Final Report Summary - OPTICAST (OPTICAST: Production of two phase low cost functional gradient recyclable wear resistant Cast Iron products)
Executive Summary:
Aggregates dominate the material consumption in Europe, only water has higher consumption. The consumption in EU is 3,6 billion tons/year, increasing 2% per year, while fossil fuel consumption is 2,0 billion tons. The fastest growing material stream is waste. Together waste and aggregates dominate all solid material processing in Europe. These industries use wear resistant iron based materials in their processing tools. These iron based materials are normally high in heavy metal content (12-45%). Crushing rocks and tearing apart solid waste causes high abrasion in the tools and as a result heavy metals are released into the surrounding, which is the daily working place of 430.000 employs of aggregate producers in EU. Moreover, it is expected that heavy metal pollution can be absorbed in low concentration and passes up the food chain with increased concentration and toxicity in animals and human beings. Commercial wear resistant tools are difficult to recycle after use and end up in a landfill to quite an extent. Our community faces great challenges to meet the growing demand for metal tooling in an environmental responsible manner and to meet the EU Landfill Directive.
With the development of OptiCast technology we have provided an environmentally friendly technique to produce wear resistant cast iron with functional gradient material which is hard only in strategic locations and softer and more machinable elsewhere, thus creating a more flexible product in a one step process. Now that the technique has been developed it is envisioned that it will impact three very important areas, European industries, environment and material performance.
European industries will be impacted through increased competitiveness in a wide range of European SME´s in a wide scope of industries. The marketing strategy is to do this through development of export and licensing opportunities outside of Europe.
The environment will be impacted by using the technique. Since it uses only a fraction of the rare and heavy metals used by current methods to obtain similar lifetime, this should also contribute towards a range of EU environmental policies including end of life regulation. The OptiCast technique will produce fully recyclable materials in all common recycling technologies.
Material performance of OptiCast products is improved when it comes down to wear resistance. The enhanced material properties can decrease heavy metal content of tools compared to hard steel tools and increase life time by, up to 300% in certain cases.
To be able to create the wear enhanced properties in selected locations a new metal casting technology has been developed. This new metal casting process uses Expert System and computer flow dynamic (CFD) software that optimizes the casting process to help the foundry person to produce the OptiCast product in the highest quality. The Expert System with the CFD will be a unique and necessary tool to prevent casting failures and help the foundries to build correct moulds from the beginning, thus reducing production cost and lead time. To ensure high quality OptiCast product when using the OptiCast technique an optimal Non-Destructive-Testing (NDT) quality control system has been developed to verify that the functional gradient zone which renders the OptiCast product its high wear resistance is located at the right place and in a sufficient amount.
The development in the OptiCast project resulted in creation of a modified casting technology, introduced to the market as ModiCast as a registered trademark.
Project Context and Objectives:
The main focus of OptiCast is a technique that uses special inserts to create local alloy composition within the cast. This local zone is normally in thickness of 3 to 8 mm and normally located near the surface. The technique referred to as ModiCast uses the heat energy from the melt itself to create third material from chemical components in the melt and insert, and therefore no additional heat treatment is normally necessary to obtain the desired properties. This project will provide a more efficient and environmentally friendly method to produce functional gradient material such as wear resistant cast iron which is hard only in strategic locations and softer and more machinable elsewhere, creating a more flexible product in a one step process. This will contribute greatly towards the increased competitiveness in a wide range of European SMEs in a wide scope of industries, through the development of export and licensing opportunities outside of Europe. It will also contribute towards a range of EU environmental policies including end of life regulation, using only a fraction of the rare and heavy metals used by current methods to obtain similar lifetime. The use of ModiCast will produce fully recyclable materials in all common recycling technologies.
Scientific Objectives will aim to gain the sufficient extension to current knowledge of:
- To investigate and develop multiple options for obtaining different composition gradients within the material by direct casting technology and integrated material performance.
- To acquire understanding of expert systems and reliable use of them in foundry environment.
- Enhance our knowledge of quality control technology capable of reliable measurements of local properties within a casting object, and specifically of multi-frequency systems that can determine functional gradient zone (FGZ) thickness.
