Implementation of Metal Casting Best Practices - EERE - U.S. ...

F. Iron Foundry-2
Plant Profile
Iron Foundry-2 is a large foundry that employs 2,000+ people. It produces gray iron castings
primarily for the automotive sector; these include crank shafts and 8-cylinder, 6-cylinder, and 4cylinder
engine blocks. The facility ships approximately 300,000 tons of iron castings each year.
The facility has four steel, water-wall, unlined cupolas: two in operation and two used as backups.
Three of these cupolas use coke as their primary energy source, while the fourth employs six
plasma torches located in the tuyers. The facility is equipped with automated pouring lines and
mold-making machinery. It uses green sand as the molding medium with as much reuse of the
sand as possible. The facility has on site machining and finishing operations.
Iron Foundry-2 does not design or make its patterns but does repairs to them when needed and
also performs some modeling to optimize the mold rigging. Its design and pattern making is
performed by its corporate headquarters which uses state-of-the-art modeling and simulation
software. The facility does have onsite metallurgy laboratory to ensure proper chemistry of its
melt. It also inspects its castings to ensure that each meets customer requirements and
specifications.
One operational aspect that stood out at this facility was its attention to detail and safety. The
plant was extremely clean and well organized. Safety was tracked at each workstation. In fact,
work safety is a top priority at this plant.
Onsite Assessment
The site visit followed the same format as the others with a morning session to review the
implemented research results and best practices performed at the foundry. The meeting included
a plant engineer, manufacturing engineer, casting development engineer, energy engineer, plant
manager, and the assessment team from Eppich Technologies and BCS Incorporated. The
assessment team provded plant personnel with an overview of the free tools and services offered
by ITP BestPractices subprogram. The plant energy engineer was familiar with the AirMaster+
and MotorMaster tools and had received training on their use. The facility did not match the
requirements for an IAC assessment because of its large physical size and revenues. Following
the morning meeting, the assessment team toured the plant to see both the implemented best
practices and to make recommendations as to how the facility may be able to further reduce its
energy consumption.
1. Implemented Best Practices
Compressed Air
As noted in this project, many of the participating metal casters had an opportunity to reduce
their energy consumption by analyzing and maximizing their compressed air systems. When
touring facilities, the assessment team noted numerous leaks and misuse of compressed air, such
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