2024 Melting Conference
Session Chair:
Tim Hoyt
Vice-Chair AFS Technical Council; Co-Chair 2024 Melting Conference; Manager, Product Services Engineering, Allied Mineral Products, Columbus, OH
Tim Hoyt
Vice-Chair AFS Technical Council; Co-Chair 2024 Melting Conference; Manager, Product Services Engineering, Allied Mineral Products, Columbus, OH
Dave Williams
Retired, Dublin, OH
For many years, involvement in melting and pouring of metals was my passion. Helping foundries succeed was always important for me. Being retired, I have appreciated the highs and lows of melting. I will highlight those highs and lows, while offering some key takeaways to benefit your foundry as well as cast a positive image on improving melt quality and safety. Metallurgists and Melters can be friends.
Session Chair:
Ashley Folden-Ecker
Chair Coreless Subcommittee - Melting Methods and Materials Division; Co-Chair 2024 Melting Conference; Foundry Operations Manager, Dotson Iron Castings, Mankato, MN
Dave Lazor
Technical Director, Ajax Tocco, Warren, OH
The presentation discusses the dangers of bridging conditions during the melting process with the risk of superheating. It will also talk about how safety is influenced by proper training of personnel, system maintenance, refractory system monitoring, and ground detection operation.
Jeremy McLimans
Southeast Foundry Sales Manager, Hickman, Williams & Co., Birminham, AL
Fluorspar is a useful tool to aid desulfurization in a lime-based process. It also comes with significant restrictions when working with the melt parameters of Ductile Iron production. A synthetic option is available as an alternative to natural ore Fluorspar. This option can increase the envelope for effective usage and efficiency. Fluorine mechanisms and process effects will be discussed in pursuit of desulfurization optimization.
Andy Bain
Foundry Manager, Ford Meter Box, Wabash, IN
Melting in channel furnaces offers many benefits and challenges. Outlining a path to improvement, Ford Meter Box has continued to work towards improving their furnace campaign lives by utilizing data and analysis. In the same vein, moving away from a manual pouring process to implementing a pressure pour unit, Ford Meter Box has learned lessons on what works and what has been an opportunity to improve.
Jack Swanson
Vice President, Ironton LLC, Chargin Falls, OH 
Eric Nelson
President, Eric Nelson Consulting LLC, Mankato, MN
Pig iron is a key raw material for the cast iron industry. Most pig iron consumed in the United States is in the form of Basic Pig Iron and is consumed in both integrated and electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mills. While integrated mills, by definition, produce their own pig iron via blast furnaces, EAF mills have traditionally relied upon imported pig iron. Today there are significant governmental, environmental and end user pressures to reduce material carbon footprints that are affecting both the steel and foundry markets. In this talk, the speakers will discuss potential changes in iron feedstock and a back-to-the-basics discussion around trialing new materials in a process. The speakers will highlight:
- The current and projected state of steel mills and how their raw material demands will impact the foundry industry.
- Impacts the changing mill requirements will have on the scrap stream as it relates to Carbon reduction goals.
- Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) and the impacts if it is used in an EAF, Cupola and/ or Induction Furnace.
- An alternative approach to producing pig iron by recycling byproducts and subprime feedstocks in a mini-blast furnace.
- Considerations when exploring various charge materials, specifically focusing on metal quality, recovery, and slag generation.
Session Chair:
Jeremy Mowry
Melting Methods and Materials Division Chair; Design Engineer, AMERICAN Cast Iron Pipe Company, Birmingham, AL
Ben Hunsicker
Senior Product Services Engineer, Allied Mineral Products, Columbus, OH
This presentation will review the basics of silica and alumina refractory materials as it relates to induction melting furnace applications. Advantages and disadvantages will be discussed as to how each refractory type can affect your operation.
Bobby Stone
Regional Sales Manager, Primetrade, Charlotte, NC 
Grant Grimes
Sales Representative, Profound Alloys, Canonsburg, PA
Our supply chain is now more than ever influenced by issues occurring around the world. This session will discuss recent issues affecting our foundry and steel making raw material supply chain. Furthermore, thoughts on potential future supply chain influences will be discussed.