The Specific Technological Objectives are to:
- Develop a reliable CFD expert system able to guide the user through the multiple casting possibilities for ModiCast. It will validate the best position of molten metal inlets, sinking heads, and use of cores and heat input towards the insert. Guidance with regard to thickness and other parameters of the insert will also be achieved.
- Develop a 99,5% reliable quality control for functional gradient products from the ModiCast process, including a multi frequency ultrasonic equipment which can evaluate process parameters and intensity of quality control on product performance.
- Develop an integrated system prototype with all prototype components in place in order to be able to produce a number of case study pieces which will then be validated in order to validate method, systems and resulting products.
Project Results:
WP1 Key Objectives:
Significant results in WP1:
• Product Requirement Document (PRD) (deliverable D 1.1) was prepared which describes the methods and materials used in the production of the ModiCast product.
• An appropriate Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) quality control method was chosen.
• Designs of expert systems and reliable use of them in foundry environment was reviewed and summarized.
• Different manufacturing methods were reviewed for the production of the insert used in production of the ModiCast product. The most appropriated method was chosen for the production in this project.
• New equipment for alloying inserts was constructed. With this new equipment inserts can be tailored to a given composition.
• A summary on how different elements affect the properties of commercial wear resistant materials and how these elements was made.
Task T1.1. – Product Requirement document (PRD)
This task involved determining the appropriate methods and materials for the production of the ModiCast product and process and to prepare Product Requirement Document (PRD). Information from deliverables D 1.2 – Expert System Module Specification, D 1.3 –Determine candidate insert manufacturing methods and D 1.4 –Element diffusion and different phase formation at molten iron and insert interface were used in preparing the PRD. Further details are found in Deliverable D 1.1 (PRD).
Task T1.2 – Candidate models for Expert System
This task was performed by SIMTECH and HERI. SIMTECH supplied information on available computer flow dynamics (CFD) modulus that could be used with the Expert System developed as part of the ModiCast process. HERI collected information on expert systems and wrote a report about feasible candidates for the Expert System using CFD for the ModiCast process. This report is deliverable D 1.2 – Expert System Module Specification.
Task T1.3 – Determine candidate insert manufacturing methods
This task involved determining the candidate insert manufacturing methods. MTJ supplied the information needed on foundry processing and EEIE supplied information on technical information regarding manufacturing of specified inserts for MTJ. ICI collected information and wrote a report on available technology for the insert manufacturing and the compatibility to the ModiCast process requirements and the material selection for the insert. This report is deliverable D 1.3 –Determine candidate insert manufacturing methods.
Task T1.4 – Material data
In this task, material data was collected in relation with carbide phase formation in the functional gradient zone (FGZ) of the ModiCast product. ICI was the leader in this task and was responsible for collecting available data on the properties of different commercial wear resistant materials with different compositions and formation of phases suitable for the FGZ and writing a report, deliverable D 1.4 –Element diffusion and different phase formation at molten iron and insert interface. MTJ supplied for this task information on cast material properties.
The effect of various elements in cast irons has been the subject of many books and articles. Deliverable 1.4 (D 1.4) summarizes the effects of these elements on the performance of cast irons and the possible effect on the formation of the functional gradient zone (FGZ) in the ModiCast product. From the information collected in this task and summarized in deliverable D 1.4 it was decided to have four different composition of the insert for different application of the ModiCast product.
WP2 Key Objectives:
To create a material property database that meets the requirements defined in the product requirement document (PRD) completed in WP1.
WP2 Significant results:
• Casting plan was defined and a test plan to evaluate the ModiCast material performance (D2.1)
• Casting trials were done and test specimens were produced. Four different ModiCast material types were developed and casted with different composition to best fit the costumer’s need.
• Tests were done to evaluate the quality and performance of the ModiCast material. This included mechanical tests and microstructural and chemical compositional analysis. Test report has been written (D2.2.)
• A material property database for the four different ModiCast materials has been prepared and shows that these material types meet requirements defined in the PRD.
