（China Foundry Association, November 10, 2025） According to the latest customs statistics, China's casting exports from January to September 2025 presented a divergent trend of "overall growth but decline to the US." The 20 HS codes classified as cast products accumulated exports of 4.763 million tons, up 4.4% year-on-year; total export value reached US$13.23 billion, up 3.7% year-on-year, achieving double growth in both volume and value. However, exports to the US market saw a notable decline, with export volume of 1.034 million tons and value of US$3.16 billion, down 11.9% and 5.4% respectively year-on-year.

As global manufacturing shifts towards lightweight and high-performance materials, austenitic tempered ductile iron (ADI), with its unique mechanical properties and cost advantages, is becoming a focal material in the automotive and construction machinery industries. Driven by both energy conservation and emission reduction policies and technological innovation, the cost structure of China's ADI casting industry chain is showing new characteristics, with its cost competitiveness per kilogram becoming a focus of industry attention.

Optimizing Alcohol-Based Coating Layers in Sand Casting: A Plant-Validated Defect-Reduction Study This study quantifies the impact of alcohol-based coating layers on surface defect reduction in sand castings. Through SMEMACH-validated field trials, optimal layering protocols were established: 2-3 coats for small/medium castings (≤1 t), 3-4 coats for heavy sections (>5 t). Implementation reduced surface defects by 62%, scrap rates from 19% to 7%, and unit costs by 15 RMB (More than 2 US dollars). The process achieves 90 s touch-cure and 3 min full hardness via self-flaming, cutting mold turnover time by 75% compared to water-based systems.

​In the field of engineering materials, austempered ductile iron (ADI) has become a preferred material across many industries due to its cost-effectiveness, lightweight design capabilities, and excellent durability. With the growing global focus on sustainability, energy efficiency, and materials innovation, ADI's excellent adaptability is increasingly finding application in agriculture and forestry. This article will delve into the core performance of ADI and highlight its important role in agriculture and forestry.

To gain a deeper understanding of the performance and characteristics of Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI) products, we have conducted a two-year project research starting from 2023. This project focuses on six sets of steering components for heavy-duty trucks as the research objects. Through a comparative analysis of the most authentic experimental data, it demonstrates the process of product performance enhancement, aiming to provide strong support for global ADI customers in product iteration and upgrading or new product design.

Today, let's join SMEMACH in exploring the efficiency trade-offs between welding, casting, and forging in the manufacturing process selection of mechanical parts. As the global mechanical manufacturing sector accelerates towards high-precision and high-performance development, the selection of manufacturing processes for mechanical parts has become a crucial factor influencing the overall performance, operational costs, and usage efficiency of equipment. Currently, the industry faces numerous challenges: Firstly, heavy-duty components need to strike a balance between lightweight design and high strength. Secondly, complex working conditions demand that key components possess excellent impact resistance. Thirdly, the small and medium-sized repair market urgently requires cost-effective spare part solutions.

Hello everyone! Today, we are going to delve into the significant differences between roasting of pouring ladles and heating pouring ladles with hot iron liquid in preventing gas holes, slag holes, and inclusions in castings. In the field of foundry production, according to strict process requirements, pouring ladles generally need to be roasted before use. It is absolutely not allowed to heat the ladles directly with hot iron liquid, and even more so, the hot iron liquid used for heating the ladle should not be poured directly into the molten iron in the electric furnace. In fact, "heating the ladle with hot iron liquid" is a highly non-standard operation that should be strictly prohibited.

In agricultural machinery, the performance of tillage and sowing components directly determines operational efficiency and equipment life. While traditional cast steel offers strength, it is susceptible to wear and fracture under complex operating conditions. Austempered ductile iron (ADI), with its unique microstructure and comprehensive performance, is becoming an ideal alternative to cast steel. The following analyzes ADI's core advantages over cast steel in tillage and sowing components from four perspectives: microstructure, mechanical properties, wear resistance, and cost-effectiveness.

Are you a mooring chain procurement expert or a farm owner making crucial decisions? When it comes to ductile iron castings, shrinkage porosity can be the difference between reliable performance and costly failures. Whether you're sourcing mooring chains for marine applications or farm equipment that withstands tough conditions, understanding the general acceptance criteria for shrinkage porosity is absolutely essential.