Trevor Beach
Senior Metallurgist, Betz Industries, Grand Rapids, MI 
Mike Whaley
Melt Manager, Grede - Reedsburg, Reedsburg, WI 
Matthew Calcutt
Rochester Metals, Rochester, IN
Mark Fields
Technical Sales Director, Glidewell Specialties Foundry, Calera, AL
A panel presentation identifying process considerations for ductile iron treatment methods from foundries with different casting sizes and annual volumes. Panelists represent iron foundries with different primary melting methods including cupola, coreless induction, and channel induction. Treatment methods covered include sandwich method, Georg Fischer, modified tundish, and wire treatment.
Dusty Morgan
Iron Control Tech, Charlotte Pipe and Foundry, Oakboro, NC
This presentation will cover the key points of the installation of a new electric melt system, discussing the challenges of transitioning from a 120-year-old cupola foundry to an electric melt shop. We will also look at the learning curves of furnace linings, mixing alloys, melt efficiency, and safety.
Frank Wondra, Herp Gießereitechnik GmbH, 57258, Freudenberg, Germany
Gert Karlsson, Calderys Nordic AB, EMEA, Norra vägen 8, 542 33 Mariestad, Sweden
The widely established cupola system design in europe differs in some technical and process related aspects to most of the cupola systems that are currently in service in US. Thus, a brief overview on the main differences between state of the art US and european cupola systems will be provided.
The optimized process-internal hot blast generation in cupola systems is a key factor to increase thermal efficiency of cupola melting systems. Technical approaches to intensify this heat recovery process in order to gain hot blast temperatures up to 1.500 °F will be presented.
The CO2-saving goals defined by the european legislative require a substitution of fossile coke by a CO2-neutral alternative in european cupola applications. One approach to achieve this is the use of biogenic, solid fuels, so called “Biobriks”. The general concept, the current development status of the product as well as gained practical experiences using this novel fuel will be presented.
Drinks, appetizers, and socializing.
Session Chair:
Ashley Folden-Ecker
Chair Coreless Subcommittee - Melting Methods and Materials Division; Co-Chair 2024 Melting Conference; Foundry Operations Manager, Dotson Iron Castings, Mankato, MN
Session Chair:
Luke Dix
Past Chair Coreless Subcommittee - Melting Methods and Materials Division; Regional Sales Manager, ProFound Alloys, Canonsburg, PA
Joseph Pickard
ISRI, Washington D.C.
John Gatewood
Technical Department Manager, Cadillac Castings Inc., Cadillac, MI
Cadillac Castings Inc. experienced an unprecedented event in which a failure in the system caused their cupola to freeze. Several methods of removing the “slug” of metallics from the stack were attempted. His case study will cover the events leading up to the freezing of the cupola, how the “slug” of metallics was eventually removed, and lessons learned along the way.
Todd Lyles
Business Manager - Melting, Specialty Foundry Products, Bessemer, AL
Mike Becker
Senior Sales Representative, Allied Mineral Products, Columbus, OH
James Kelley
Melt Supervisor, Lodge Cast Iron, South Pittsburg, TN
Refractories are a necessary evil in melting operations. Today’s melt operations are lean and efficiency is critical. How can we do more with less? This panel will discuss experiences related to melting and holding furnaces and molten metal transfer equipment refractories. Lessons learned and best practices will be covered.
Brad Rudolph
Engineering and Maintenance Leader, IMC Metals, Shelby, NC
The presentation will review the challenges associated with and lessons learned with melting secondary materials in copper channel furnaces. There will be a focus on lining materials and operational practices, along with a discussion of trials, testing and analysis performed.
Mark Kohler
Director of Induction Melting, Metal Technologies, Inc. (MTI), Auburn, IN
An overview of sound maintenance practices for coreless induction furnace systems and overcoming the challenges of less experience in the modern-day foundry. More then just the components of the system, the training of people and creating an internal knowledge base is vital to maintain and build productivity, reliability and safety in the foundry.