The past two years have been memorable in many ways for Viking Foundry, based in Germiston, Gauteng.
“It has been a period of expansion and growth. But more importantly we began an improvement programme in the foundry, resulting in the installation of a new Inductotherm 900kW VIP Power-Trak Li Power and Control System, which includes a one-ton and a two-ton Dura-Line melting furnace,” said Operations Director Greg Estman.
“We were looking to upgrade our foundry and to really come into the 21st century with newer, better automation and technology, and to really transform our factory to the factory of the future,” explained Estman.
“We started in the melt shop because our furnaces and equipment were tired and additionally, with load shedding having such an effect on everyone in South Africa and we were not excluded, it made sense to address this department first. No melted metal, no castings, no business!!”
“The melt shop is the largest area of energy consumption in a foundry, so it offered the best opportunity to look for energy and demand cost reduction. Optimising melt equipment utilisation minimises kW and kVA demand and maximises tons poured. Proper maintenance and operation of the melt system reduces energy usage. The new induction melting technology has increased our performances, raised efficiencies and enhanced flexibility to achieve higher power utilisation and lower costs of operation.”
The new Sinto FDNX flaskless moulding machine
The next step, in line with our vision to be more efficient, improve quality and bring down costs so that we can be more competitive against imports was to effectively modernise our moulding department. We had five, old green sand moulding jolt-squeeze machines that had been working day and night since the 1950s I think.”
“Good castings depend on good moulds is the common saying among professional foundrymen worldwide. This saying carries more stringent and profound meaning today, because the requirements for the cast products are getting more and more severe. In fact, high-quality moulds in dimensions, hardness and strength are critical and indispensable for the production of high-quality castings.”
The new Sinto FDNX moulding line was installed with help from the service team from Sinto’s subsidiary in South Africa Endeco Omega Sinto
“The Sinto FDNX moulding process uses an air-over-oil compressed-air system rather than conventional hydraulic power. Compressed-air allows the machine cylinders to generate ‘smooth, hesitation-free, and consistent movement, without hydraulics and pumps, according to the developer. Aeration is the design feature that results in high-quality moulds, as patterns with deep pockets and minimal draft become less challenging.’”
“Our research led us to Japanese manufacturer Sinto (Sintokogio Ltd). According to Sinto, FDNX flaskless moulding machines are designed as a “first step” for foundries switching from manual moulding to automatic moulding, with no compromise in the quality of moulds produced. It’s also a compact design that makes it possible to replace a manual moulding line in one day, in part because the FDNX does not need to be installed in a pit.”
“Installing a Sinto FDNX moulding machine is simple because it connects to a 220 volt power supply and requires a low air pressure system.”
“The Sinto FDNX moulding process uses an air-over-oil compressed-air system rather than conventional hydraulic power. Compressed-air allows the machine cylinders to generate ‘smooth, hesitation-free, and consistent movement, without hydraulics and pumps, according to the developer. Aeration is the design feature that results in high-quality moulds, as patterns with deep pockets and minimal draft become less challenging.’”
The Sinto FDNX flaskless moulding machine operates any 400mm by 500mm by 360mm green sand mould or smaller
An average maximum production rate of 90 moulds per hour is achievable on the Sinto FDNX flaskless moulding machine
“Our Sinto FDNX flaskless moulding machine operates any 400mm by 500mm by 360mm green sand mould or smaller with an adapter, and achieves an average maximum production rate of 90 moulds per hour. The current mould that we have in the machine has four impressions so we are making four castings at a time.”
“We estimate that we can do castings between 1kg and 15kg and at the moment we are processing our existing general orders to produce SG iron, cast iron and chrome castings. The machine was only installed in November 2023 so we are still going through a teething phase but this will not take long and in the new year we will be canvassing for new clients.”
“The new Sinto FDNX moulding line was installed, with help from the service team from Sinto’s subsidiary in South Africa Endeco Omega Sinto.”
In addition, Viking Foundry installed the hopper, batch mixer and conveyor system. The green sand is fed from a platform above the machine
What the foundry looked like prior to the installation of the Sinto FDNX flaskless moulding machine
“We have also installed the hopper, batch mixer and conveyor system. We are using an existing shakeout and the green sand is fed from a platform above the machine. In time we will automate this procedure of the process.”
“We definitely want to grow and have a bigger offering, more production capacity and faster cycle times for our customers and no more ergonomic concerns for foundry workers.”
“There are various standards for identifying a ‘modern’ foundry – but automatic moulding is surely a primary indicator. Automatic moulding helps foundries fulfil all of the goals that casting buyers prioritise: High throughput, consistency, and lately accessibility for data analysis and reporting.”
The ‘old way’ of doing things
“Viking Foundry has now undertaken several capital projects to ensure sustainability and position itself for growth. The Sinto FDNX moulding line is the first one to be installed in South Africa. Hopefully it won’t be too long before we install the second one.”
For further details contact Viking Foundry on TEL: 011 873 5093 or visit www.vikingfdy.co.za
