SAIF instrumental in setting up the Gauteng Foundry Training Centre
In an era of corporate reorganisation, mergers, and globalisation, metalcasting is one of several critical industries that require a well-educated workforce in order to remain profitable and competitive. More specifically, all these industries are alike in requiring an immediate commitment to fundamental research — research that is essential to providing innovative solutions and technological developments for the brick, refractory, and insulation materials being used in metalcasting operations. Achieving these goals requires not only a coordinated commitment to education and research programs from the engineering, science, and technology sectors, but also requires an effective networking of these academic and industrial concerns for a qualified work force. Continuing education can achieve these goals.
The foundry industry in South Africa has for years been envious of what a number of its international counterparts are offered by their industry bodies in terms of training and research. The SAIF and its members have explored numerous options but there has always been a financial constraint.
The SAIF is involved in a variety of initiatives to tackle the need for skills development and education in the foundry industry. The advent of government sponsored training courses three years ago, which the SAIF have been tasked to be custodians of and implement, and have had their contract renewed for another three years, led the SAIF to spearhead an initiative to create a hub for practical foundry related skills training and technology transfer in the greater Gauteng region.
The first molten-metal pour on 19 September 2013 at the Ekurhuleni East College (EEC) for FET (Kwa Thema campus) in Springs, Gauteng will hopefully ignite a new era in the foundry industry in South Africa.
The Gauteng Foundry Training Centre (GFTC) is a joint initiative of the Gauteng Department of Economic Development (GDED), the South African Institute Foundrymen (SAIF), the Ekurhuleni East College for FET (EEC) and the NFTN, a government funded enterprise.
The establishment of the GFTC on the Kwa Thema campus of the EEC was a strategic decision, taking into account that more than 50% of the foundries are situated in the area and that the EEC already hosts a similar centre for the tooling industry.
The foundry industry has been through many challenges over the past three decades, with a roller coaster economic ride, stiff international export competition from China, India and other countries, the surging input costs of electricity, transport and scrap metal and other factors. To remain globally competitive, it is therefore vitally important to train and upskill artisans and provide a secure foundation for the future of the industry.
Fast learnership programmes are not ideal but do have a role to play. What is needed to make the foundry industry competitive locally and internationally is proper training for artisans. One cannot rush educational basics and a suitable standard of training also has to be established.
Dignitaries, sponsors and guests from the foundry industry were on hand to witness the opening of the GFTC training centre that will indeed go a long way in tackling the need for skills development and education in the foundry industry.
The training centre boasts a fully equipped melting, chemically bonded moulding, core making, green sand moulding, sand testing, and laboratory testing for materials and pattern shop facilities. It will offer practical training of students in the foundry industry, over and above theoretical knowledge.
Robert Bezuidenhout, who has been in the foundry industry since he was 16 and now has 47 years experience, was appointed the centre manager nine months ago and he, along with the SAIF CEO John Davies, have been working tirelessly to have the centre operational for the official opening.
The equipment
The GFTC has been set up in an 800 m² facility and financial and material (new foundry equipment and materials) support came from many metalcasting companies and industry suppliers, for which the custodians of the GFTC are grateful.
Local foundry equipment manufacturer Lauds Foundry Equipment have supplied a 1-3TPH high speed continuous mixer with a Lauds Auto-Blend 3000, which is a temperature sensitive blending dosing system for the mixer.
Lauds also supplied a multi-loop line that enables the cores and patterns to be moved with ease and returned to the mixer for a continuous moulding operation. In situ there is the Lauds LCT1 compaction table for mould compactability and to ensure optimum surface finish and quality is maintained throughout the moulding process.
Included in the equipment supplied by Lauds is a 6L hydraulic jobbing cold box core blower complete with the Lauds vertimix batch mixer and pump set, which feeds directly into the Lauds skip hoist delivering mixed resin cold box sand to the core blower on a fully automatic basis.
Feeding all of this is the Lauds sand delivery system, which includes a fully automated 5TPH pneumatic conveyor with all the necessary controls for the five ton dry silica sand hopper. The hopper feeds the two Lauds mixers and has a vent unit attached to ensure no dust is present during operations of the filling cycles.
The Lauds scrubber ensures all fumes from the cold box production inside the cabinet are neutralised ensuring a green environment for the students to work in.
