The three-year project HANS aimed at providing Swedish foundries with the means for a significantly reduced environmental footprint by increasing the reuse of today's residual products. The purpose of the project was to create concepts for circular material flows where the metal-containing residual products are reused to the maximum with minimal transport distances. Fifteen companies and organizations have worked together for three years on various practical cases to reintegrate chips, scale, slag, and grinding dust, back into the manufacturing process. The project goals were well met. A total of eight different concepts were formulated, three of which were implemented already during the project time: remelting of steel chips from an external actor, separation and recycling of cutting fluid from grinding dust, and separation of metal fractions from furnace slag. Additionally, a novel technology for the direct reduction of metallic by-products with hydrogen was investigated. At the time of application, this method was still relatively untested.

Through the project, Swedish foundries have formulated the technical and economic conditions to continue producing equivalent or better products, but with a significantly reduced environmental footprint, as the possibilities for using residual products from production have increased. New local networks have been created, reducing the amount of material transport while maintaining the value of the metals to a greater extent. Thanks to the great commitment from the participating companies, activity and time plans could often be exceeded. By including the entire chain of foundries, processing companies, and technology suppliers represented in the project group, not only technical solutions but also future business models could be formulated and tested. The industry organizations Svenskt Aluminium and Swedish Foundry Organisation contributed with additional industry anchoring and dissemination of the project results.

Sustainable foundries of the future: a survey

This report is part of the GRETA project, Cast products with resource-efficient manufacturing processes and business models. The project aims to provide Sweden's foundry industry with the conditions for a sustainable transition while maintaining competitiveness, where higher resource efficiency can be obtained for energy use, material use and product design. Involved partners are a large number of foundry companies, Jönköping university, and RISE. It is ongoing 2020-2023 and is financed by the Swedish Foundry Association and the strategic innovation program Metallic materials, a joint effort by Vinnova, the Swedish Energy Agency and Formas. A subjective selection is made from an almost incalculable amount of ongoing work and activities in the area. The goal has been to show a number of development areas for knowledge that can either be applied by the foundry industry immediately or are interesting enough to be the subject of new joint activities and development projects in the near future. The hope is that the report will provide inspiration for a continued sustainable transformation of the Swedish foundry industry and curiosity about the opportunities that exist.

Sustainable cast products. Final report from the GRETA project There is a high awareness within Swedish foundry industry that a sustainable transition is both necessary and desirable and that it to a high extent will affect energy consumption and carbon footprint as well as the handling of raw materials and residues. This project provided Swedish foundry industry with the means to achieve a sustainable transition with maintained competitiveness through more efficient use of resources. The project was divided into three parts. The first examined how a higher resource efficiency can be achieved for the energy consumption for a given cast component and production process. Starting with a given cast product, the second part investigated means to achieve a higher resource efficiency in the production process itself. In the third part, the perspective was further broadened as the use phase of the cast component was included in the discussion. The work included twelve case studies and pilot projects following specific investments in knowledge and equipment at a number of foundries. The member companies of the Swedish Foundry Association were involved in interviews and discussions in order to prioritize actions and solutions in each case. A large number of open reports were published and six new research projects were started.

The purpose of the project was to develop solutions for automation of postprocessing of 3D-printed sand cores and the goal was to achieve the same production speed for 3D printed cores as for conventional production. Within three industrial demonstrators, communication solutions between printer, robot, and production systems were developed. Technical solutions were tested for adaption of manual work steps to robot. Preconditions for digitalization of the production flow via traceability was tested and the effect on the business models of the foundries were tested. In the making of these demonstrators, several technical issues have been solved, above all the fundamental aspects of data transfer and compatibility between different systems. Therefore, it is possible to motivate a robot investment already from increased efficiency of the first simple work steps.

The project was a cooperation between robot manufacturer, machine supplier, producers of castings, and research institute. The representation of the entire value chain turned out to be a crucial success factor. The results include decision data for investments in a printer and other automation solutions associated w with core manufacturing in the individual foundry. The effect of these results is that Sweden's foundries will strengthen their position with respect to the international competition both short and long term since the results will lead to increased productivity. By evaluating the use of vision systems. The project has also generated inspiration of the development in automation and AI solutions, and further cooperation between the participating companies.

The overall aim of the pilot study is to develop a new, circular concept where complex cast components with retained high added value can be remanufactured in many cycles through dual recasting of functional layers.

A circular business model according to this concept will lead to decreased use of material and energy within the foundry, and increased lifetime and reduced energy consumption in the end-

user’s applications. With remanufacturing through dual recasting and its advantages, the component’s performance and economical sustainability will be optimised by using the right material at the right place. In the long run, this concept will form an integrated part in a new service business model for remanufactured cast components. This will lead to an increased use of cast components in complex applications as well as optimised resource efficiency throughout the value chain.

This concept is yet untested, and the aim of the pilot study is therefore to answer two fundamental questions: whether the full concept can be implemented with the use of existing technology or if new technical solutions must be developed; and if the concept will be long term economically and environmentally sustainable for a selection of chosen products. Two foundries and one supplier of plants for pulp and paper industry will take part in the project. The companies will be able to try out a completely new product concept with large potential for future growth.

