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In November 2001, a U.S. patent was issued for a transformational industrial process used to melt metal with microwave energy. During the following years, the process has been significantly refined, and a practical foundry solution employing microwave technology is quickly evolving into a commercial reality.
Microwave metal-melting is a potentially disruptive technology due to its efficient use of electrical energy. The concept has been developed by MS Technology, Inc., an engineering company located in Oak Ridge, Tenn. As a result of the company's research and development, an alternative to vacuum induction melting (VIM) equipment is being developed to significantly cut energy costs and operations time.
Microwave casters do not require the expensive vacuum equipment and infrastructure needed to support operations, as do other comparable industrial melters. A small microwave caster can easily reach temperatures exceeding 2000°C in less than 30 minutes and be operated using only 110 volt line current.
Microwave Metal-Melting History
Microwave metal-melting represents a technology that allows efficient, volumetric heating without a conventional radiant heat source. An object to be heated is placed inside an oven, and microwave energy is introduced. This energy is absorbed by the object, and heat is created as a result of this absorption. The object itself becomes the only source of radiant heat. The more absorbent an object is to microwave energy, the hotter it will become for a given amount of power applied. The technology represents a real potential benefit for metal-casting operations. It is the same benefit that slowly caused a revolution in home cooking when it was released to the public in 1967.
For the past five years, MS Technology has operated a full-scale microwave melter in a commercial foundry. The melter is used to test microwave casting technology under actual manufacturing conditions. To date, the melter has been used extensively...