Iron control, treatment, transport and pouring on hand moulding line.
Year
2021
Customer
Besfond S.r.l. (Italy)
EQUIPMENT INSTALLED
ITACA Hybrid, ITACA LTS , ITACA Stream, ITACA Wire
Target
Higher Safety
Pouring more repeatable as possible
Some of the main achievements
Lower cost per Kg (manpower, energy, consumables)
Fully integrated process
Semi-automatic pouring independent by the operator
Some significant data
-25%
manpower costs
-5%
energy costs
-50%
saving for inoculation
+15%
higher productivity
The customer
Based in Castegnato (BS), in an area devoted traditionally to foundries in Italy, Besfond is a family-owned company, always looking for solutions to improve their process with a great focus on the special needs of the final customer. In fact, Besfond produces gray and ductile iron castings based on customer’s specification and focused on the production of “problematic” castings from 100 to 1.000 kgs, in small-medium series, with lots ranging from single piece until 500 pcs.. Moulding is performed into an IMF boxless plant with a maximum dimension of 1650×1800 mm with a total height of 1.200 mm.
The Solution
The partnership with ProService started in 2020 based on the specific need: making pouring more repeatable, independent by the operator and safe.
Their first idea was to keep the existing process (including an existing cored wire station) and to install a pouring machine moving on rails with possibility, shifting along the pouring line, to tilt for pouring, to load and change the ladle by forklift or crane.
Proservice has designed a tailor-made solution taking care the whole process including:
- metallurgical control of the iron (ITACA Hybrid),
- cored wire station (ITACA Wire) fully integrated with the ladle transport, temperature control, spectrometer and ITACA Hybrid,
- Redesign of the ladle capacity and shape to optimize the nodularization treatment by cored wire
- ladle transport system ITACA LTS to drive safely the ladle through the whole process from melting to pouring, 100% moving on crane. Give a look at the video!!
A SUCCESS STORY IN 5 MAIN GOALS
PRODUCTIVITY
+ 15 % (they can pour 15% more molten metal in the same shift)
MANPOWER SAVING
-25% Manpower cost. They are capable to handle the whole process with 3 operators / shift (before 4). Pouring is in charge on just one operator instead of 2 used before.
QUALITY
Metallurgical process control
- Physical and chemical features of the iron + temperature on base iron
- Automatic calculation of the type and quantities of the alloys for correction during tapping
- Dynamic control of the cored wire treatment
- Max repeatability and fast transport of the ladle (lower temperature loss)
- Re-design of the ladle size and shape to optimize the pouring and the yield for the nodularization in the cored wire station
- Thermal analysis, chemistry, temperature, ladle transport time, pouring parameters, etc. can be linked to the single casting / moulds for the best traceability
Pouring control
- Each mould has its own pouring curve. It is set in ERP and imported by LTS
- Possibility to set different pouring speed (Kg/s) inside the same casting
- Consistent pouring, independent by operator capabilities, as the pouring sequence is pre-defined and not in the hand of the operator
The chart shows 3 curves (green, gray and dark blue) of the pouring of same casting in 3 different days in comparison with the set pouring curve (red line). This level of repeatability is not reachable not only in case of manual tilting, but also in case of hydraulic tilting, manually operated by an operator.
- Temperature is controlled by dip probe after deslagging, for each mould a min temperature is defined, LTS includes a simulation for the loss of temperature to secure the pouring process of the mould starts only if the temperature is ok.
- Dynamic dosing of in stream inoculation based on real pouring rate replacing inefficient and expensive use of in-mould inoculation.
AUTOMATION
- Total integration with Besfond’s ERP. Production plan with the correlation between mould code and its position in the pouring line. Casting features are automatically imported and synchronized by ITACA.
- Ladle movements are made semi-automatically (pre-defined paths):
- From holding furnace into cored wire station
- From cored wire to deslagging
- From deslagging to pouring mould (X,y,Z mould 1)
- From mould 1 to mould 2, etc.
- From last mould back to the holding furnace
SAFETY
- Ladle is not moved anymore in manual mode but with “dead man” logic just keeping pushed a button
- No needs to restrict the area like in case of pouring equipment moving on rails
- 4 axis movement of the ladle for the best and most accurate iron flow
- No operators struggling for manual positioning of the ladle into the cored wire treatment station
- Safe pouring (operator is far away from the molten metal) and the pouring curve is pre-defined and controlled by ITACA LTS
- No fumes into the foundry during and after cored wire treatment
