Scania, the commercial vehicle and diesel engine manufacturer, will install a new version of SinterCast process control technology for compacted-graphite iron (CGI) production at its new foundry in Sweden.
The new, 90,0000-mtpy foundry, an estimated $178-million capital investment, was announced more than a year ago as a strategy by Scania to triple its production capacity for iron cylinder blocks and heads, and to reduce energy consumption by 50% compared to the current foundry. The present foundry was established in 1914 and is situated near to Södertälje; the new plant will be built outside the city at an industrial estate.
Construction is underway and start-up is expected in 2020. SinterCast will install its System 4000 Plus process control system for Scania, the first installation for the fourth generation of the technology. According to the developer, the initial value of the award is approximately SEK 5 million (or $550,000.)
Scania has been producing compacted-graphite iron using SinterCast technology since 2013. CGI is a lightweight cast iron that offers greater tensile strength, stiffness, and fatigue strength than gray iron or aluminum. SinterCast offers the most widely used process technology for CGI production, mainly by foundries supplying engine blocks and cylinder heads to diesel and gas engine manufacturers.
“The new Scania foundry has been designed from a clean sheet of paper, incorporating Scania’s CGI production experience in the existing foundry and taking advantage of the latest CGI technology in every aspect of the foundry process. … (W)e are pleased to have served as a discussion partner for the layout and process flow of this specialist facility for heavy duty CGI cylinder blocks and heads,” stated SinterCast president and CEO, Dr. Steve Dawson.
According to the developer, System 4000 Plus contributes to Scania’s energy-efficiency goals by automatically controlling the base treatment of the metal, conducting the metallurgical control measurement, and implementing the feed-forward correction of the melt prior to casting, to ensure process efficiency and to deliver consistency to the molding line.
According to Dawson, the Scania order represents a significant step in SinterCast’s long-term growth plans.