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8 CASTING 4 | 12-2009 APT <strong>ALU</strong>MINIUM 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 aluminium 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 aluminium 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
APT <strong>ALU</strong>MINIUM NEWS 4 2 | 06-2008 12-2009 Musterseite SURFACE 9 For lighter and economical gasoline and diesel engines Innovative cylinder bore coatings from Honsel Honsel, Meschede/Germany, makes gasoline and diesel engines much more economical for the future. At the ”Aachener Colloquium” on engine and automotive technology which took place from October 5-7th in Germany, Honsel presented a new type of coating process for cylinder bores. This innovative coating reduces friction between piston and cylinder in aluminium engine housings, which in turn also cuts fuel consumption. It also makes the engine much lighter because coated cylinder bores weigh much less than cast-in linings of grey iron. Moreover, the ultra thin steel coating offers excellent thermomechanical conditions for modern engines with high power density. Into the bargain, Honsel's solution costs significantly less than other types of cylinder coating. In order to save weight and fuel consumption, crankcases in modern gasoline and die- The quality standards for the surface finish of automotive aluminum wheels, especially with regard to their luster, have increased significantly in recent years. This applies equally to OEM’s as well as tuning shops. The new Rösler vibratory finishing system FBA 24 Turbo creates a high gloss, mirror finish on the surface of new and used aluminum wheels as well as other automobile and motor bike parts that require a polish. Nowadays, mirror finishes are a highly attractive optical feature on aluminum wheels. To achieve this desired look on all kinds of wheels, irres-pective of how complex their geometrical Light, non-expendable and inexpensive: with an ultra thin steel coating for cylinder bores in aluminium crankcases (left-hand) Honsel helps to reduce fuel consumption and emissions still more efficient than with conventional heavy cast-in linings of grey-iron (right-hand). sel engines are often made of lightweight aluminium instead of heavy grey iron. However, to allow the pistons to run smoothly in the aluminium cylinders, linings of thick grey iron had to be cast into the crankcases, or the surface of the cylinder walls has to be coated by means of an expensive and time consuming process. Honsel has now developed a much cheaper coating process, where a very fine layer of steel is applied to the cylinder bores by means of a plasma particle jet. ”This coating reduces the fuel consumption and therefore the amount of CO 2 produced because it substantially diminishes the amount of friction between the piston and the wall of the cylinder bore,” explained Bernhard Gand, head of Honsel's engine-development. Unlike the grey-iron inserts, the aluminium bores thinly coated with steel are extremely light. Due to its high surface quality, Honsel's new coating not only cuts down friction, but shows no sign of wear during the lifetime of the engine, thereby keeping oil consumption low. Compared to other types of coating for aluminium cylinder bores, the Honsel solution offers considerable potential for saving costs during engine manufacture. ”Our coating process fulfils all the demands made by manufacturers on cylinder bores. It is the latest example of the technologically exacting and economically beneficial lightweight solutions produced by Honsel to allow the engine of Up to 30% lower process times for surface finishing of automotive wheels Excellent, high gloss surface finishes In a relatively short time the FBA 24 produces a high gloss, mirror surface finish on new and used automotive wheels as well as on other parts for new or vintage cars and motor bikes design may be, Rösler has developed the new vibratory finishing system FBA 24 Tur- bo. Compared to other finishing systems on the market the FBA 24 will finish wheels Photo: Honsel Photo: Rösler with a diameter of up to 24” about 30% faster. Not only wheels but also other parts mounted under the hood or in other sections of a vehicle, either made from steel, stainless steel and aluminum, can be processed in the FBA 24 to achieve a high gloss surface finish. The optional self-start timer allows beginning of the finishing process without an operator being present so that the first process stage may already be completed, when the official work time begins. Irrespective of the surface condition of the used wheels, the process parameters for cut-down, fine grinding and high gloss polishing in the FBA 24 Turbo can be set in a manner that guarantees the desired high gloss surface finish. The robust vibra- the future to use less fuel and emit less CO 2 . This is one of our contributions to environmental protection and sustainable mobility,” said Mr. Gand, summarising the philosophy behind engine development at Honsel. In principle, the new coating process can be used in combination with all the processes used for casting aluminium cylinder crankcases. However, Honsel has also developed a new die-casting process specially adapted to the requirements of the subsequent coating process, which takes account of the need for a very fine metallographic structure in the cylinder area and high loading capacity of the crankshaft-bearing blocks. Before the actual coating, the inner walls of the cylinder are activated by mechanical machining in order to create the best possible conditions for adhesion of the coating. A computer-controlled machine then approaches cylinder wall and coats the surface with molten steel by tory motor with its infinitely variable rotary speed can be adjusted to any finishing task and to practically any geometrical wheel design found in the market. Ease of operation and the optimum match between machine and compound & media produce excellent surface finishes – in just a few hours. All the consumables like compound and the high quality slow wearing grinding & polishing media are all developed and produced by Rösler. For new wheels produced in INSOLVENCY SALE means of a plasma particle jet. After this, the layer only has to be ground down to the appropriate thickness and honed to make it extremely smooth. In this process, the coating parameters as well as the honing process can be individually adapted to the various requirements of modern engines with regard to cylinder linings. This innovation from Honsel can be used universally for all gasoline and diesel engines regardless of size or number of cylinders. The coating is approved for all types of fuel including alternatives such as ethanol, biodiesel, natural gas or BtL (biomass to liquid). Honsel is currently working on a number of development projects for automotive manufacturers who intend to use crankcases coated by the Honsel process in their highvolume models. Diecasting machines Druckguss Scheffler GmbH 33442 Herzebrock-Clarholz, Germany www.honsel.com high volumes the polishing stage in the FBA 24 is the most important finishing step. The polishing phase is usually preceded by a cut-down and fine grinding pro-cess taking place in a plunge finisher. In its demonstration center in Untermerzbach Rösler offers the possibility to run finishing trials with the FBA 24. Of course, Rösler also offers surface finishing solutions for wheels that are larger than 24 inches. www.rosler.com Items being presented for sale include 5 aluminium diecasting machines, including. makes: Bühler H-250B, GDJ- H-250B, year of construction: 1988, GDM-H-400B, year of construction: 1988, makes: DSD H700R, year of construction: 2003 Holding furnaces, makes: Nabertherm, Fuemina, Hindelang, spraying equipment makes: Frech, Wollin, handling equipment, tempering equipment, makes: Robamat, Thermocast 5 (qty.) 4-column hydraulic trimming presses, makes: Reis, 7-30, year of construction: 1991, SEP60-205, year of construction: 1982, SEP9-100-W, year of construction: 1988 Aluminium shaft melting furnace make: Striko MH 800/500 output 500 kg/h, year of construction: 1991, tipping crucible furnace for melting, make: Nabertherm, KB240
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