title = "Metal Melting and Controlled Pouring"

content = """
The melting and pouring operations are the critical heart of the foundry at Ridgecrest Metalworks.
Achieving the correct melt chemistry, temperature, and cleanliness before pouring — and maintaining
controlled filling conditions during the pour — determines the fundamental quality of every casting.

Melting:
Ridgecrest operates electric induction furnaces for the primary melt of steel, ductile iron, and
aluminum, and a coreless induction furnace for non-ferrous alloys. The induction furnace melts by
electromagnetic induction heating, which provides clean, controllable heat input without combustion
products contaminating the melt.

The charge (the raw material loaded into the furnace) typically consists of: return gates and risers
from previous pours, internal scrap from machining or defective castings, virgin pig iron or steel
scrap purchased to specification, and alloy additions. The charge is assembled to hit the target
chemistry for the required alloy grade.

Once melted, the metal temperature is measured by thermocouple immersion. The target pouring temperature
is alloy and part-specific: generally 100–200°C above the alloy's liquidus temperature (superheat range).
Excessive superheat increases gas dissolution, shrinkage porosity, and grain size; insufficient superheat
causes misruns and cold shuts (failure to fill the mold completely).

Chemistry Verification:
Before pouring, a metal sample is collected and analyzed by optical emission spectrometry (OES) in
the foundry lab. Results must fall within the specification limits for all required elements. If
chemistry is out of specification, correction alloy additions are made and re-tested before authorization
to pour.

Degassing and Slag Removal:
For aluminum alloys, rotary degassing using nitrogen or argon injection is performed to reduce dissolved
hydrogen that would cause porosity. For steel and iron, slag floats to the surface and must be skimmed
completely before pouring to prevent slag inclusions in the casting.

Controlled Pouring:
Metal is transferred from the furnace to a pouring ladle. The pour is initiated smoothly to avoid
splashing; the sprue cup is kept full (back-pressure pouring technique) to prevent air entrainment.
Pour time is specified on the traveler and monitored — too fast causes turbulence and erosion of the
mold; too slow allows the metal to cool and lose fluidity.
"""

version = "0.0.1"