Task 2.1 – Casting plan
Before casting trials and material properties testing could be done a casting plan was devised and a test plan for the ModiCast material properties was written and reported in D2.1
Task 2.2 – Casting with variable setup
Extensive casting trials were done to develop the best technique to produce four different ModiCast material types. Each material type having different composition to best fit different costumer needs. MTJ and ICI organized and planned the casting and MTJ provided the equipment and carried out the casting trials at the MTJ . Insert material with different chemical compositions was used to prepare casted specimens for the various types.
Task 2.3 – Material testing
ICI lead this task and performed the testing on the ModiCast specimens from the casting trials. For the development of the different types of ModiCast material ICI prepared different types of inserts by adding additional compounds and elements to the insert provided by EEIE. After the samples were cast they were inspected with the quality control ultrasonic testing equipment developed in WP3 to locate the functional gradient zone (FGZ) and look for any cast defect that might be present. Top parts of the samples are then cut to verify the ultrasonic testing measurements. Tests were done according to the test plan devised in D2.1. Additionally impact strength was tested, per request of the reviewer, and the results reported alongside other material properties in D2.2. D2.2 is milestone 2.
WP3:
WP3 Key Objectives:
• Define the process boundaries for the Expert System
• Select the best available ultrasonic technology for quality assessment
• Develop a reliable quality control for functional gradient products from the ModiCast process.
• Evaluate effective material use, process parameters and intensity of quality control on production cost and product performance.
• Savings in mould design and new production set-up shall be larger than increased quality control cost, so the overall economy of the process is at least as good as conventional iron casting and use at least 10% less energy than competing casting alloy (steel casting).
WP3 Significant results:
• Moulding process has been developed from the process boundaries that were defined in T3.1 (Milestone 3)
• A non-destructive ultrasonic testing method has been developed. The method allows the foundry to confirm the presence and determine the thickness of the functional gradient zone (FGZ). It can also detect if defects such cast defects or lack of wetting between insert and cast iron are present around the FGZ. (D3.1)
• The effects of material use, process parameters and quality control on production cost and product performance have been evaluated. Information on process cost vs. performance has been gathered and reported (D3.2).
Task 3.1 – Process Boundaries
ICI and MTJ worked together on this task to define the process boundaries for the ModiCast process and developed the moulding process (MS 3). The main process boundaries are as follows: 1) The insert needs to be placed into the mould according to certain tasks. 2) The temperature of the melt is a critical parameter. 3) Characterisation of the FGZ is a parameter that has effect on the wear rate of the object. 4) Insert material have to be carefully selected to receive a qualified castings.
Task 3.2 – Insert design and production
This task was done jointly by MTJ, EEIE and ICI. ICI lead the work for this task and specified the material selection and requirements of the insert material for the ModiCast product. MTJ contributed with foundry processing requirements. EEIE supplied manufactured inserts for selected type of inserts.
Task 3.3 - Develop a reliable quality control for functional gradient products;
Quality control method has been developed to verify the presence, location and thickness of the FGZ in the ModiCast material. The technique is based on sending ultrasonic signal into the ModiCast part which then is partially reflected back to a dual crystal sensor whenever the wave goes through a change in the material. This allows the technique to detect and measure the details of the FGZ and also indicates if any defects are present. The technique also has the benefit of being completely nondestructive (NDT) to the object that is under evaluation.
Task 3.4 - Evaluate effect of material use, process parameters and intensity of quality control on production cost and product performance.
Information was gathered from suppliers and by use of material testing results to evaluate the sensitivity of the process and product performance and cost to the material use. The material used in wear resistant products today is described and compared to the ModiCast material. Cost benefits of the quality control method developed in T3.3 are discussed and estimated. From this data Process cost vs. performance report has been prepared (D3.2).
Moulding process was developed based the process boundaries and parameters determined in T3.1 and T3.4 (MS 3)
WP4:
WP4 Key Objectives
The Work package concern design & development of the software. Easy to use interface, excellent input of solid models from all major CAD vendors and well guided position of the casting inside the mould. The expert system will validate the best position of molten metal inlets, sinking heads, and use of cores. This system will further guide the foundry operator with regard to heat input in the mold during the casting.
