Intoday’sglobalizedmarketeconomy,China’sstatusasamajormanufacturingcountryhasbeengraduallyweakened,manufacturinghasshiftedtoothercountriesandregions,increasedlaborcosts,andrapidlychangingmarketdemandshavemadeitmoreandmoredifficultforcompaniestosurvive.Inaddition,atthisstageContinuousenvironmentalgovernancehasmademanymanufacturingcompaniesworse.Allkindsofproblemshavecausedthecompany'slaborpainsbutalsoarousedathought:howtoenhancethecompany'santi-riskability,howtorealizethesustainabledevelopmentofthecompany,andletthecompanyfacevariouscrisescalmly?Infact,companiesinEurope,America,Japanandothercountrieshavealreadyusedfactstoanswerthisquestion:taketheroadofdiversifiedoperations.Diversifiedoperationisaninevitabledevelopmentstrategyforenterprisestobecomebiggerandstronger. Externalreasons:Themainreasonisthelimitationofmarketcapacity.Thesaturationofmarketdemandandthelimitedmarketcapacitywillencourageenterprisestoenternewindustrialfields.Atthesametime,thediversityanduncertaintyofmarketdemandwillalsoinducecompaniestodiversifytheiroperationstodiversifyrisksandseeknewdevelopmentspace. Internalreason:Inordertomakebetteruseoftheremainingresourcesoftheenterprise,toachieve"economyofscope"toagreaterextent.Scopeeconomyessentiallymeansthatmultiplebusinessesofanenterprisecansharetheresourcesoftheenterprise,especiallytheuseofsurplusresourcesoftheenterprise,includingbothtangibleresources(productioncapacity,marketing,servicesystems,technologydevelopmentandinnovationsystems,etc.),aswellasintangibleresources(Trademarks,corporategoodwill,managementskills,technology,knowledge,etc.). However,theexpansionofthescaleofanenterprisemustbeconsistentwiththemanagementabilityoftheenterprise,andatthesametime,themanagementabilitymustbeimproved.Otherwise,itwillbedifficulttomakethediversifiedbusinessdevelophealthily,anditwillevenhaveanadverseeffectonthemainbusinessandtheoriginaladvantagesoftheenterprise. Oneistogetmoreprofitsinnewareas.Thesecondistoallocatesomeresourcesindifferentareastoavoidrisks.Thegoalpursuedbymodernenterprisesisnottomaximizeprofitsbuttogrowsustainably.Itisamajortransformationfromasingleenterprisetoadiversifiedbasicgrowthmodel,anditisanexplorationorevenanexpeditiontonewareasofgrowth.Diversificationisanimportantstrategicturningpointinthegrowthofacompany,anditisakeypointwheredangersandopportunitiescoexist. China'sfoundrycompanieshaverelativelysimpleoperationsandpoorriskresistance.Whentheeconomicenvironmentisgood,thereisnoproblemincorporatedevelopment,butwhentheeconomicenvironmentdeteriorates,especiallyinrecentyears,economicrecessionandmalaise,plusthesecondhalfof2016Theinitial"stricterinhistory"environmentalprotectionmanagement,highenergyconsumption,andsingleproductmodelcausedalargenumberoffoundrycompaniestoclosetheirdoorsandshutdownforrectification.Inaddition,whenChinagraduallylostits“worldfactory”anditsmanufacturingindustrybegantoshifttoSoutheastAsiaandothercountries,China’sfoundryindustrywasgreatlyimpacted,andmarketdemanddroppedsharply.Thesingleproductproductionmodelmadeitdifficultfortraditionalfoundrycompaniestocopewithit.ManyfoundrycompaniesCanonlysitandwaittodie.Therefore,inthefaceofthecurrentnewsituation,itisabetterchoiceforfoundrycompaniestonotonlytransformandupgradethemselves,butalsotoreformulatetheircorporatedevelopmentstrategies,improvetheirabilitytoresistrisks,andtaketheroadofdiversifiedoperations.  Source:FoundryBranchofChineseMechanicalEngineeringSociety

