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Melting

We have our own melt shop which is important for achieving the high-quality materials and flexible production that we offer.
We have over 300 steel grades in our assortment with custom adjustments on demand.
A flexible size range with ingot weights from 4 to 130 tonnes and heat sizes that can be adjusted as requested.
The steel production is scrap-based and uses scrap from the immediate area.
The scrap is selected to avoid residual elements like Lead that can be harmful for the properties of steel.
The steel making process is very complex and involves the following steps:

Scrap loading

 
Scrap is loaded into clam shell buckets and charge into eccentric bottom tapping electric arc furnace. This process is done with full control of batch size.
 

Electric arc furnace

The process of melting starts.
When scrap is liquefied the refining starts which involved the removal of phosphorus and contaminates form the scrap.
Than the liquid steel is tapped slag-free into the ladle. During this process de-oxidants and alloys additions are charged.

Ladle furnace

The ladle is transported to the heating station where de-oxidation, desulphurization and chemical composition is carried out.
The heating and stirring ensures mixing and interaction of steel and slag.

Vacuum degassing

At this stage the steel goes through vacuum degassing where gases such hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen are removed to receive desire level.

Uphill casting

The teeming process starts. All ingots are bottom poured at controlled rate of rise.
To minimize re-oxidation and the pickup of hydrogen and nitrogen argon shrouding is used.

Our steel cleanliness is measured according to ASTM E45-13 (A and D method).

The Forge Division Steel Shop is equipped with:

  • Electric arc furnace 75 Mg for melting the batch scrap powered by the 25 MVA transformer
  • Ladle furnace 65 Mg for steel refining and completing the chemical components
  • Vacuum degassing system where we receive pressure below 0,5 Tr. Obtained at the level of H2< 0,8 ppm, O2 < 20 ppm and N2
  • Bottom casting with the full cover of the stream of steel

The range of ingots we can produce:

  • Square ingots WN 40, WN 75, WN 10/12 and WN 19/24 (flexible weight)
  • Round ingots ø610, ø800, ø820, ø1000, ø120
  • Flat ingots BN 73, BN 96, BN 110, BN 145
  • Polygonal ingots from 4 up to 130 tons including flexible weight: Q 11/15, Q 15/20, Q 21/29, Q 30/38, Q 40/50, Q 50/65, P10 and P14