WP4 Significant Results:
• Completion of the ModiCast Expert System software, built using the latest generation Microsoft 3D technology (WPF 3D). Features include – automatic planar and multi-planar insert design and STL file generation; parting plane, drag and cope designs; casting parts expert helper - for semi-autonomous sizing of the casting process; castability analysis – metrics for rapidly assessing designs pre-CFD analysis; CFD results viewer for displaying 3D temperature maps of the post-processed data.
T4.1 Develop Expert System
The Expert System was developed as a sequence of integrated modules within a 3D geometry viewing framework. The modules include:
Insert Creation - The geometry of the insert used in the ModiCast process is automatically generated for the loaded part using the Insert options described in this section. Any number of (planar) faces can have an insert; if the faces are contiguous then the Multi Insert option should be used.
Parting Plane – tools for designing the parting plane (and the drag and cope)
Expert Helper - The Expert provides assistance with designing and sizing the pouring cup, the sprues, runners, gates etc. The Expert Helper features seven tabs; in the first four tabs the user selects options from a small collection of options; results are presented in the final three tabs. Selected parts are automatically scaled to the calculated dimensions (but the user can override these dimensions in the properties tab). The algorithm assumes that the casting design comprises one of: Pouring Cup, Sprue, Sprue Well, Runner, Tapered Runner and one or more Gates. The individual parts are assembled into a casting process using the Snap to Face, Snap to Edge and Combine function described in the next section.
Snap To Functions -The snap edges function aligns edges of two 3D parts in the ModiCast system. While parts can be aligned with the manipulator objects, the snap to faces ensures that the faces are in contact. Similarly the Snap To – Edges function ensures that two parts’ edges are aligned parallel and in contact
Castability Analysis - This calculates a set of casting metrics
• Vertical Distance of Impingement .
• Distance of Free Horizontal Flow
• Angle Of Impingement
• Direct Distribution Volume
• Longest Distance of Flow
• Modulus of The Connected Section
• Turbulence
• Casting Yield
CFD Results Viewer - This feature facilitates the visualization of data imported from 3rd party software. It is primarily designed to show visual representations of data – typically temperatures - derived from CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) software.
T4.2 Develop Composition/property database
The Composition/Property database primarily holds information on the insert composition for different application specific requirements.. In addition the database also holds information required for the Expert system, particularly related to the casting process component sizing and user advice. Also, the components used by the casting process builder are referenced by links held in the database.
The database is implemented in a flat file structure using standard XML format and can be modified as required by the user for specific applications i.e. adding new casting components, material types or inserts. Most of the information contained within the database is either provided directly to the user on the interface or used in the calculation of casting process components.
The database considers the following aspects:
• Part placement advice
• Parting plane advice
• Riser advice
• Insert composition
• The mould material
• The iron type
• The riser dimensions
• Casting component dimensions
• Casting component geometries
These are grouped by function within the process flow i.e. the first action performed by the user is to place the part – the advice on part placement is the first branch in the XML file.
T4.3 Compatibility of CFD to Expert System
The designs constructed by the user of the ModiCast software can be exported as STL files. These can then be used to construct a CFD analysis, by a CFD Engineer. The results of the CFD analysis are post-processed to extract the pertinent information. Functionality in the ModiCast Expert System software allows the user to visualize the post-processed results.
A separate software tool, the Flow 3D Post Processor, was developed to enable data exported from Flow 3D Cast for viewing CFD Results in ModiCast expert system.
T4.4 Users view- Process design reporting
A typical user’s design process consists of seven steps 1) Load and position part 2) Add parting plane and position 3) Select insert type and faces, create insert(s) 4) size and build the casting process 5) select inlet positions, run castability analysis 6) Export to CFD and 7)Import CFD data, display results.
Milestone 4
The work carried out in Work Package 4 delivered the prototype expert system as required by milestone 4. The expert system has been evaluated by the consortium.