XinGuobin,deputyministeroftheMinistryofIndustryandInformationTechnology,saidinBeijingafewdaysagothatmycountry'snewmaterialindustryhasmadegreatprogressinrecentyears.Thescaleofthenewmaterialindustryhascontinuedtogrow,theapplicationlevelhasbeencontinuouslyimproved,andthecomprehensivesupportcapabilityinnewmaterialshasbeensignificantlyenhanced. Atthe“NewMaterialIndustryInnovationandDevelopment”projectinnovationforumheldbyBeijingInstituteofTechnology,XinGuobinintroducedthatmycountry’snewmaterialindustryhasdevelopedrapidlyinrecentyears.Duringthe“TwelfthFive-YearPlan”period,thetotaloutputvalueofthenewmaterialindustry0.65trillionyuanincreasedtonearly2trillionyuanin2015,anincreaseofmorethantwotimes,andtheaverageannualgrowthrateexceeded24%,whichwas15percentagepointshigherthantheworldaverage.In2016,itreached2.65trillionyuan,agrowthrateof35%. XinGuobinsaidthatwhilethescaleoftheindustryhasgrown,theapplicationlevelofnewmaterialsinmycountryhasalsobeencontinuouslyimproved.Atpresent,theprotectioncapacityofnewchemicalmaterialshasreached63%,andthedomesticmarketshareofhigh-strengthandhigh-toughnessautomotivesteelsandsiliconsteelsheetshasreachedmorethan90%;thedevelopmentofadvancedsemiconductormaterials,newbatterymaterials,rareearthfunctionalmaterialsandotherfieldshasaccelerated,andhigh-performancesteelmaterials,Lightalloymaterials,engineeringplasticsandotherproductstructureshavebeencontinuouslyoptimized,effectivelysupportingthesmoothimplementationofmajornationalprojectssuchashigh-speedrailways,mannedspaceflight,marineengineering,andenergyequipment. Inaddition,mycountry'sproductioncapacityinanumberofnewmaterialssuchasrareearthfunctionalmaterials,advancedenergystoragematerials,photovoltaicmaterials,organicsilicon,andsuperhardmaterialsranksamongtheworld'stop;inthefrontierfieldsofmetamaterials,superconductingmaterials,graphene,liquidmetals,etc.Significantprogresshasalsobeenmadeinthedevelopmentofnewmaterials;48newmaterialsrelatedbaseshavebeenbuiltacrossthecountry,andanumberofleadingcompaniesinnewmaterialsarealsoemerging,andtheendogenousdrivingforceforindustrialdevelopmenthasbeensignificantlyenhanced. However,XinGuobinalsopointedoutthatthereisstillabiggapbetweenmycountry'snewmaterialindustryandtheworld'sadvancedlevel,andthereareshortcomingssuchasweakinnovationcapabilities,disconnectionbetweenR&Dandapplication,andlackoftalentteams.Duringthe"ThirteenthFive-YearPlan"period,mycountrywillstrivetomakebreakthroughsinanumberofnewmaterialvarieties,keytechnologyandspecialequipment,andcontinuouslyimprovetheinternationalcompetitivenessofthenewmaterialindustry. Source:FoundryWorldNetwork

