Ambica Steels Limited, India's second largest manufacturer of stainless steel long products, is all set to install VOD/VD (Vacuum Degassing) furnace machine at its Melting and Refining facility with an investment of over Rs 5 crore in Sahibabad (Ghaziabad) India.

C.P. Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, said, "It is an achievement for us and we are pleased to announce the installation of VOD/VD machines in our factory unit II in Sahibabad, India. By installing this facility, the company will enter into a new industrial dimension.

Ambica Steels limited has already made a remarkable presence in the industry by manufacturing high quality stainless steel products for domestic and international markets. This will add another feather in the Ambica Steels' cap. It will increase the quality of ingot and billet according to the international markets/European market".

The VOD/VD technology is an important part of stainless steel manufacturers to make stainless steel more durable and high in quality. It is commonly used in steelmaking process for removing dissolved gases (e.g. hydrogen) from the steel.

It is a process for further refinement of stainless steel through reduction of carbon content. In this process, the steel is exposed to a vacuum which promotes transfer of dissolved gases from the liquid steel to gas phase.

Additionally, using VOD for refining stainless steel increases the availability of the EAF (electric arc furnaces) for melting purposes. How molten, unrefined steel is transferred from the EAF into a separate vessel, where it is heated and stirred by an electrical current while oxygen enters from the top of the vessel.

Substantial quantities of undesirable gases escape from the steel and are drawn off by a vacuum pump. Alloys and other additives are then mixed in to refine the molten steel further.

Ambica specialises in the production of Martensitic and Precipitation Hardening steels.

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