2 - ALU-WEB.DE

8 CASTING 4 | 12-2009 APT ALUMINIUM NEWS
BMW Group light-alloy foundry goes over to new eco-friendly sand core production
World's first emission-free foundry
BMW light-alloy foundry at Landshut, production of inorganically bonded cores, water
jacket zylinder head, 6 cylinder-diesel engine
From 2010, BMW’s
Landshut plant will boast
the world’s first foundry
with emission-free sand
core production. The lightalloy
foundry at the BMW
plant is introducing a
new sand core production
method for gravity diecasting,
whereby conventional
organic binders will
be replaced by highly ecofriendly
inorganic binders,
which generate virtually no
pollutant emissions. The
introduction of this innovative
production method will
allow the light-alloy foundry
to reduce its emissions
of combustion residues by
98 percent. The plant will
completely decommission
its current waste air treatment
systems by 2010.
The Landshut light-alloy
foundry’s approximately 1,300
employees currently produce
around 1.8 million aluminium
and magnesium castings
a year, with a total weight of
45,000 tonnes. The product
range includes engine
components such as cylinder
heads and crankcases, structural
components and chassis
parts such as suspension strut
supports, tailgate frames, corner
castings and casting nodes
for the front and rear axle.
Approximately half the
castings produced are gravity
die-cast using sand cores.
The light-alloy foundry uses
some 120 tonnes of sand daily
in sand core production.
90 percent of this volume is
recycled. Following an initial
pilot operation phase, the
BMW Group is now poised to
become the world’s first manufacturer
to use inorganic sand
cores in volume production of
all engine core components.
The inorganic binders used
are based on water-soluble
alkali silicates (i.e. a water/
silica sand solution), resulting
in significantly reduced
resource consumption.
“Inorganic sand core
production positions us at
the forefront of the foundry
industry,” says Wolfgang
Blümlhuber, head of the lightalloy
foundry. “We see inorganic
sand core production
as key to competitive operation,
particularly in highly
industrialised countries with
stringent environmental regulations,
where manufacturing
costs are correspondingly
high.”
The light-alloy foundry
first introduced this reducedemission
production process
for use in the manufacturing
of aluminium crankcases and
cylinder heads for six-cylinder
diesel engines. Now inorganic
sand core production is
gradually being extended to
the foundry’s entire product
range.
In addition to the environmental
aspect, the process
also has economic and ergonomic
benefits. The strength
of the resulting light-alloy
components is enhanced by
the improved, faster solidification
of the liquid alu-
minium during the casting
process, as it cools from a
temperature of approximately
750º C. The BMW Group
is using this light-but-strong
design potential as a way of
producing energy-saving,
fuel-efficient engines capable
of higher peak cylinder pressures
and increased power
density.
The Landshut light-alloy
foundry’s employees benefit
as well, due to substantially
enhanced working conditions.
Until now, the casting
tools had to be blasted with
dry ice after every use in
order to remove combustion
residues. This energy-intensive
process can now be dispensed
with.
To accompany the introduction
of inorganic sand
core production, the lightalloy
foundry developed new
core shooting tools and equipment.
The casting equipment
has become less complex,
since the previously required
venting systems can be dispensed
with. At the same
Insertion of the sand core during the casting
process
Precimeter installs
fully automated slab caster in Italy
With the successful installation
of Precimeter equipment
at the Laminazione
Sottile plant in Italy during
May 2009, the plant
now has access to one of the
most modern slab production
facilities.
Precimeter had to prove
the superiority of its ProH
sensors as Laminazione had
previous, less encouraging
experiences with laser sensors
from a competitor. This
is why they doubted the ProH
would work properly in their
steam rich environment. The
test was no match for the carefully
designed Precimeter
sensors, the company says.
Laminazione went ahead
with an installation consisting
of ProH sensors for high
accuracy measurement of the
metal level in the distribution
launder and moulds, Starter
Dams and PXP2E:s for high
precision control of the metal
level and the Tilt Angle Feedback
(TAFB) for measurement
of the tilting angle of
the furnace. With this equipment,
the Precimeter engineers
succeeded in providing
a fully automated system from
furnace tilting to mould level
control. The installation has
convinced Laminazione of the
superiority of the Precimeter
technology. After only three
weeks of commissioning and
on-site training, local staff
was able to perform a threemould
slab cast merely by the
push of one single button. The
main selling point for Laminazione
to go ahead with the
installation was to increase
the safety in the working environment.
With a fully automated
system, workers do not
need to be present close to the
process during casting. One
further reason was that they
were given a tool to achieve
repeatability in the process.
During casting, the metal
level is kept within +/-1 mm
from the set point. By achieving
this exact and accurate
control, in combination with
an alarm function, they are
all Photos: BMW group
able to cast at a lower mould
level than they used to. The
repeatability of the process
level has given Laminazione a
tool to fine-tune other parameters
such as water cooling
and casting speed. The ability
to do this is crucial to reach a
higher product quality.
This first installation has
proven to be of great satisfaction
to Laminazione, and they
have achieved their goals.
This has, just recently, lead
to the order of two 5-mould
slab control systems for Laminazone’s
two remaining lines.
The second line is scheduled to
be installed in January 2010.
www.precimeter.com
Production of aluminium crankcases, six-cylinder diesel
engine process
time, the cooling intensity
during the casting process can
be increased, thus reducing
manufacturing cycle times by
around 10 per cent. The simulation
technology used in the
process and tool development
was developed at the BMW
Landshut plant too.
“We will be able to fully
amortise the investment in
tools and equipment, along
with our development costs,
in the space of just a few years
at most thanks to increased
productivity, and thanks to
savings on tool maintenance,
tool and workshop air extraction
systems and waste air
treatment systems,” says Mr
Blümlhuber.
Specifically, the productivity
increase works out
at around 10 percent. Tool
maintenance costs will be
reduced by half.
www.bmwgroup.com
Pouring of liquid metal during the casting
process
Rusal commissions
first ingot caster of
casthouse 3 at its
Irkutsk Aluminium
Smelter
UC Rusal announced the
commissioning of the new
Casthouse 3 complex at
its Irkutsk Aluminium
Smelter (IrkAZ).
The company invested
USD50 million in the
expansion of IrkAZ casting
facility and commissioning
of its first ingot caster. The
new line casts 22.5 kg ingots,
a totally new product for
the smelter. When running
at full capacity the line can
produce 27 tph of alumin-
ium ingots. Developed by
Rusal teams, the casthouse
expansion project started at
IrkAZ in 2006. Casthouse 3
will have two ingot casters.
In January 2009 the smelter
began the start-up of the
first line, which has two
independent tilting furnaces,
60 tonnes capacity each,
with liquid metal treatment
and stirrers, and one casting
conveyor.
www.rusal.ru