07/02/2019  In Our Company Products
How Is Ductile Iron Pipe Made?

Visitors who tour a McWane Ductile facility are often surprised by how much work goes into making Ductile iron pipe. The pipe starts out as scrap metal from old cars and demolished buildings that is melted down and given a new lease on life. Up to 95% of our product is made from recycled material.

Once this metal is in its molten state, a crane carries it to centrifugal casting machines where it is spun into a pipe. Next it heads to the annealing oven, an important step in transforming the iron into ductile.

After the oven the pipe enter the finishing area of the plant where they are tested, inspected, cement lined, zinc coated (if required), painted and then bundled in preparation for future shipment. Quality checks are preformed throughout each step of the process to ensure our facilities are making quality Ductile iron pipe.

Cutting a sample for quality testing.
Cutting a sample for quality testing.

How We Do It, #McWaneIn60

It’s a fascinating process but you don’t have to take my word for it. McWane Ductile has just finished producing a series of 20 videos that break down each step of the manufacturing process into video clips of 60 seconds or less.

We call it "McWane In 60". You can view all the videos in the attached play-list or you can skip a specific process via the table of contents below.

You can view the entire YouTube Playlist here: #McWaneIn60 Playlist

Thanks to Stuart Liddell, Ken Rickvalsky, and Jerry Regula for all their help writing and reviewing each of these videos. Condensing so much information into 60 seconds clips was a constant challenge, and this series wouldn’t have been possible without their expertise.

If you would like to see this process in person you are welcome to visit one of 3 McWane Ductile foundries and one of our sales staff will be happy to take you on a tour.

Greasing the spigot side of a casting machine.
Greasing the spigot side of a casting machine.

McWane In 60 Seconds:

  1. Melting Process
  2. Bag Houses
  3. Core Making Process
  4. Mold Repair Process
  5. Spectrometer Lab Process
  6. Conversion Process
  7. Centrifugal Casting Process
  8. Annealing Process
  9. Hydrostatic Test Process
  10. Inspection Process
  11. Finishing Line Process
  12. Physical Properties Lab Process
  13. Zinc Coating Process
  14. Cement Lining Process
  15. Seal Coat Process
  16. Spigot Striping Process
  17. Flange Fabrication Process
  18. Bundling Process
  19. Mill Cert Sticker Process
  20. Shipping Process

Need Assistance With Your Waterworks Project?

McWane Ductile offers multiple services to our customers extending far beyond manufacturing DI pipe. From estimating to design, from production to installation, we take great pride in providing education and assistance to water professionals throughout the water industry.

Check out all our digital offerings:

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