Latest from Materials

Aleksandr Matveev | Dreamstime
Thiti Tangjitsangiem | Dreamstime
'Availability of new foundry sand is already becoming a challenge, along with the need of providing new solutions to waste management,” according to the director of a metallurgical research center.
Branimir Ritonja | Dreamstime
Automotive cast parts.
Seesea | Dreamstime
Fire photo
Jacek Sopotnicki | Dreamstime
With deoxidized base iron, carbon levels can be increased to 3.30% C and alloying can be completely or nearly eliminated at the same time.
SinterCast
SinterCast licenses its CGI process control technology to 57 installations worldwide.
LIFT
LIFT is developing industrial technologies in support of the U.S. Department of Defense hypersonic weapons programs.
LIFT
LIFT’s Detroit research center opened in 2015, and includes an industrial workspace and “Learning Lab,” and a satellite location in Sterling Heights, Mich.
Simone Neuhold / RHI Magnesita
Many refractory products are custom-developed and manufactured for particular applications, and also usually contaminated with material they have absorbed while lining furnaces or ladles, which makes the recycling process a challenge.
  1. Materials

Study Sees U.S. Industrial Castings Demand Reaching $35 Billion by 2011

July 22, 2007
Shipments to increase on pace; aerospace, high-tech factors cited

July 23, 2007 — U.S. manufacturers' demand for industrial castings will total $35 billion by 2011, increasing 1.1% annually, according to research by an industrial market research firm.
The Freedonia Group Inc. explains that the growth in the industrial castings' market value over recent years has been attributable to rising metal prices, but metal prices are expected to moderate over the coming four years, so demand for castings will slow down from the previous rate of expansion.

Shipments of industrial castings will rise at a comparable 1.1% rate through 2011, reflecting demand. Shipments of castings will rise less than 1% during the period, which would be a reverse of a decline in shipments from 2001 through 2006.

The study sees ferrous castings continuing to lose market share — value and tonnage — to nonferrous castings. Automotive castings, for example, will continue to exhibit material conversion from iron and steel to aluminum and magnesium. The latter have gained market share in recent years as designers seek to reduce vehicle weights and increase fuel economy.

The best prospects for producers of industrial castings reportedly will be found in markets for smaller castings, including aerospace, electrical, and electronic equipment. Aerospace equipment demand is being driven by increased spending for commercial and military aircraft, as well as missile systems. High-tech advances will be responsible for a wide range of casting applications, including computer and wireless devices, medical electronics and medical instruments, mobile telephones, video games, and electronic packagings.

Industrial Castings is a 170-page report published this month, and available for $4,400.00. Contact The Freedonia Group Inc. for more details: Tel. 440.684.9600; e-mail to [email protected]; or visit www.freedoniagroup.com.