WP5:
WP5 Key Objectives
The objective of work package 5 is to scale up the manufacturing technologies developed in work packages 1 to 4. Further objectives are to produce a prototype manufacturing cell from which prototype ModiCast product can be manufactured. Testing to industry requirements of the prototype parts will result in data being produced that will be used to validate and promote the ModiCast system.
WP5 Significant Results:
• Manufacturing technology of ModiCast material has been successfully scaled up based on the process boundaries and parameters defined in WP3.
• Production of two different ModiCast prototypes was completed. These prototypes are being used and tested under real life conditions.
• Validation of the material properties and production quality is underway with the use of the prototype in the recycling industry progresses.
T5.1 Scale up of technology
MTJ and ICI lead the work in scaling up the manufacturing technology, EEIE assisted with scale up of inserts that could be used for the prototype casting. The process boundaries and process parameters defined in WP3 were used as the base for the scale up.
T5.2 Prototype manufacturing cell
The ModiCast prototype manufacturing cell was successfully developed as a seven step process. The steps are 1) Product design, 2) Mould design and production, 3) Insert production, 4) Casting, 5) Optional heat treatment, 6) Quality Control and 7) Final Product. For each of these steps knowledge and equipment developed in work packages 1 through 4 were used in the design and development of the manufacturing cell. A detailed description of the prototype manufacturing cell can be found in D5.1. The prototype manufacturing cell was then used to manufacture the wear plate that Fura Ltd used in their metal shredder.
T5.3 Prototype production
Two different prototype ModiCast parts were cast. The first prototype is a wear plate for a metal shredder to be used by the OptiCast partner Fura Ltd. and the second prototype is a hammer used to crush timber in a timber recycling tool owned by the recycling company Íslenska Gámafélagið. The prototypes were successfully cast. There was however some learning curve with the use of the base material and the first choice of base material turned out to have too low impact strength preventing wear properties from being assessed before the parts broke. These were however cast again using a more ductile base material. Currently new Hammers are being used and evaluated by the Íslenska Gámafélagið and new plates have also been cast for evaluation by Fura Ltd.
T5.4 Product testing and performance validation
In this task the prototypes that were cast in T5.3 are described and placed in the recycling tools which they were designed for and tested under real life conditions. Additionally testing of trawler shoe is described and results presented. Casting of the recycling parts for Fura Ltd. and Íslenska Gámafélagið was a learning curve and it turned out that when the first prototypes that were cast the base material was too brittle so the part broke before any evaluation of the wear could be done. These parts were cast again with a more ductile base material and the partners rerun the tests which are currently ongoing.
Milestone 5 Validation of concept and prototype report
Validation of the ModiCast Manufacturing cell is an important step to assure that the SME users can draw benefits from the project. The SME partners in the OptiCast project have validated the Expert system with connection to and from the Flow3D Cast module where simulation of the chosen object is done. Results reveal that significant progress has been made in the ModiCast Manufacturing Cell but as well further improvements are ongoing.
WP6:
WP6 Key Objectives:
a) To develop an Exploitation Strategy in the form of a plan that complies with the EC contract and the Consortium Agreement signed between the partners b)To protect the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) arising from the technological developments in the project in a manner that complies with the EC contract and the Consortium Agreement signed between the partners and that results in an equitable distribution of the IPR between the participating SMEs c)To ensure absorption of the results by the participants d)To disseminate the knowledge developed during the course of the OptiCast project and promote the exploitation of the results to the wider European Industrial Community e)To perform studies on the socio-economic aspects of the project results; to engage in activities that promote or enable synergies with education f)To transfer knowledge to from the RTD performers to the SME participants through 4 technology transfer events and interactions including placements of 4 staff providing a total of 460 hours of technology transfer g)To broadcast the benefits of the developed technology and knowledge beyond the consortium to targeted industrial user communities and the respective potential SME supply chains for wear resistant ferrous products to recycling and dredging industry
WP6 Significant Results:
• Exploitation agreement is now in place between all the partners of the project
• A plan for use and dissemination is in place for the project results
• A thorough patent search for potentially competitive patents has been done and a patent application to protect the background of the project has been filed
• Help and support material concerning the technology developed has been made to ensure the absorption of the results by the participants and information is also available for the participants through the project website
• Results and information on the ModiCast technology have been presented in technical meetings, peer reviewed journals and technical trade journals. Information flyers have been prepared and distributed. Presentation reporting the results of the OptiCast project is scheduled for fall 2014.
