At Industrial Okendo, we manufacture bronze through the continuous casting process, which involves removing oxygen by injecting nitrogen into a controlled atmosphere to obtain a better microstructure that prevents shrinkage, porosity, and waste generation. This allows us to improve the mechanical properties, resulting in a long lifespan of the material and providing distinct advantages over sand casting, permanent mold casting, and centrifugal casting systems.
Continuous casting is one of the most advanced systems available today, serving as a significant source of production for red and yellow bronzes worldwide. This process is considered number one due to its high production volume and elimination of porosity in the finished product.
How does the continuous casting process work?
The liquid material is poured into a mold or die of various dimensions, which contains a cooling jacket to facilitate the transition from liquid to solid state. It is called continuous casting because the product continuously exits the mechanism until the scheduled production is completed.
This process is excellent for manufacturing bronze and requires specialized equipment, making it a cleaner process compared to conventional methods.
Moreover, this process is used to manufacture bars of different shapes and diameters, which solidify as the product exits the furnace. Graphite and water cooling are among the components that provide the bars with the required dimensions. Due to the properties of graphite and metal contraction, the bars do not adhere to the mold, resulting in an excellent surface finish.
The main advantages of continuous casting are:
- No shrinkage cavities.
- Reduced transverse segregation and elimination of longitudinal segregation since the bar parts are relatively small.
- Increased production.
- Reduced subprocesses.
Key equipment for the process:
- Electric arc furnace
- Graphite parts
- Recirculating cooling system
- Spectrophotometry equipment
- Nitrogen generator
Main benefits:
- Zero porosity
- High production speed
- Superior material quality
- Excellent wear resistance
- Shrinkage prevention
- Elimination of hard spots
- Extended lifespan and durability
- Excellent machinability
- Superior microstructure
- Enhanced mechanical properties
- Elimination of costly patterns
- Isotropic or uniform structure
- Optimal thermal conductivity
- Homogeneous and fine grain structure
- Excellent surface finish
- Superior damping capacity
Common applications:
- Bronze bushings
- Gears Crowns
- Bushings Bronze bars
- Pipe fittings
- Propellers
- Bearings
- Connections
- Racks
- Shafts
- Valve bodies
- Oil pipe fittings
All our products are cast according to the ASTM B505/B505M – 12 Standard Specification for Copper Alloy Continuous Castings.
