Development of Data-Driven Machine Learning Models for the Prediction of Casting Surface Defects

This paper presents an approach for the application of machine learning in the prediction and understanding of casting surface related defects. The manner by which production data from a steel and cast iron foundry can be used to create models for predicting casting surface related defect is demonstrated. The data used for the model creation were collected from a medium-sized steel and cast iron foundry in which components ranging from 1 to 100 kg in weight are produced from wear and heat resistant cast iron and steel materials. This includes all production-relevant data from the melting and casting process, as well as from the mold production, the sand preparation and component quality related data from the quality management department. The data are tethered together with each other, the information regarding the identity and number of components that resulted in scrap due to the casting surface defect metal penetrations was added to the dataset. Six different machine learning algorithms were trained and an interpretation of the models outputs was accomplished with the application of the SHAP framework.

Kerem Quality Control Using the Quality Control Circle (QCC) Method at PT. XYZ

- The ‘kerem’ production process is the earliest process of the entire process in iron casting. The brake itself is a mandatory thing in an iron foundry company because it functions as a limiter of the inner diameter of an iron casting product or more simply as a hole in iron casting products. With the analysis carried out using seven tools, it is expected to be able to obtain actual data to improve the quality of brake production, look for factors that affect brake quality, control the number of rejects, countermeasures, repairs, and standardization. The biggest problems with defects in the production of brakes are porous, broken, cracked and not full sand. From the aspect of 4M + 1E, the Man factor is the dominant cause of brake defects. Meanwhile, the number of rejects outside the 2.5% AQL limit was 6 times, namely on 8 July 2021 as many as 16 pcs (AQL 2.5% was at 10 pcs). Then on July 17, 2021 as many as 15 pcs (2.5% AQL at 13 pcs) on July 18 2021 as many as 30 pcs (2.5% AQL at 2 pcs) on July 20 2021 as many as 25 pcs (AQL 2.5% was at 12.63) on 27 July 2021 as many as 20 pcs (AQL 2.5% was at 19 pcs) and finally on August 5, 2021 as many as 30 pcs (AQL 2.5% was at 12.6 pcs).

Assessment of soil quality in the area of casting parts waste storage specific to cast iron activities

The purpose of this paper was to present an environmental assessment specific to a case study with reference to the storage of sand waste from a cast iron foundry, a factory with a long period of operation located in Transylvania, Romania. The environmental assessment started from the need to achieve compliant conditions for long-term storage of waste specific to cast iron casting parts activities. The activities performed in the project were carried out in stages and in parallel with the activities of sand waste valorification from the non-compliant deposit. The collaboration of the factory owner with the local environmental authorities was able to effectively materialize the objectives of the soil evaluation and facilitated the obtaining conditions for new compliant deposit construction. The evaluation of the soil quality was performed in areas where the deposited material, respectively the sand waste from the casting of the cast iron was already valorificated and, in that case, access to the soil layer was facilitated. Thirty soil samples and a control sample were analyzed and interpretation of the results was performed in corelation to specific legislation. The conclusions of the study were provided to the beneficiary and, also to the environmental authorities in order to authorize future activities (capitalization of the remaining waste, arrangement of a new landfill).

European Publications of the 19th Century as a Source of Oriental Motifs in Decorative Arts and an Attribution Tool

The nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries in the history of European decorative art are marked by a new rise in interest in the art of the Far East. In contrast to the previous century, at the new stage, this interest is characterised by more interesting and deeper interpretations of exotic artistic traditions. The reasons for the emergence of a new wave of Chinese style and, later, Japanism were several factors, among which the authors single out the institute of world exhibitions and the formation of museum and private collections. This article considers several cases demonstrating the important role of publication activity in the dissemination of oriental motifs and plots in the decorative art of Western Europe, Russia, and the Urals. Referring to works of European jewelers, Russian stonecutters, and Ural iron foundry workers, the authors reveal the main opportunities provided by the study and analysis of publications of an artistic, reference, and academic nature from between the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The article examines European print publications as direct and possible sources of oriental plots, which, in addition, make it possible to clarify the attribution of individual works and form an understanding of the mechanisms of integration of exotic motifs into traditional types of decorative art in the Urals. The analysis of publication activity, as well as of specific works of European and Russian masters, not only made it possible to demonstrate the role of publications of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in disseminating information about exotic artistic traditions. The examples considered convincingly prove the need to comprehend the decorative and applied art of Russia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as part of the European art market, and once again confirm the involvement of the Ural art industry in the current stylistic agenda.

Quartz Dust Exposure Affects NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation and Plasma Levels of IL-18 and IL-1Ra in Iron Foundry Workers

Purpose. To study the association between inhalation of particulate matter or quartz in Swedish iron foundries and the effects on NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Methods. Particle exposure measurements were performed during an eight-hour work day for 85 foundry workers at three Swedish iron foundries. Personal sampling was used for measurement of respirable quartz and dust and stationary measurements to obtain exposure measurements for inhalable dust and PM10. The NLRP3 inflammasome markers, interleukin- (IL-) 1β and IL-18, and inhibitors IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) and IL-18 binding protein (IL-18BP) were measured in plasma. Inflammasome activation was measured by caspase-1 enzymatic activity in monocytes in whole blood by flow cytometry, and expression of inflammasome-related genes was quantified using real-time PCR. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to investigate associations between PM exposures and inflammatory markers. Sex, age, smoking, current infection, BMI, and single nucleotide polymorphism in the inflammasome regulating genes CARD8 (C10X) and NLRP3 (Q705K) were included as covariates. Results. The average exposure levels of respirable dust and quartz were 0.85 and 0.052 mg/m3, respectively. A significant exposure-response was found for respirable dust and IL-18 and for inhalable dust and IL-1Ra. Whole blood, drawn from study participants, was stimulated ex vivo with inflammasome priming stimuli LPS or Pam3CSK4, resulting in a 47% and 49% increase in caspase-1 enzymatic activity in monocytes. This increase in caspase-1 activity was significantly attenuated in the higher exposure groups for most PM exposure measures. Conclusions. The results indicate that exposure levels of PM in the iron foundry environment can affect the NLRP3 inflammasome and systemic inflammation.