Marine
Marine aluminium castings are our strongest reference: more than ten years supplying West Mekan Produksjon, which makes furniture and passenger seating for ferries and passenger vessels.
Det som pleier å gå galt
- Salt atmosphere attacks alloys with high copper content — the alloy choice decides service life
- Galvanic corrosion where aluminium meets stainless fasteners
- Fire requirements in passenger vessel interiors — metal does not burn, plastic must be documented
- Weight high in the vessel affects stability and fuel consumption
- Traceability and documentation down the supply chain towards yards and class societies
- Spare parts must still be deliverable in ten years, from the same tool
Hvorfor støping
Marine fittings have complex interfaces: they must meet a profile, a plate and an upholstery panel at three different angles. That is one casting, or four sheet parts and six welds. The casting has no heat-affected zone, no weld seam collecting salt, and identical dimensions in every part through the whole series.
What the industry needs
We supply components for vessel interiors and outfitting, not for the hull. In practice that means fittings and brackets in seating and furniture, mounts and hinges, and enclosures for equipment installed on board.
The distinction is worth being explicit about: structural, class-approved castings for hull and propulsion are a different discipline with a different documentation regime. That is not what we do.
What makes the requirements special
Corrosion is an alloy question, not a coating question. The most common mistake is to select an alloy for castability and then hope the coating saves the part. In a salt atmosphere the copper content of the alloy is the single factor that matters most for corrosion resistance. If the part will sit exposed on deck, this must be settled before the tool is designed — not after the first winter.
Galvanic contact. Aluminium against a stainless bolt in salt water is a battery. The aluminium loses. The remedies are insulating washers, the right coating in the contact face, or moving the material boundary out of the wet zone. This is a design decision and it belongs on the drawing.
Fire in interiors. Passenger vessels have requirements for interior materials. A cast metal component does not burn and emits no smoke. That is a concrete argument against reinforced plastic in this particular industry, and one reason metal fittings hold their ground in ferry interiors.
Spare parts horizon. A vessel lives for decades. The tool has to remain runnable long after the main series has shipped. With us the customer owns the tool, we maintain it, and it sits at one address in Norway.
Why we fit
- The reference exists. More than ten years with West Mekan Produksjon on aluminium castings for ferry and passenger furniture.
- Short distance. Rade sits at exit 10 on the E6, about an hour south of Oslo. Short transport to Norwegian and Nordic yards and outfitting suppliers.
- The whole chain. Casting, heat treatment, machining and blasting under one roof. Surface finishing is managed by us at a sub-supplier.
- EEA origin. The part triggers no CBAM obligation for you as the buyer.
What has to be clarified
We have not published which alloys we run for marine use, and we have no published salt spray data. We hold no class society approval. If you need any of this, say so in the enquiry — you will get a concrete answer on what we can document and what we cannot.
Marine
Marine aluminium castings: corrosion is an alloy question, not a coating question.
“As a manufacturer of ferry and passenger seating sold worldwide, it is essential that our subcontractors deliver the best quality on competitive terms. For more than 10 years Rolvsøy Metallindustri AS has supplied cast aluminium parts to West Mekan Produksjon AS.”
Marine
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Will the part sit outside or inside?
That is the first thing we ask. Send the drawing with the location on board and the fastener material, and we will answer on alloy choice and surface treatment.
Send tegningen
Du får en teknisk gjennomgang av delen før pris — og et ærlig svar på om støping er riktig metode.