Manufacturing technology Institute

Advanced Digital Manufacturing (ADMD) We are targeting to upgrade the technical capabilities for the design and manufacturing and innovation of new value-added products – that can access and compete in the global markets in different countries in Egypt, Africa and Arab Countries. We are targeting to introduce the new industrial technologies like 3D Printing, Freeform Fabrication, Laser based Manufacturing and Computer based Machining to the Egyptian industrial sectors and train new generations of Egyptian engineers on using these technologies.

Casting technology department at Central Metallurgical R & D Institute (CMRDI) was established in the eighties of the last century. The mission of the division is to upgrade technical and theoretical capabilities of the researchers in the field of casting technology in order to transfer this innovative technology to various Egyptian industries. Also, the other mission is to upgrade technical capabilities of the foundry men in the industry through applying training courses. These training courses include ferrous and non-ferrous casting alloys to cover all sectors in Egypt and middle-east as well. Casting technology department founded with an experimental foundry (as a pilot plant) with kind contribution of the Dutch Government through TNO organization as a beginning, followed later by distinguished support from the Japanese Agency for International Cooperation (JICA) . The capacity of that foundry reaches about 2000 t/year, putting it at the top of similar units all over the world. The experimental foundry was established to meet the increasing demands for research and development in metal casting, which remarkably developed in that period, with the establishment of several new foundries in both public and private sectors to cover the needs of the Egyptians industry from spare parts castings; where casting industries have been always considered as the main corner stone for any real industrial development. The spare parts required for different sectors, as in all developing countries, represent a real problem due to: The required components cover a very wide range of products, with rather limited number of parts for each component. The establishment of new production lines is, therefore economically unfeasible. A good part of equipment operating in the Egyptian industry is rather old; the availability of the needed spare parts at the original supplier is, very often, questionable. Monopoly of supply of those parts by the original manufacturer, with rather exaggerated prices. The limited attempts to locally manufacture some of those components are still lacking the scientific approach for selecting and developing the proper material for different operating conditions. It is crucial to secure the spare parts, with the suitable quality in the proper time to avoid stoppage of the production lines with its consequences on the economical indicators of the production process. CMRDI, hence, adopted the idea of establishing an experimental foundry with reasonable capacity, where the results of R & D programs at CMRDI could be implemented into saleable high-quality castings that may at least partially contribute to solve the national problem of securing the spare parts needed for different sectors of the Egyptian economy. The foundry was so designed to guarantee a good degree of production flexibility to meet the urgent and unexpected needs of spare parts, yet with quality competitive to the imports. Over around 35 years, the experimental foundry has been operating on four main axes: To conduct industrial R & D and Technology transfer programs contracted with different national and international organizations. Training of foundry engineers and technicians on both national as well regional scales. Production of the first sample before starting long series production in commercial foundries. Cover the demands of different Egyptian industrial and service organizations in both civil and military sectors of high-quality spare parts. Several factors have contributed to the success of that pioneering initiative on both national and international scales. The accumulated experience at CMRDI in development and selecting new materials for different applications. Possibility of limited production, some casting spare parts may be required to put a production line in operation. Distinguished characterization, testing and inspection facilities at CMRDI laboratories.The experimental foundry played a crucial role in execution of several projects in the framework of the national plan of ASRT and STDF aiming at localization of spare parts production in several sectors such as agricultural equipment, chemical industries, flour milling, power generation, paper industry, metallurgical plants and other sectors of strategic importance.

Powder technology is a very important facet of modern manufacture techniques. Powders used in the fabrication process are materials of controlled morphology and size with a diameter ranging between the micron and the millimeter. Nano powders have now been developed for high performance powder technology applications and the preparation of hard metals. Nanopowders will find applications in many areas and several products are already on the market. Powder technology is one of the most extensively employed techniques for the manufacturing of Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) and Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) because it is a simple and economically efficient method with a large productivity, which permits the use of standard processes that includes, mixing of powders, compaction and sintering under controlled atmosphere. Manufacturing of spare parts with traditional & sophisticated shapes from metal & material powders that cannot be fabricated by another technology is the main target for powder technology department. Applications of the research work in the fabrication process & improvement of the mechanical & physical properties of the manufactured spare parts. Recycling of the different metal scraps into a fine powder by water atomization technique and using these powders in the fabrication of new generations of engineering parts suitable for industrial applications. Recycling of tungsten carbide products by a chemical method converting it to a fine powder that can be used with the fresh one to fabricate cutting tools, carbide tips, breaking bits for mining and traditional ransom cloves with high mechanical properties.

Welding Research Department (WRD) at CMRDI has the responsibility of numerous R&D projects and technical services with many of Egyptian industries as well as foreign companies. Most of these projects aimed at, transferring the technology of welding and nondestructive testing for special steels, nodular cast-iron and aluminum alloys to Fertilizer plants, Oil refineries and Oil fields, Chemical and Petrochemical plants, and Power Stations. The technical and scientific experience that WRD has gained through the several R&D research activities and technical services submitted to wide scope of Egyptian industries will be of great help to fulfill the demands of SME’s, as well as large companies in different fields using welding either in manufacturing or maintenance. Besides, the large facilities and equipment that the WRD has for welding technology, welding metallurgy, and nondestructive testing are considered a very big asset for carrying out the research activities and training programs of workers and personnel. In addition, the great experience in the implementation of QA/QC systems that WRD has gained during its contract with several foreign association and companies for inspection, training and transferring of some new welding technologies, was the motive force for implementing and transfer this experience to Egyptian manufacturers. Several projects were carried out aimed at developing the small and medium industries by updating the welding technology for the specified end user. The utmost target is to minimize welding defects and to improve welding quality through rational approach to the application of modern welding technique and upgrading the skills of welding engineers, inspectors and welders. In addition, it also aims at introducing and implementing the main elements of quality control and quality assurance systems in order to qualify participated end users to the relevant international standards. The Quality Assurance system was based mainly on ISO standard 9000 series requirements and complied also with QA/QC requirements of ASME, ISO, EN, API or AWS depending on nature of the products of each end user.