1. Project background: higher scrap ratio, melt quality becomes a hidden killer

This Russian aluminum die casting plant mainly produces automotive components and machine housings. To reduce raw material cost, they have been steadily increasing the proportion of scrap aluminum and return material in their charge. But several problems started to intensify:

• More internal gas porosity and inclusions – X-ray inspections showed a rising reject rate due to internal defects.

• Faster mold erosion and sticking – dirty metal increased chemical and mechanical attack on mold surfaces, shortening mold maintenance intervals and increasing downtime.

• Changing furnaces alone did not solve the problem – even with better melting furnaces, the root cause remained: the plant lacked a robust in-line aluminum melt purification step.

The management realized that without Aluminum Degassing & Dross Removal between the holding furnace and casting, it would be very hard to hit their scrap-rate targets. They decided to evaluate an Aluminum Degassing Machine / Aluminum Degassing & Dross Removal Machine to clean the melt online.

2. Solution: in-line degassing and dross removal tailored to die casting

Based on the holding furnace design and casting cycle, we installed an Aluminum Degassing & Dross Removal Machine at the outlet of the holding furnace:

• Rotary degassing unit
  A rotary degassing system injects inert gas into the melt, creating fine bubbles that capture dissolved hydrogen and bring it to the surface. This significantly reduces gas porosity risk, which is especially critical when using a high ratio of scrap aluminum.

• Fluxing plus mechanical dross removal
  The system combines flux injection with dedicated skimming tools to remove oxide films and non-metallic inclusions from the melt. Cleaner aluminum means fewer inclusions carried into the die cavity and less risk of internal defects.

• Mechanical design adapted to Russian shop-floor conditions
  The machine structure was designed for limited furnace-front space, typical operator habits, and local maintenance capabilities. Inlet and outlet heights match the existing holding furnace and casting system, so the plant did not need a major layout rebuild to integrate the unit.

• Process visibility and adjustable parameters
  Operators can adjust rotor speed, gas flow and treatment time according to alloy grade, scrap ratio and line takt time. This allows targeted melt purification for different alloys and batch conditions instead of a “one-size-fits-all” setting.

3. Results: higher first-pass yield and more controlled mold life

After a period of production with the Aluminum Degassing & Dross Removal Machine, the Russian die casting plant reported:

• Significant reduction in internal defects
  X-ray pass rates improved, and the main defects shifted away from gas porosity/inclusions toward more manageable dimensional issues. This raised first-pass yield and reduced scrap and rework.

• Less mold erosion and sticking
  Cleaner metal reduced attack and build-up on mold surfaces, extending mold maintenance intervals and cutting unplanned downtime.

• Higher effective scrap utilization
  With more reliable melt cleanliness, the plant became confident in using a higher proportion of scrap and return material without sacrificing quality. This directly lowered raw material cost per good casting.