the Oil & Gas industry, however big parts like centrifugal pump investment casting casing are used in the Oil & Gas or Chemical Industries.

Austin Alloy Cast has a range of equipment and infrastructure available to process smallest parts to the biggest parts up to 150 kgs depending on the geometry and the alloy of the investment casting component.

Choosing an Indian investment casting company like Austin Alloy as a manufacturing partner has other advantages also.

Unaffected by Gas Crisis:

Since the global energy crisis has affected many foundries in European and other western countries, India is still unstirred. Particularly talking about Austin Alloy Cast, 1.5 MW energy produced at the company owned solar power plant to reduce dependency on third parties for energy requirements as well as reducing carbon footprint.

Cost effective labour and value added services under one roof reduce overall project price and lead times:

Cheap metal casting solutions from other countries might be temporary cost saving but eventually it costs more due to inferior quality. Austin Alloy Cast, India-based investment casting company offers cost effective solutions with uncompromised quality. Value added services provided under one roof also saves cost & lead time while reducing risk of quality defects.

Stable geographical conditions:

India has always been neutral in global political issues. Due to this stand, the foreign trade and transactions between India and countries remain unaffected. India has a huge youth population enabling us to propel labour intensive industries like investment casting manufacturing.

So no matter which country you are from, if you have an investment casting requirement of any size between 30 Grms and 150 Kgs, Austin Alloy Cast is the ideal Indian company.