Question for Metallurgists

G

Gabe Newell

Joined
Jan 6, 2003
Messages
1,139
What equipment do metallurgists use to create laboratory ingots? Alternatively, if you wanted to create custom ingots of steel of varying composition in small volumes, how would you go about doing that?

Google wasn't helping me.
 
A small foundry. I saw one at the college.

Looks like the traditional way to make chocolate. You have a melting pot in wich you put your ingredients and you melt it.

I only saw the thing in a visit, no foundry class yet, but some could give you more details.
 
In college I used a small crucible and heated it with an induction coil. This was for my thesis and I did the whole process -melt, forge [power hammer] ,machine samples , HT and test.It was sent out for chemical analysis.High purity ingredients were used.Industrially this would be a very first step in development of an alloy. As you progress you make larger amounts to do more extensive testing.Induction is used until you get larger amounts then an electric furnace is used.
 
richard j said:
a crucible is used to melt small ammounts of metal like wootz for example. there was a member here being sued for making wootz. here is a link to a google search that i done with all the results. i hope this helps http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=making+small+ammounts+of+steel+in+a+crucible i will do a few more searches to see what else i can find for you.
Click to expand...

sorry to bring up an old(er) thread, but why was/is he being sued for making wootz? i couldnt find anything that would make it illegal or anything...
 
mytowrig said:
sorry to bring up an old(er) thread, but why was/is he being sued for making wootz? i couldnt find anything that would make it illegal or anything...
Click to expand...

My guess would be it's a proprietary process. A lot of people have invested time and money into making something close to the Damascus found forged in old blades.
 
The answer given on the making of small batches of metal is correct. Induction melting can be done with a crucible which can yield almost as small amount as you desire. This way careful control can be given to the chemical makeup of the alloy. Most of these types of induction furnaces had crucibles that were on a hydraulic plunger to raise and lower them. They are picked up from the furnace by tongs and poured into ingots or castings depending on need. Most steels have a range that are given for the different elements that go into creating the desired properties.
 
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