Themeltingprocessinthefoundryindustryconsumesmostoftheenergy,andthesmoothprogressofotherprocessesalsodependsontheefficiencyofthemeltingoperation.Monitoringtheenergyusageofthesmeltingfurnacecanincreaseoutputandreduceenergyconsumption. TheAmericanFoundryAssociationrecentlycommissionedseveralfoundriestocarryoutanenergy-savingresearchanddevelopmentproject.Theprojectadoptsadvancedsub-meteringmethodsconnectedtothemainenergyconsumptiondevice,andtheenergyconsumptionofthefoundrycanbeobtainedthroughsub-metering.Thisinformationisvaluablebecauseitiseasyforafoundrytounderstandthetotalamountofenergyconsumedpermonth,butwanttodeterminetheenergyusagedataofeachequipmentandthespecificprocessofacertainequipmentorprocess.Thetotalenergycostisdifficult. Smeltingoperationsarethemainareaof​​concernforthisresearch,butotherequipmentalsoconsumesconsiderableenergy.Differentequipmentanddifferenttechnologicalprocesseshavedifferentsub-measurementrequirements.Somefrequentlyusedsub-measurementscanbecollectedeverytwominutes,includingmeasurement:powerconsumptionrate(kW),electricenergyconsumedatdifferenttimes,aircompressorandvacuum,temperature(includingmoltenmetaltemperatureandequipmentexternalsurfacetemperature),Operatingtime,naturalgasconsumptionrateandtotalconsumption,oxygenorothergasconsumptionrateandtotalconsumption,metalliquidproduction(includingpoundweightperbatchandpoundweightperday),etc. Accordingtothespecificcircumstancesofthefoundry,thistypeofinformationcanbecollectedbysub-measurementofenergy-intensiveequipmentfrequentlyusedinthefoundry.Theequipmentthatcanbesub-measuredincludes:furnaces,aircompressors,hydraulicpumps,dustcollectors,heating,ventilationandairconditioningdevices,etc. DuringthestudybytheAmericanFoundryAssociation,themoltenmetaloutputandenergyuseofthesefoundrieschangedgreatly,butnotatthesametime.Duringmostofthemeasurementtimefromdaytomonth,theintervalbetweenthemoltenmetalinthesmeltingfurnace,thesmeltingtimeperpoundofmoltenmetal,andotherbatchmeasurementsallshowedgreatchanges.Inmanycases,employeesandmanagementdonotunderstandthescopeofthesechanges.Withoutdetailed,time-differentiatedmeasurement,themeasurementofproductionsituationmaynotbeobvious,sotherootcauseofmonthlymoltenmetalproductionchangesisoftenunclear. Thestudyemphasizedthevalueofitemizedmeasurementincollectingimportantinformationabouttheoperationofthesmeltingfurnace.Toevaluatetheuseofthesmeltingfurnace,datacanbeobtainedfromtracingthedailypowerleveloftheelectricfurnace.Bymonitoringthetimeofusingdifferentpowergradesineachsmeltingcycleoftheelectricfurnace,andsummarizinginformationsuchasalongerperiodoftime(days,weeksormonths),youcanobtainvaluablein-depthknowledgeandinsightsontheoperationoftheelectricfurnace.Associatingthecycletimeofeachsmeltingprocesswiththeusualpowersettingsprovidesmeaningfuldataonproductionchanges.Forthisstudy,4powerlevelswereselectedascommonsettingsduringthesmeltingoperation,including:poweroff,heatpreservation,mediumpower,andfullpower.Thefollowingproblemswerefoundinthemeasurement:longerthanexpectedholdingtime;inappropriatepowersettingsduring"holding";excessiveuseofhighpowersettings;furnacepowerfailureatabnormaltimes.Suggestedcorrectionsforsomeofthethingsdiscovered,savingmorethanUS$1millioninenergycostsperyearwithoutcapitalinvestment. Inaddition,thisresearchhasalsowrittenaspecialreporttosummarizetheoperatingtimeoftheelectricfurnaceunderanypowerlevel(powerfailure,heatpreservation,mediumpower,fullloadpower)setting,andplotthedispersionthatcanrepresenthundredsofelectricfurnaceoperationcycles.Scatter-gramplottohelpunderstandtheoverallstatisticalchangesintheelectricfurnacesmeltingprocess.Themanagementdepartmentcannowmonitortherelativeefficiencyofthesmeltingoperationinanearreal-timemanner,andcangivewarningswhenabnormalconditionsoccur;itcanalsocreatehourly,daily,weeklyandmonthlysummaryreportstoevaluatetherelativeefficiencyoffurnaceoperationsovertimeVariety.Usingthiskindofmeasurementanddatareport,youcanidentifyunexpectedchanges,andyoucanfurtheranalyzethemeasurementresultsintherelevanttimeperiodtoincreaseoutputandreduceenergyconsumption.Thisautomaticanalysisandreportrepresentsanadvancedformofbenchmarkinganalysis(benchmarking),whichisuniquetothefoundryindustry. Anotheroptionistoconductmanualdatacollectionatthefoundry.Asimplechartthatrecordsthestarttimeofimportantpartsofthecyclecanhelpidentifyproblemsthatareoccurringorprovideabasisforimprovingoperations.Automaticdatacollectioncaninclude:thenaturalgasusagerateoftheburner,theopeningtimeofthefurnacedoorandthecastingtime,etc.Forexample,thesemeasurementscanemphasizedifferentburnerhighandlowflamesettingsbetweensimilarfurnaces.Thedataobtainedfromsimpledrawingworkcanhelpmanagersgraspthechangeoffeedingtimeandhelpoptimizeoperations.  Source:"Casting"201710

Foundriescanusefourmethodstoapplycoatingsonsandmoldsandcores,eachofwhichhasadvantagesanddisadvantages. Brushing:Brushingpaintonthesandmoldcanprovidegood,controllablecoverage.Thismethodcanbeeasilyappliedtomulti-layercoatingsandisalsosuitableformanytypesofcoatings.Thismethodcanapplythepainttothesurfaceofthesandcorewell,andishelpfulforsprayingcornersorfacades.However,thebrushingoperationislabor-intensiveandslow,andtheresultsvaryfromoperatortooperator. Spraying:Thismethodisfasterthanbrushing,anditiseasytocoveralargeareawithoutleavingbrushmarks.However,aswithbrushing,thesprayingeffectmayvaryfromoperatortooperator.Theoperatormayoverlooksomeareas,oritmaybedifficulttoapplytodeeperrecessescorrectly,oroverspraymayoccur.Sprayingsolvent-basedcoatingscanalsocauseemissionsthatarenoteasytocollect. Flowcoating:Flowcoatingisfast,lesslabor-intensivethanbrushingorspraying,andeasytoautomate.Itisthebestchoiceforlargesandcoresandsandmolds,buttheflowcoatingsystemrequiresregularmaintenance. Dipcoating:Somefoundrieschoosetodiptheirsandcoresorsandmoldsinthecoating.Thisprocessprovidesgoodcoatingcoverageandcanbemechanized.Theeffectofautomaticdipcoatingisuniformandconsistent,suitableformassproduction.However,manualdipcoatingislaborintensiveandslow. Becausewaterandsolventwillexpandsignificantlywhenheated,nomatterwhichoftheabovemethodsisused,itneedstobedriedforaperiodoftimeafterapplyingtherefractorycoating.Thespecificdryingmethoddependsonwhetherthecoatingiswater-basedorsolvent-based..Somesolvent-basedcoatingscanusefiretoignitethecombustiblecomponentsinthecoatingtodrythecoating. Thereareavarietyofoptionalrefractorycoatingsonthemarket.Thechemicalcompositionandformulationdesignofthesecoatingsaredifferent.Theyneedtobeappliedcorrectlyaccordingtospecificprocessparameterstoachievegoodresults,includingcoatingthickness,dryingtime,viscosityandsolution.Thedegreeofdispersionofmediumrefractoryparticles.Thefoundryshouldconsultthepaintmanufacturertoobtainrecommendationsfortheuseofeachpaint,andstrictlyfollowtheserecommendations. (Source:"MODERNCASTING",adaptedfromLiuJincheng'stranslation)