RAFAMET Foundry is a manufacturer of cast iron castings with a weight of up to 50 tons and dimensions of up to several meters, primarily intended for the machinery sector. They specialize in castings made of gray and ductile iron, as well as special-purpose alloy cast iron.
A significant portion of their production is carried out in molding pits with dimensions of up to 20 meters. The company also offers a wide range of services related to their core business, including foundry modeling construction, consulting and advisory services in foundry technology, mechanical machining of castings, laboratory work, and repair of castings using the Metalock method.
Over 70% of their products and services are exported to international markets
The foundry is a recognized producer of mounting and measuring plates, as well as plates for special purposes, such as for test benches or measurement stations, throughout Europe. These plates are mainly supplied to major machine tool manufacturers in Germany, Spain, Italy, and the Czech Republic. They are also used in research and development laboratories in the automotive sector for setting up test and measurement stations.
The production of mounting plates is based on a carefully developed technological process, supported by strength calculations and analyses using the latest engineering solutions. The result is a high-quality product characterized by high strength and rigidity. The plates delivered to customers are processed, prepared, have a high tolerance class, and come with a complete set of necessary mounting elements.
The plates are manufactured in sizes up to 9000×3000 mm, with a load capacity of up to 35 t/m2. The foundry produces sets of interconnected plates according to individual customer requirements. The largest field produced so far had dimensions of 16×14 m.
RAFAMET Foundry produces castings using the lost foam technology, which is an alternative to traditional casting processes. In the lost foam technology, also known as full mold, styrofoam (EPS) models are used, which are completely filled with molten metal in the mold.
The liquid metal introduced into the mold fills its cavity while simultaneously vaporizing the styrofoam model. The lost foam process is cost-effective for complex castings because the styrofoam model can reproduce undercuts, angular recesses, and optimized contours. In many cases, this method is much cheaper than the traditional one that uses wooden model assemblies due to lower model production costs.
The benefits of using the lost foam technology include greater structural flexibility, the ability to produce complex castings for all types of cast iron, lower costs for unit and prototype production (the cost of an EPS model is approximately 20% of the cost of a typical wooden model), shorter delivery times (EPS model production takes 1 to 3 weeks), and the additional possibility of reducing the weight of the casting.
The range of services offered by RAFAMET Foundry includes the development of prototypes and EPS model design, technological support in the casting design process, and economic selection of suitable castings for the lost foam method compared to conventional casting methods.
The primary recipients of castings produced using the lost foam technology are companies in the automotive sector that produce sheet metal-stamped car body components – molds and dies are made from these castings. This technology is also used in one-off and prototype production, where there is no justification for investing in expensive sets of wooden models.
The largest cast produced from burned EPS by RAFAMET Foundry had dimensions of 8000×2500×900 mm and weighed over 20 tons.
Fot. Odlewnia Rafamet
Do you know that …
The foundry uses an advanced system for the thermal analysis of liquid iron called ITACA MeltDeck 8, which enables the examination of the actual physicochemical state of the liquid alloy.
This system allows for the determination of quality parameters along with approximate mechanical properties. Such analysis enables the optimization of the chemical composition through continuous monitoring of real characteristic points on crystallization curves and the identification of the most optimal state of iron.
In 2015, strength analyses and optimization efforts were conducted on the mounting plates produced since 2009.
Thanks to the obtained results in 2015, a new design of mounting plates with a load capacity of 35 t/m2 was introduced into production. Plates with such parameters garnered interest from the most demanding customers, with whom a solid business partnership had been established in the years 2014-2015.