• Socio-economic aspects of the project results have been assessed
T6.1 IPR Protection
An agreement between the SME partners of the OptiCast project has been made on the exploitation of the background and the foreground developed in the project this is presented as a draft in D6.1 and a final agreement is presented in D6.8. After a thorough patent search for potentially competitive patents a patent application to protect the technological background of the project has been filed. A summary of the patent search is presented in D6.3. These deliverables were delayed by just over a month because of the patent application process which was underway at the same time and it was decided the wait for a patent application number P 9466 IS 00 before submitting the deliverables.
T6.2 Absorption of results by proposers
An important part of this project is to ensure a successful transfer of the technology developed to key stakeholders, in particular the SME´s that in the end will be using the technology. As a result emphasis was put on making sure that the novelties for the SME´s in this project were clearly explained. Help material regarding the use of the Expert System has been produced both in the form of ten video help files explaining different features of the Expert System and also written help guide embedded in a help feature in the software. Additionally a demonstration video of the ultrasonic quality control technique that was developed was prepared and made available for all partners. A list of all these is in D6.4.
T6.3 Dissemination of knowledge
A plan for dissemination of knowledge has been made and agreed upon by all partners. This includes a description of the internal and external dissemination activities including project website, technology demonstrator events, banners, information flyers, publications and presentations. The exploitation strategy is also described. The SME partners of the OptiCast project have agreed on a Exploitation Plan which will be carried out (post-project) in order to reach the market with novel technology. The principal source of income that we have envisaged in this Exploitation Plan is License Sales to third parties within Europe and in a second stage, outside of Europe, due to the fact that MTJ, does not have the capacities to produce ModiCast products on a large international scale but this capacity is needed in order to make this method known and also accepted as a better alternative amongst end users. IPR ownership is outlined in line with what was proposed in the consortium agreement. The IPR developed within the OptiCast framework will be solely owned by the 3 main technology developing SMEs MTJ, SIMTECH and EEIE. There will be one central IPR controlling partner, MTJ, to ensure that there will be no conflicts of cross-licensing between the partners. Finally a short press relies about the project has been devised. The dissemination of knowledge plan is presented in D6.7
T6.4 Socio-economic aspects
Socio-economic aspects of the project results have been assessed. The project is in essence impacting a well-defined industry by adding novel computer aided simulation and improving material properties of the product. By consulting EU legislation, international conventions and declarations, European Advisory Groups and protocols listed within the Commission’s ethical rules for FP7 projects, we have ensured that neither the research activities nor the exploitation of results is in conflict with EU research policy. The research undertaken during the duration of the OptiCast project did not involve human or animal subjects. The assessment is presented in D6.6
Potential Impact:
Aggregates dominate the material consumption in Europe, except for water. The consumption in EU is 3,6 billion tons/year1, increasing 2% per year, while fossil fuel consumption is 2,0 billion tons. The fastest growing material stream is waste. Together waste and aggregates dominates all solid material processing in Europe. These industries use wear resistant iron based materials in processing tools with normally high heavy metal content (12-45%). Crushing rocks and tearing apart solid waste still cause high abrasion in the tools and they are releasing heavy metals into the surrounding while used, e.g. the daily working place of 430.000 employs of aggregate producers in EU. Moreover, it is expected that heavy metal pollution absorbed in low concentration and passes up the food chain with increased concentration and toxicity in animals and human beings.
Impact 1. Support European foundries and give them a competitive edge
Even though the foundries are extremely important for the European Economic Community it has been a conservative, slow developing sector and under threat from Asia where foundry industry has been growing very fast. Even in relatively good years for European industry 2005-2008 our foundry sector was declining and current economic slowdown will only enhance the opportunities of our international competitors, since our customers will have increased pressure to maintain costs at a minimum. There are currently around 2.300 foundries in Europe engaged in producing ferrous casts, employing around 165.000 people across the continent. The European foundry sector has to be able to compete on other factors than price also, it has to develop in material and process technology to be able to satisfy modern needs of the European society. We believe that with the ModiCast process, we meet both the needs for environmentally acceptable tools and enhance competiveness of the European foundry industry.
