SinterCast AB will install its Mini-System 4000 and wirefeeder technology for a Chinese metalcaster aiming to produce compacted graphite iron (CGI) for diesel engine cylinder liners. The technology will be installed at the Qingdao Xu Ruifeng Foundry Co. Ltd. foundry in Qingdao during Q2 2025.
“The Xu Ruifeng order reaffirms the trend toward CGI for marine applications and increases our ability to serve the growing market demand,” stated Dr Steve Dawson, president and CEO of Stockholm-based SinterCast.
SinterCast developed and licenses the most widely applied process for producing compacted graphite iron – which is a lightweight cast iron that offers greater tensile strength, stiffness, and fatigue strength than gray iron or aluminum.
The Mini-System 4000 is a thermal analysis system SinterCast developed according to the established System 4000 unit, for product development, prototyping, and niche volume production of CGI.
With a simplified hardware platform, the Mini-System 4000 uses a separate wirefeeder for manual input of magnesium and inoculant, while providing the same metallurgical process control as the larger System 4000.
As the developer notes, metallurgical formulae derived using the Mini-System 4000 can be transferred to the larger, automated system if the foundry graduates to series production of CGI castings.
“This agreement marks our seventeenth installation in China and our twenty-fourth installation in the important Asian market. It also adds to our current outlook for strong installation revenue in 2025,” Dawson said.
He continued: “The industrial power sector, comprising marine, rail, stationary power and off-road equipment, currently accounts for approximately 5% of our total production volume. With the increasing demand for engine performance and emissions compliance, we anticipate further growth opportunities in this sector, enabling industrial power production to continue to provide an important contribution as the core on-road market continues to grow.”