FOUNDRY DIVISION
Led by our passion for ceramic improvement,
we established a specific production department
for the metallurgic sector, suitable to satisfy the
requirements of foundries working in various
fields: ferrous and nonferrous sector, steel precision
casting, metallic annealing, drawing mill
and rolling mill in general.
Starting from the selection of raw materials, the
production run is based on a specialized casting
department. Specific dies, vibrating tables and
mixers suitable for a first dry compound, then
transformed in a liquid mixture studied for the
casting, give life to the following productive lines:
SIM.CAST (lightened ceramic for the manufacture
of billet), melted silica, stabilized zirconium
and silicon carbide.
For all the mixtures we make, the Company’s
strength lies in our ability to work totally on customer’s
drawing, planning the manufacturing of
the most suitable die in cooperation with the customer,
so as to produce any kind of shaped item
our customer could require.
The firing in proper furnaces allows and assures
the production of sintered elements totally free
from water of combination. Moreover, we produce a wide range of mastics
and dies repellent to melted metal, useful for ceramic
repairs.
Our last studies allowed us to make two alternative
mixtures to titanate alumina, namely the stabilized
zirconium vacuum-made and the silicon
carbide slipped with a 99% alumina mixture.
Besides showing much more resistant to mechanic
stress, these two mixtures guarantee an excellent
economic competitiveness.
Even in the foundry industry SIM S.r.l. stands out
for the technical support to the customer and the
possibility to offer revamping works for systems
that need modernization.
Our team cooperates with the caster daily, to help
him in the choice of the parts and the products
needed for a proper and long-lasting operation of
the furnaces.
In the event of systems damaged by the leakage
of molten metal, SIM not only can offer the reset,
but provides also the waste disposal in approved
collection centers, specialized in the field, with
which it has special contracts.
Industry: BILLETS MANUFACTURERS
INSULATING CERAMICS (SIM.CAST)
Excellent heat insulating material, metal repellent,
suitable for the impact with nonferrous alloys melted
metal. It is used by foundries producing billets
or die-casting in general.
The mixtures differentiate on the basis of the kind
of product to be created (SIM.CAST 120 for nozzles,
floats, hot boxes and rings – SIM.CAST 140
for runners, casting boxes and transfer cups, – SIM.
CAST 170 for ladles).
Industry: DIECASTING
MELTED SILCIA AND STABILIZED ZIRCONIUM
MELTED SILICA
traditional mixture, particularly resistant to
the erosion caused by the passage of melted
metal. It is used in the making of ceramic
cups and “T” runners. It is used for nonferrous
alloys.
STABILIZED ZIRCONIUM
impasto ad elevato peso volume, all’83%
high weight-density mixture, with an 83%
of stabilized zirconium. It is used in steel
mills for the production of crucibles, sprues
or gates and low pressure tubes. With this
mixture you can also produce special sprues
for steel precision casting and nozzles for
the petrochemical industry.
SPECIAL MIXTURES: “VACUUM TECHNOLOGY”
To counter the problem of the unceasing wear of ceramic elements employed by the user, caused by the
strong destructive action of melted metal, we have invested into a department equipped with nr.2 depressurized
tanks for vacuum-casting and we have succeeded in creating four innovative and functional
mixtures:
SIM.SiO2 S/V (vacuum fused silica)
SIM.ZIRK S/V (vacuum zirconium)
SIM.SICK S/V (silicon carbide + 99% ingobe Al2O3)
SIM.TDE 90 S/V (vacuum aluminia 92%)
These four mixtures are much more resistant
than the traditional ones, their porosity is
very closed and their surface appears particularly
smooth.
They are suitably studied for the sector described
above, in particular: the first one for
nonferrous alloys; the second one for steel
and petrochemical industry; the third one to
make alternative compounds to titanate alumina
and the fourth one purposely for the
petrochemical industry.
SILICON CARBIDE AND ADVANCED CERAMICS (SIALON – NITRIDE – ALUMINA)
SILICON CARBIDE
We manufacture protective sheaths for thermocouples
in traditional silicon carbide.
