Ladle (metallurgy)

In a foundry, a ladle is a vessel used to transport and pour out molten metals. Ladles range in size from small hand carried vessels that resemble a kitchen ladle and hold 20 kilograms (44 lb) to large steelmill ladles that hold up to 300 tonnes (330 tons). Many non-ferrous foundries also use ceramic crucibles for transporting and pouring molten metal and will also refer to these as ladles.

The basic term is often pre-fixed to define the actual purpose of the ladle. The basic ladle design can therefore include many variations that improve the usage of the ladle for specific tasks. For example:

Unless the ladle is to be used with alloys that have very low temperature melting point, the ladle is also fitted with a refractory lining. It is the refractory lining that stops the steel vessel from suffering damage when the ladle is used to transport metals with high melting temperatures that, if the molten metal came in direct contact with the ladle shell, would rapidly melt through the shell. Refractory lining materials come in many forms and the right choice very much depends on each foundry's working practices. Traditionally ladles used to be lined using pre-cast firebricks however refractory concretes have tended to supersede these in many countries.

Foundry ladles are normally rated by their working capacity rather than by their physical size. Hand-held ladles are typically known as handshank ladles and are fitted with a long handle to keep the heat of the metal away from the person holding it. Their capacity is limited to what a man can safely handle. Larger ladles are usually referred to as geared crane ladles. Their capacity is usually determined by the ladle function. Small hand-held ladles might also be crucibles that are fitted with carrying devices. However, in most foundries, the foundry ladle refers to a steel vessel that has a lifting bail fitted so that the vessel can be carried by an overhead crane or monorail system and is also fitted with a mechanical means for rotating the vessel, usually in the form of a gearbox. The gearbox can either be manually operated or powered operation. (See the paragraph below for further details).

For the transportation of very large volumes of molten metal, such as in steel mills, the ladle can run on wheels, a purpose-built ladle transfer car or be slung from an overhead crane and will be tilted using a second overhead lifting device.

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