Dosing Furnaces

Dosing furnaces are closed holding furnaces with a spout for direct metal delivery. They are used to dispense an accurate amount of molten metal into the die casting machine. The advantage of dosing furnaces is that because it is closed, it minimizes heat loss and protects the molten metal from excessive oxidation. Dosing furnaces require about 20 percent of the energy to hold 2,000 pounds of aluminum in comparison to an open crucible furnace. Also, the operating costs are about one-third the cost of a comparable holding furnace. Dosing furnaces are replacing holding furnaces and ladles because of their ability to pour accurate amounts of molten metal at the proper temperature.

The disadvantages of dosing furnaces are their higher initial cost and their uniqueness. The combination of holding molten metal and ladling the molten metal each cycle of the die casting machine from a closed vessel does result in a furnace that is significantly more expensive to purchase. In addition, the successful operation of a dosing furnaces requires that the personnel in the facility embrace the capabilities of the equipment as a part of their normal production environment.

The dosing furnaces does away with the requirement of an auto ladle in a pressure die casting machine, which does offset the initial cost of the furnace. Silcarb does make it dosing furnace with the provision of nitrogen purging is some special cases where customers demand a reducing atmosphere. Silcarb also manufactures dosing furnaces for gravity die casting applications with porous plug technology for continuous gas purging for degassing requirements.

The dosing furnace that silcarb manufactures can also cater to multiple stations with different shot weights from the same dosing furnace moving on a rail, thereby reducing the requirement of a dosing furnace for each die.

The consumables that silcarb manufactures for these dosing furnace which include molten metal thermocouples, dosing tubes, filler cones, etc are made from the highest quality ceramics which include titanates and nitrides.

Silcarb’s dosing furnaces are manufactures with a technical collaboration with its German Partner who currently have in excess of 200 installations primarily in Germany. Silcarb sources all the critical parts including all electricals from its partners in Germany. The value adds that silcarb offers on its dosing furnaces are that the entire furnace fabrication, refractory insulation and all consumables such as dosing tubes, filling cones, heaters, etc are manufactured under one roof at silcarb’s Bangalore plant.

Silcarb offers a cost-effective dosing furnace with a complete 24/7 service support with its vast service network and a stock of all spare parts readily available.