The sheath we produce, besides having a good resistance
to thermal shocks (due to the reticulum
composition) and a high and rapid heat measurement
precision, is sintered at high temperatures,
vitrified with a special flux and then annealed.
The tubular part seat inside is in hardened metal,
as long as the sheath itself and closed at the bottom
with a watertight welding.
SILICON NITRIDE
Mixture composed of a mix of Silicon Nitride and
tabular Alumina (aluminum oxide).
The same is premixed dry and then kneaded and
extruded using a special depressurized drawbench.
SIALON
Mixture made of a mix of Silicon Nitride – Yttrium
– Tabular Alumina (aluminum oxide) – Aluminum
Nitride.
We carry out an additional heat treatment to this
mixture, to obtain the recrystallization of the compound.
The heat treatment consists in a second
annealing operation to increase the mechanical
strength of the product.
The SIALON is an inert ceramic product from the
chemical point of view, therefore it does not react
with melted non-ferrous metals nor with reactive
gases.
These features and the extremely high resistance
to breakage caused by temperature (up to
1.250 °C) result in many advantages, including:
practically unlimited service life in aluminum
baths and several months service life in copper
and copper alloys;
not wettable by liquid metal;
it does not contaminate the melting process;
excellent thermal conductivity;
it is the ceramic most resistant to high temperatures;
it is impermeable to gases.
ALUMINA (70 – 80 – 90%)
Thermodielectric refractory material used in the
manufacturing of components for high temperature
works.
Tubes of different diameter and length are used
both as electrical resistors support and as insulators
of thermocouples and of temperature measuring
instruments.
The degree of purity is chosen and /or recommended
according to the temperature of use and to the
specific application.
SILICO/ALUMINOUS MIXTURES
WITH METAL NEEDLES ADDED
SIM.SiO2 / STEEL
Highly resistant preformed refractory material,
thermal insulator with particular resistance to
corrosion caused by metal, used to transport and
dose liquid aluminum in casting processes. Due
to its peculiar features, the product is treated in
vibrating tables and special furnaces at special
temperatures.
During its manufacturing, the product undergoes
a complex sintering thermal process and it is added
with metal needles in AISI /S.
Consisting of alumina (Al2O3 80 – 82% – CaO
17 – 19%) cas. 65997 – 16 –2, EEC 266 – 045 –5
not dangerous.
Aqueous solution colloidal silica cas. n.c. EEC
n.c. not dangerous. Silico aluminate magnesium
90 – 99% cas. 12174 – 11 – 7 EEC not dangerous.
Amorphous fused crystalline silica (Cristobalite
– N° CAS 14464-45-1 – N° RTECS VV7325000,
less than 0,7%), electro-fused alumina and steel
needles.
Mixed with H2O, dried and then fired with a special
firing cycle apt to sinter the fused silica in a
single body.
Industry: STEEL PRECISION CASTING
SVACUUM FUSED SILICA AND ALUMINA 92%
Highly resistant Technical Refractory Ceramics. Preformed (“T” runners, casting vases, pouring cups,
shells) thermal insulator with special resistance to corrosion caused by metal, used to transport and
dose liquid aluminum in casting processes.
This product is also used in the production of roller passage bricks for industrial furnaces in the glass,
photovoltaic, ceramics and ceramic oxides industries.
Due to its peculiar features, this product is treated in vibrating tables and special furnaces at special
temperatures. During its manufacturing the products undergoes a complex sintering thermal process.
At the end of the production cycle, after the firing, a boron-nitride liquid preparation is added.
The SV mixtures are produced with vacuum technology in appropriate mixers.
Thanks to this production process we can make an 86% in the fused silica mixtures and a 92% in the
alumina ones, providing better resistance to the product.
Specific items of this sector are:
• Alumina crucibles;
• casting vases/cups in vacuum fused silica
• filled tubes which give support in the “cluster” preparation
• silicon carbide cuples
• ceramic mastics and putties