Sheffield delivers largest castings in the western world.

The second of the two largest castings ever produced by the western world, each weighing more than 300 tons, has been delivered by Sheffield Forgemasters, Sheffield, England, to SMS Eumuco, Leverkusen, Germany.

The carbon-manganese steel castings are for a giant, clutch-operated screw press that will be used to form major pieces for a new generation of components for both the aero space and powerplant industries.

Castings of this size are generally produced by metalcasting facilities in China or Japan; both countries can generate pieces weighing more than 450 tons, according to Geoff Marston, a spokesperson for Sheffield.

From the outset, the project demanded high quality castings of a size never before manufactured, which posed major challenges, including how to produce almost 600 tons of molten steel at once and then immediately pour it into the giant mold.

"Each of the six ladles of steel was melted in a single, 95-ton electric arc furnace and then subsequently treated and kept hot in rotation in either the vacuum arc degassing unit or the similar vacuum oxygen decarburization unit," Marston said. The steel, treated with additions to improve castability and mechanical properties, was then uphill poured into nobake sand molds.

Davy Markham, Sheffield, England, machined the castings to dimensional tolerances.

"The success of this contract is due to the dedicated management and workforce at Forgemasters," Dr. Graham Honeyman, the project's managing director, said. "They have worked so hard to overcome the challenges this contract posed in the face of serious financial difficulties in recent times."

The second casting is due to leave Sheffield from Davy Markham at the end of this week. The company is seeking further opportunities around the world for castings of a similar size, specifically large plate rolling mill housings and forging press frames.