SMS Mevac (Essen, Germany):

C. Demirci, e-mail: cihangir.demirci@sms-mevac.com

F. Dorstewitz

R. El-Rabati

D. Robinson

J. Schlüter

D. Tembergen

SMS Mevac company has successfully completed the first support project for the construction of a vacuum induction furnace at the Liberty Specialty Steels plant. In this case, it was a project of the “brownfield” type, in which the SMS Mevac company had to integrate the equipment “in place” under the conditions of the existing production. The company was able to fulfill the requirements of the customer, Liberty Specialty Steels, to the design and layout of the unit as a whole. Since a unit was required to simplify a complex technological process, the specifi cations contained increased requirements to the power of the vacuum system, productivity and metallurgical functionality. According to S. Paik, the technical director of Liberty Specialty Steels, the goal has been achieved: all the products manufactured meet the customers` specifications. Production of ingots in our own workshop allows us to produce with the highest precision not only products demanded by the aerospace industry, but also accompanying documentation so that the specifications are fulfilled along the entire value chain. The entire product range of the company can be fully produced in its own units. For Liberty Steel, commissioning this unit is an important step in strengthening its leadership in the supply of high-purity steels to the global aerospace industry. Vacuum-induction method includes smelting ultrapure steels and alloys in a furnace with a replaceable crucible, removing impurities from them as a result of vacuum degassing and casting into the molds using the upper or siphon method and then remelting in an ESR installation or in a vacuum-arc furnace of X-eed type.

1. MPT International 40 (2017) Nr. 4, S. 48/53.
2. Iron & Steel Rev. 61 (2017) Nr. 7, S. 81/85.