Impact 2 Prepare wear resistant tools that are more environmentally friendly by using less heavy metal in the tools and making the tools themselves recyclable after use
The OptiCast idea is to develop tools mostly from ductile cast iron but with an additional hard phase in or close to the surface where wear resistance is needed. By this we expect to decrease heavy metal content of tools over 99% compared to hard steel tools but increase life time by up to 300% in certain cases. The additional phase in these wear resistant locations is a functional gradient phase floating in a softer matrix, giving the tool exceptional abrasive resistance. The hard phase is surrounded by the softer, shock absorbing, ductile iron phase giving the material higher wear resistance by the fact that the wear resistant material can float in and out of the soft material without material breaking or tearing, as would be the case in through hardened material. With diffusion of e.g. chromium and carbon between phases while slowly cooling the casted tool we expect to achieve a functional gradient with extremely low stresses between the phases and optical properties. Creating such properties in selected locations require a new metal casting technology. This new casting technology is the ModiCast process technology. The new technology involves enhanced computerizes design, including a metal insert to be partly dissolved in the casting stage.
Impact 2 Make metal resistant tools recyclable and more environmentally friendly
Commercial wear resistant tools are also very difficult to recycle after use and end up in a landfill to quite an extent. Our community faces great challenges to meet the growing demand for metal tooling in a environmental responsible manner and to meet the EU Landfill Directive (Council Directive 1999/31/EC2), the EU Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2006/12/EC3) and its Revised Version (Directive 2008/98/EC4). The EU Landfill Directive (Council Directive 1999/31/EC) demands a reduction in land filling to reduce harmful heavy metal pollution (Directive 2000/53/EC5). In Directive 2000/53/EC says that it is important to avoid the disposal of hazardous waste, in particular the use of lead, mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium is prohibited. These heavy metals should only be used in certain applications where the use of these substances is still unavoidable. Among the applications where these materials are used in high concentrations and regarded as unavoidable are for cutting and crushing tools in recycling and aggregate production processes. In these industries, usually local small enterprises, we have approximately 250,000 SME´s with some 1,1 million employees. We face a great challenge in minimizing the use of these unavoidable materials.
Impact 3 Make a product that last longer and thus requires less maintenance and cost effective
Increased life time of wear resistant products will result in better overall economy of the machinery in use. Our trials have shown that one can expect to get 250-300% increased operation time without brake for changing tools and this in fact will give this industry an economical benefit.
The public website has been created both as a promotion and dissemination through the website’s public area where non-confidential information can be viewed in order to disseminate the projects objectives ahead of formal dissemination events and for partners to be able to view documentation created as a result of any research, meetings, presentations and disseminations events. An OptiCast and now a ModiCast logo has been created and trademarked. A plan for dissemination of knowledge and exploitation agreement have been created and submitted as detailed in Deliverable report 6.7 and 6.8. Publishable project materials, in the form of an information flyer, that will allow effective technology transfer, dissemination and project promotion activities by the project partners. The background of the ModiCast technology has also been published in peer reviewed journals and a scientific magazine focused on casting and technologies concerning foundries.
List of Websites:
The website is available to the Project Consortium and the Home Page is also available to the General Public. Visit OptiCast at http://modicast.is
The Project Manager for the OptiCast Project is:
Jon Thor Thorgrimsson
Malmsteypa Thorgrims Jonssonar ehf.
Midhrauni 6
210 Gardabaer
Iceland
Tel: +354 544 8900
Fax: +354 544 8901
Email: jonthor@malmsteypa.is
The Technical Coordinator is:
Ingolfur Thorbjornsson
Innovation Center Iceland
Arleyni 2-8
112 Reykjavik
Iceland
Tel. +354 522 9000
Fax ++354 522 9111
Email: ingo@nmi.is
