ASK Chemicals India Stages Brand-New Solutions at IFEX 2014

Hilden (Germany)/Pune (India), January 13, 2013 – At this year’s IFEX, in Gandhinagar from February 7 to 9, 2014, ASK Chemicals India will launch two new products on the Indian foundry market: ASKURANTM, a furan binder that offers versatility and excellent product quality, and the innovative coating MIRATEC^TM MB, which opens up new dimensions to motor block castings. ASK Chemicals’ cored wire technology and a new filter system will be further highlights.

In addition to these highlights, visitors can expect a  team of foundry experts and a presentation of innovative foundry consumables for all stages of foundry processes. Resins, feeders, water- and alcohol-based coatings, metallurgical products and ceramic filters will be the showcased at the ASK Chemicals booth in Hall 4.

Versatile binder offering environmental advantages: ASKURAN^TM 705
This new binder system offers both environmental benefits as well as a solution for improving casting quality and productivity in Indian foundries. The special chemical properties of this new ASKURAN^TM binder help optimize the casting processes in foundries: Binder consumption can be reduced thanks to improved strength properties offered by ASKURAN^TM 705. The binder’s excellent reactivity is another important feature for foundries looking for efficient technologies (Fig. 1). Last but not least, the new product can be used for all kinds of castings and is also recommended for special sands, such as chromite sand.

Special coating for clean motor block castings: MIRATEC^TM MB
An essential requirement for motor block castings is the easy peeling of the coating in internal casting geometries as well as the avoidance of deposits in the casting component. New MIRATEC^TM MB coating fully meets these requirements, providing clean and perfect motor block castings (Fig. 2).
MIRATEC^TM MB is ideally recommended for thermally stressed sand cores. The usual defects that can occur with motor block castings, such as veining, penetration or gas porosity, are avoided by the improved affectivity of refractory material that this new coating offers. Good gas permeability, even with very thick coating layers, helps to further reduce casting defects. Additionally, a special penetration inhibitor that stops the migration of water into the sand core surface supports short time intervals for a drying furnace.

Value-adding filtration technology
Certainly another highlight at the ASK Chemicals booth at this year’s IFEX will be a recently launched tubular filter system (Fig. 3a + 3b). UDICELL^TM tubular foam ceramic filters are perfectly suitable for the secure filtering of large quantities of liquid metal and feature a unique, value-added design. The advantages of this design include more than three times the filter area compared to a conventional plate-shaped filter of the same size, self-supporting geometry, minimized risk of filter breakage, compact structure, and quick and easy installation. In addition, a universal housing that can be used both in iron and steel casting has been developed for this filter type. The geometry of the tubular filter was exploited by designing a very small, compact housing. This concept includes the use of only one tubular filter per housing, reducing the complexity and number of components necessary for effective filtration while improving the safety and stability of the system. Based on the superior design of the tube filter and housing, the risk of filter breakage is practically eliminated. With this complete system, the caster has a safe, easy-to-use and effective tool for filtering large amounts of liquid metal.

Mg treatment with cored wire technology
Treating cast iron with a cored wire containing Mg is a relatively new method in India for producing DI and CGI that offers a list of important benefits for foundries (Fig. 4). Using this technology, the production of cast iron with nodular graphite from a cupola furnace can be performed in a single treatment step with lower material usage and low treatment costs. It offers flexibility with regard to changing initial conditions such as the sulfur content, treatment temperature, and iron quantity. Relatively constant Mg values can be achieved despite differing initial sulfur values and treatment temperatures. Temperature losses during treatment are low. Thanks to ASK Chemicals expertise, the composition of the wire can be optimally adapted to the operating metallurgical conditions at the customer’s site.

Added value for the Indian foundry market
ASK Chemicals’ employees are known for their thorough knowledge of the foundry industry and technical casting expertise. Thanks to that expertise, customers of ASK Chemicals can be confident that the company’s experts are able to develop optimal solutions at all times. Gautam Mahalik, CEO of ASK Chemicals India, says, “ASK Chemicals stands for faster response times and profound foundry competence. Together with our first-class products, this makes us a supplier of choice, which truly offers its customers added value.”