Autonomous Engineering of Steel Casting State-of-the Art, Applications and Ongoing R+D

40 years after its introduction, casting process simulation has become an accepted tool for the layout and process design of steel castings worldwide. Today, the results from simulation address many different quality issues in steel castings. The diversity of steel grades, the variety of factors that affect casting quality and complex interactions between physics, metallurgy, casting geometry and the process sequence all play a role in the quality of a steel casting. Empirical knowledge (even if supported by the insights of simulation) just confirms a single predefined operating point but does not provide information about the possible optimum nor about the robustness of the chosen process window. Autonomous Engineering overcomes these limitations by offering the foundry expert a virtual field for systematic experimentation. Autonomous Engineering is a methodology utilizing multiple Magmasoft simulations as a set of virtual experiments in order to achieve the best possible solution.

This paper illustrates the benefits of Autonomous Engineering for steel castings using different industrial applications as examples. In addition, new capabilities and current R&D activities are discussed. Applying these developments, the steel foundry will be offered unique opportunities to achieve new and optimized applications as well as to define reliable manufacturing routes before the production of a high integrity casting has begun.

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