Developing the inoculation procedure for high-quality cast iron with flake graphite, intended for large-size casting (bottom or distance plates and counterweights) – produced in Krakodlew Foundry S.A.

This article presents the first part of the research on the production of large-size castings, such as bottom plates and counterweights produced in the Krakodlew S.A. foundry. Castings of this type are not complicated in terms of construction but must meet certain requirements, namely to be able to withstand the effects of high temperature and associated stresses, or to have specific dimensions and weight in the case of counterweights. In both cases, the most common method of forming castings is horizontal moulding. However, this requires a lot of time for machining the finished castings. Forming heavy castings in a vertical orientation, although much more problematic, can mean that the amount of time required for machining may be reduced. The research presents the effect of overheating temperature on the effects of inoculation with the Zircinoc inoculant, in which it was shown that increasing the temperature by fifty degrees increased the amount of eutectic grains by around 11–15%.