In this article, we will examine the essential characteristics of the techniques, processes and materials used in foundry alloy metallurgy, referring for more details to the specialized articles in the treatise.
Along with casting, liquid metal production is one of the key operations in the foundry's industrial process.
The metal gives the part all its physical (mass, dimensional stability...), mechanical (strength, elasticity, machinability) and chemical (corrosion...) properties.
The quality of the parts produced depends to a large extent on the quality of the alloys produced, which in turn depends on the quality of the melting bed (scrap, cast iron, new metals, returns, ferro-alloys, fluxes, etc.) and on the production conditions.
This justifies all the controls and rigor that must be applied to this fundamental part of foundry technique. Bear in mind that the cost of scrap for metallurgical reasons is also burdened by molding and finishing costs.