SMEMACH ADI Castings News: Latest Austempered Ductile Iron Insights

In the field of advanced materials, austempered ductile iron (ADI) is a star material, known as the "Hermès of casting." Its exceptional mechanical properties and wear resistance have earned it widespread application in industries such as automotive manufacturing, construction machinery, and rail transit. The revision of China's national standard GB/T 24733-2023, "Austempered Ductile Iron Castings," marks a significant milestone in the development of my country's ADI industry technology system, propelling the sector into a new era.

Lord Lao alchemy furnace is no myth. Aboard the Chinese space station, approximately 400 kilometers above Earth, a real-life version of this "alchemy furnace" has successfully heated a tungsten alloy to over 3,100°C, setting a new world record. This "space alchemy furnace," hidden within the Chinese space station, is actually a containerless materials laboratory located within the Tianhe core module. For the past four years, it has been busy for “alchemy”. However, it isn't producing elixirs of immortality, but rather "heat-resistant" materials like tungsten alloys and niobium alloys that can withstand the intense flames of rocket engines, as well as some new materials.

Green casting is a sustainable development model centered on the 3R principles of a circular economy (reduce, reuse, and recycle). Through technological innovation and management optimization, it minimizes negative environmental impacts and maximizes resource efficiency throughout the life cycle of cast products.

"Invisible Killers" in Casting: A Complete Analysis of Five Major Defects and Casting, a veteran metalworking process, holds a core position in mechanical manufacturing thanks to its low-cost and high-complexity molding capabilities. However, the casting process also harbors hidden challenges. Five common defects, like "invisible killers," can lead to increased costs and even production line disruptions. This article will analyze the causes, characteristics, and countermeasures of these defects, combining mainstream casting processes, and propose ultimate solutions.

Qingdao West Coast New Area, August 15-17, 2025—The 7th Shandong International Foundry Industry Exhibition (Shandong Foundry Exhibition), hosted by the Shandong Foundry Association and guided by the Shandong Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, will grandly open at the Qingdao World Expo City. Themed "Global Vision, Precise Positioning," this exhibition leverages Shandong's strengths in the foundry industry, benchmarks against cutting-edge international technologies, and focuses on high-end equipment, green materials, and intelligent processes, injecting new momentum into the industry's high-quality development.

Recently, the Chinese government, along with eight government departments, issued the "Implementation Plan for the Digital Transformation of the Machinery Industry (2025-2030)," aiming to promote the digital transformation and intelligent upgrading of the machinery industry. This initiative has far-reaching implications for the development of the machinery industry and the entire national economy. Background and Significance of the Plan As a fundamental and strategic industry, the machinery industry is characterized by its broad industrial coverage, diverse product range, complex structure, long industrial chain, and diverse production models. Accelerating its digital transformation is not only an inevitable requirement for the industry's own high-quality development, but also a vital force in supporting the digital transformation of all sectors of the national economy and promoting new industrialization. This implementation plan was developed to implement the "Action Plan for the Digital Transformation of Manufacturing."

The application of electron microscopy in defect detection of iron castings has brought revolutionary breakthroughs to the foundry industry, enabling precise quality control and process optimization at the microscopic level. Its value permeates multiple dimensions, including defect analysis, process improvement, quality control, R&D innovation, and industry standardization. Specifically, it is reflected in the following aspects:

Silica Sol process, also known as silica sol lost wax precision casting, is a kind of investment casting technology with silica sol as a binder. It is often used in the manufacture of precision parts of metal materials such as stainless steel, carbon steel, and alloy steel. Silica sol is a stable colloidal solution with nano-scale silica particles as the core and dispersed in water. Compared with the traditional water glass process, silica sol has higher thermal stability and better surface fineness, so it can produce higher quality castings.

From July 9 to 11, 2025, the annual event of China's foundry industry - 2025 China Cast Iron Annual Conference and Isothermal Quenching Castings Annual Conference was successfully held at the Buckingham Hotel in Changzhou, Jiangsu. This annual meeting was hosted by the China Foundry Association and co-organized by the China Foundry Association Cast Iron Working Committee and Isothermal Quenching Castings Working Committee. It attracted more than 220 representatives from more than 110 units across the country to discuss the digital transformation and high-end development path of the cast iron industry.

Recently, the China Foundry Association issued the "Electron Microscope Analysis Method for Defect Detection of Cast Iron Parts", which will be implemented on October 21, 2025, and the implementation standard number is T/CFA 0198-2025.Next, let's take a look at what the electron microscope analysis method is. The electron microscope analysis method for defect detection of cast iron parts is a method of microscopic morphology observation, composition analysis and structural characterization of internal defects of cast iron parts by scanning electron microscope (SEM) or transmission electron microscope (TEM), which can effectively determine the defect type and guide the improvement of casting process.