Structure of Foundry Production in the World and in Poland over the 1974-2013 Period

The paper presents data illustrating the total production of castings in the world and in Poland over the 1974-2013 period. The fractions of basic casting alloys in the total amount of material used for the production of metal castings during the considered period of time were found. It was noticed that the fraction of grey cast iron castings in the total amount of the produced castings decreased significantly over the past 40 years, both on a global scale (from about 65-75% to about 45%) and in Poland (from about 75-80% to about 45-55%). The fraction of SG iron increased considerably, up to about 25% in the world, and up to about 12-16% in Poland. The fraction of malleable became almost negligible (about 1%). The fraction of cast steel took different course in Poland and in the world: it stabilised on a global scale at about 10% in recent years, but dropped down to the level of about 4-7% in Poland. The use of aluminium alloys for the production of casting grew dynamically; their fraction in the total production of casting rose from somewhat less than 4% to almost 15% on a global scale. As far as Poland is considered, this growth was ever more intensive: from about 6-8% to about 25-30% in the 1989-2013 period (the detailed data for the previous period of time are lacking).