Lauds has been responsible for supplying most of the laboratory equipment from Simpson Technologies, which includes a sieve shaker, sand rammer, a universal strength testing machine, a permeability machine, sand moisture tester, a shutter index machine and a muffle furnace.
IMP has supplied the Bruker Q2 ION metals analyzer, reported to be one of the smallest and lightest ultra-compact spark emission spectrometers for metals analysis available. The new generation of spark spectrometer Q2 ION primary applications and metal matrices include copper, aluminium and iron for smaller foundries, inspection companies, metal recycling and metal fabricators. Besides the classical analysis workflow, the new Q2 ION now also offers a dedicated workflow for positive material identification (PMI).
In the melting department HPT have supplied the 50 Kg cast iron induction tilt melter. Custom designed and manufactured in South Africa by HPT, it is equipped with the latest IGBT based induction power supply unit, which offers lower energy consumption, it has a small footprint, there is up to a 70% reduction in the cooling system and up to 50% reduction in power components as compared to similar products, says HPT. Maintenance is made simpler by the modular design, and automation comes in the form of intelligent fault diagnostic menus, automated functions like pre-heat/sinter, remote monitoring and diagnostic functions and it is very operator friendly.
The non-ferrous department has been equipped with a new 50 Kg aluminium furnace and another 50 Kg furnace that was donated and subsequently refurbished before installation.
The latest measuring and testing equipment available that offers greater carbon and temperature measurement accuracy and speed in cast iron production applications, has also been installed. This includes a fixed Digitemp-E temperature measurement instrument, a Carbon-Lab E instrument for fast carbon determination in liquid steel, a handheld portable DigiLance IV instrument with memory and wireless communications for temperature measurement and the MeltControll Software, all supplied by Heraeus Electro-Nite.
What the GFTC offers
The three trades offered by the GFTC have been developed to fully equip students through an apprenticeship route. These trades are:
• Melter
• Moulder
• Patternmaker
The apprenticeship programmes consist of the three components, which will be presented over a period of 12 months each. In order to qualify the students will have to pass all the modules, which will include knowledge, practical and workplace skills pertaining to each trade.
2014 pilot project for 20 sponsored students
The inauguration of the GFTC has been boosted with the announcement that 20 students will be chosen for a pilot project to complete their apprenticeships at the GFTC. The pilot group of 2014 students selected will have their course fee sponsored by the MerSETA. Students will also receive a stipend during their work experience phase to be conducted at foundries. Students could apply for a grant for their travel and accommodation during the pilot phase.
Applicants wishing to be considered are required to have a NQF level 4 qualification with maths, science and engineering drawing (NCV 4, Grade 12) and the duration of the qualification, which begins in January 2014, is three years.
Other skills programmes that will be offered at the college from next year are based on the existing MerSETA courses already in place.
For further details contact Robert Bezuidenhout on TEL: 082 337 1473 or John Davies on TEL: 011 559 6468.
The Lauds 1-3TPH high speed continuous mixer with a Lauds Auto-Blend 3000, which is a temperature sensitive blending dosing system for the mixer
The Lauds 6L hydraulic jobbing cold box core blower complete with the Lauds vertimix batch mixer and pump set which feeds directly into the Lauds skip hoist delivering mixed resin cold box sand to the core blower on a fully automatic basis
Lauds has been responsible for supplying most of the laboratory equipment
The two 50 kilogram furnaces installed for non-ferrous melting
The 50 Kg cast iron induction tilt melter custom designed and manufactured in South Africa by HPT
IMP has supplied the Bruker Q2 ION metals analyzer, reported to be one of the smallest and lightest ultra-compact spark emission spectrometers for metals analysis available. The new generation of spark spectrometer Q2 ION primary applications and metal matrices include copper, aluminium and iron for smaller foundries, inspection companies, metal recycling and metal fabricators. Besides the classical analysis workflow, the new Q2 ION now also offers a dedicated workflow for positive material identification (PMI)
The HPT furnace is equipped with the latest IGBT based induction power supply unit, which offers lower energy consumption. It is located next to the latest measuring and testing equipment available
The Lauds sand delivery system, which includes a fully automated 5TPH pneumatic conveyor with all the necessary controls for the five ton dry silica sand hopper. The hopper feeds the two Lauds mixers and has a vent unit attached to ensure no dust is present during operations of the filling cycles.