On the vast oceans, giant ships cut through the waves, symbolizing modern industrial civilization. Shipyards are the cradles where these giants are born. In the shipbuilding industry, welding large structures is an extremely critical process. Improvements in welding efficiency and the quality of welded components have a significant impact on the construction progress of the entire ship. Today, let's delve into the potential and direction of the intelligent welding transformation in shipyards.

In the fiercely competitive manufacturing industry, choosing the right partner is crucial for survival and development. For companies that rely on cast components, partnering with a foundry with assembly and testing capabilities is a key path to improving competitiveness and ensuring project success. The following, through a real-world case study, provides an in-depth analysis of the capabilities, advantages, and benefits of a foundry with assembly and testing capabilities.

As the wave of Industry 4.0 sweeps the globe, the foundry industry is undergoing a green transformation from traditional to intelligent. Digital management systems, with their core advantages of precision, efficiency, and traceability, have become a key tool for addressing the challenges of quality control in foundry products. From precise control of furnace temperature to quality traceability throughout the product lifecycle, from intelligent control of a single process to collaborative optimization of the entire process, digital technology is redefining quality standards in the foundry industry through multi-dimensional and profound technological breakthroughs.

In the field of advanced materials, austempered ductile iron (ADI) is a star material, known as the "Hermès of casting." Its exceptional mechanical properties and wear resistance have earned it widespread application in industries such as automotive manufacturing, construction machinery, and rail transit. The revision of China's national standard GB/T 24733-2023, "Austempered Ductile Iron Castings," marks a significant milestone in the development of my country's ADI industry technology system, propelling the sector into a new era.

Lord Lao alchemy furnace is no myth. Aboard the Chinese space station, approximately 400 kilometers above Earth, a real-life version of this "alchemy furnace" has successfully heated a tungsten alloy to over 3,100°C, setting a new world record. This "space alchemy furnace," hidden within the Chinese space station, is actually a containerless materials laboratory located within the Tianhe core module. For the past four years, it has been busy for “alchemy”. However, it isn't producing elixirs of immortality, but rather "heat-resistant" materials like tungsten alloys and niobium alloys that can withstand the intense flames of rocket engines, as well as some new materials.

Green casting is a sustainable development model centered on the 3R principles of a circular economy (reduce, reuse, and recycle). Through technological innovation and management optimization, it minimizes negative environmental impacts and maximizes resource efficiency throughout the life cycle of cast products.

"Invisible Killers" in Casting: A Complete Analysis of Five Major Defects and Casting, a veteran metalworking process, holds a core position in mechanical manufacturing thanks to its low-cost and high-complexity molding capabilities. However, the casting process also harbors hidden challenges. Five common defects, like "invisible killers," can lead to increased costs and even production line disruptions. This article will analyze the causes, characteristics, and countermeasures of these defects, combining mainstream casting processes, and propose ultimate solutions.

Qingdao West Coast New Area, August 15-17, 2025—The 7th Shandong International Foundry Industry Exhibition (Shandong Foundry Exhibition), hosted by the Shandong Foundry Association and guided by the Shandong Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, will grandly open at the Qingdao World Expo City. Themed "Global Vision, Precise Positioning," this exhibition leverages Shandong's strengths in the foundry industry, benchmarks against cutting-edge international technologies, and focuses on high-end equipment, green materials, and intelligent processes, injecting new momentum into the industry's high-quality development.

Recently, the Chinese government, along with eight government departments, issued the "Implementation Plan for the Digital Transformation of the Machinery Industry (2025-2030)," aiming to promote the digital transformation and intelligent upgrading of the machinery industry. This initiative has far-reaching implications for the development of the machinery industry and the entire national economy. Background and Significance of the Plan As a fundamental and strategic industry, the machinery industry is characterized by its broad industrial coverage, diverse product range, complex structure, long industrial chain, and diverse production models. Accelerating its digital transformation is not only an inevitable requirement for the industry's own high-quality development, but also a vital force in supporting the digital transformation of all sectors of the national economy and promoting new industrialization. This implementation plan was developed to implement the "Action Plan for the Digital Transformation of Manufacturing."