NI-Foundry, the foundry division of Naledi Inhlanganiso Group, has taken delivery of two charge machines that will feed two new ABP furnaces semi-automatically that are currently being installed in the foundry. The investment in the equipment is part of an approximate R100 million investment programme in the foundry, formerly known as Guestro Casting and Machining, and has origins dating back to 1947.
“Our focus has been primarily on the automotive industry in recent years, supplying SABS approved castings to the OEMs and others. With the major investment in equipment and processes that we are currently implementing, which includes increasing our melting and moulding capacities, we will aggressively be pursuing other automotive components and diversifying into additional areas such as the rail, mining and energy market sectors,” explained Group CEO Pieter Du Plessis.
The FC 12 T charging machines manufactured by Cyrus GmbH Schwingtechnik, who are based in Recklinghausen, Germany, which serve to feed the furnaces semi-automatically
“We have been concentrating on upgrading our horizontal moulding line, which has seen a complete overhaul and refurbishment to bring it in line with modern casting practices.”
“The mandate has been to increase our melting and moulding capacities in the foundry. The majority of castings are manufactured on the GF horizontal moulding machine that has been in operation at the company since 1982. Various upgrades to the machine and the original sand mixers and coolers have been implemented over the years, but it still left the GF far short of what it is capable of and should be producing.”
“The line has been servicing 60 to 80 moulding boxes an hour and the goal was to increase this to at least 120 to 140 boxes an hour. We will have the melt capacity so there is no reason why we should not achieve these targets.”
“However, the conditions have to be perfect in all aspects of the production process. We knew that we had under performing areas and to achieve our desired targets we would have to address them. These included the GF horizontal moulding machine itself, the sand mixers and coolers and the melting and pouring operations as well as upstream and downstream processes.”
The mobile chargers are fed by means of the existing charging bay crane with a charge make-up of black scrap or casting returns. The black scrap has a bulk density of 1.1 t/m³. The charging machine comes with a capacity of 11m³, which corresponds to a load-carrying capacity of 12 tons
“In phase one we completed the upgrade of the GF horizontal moulding machine that includes more robust hydraulics, a simplified and enhanced state-of-the-art PLC electrical control to enable consistently high output of castings, a new Convitec 50 ton per hour return sand cooler, an updated control system hardware that enables straightforward presetting and adaptation of all production parameters for fast pattern change, without compromising speed or quality. The cope and drag moulding machines were upgraded so as to speed up the delivery of the moulding boxes/flasks and the belting system, including those that transport the green sand, all went through a complete overhaul.”
“The next step in the upgrade project was to look at the quality of our sand. The quality of the surface finish on your castings, without pitting and tear-offs, is only as good as the quality of the sand that you deliver.”
“Then two original GF mixers were replaced with one DISA SAM 6/70 high speed mixer. The output of this mixer is now more than the original two. This was complimented with a DISA Multicontroller SMC, a fully automated sand mixer controller.”
“At the same time we installed an Endeco Omega CB 30 coreshooter that is capable of producing horizontally and vertically split core boxes. The fully automatic 30-litre machine has not been installed to manufacture any specific core but will be deployed on demand. It has been automated with an overhead system that runs on a trolley shuttle that is linked to a new two ton an hour Endeco Omega continuous mixer that delivers the sand on demand.”
“Most of this part of the upgrade was completed by the end of 2015.”
“Phase two of the project that began earlier this year saw the introduction a new presspour furnace in the GF horizontal moulding machine line. This ABP Induction Systems 11 ton pouring furnace Presspour® type OCC is used for holding and the automated inline pouring of ferrous and copper alloys.”
Noise reduction while in operation has also been taken into consideration with a higher quality choice of material used along with the lining of the bottom floor of the charging bunker
“Continuing with our improvement and process optimisation in the melting and pouring department we ordered two IFM 7 multi-function furnaces with twin-power systems from ABP Induction Systems that are currently being installed and should be operational soon.”
Cyrus charging machines
“This included ordering two FC 12 T charging machines manufactured by Cyrus GmbH Schwingtechnik, who are based in Recklinghausen, Germany, which serve to feed the furnaces semi-automatically.”
“The mobile chargers are fed by means of the existing charging bay crane with a charge make-up of black scrap or casting returns. The black scrap has a bulk density of 1.1 t/m³. The charging machine comes with a capacity of 11m³, which corresponds to a load-carrying capacity of 12 tons.”
“The machinery supplied by Cyrus also stands out with its user friendliness. The central control aisle allows both systems to be controlled by just one operator. This ensures maximum utilisation. Cyrus has further optimised important safety-critical details with its latest generation of machines.”
The ABP Induction Systems 11 ton pouring furnace Presspour® type OCC is used for holding and the automated inline pouring of ferrous and copper alloys
“Noise reduction while in operation has also been taken into consideration with a higher quality choice of material used along with the lining of the bottom floor of the charging bunker.”
“Furthermore, a footswitch is employed. By activating this switch the machine travel is interrupted immediately in order to avoid any obstructions caused by foreign objects and to protect persons in the area of the charging floor. The chargers are also equipped with a retainer flap that prevents unintentional material leakage.”
“Travelling charging machines consist of the travelling gear, the bin, a vibratory trough conveyor and electrical controls. These machines are designed to charge a wide variety and configuration of furnaces. Being rail-borne, they can travel longitudinally, transversally or in combined directions as is required. Optionally, one or several melting furnaces can be charged with one machine.”
“R11 million worth of moulding boxes/flasks have already been manufactured and delivered to us. These will be incorporated into the process once the melting and pouring upgrade is completed.”
“Further enhancements that will take place in the foundry will include a new dust extraction and filtration system, complete with all the ducting.”
For further details contact the Naledi Inhlanganiso Group on TEL: 011 845 1546 or visit www.ni-holdings.co.za