Syftet med förstudien var att undersöka möjlig automatiserings- och digitaliseringsgrad för framställningen av 3D-printade sandformar och kärnor till svensk gjuteriindustri. Målet var att kartlägga och möta dess processbehov för att kunna tillämpa additiv tillverkning som ett integrerat processteg och därmed öka konkurrenskraften genom nya randvillkor för gjutna komponenter. Förstudien har visat potentialen i att identifiera befintliga automations- och digitaliserings-lösningar från andra teknikområden och applicera dessa på samtliga värdeskapande processteg i kärntillverkningen. Förstudien inleddes med en behovsinventering där samtliga deltagande gjuterier besöktes och förutsättningarna för additiv tillverkning i processen utvärderades. Det entydiga beskedet från denna inventering var att automation genom robotanvändning och digitalisering är en grundläggande förutsättning för att additiv tillverkning ska kunna införas fullt ut som produktionsmetod. Därefter definierades åtta diskreta processteg varav endast utskriften av kärnor i dagsläget är automatiserad. Dammsugning av lös sand och urplockning av printade komponenter behandlades i förstudien medan efterföljande processteg återstår. Under projektets gång har utvecklingen av en robotiserad hantering kunnat visas upp i Swerea SWECASTs testbädd för gjutna produkter i Jönköping liksom i filmad dokumentation i olika media.

A quantitative analysis of the amount, size and number of particles that precipitate in situ in titanium- and aluminium-treated Hadfield steel cast during pilot-scale experiments has been performed. SEM with EDS and automated particle analysis abilities was utilized for the analysis. Additionally, Thermo-Calc was used for thermodynamic calculations and Magma 5 for solidification and cooling simulations. Predicted particles sizes calculated with a model based on the Ostwald ripening mechanism were compared with the experimental data. The effect of solute availability, cooling rate and deoxidation practice on the particle population characteristics was determined. It was concluded that the amount, size and number of precipitating particles in Hadfield steel castings is possible to be controlled according to certain requirements by a careful selection of proper additives in proper amounts and also by the optimization of the casting process in aspects of deoxidation timing and control of the cooling rate of the castings.

Denna rapport utgör en del av det VINNOVA-finansierade projektet 360° i gjuteriindustrin – Tusen ögon för effektivt lärande och träning om arbetsmiljö, drivits av Swerea SWECAST i samarbete med Jönkping University. Projektet har syftat till att använda ny informationsteknologi för att utveckla en lätt tillgänglig pedagogisk demonstrator för gemensamt vuxenlärande i industriell miljö. Projektet har riktats mot gjuteriindustrins arbetsmiljöarbete, och kommer att ge möjlighet för fler yrkesaktiva att ta del i industrigemensamma workshoppar och kurser och i praktisk träning – på distans. Målet med projektet har varit att utveckla en pedagogisk demonstrator för distansworkshop baserat på interaktiva tekniker som möjliggörs av så kallad 360° filmteknik samt webbaserade tekniker för ökat lärande. Den virtuella 3D-modellen av försöksgjuteriet samt de filmade instruktionsfilmerna med traditionell respektive 360°-teknik har prövats och utvärderats i två olika forum, en undervisningssituation med studenter och en virtuell workshop med yrkesverksamma inom gjuterier. I båda fallen har filmerna och verktygen tagits emot mycket positivt och flera av de inblandade har uttryckt en vilja att ta del av fortsatt arbete på området. Såväl den virtuella 3D-modellen av försöksgjuteriet som arbetet med filmat material och virtuella workshops bedöms ha mycket stor potential. Ambitionen är att fortsätta utvecklingen av modell och arbetssätt i samarbete med företag, pedagoger och finansiärer.

Projektet ACDC syftar till att vidareutveckla Swerea SWECASTs Test- ochdemonstrationsanläggning för utveckling av gjutprocesser och gjutna prototyperoch produkter i riktning mot det övergripande målet att strukturen ska utformas såatt en långsiktig och hållbar drift av anläggningen kan genomföras.T&D-anläggningen är en viktig resurs för forsknings- och uppdragsverksamhetenpå SWECAST. Grunden utgörs av en pågående verksamhet i försöksgjuteriet somtidigare fokuserat på utbildning av gjuterioperatörer och praktiska provgjutningar,men som under en följd av år successivt har breddats till att även inkludera såväldesign- och beredningsprocess som efterkontroll av material och komponenter.Verksamheten inkluderar även en 3D-printer för sandformar och kärnor. På siktär strävan att även inkludera utvärdering av den färdiga komponentens prestandagenom exempelvis utmattningsprovning, korrosionstester och fälttester.Denna delrapport beskriver det arbete som bedrivits under första halvan avprojektet ACDC för att omvandla det tidigare utbildningsjuteriet till en effektivoch funktionell försöksanläggning, hitta nya samverkansformer internt på Swecastsamt ta fram en bärkraftig metodik för framställning av gjutna koncept inomprojekt och uppdrag.Inom projektet ACDC återstår flera viktiga punkter att slutföra under 2017. Enkonkret vision om långsiktig hållbarhet för T&D-anläggningen ska formuleras.Examensarbetet om virtuella modeller ska slutföras och utvärderas. Slutligen ärambitionen att dessutom utforma en modell för Framtidens Gjuteri.