CPT International 04/2015

K AUTOMATION
All processes under control: Managing
Director Graziano Sammati in
the control room
The transporter – in this case LENA – passing the rolled up door as it hovers
from the casting bay to the cooling area
owed to the vision and innovative spirit
characterizing the corporate culture
of the Kurtz Ersa group. The idea had
been to design the future of the foundry
in a team effort. The result is an almost
doubling of productivity accompanied
by a dramatic improvement of
safety at work.
As a result of the decoupled production processes, the working conditions
have markedly improved
Setting new standards
Almost as a side effect, the first implementation
phase of the “Foundry 4.0
made by Kurtz Ersa” has set new standards
in safety. Let’s take the new pouring
shop as an example. What today
accommodates casting machine parts
weighing several tonnes, such as machine
beds or pump housings, used to
be the sand reconditioning area. Today
the casting shop is separated from the
meltshop and the cooling area by rollup
doors. Decoupling the working areas
has had a positive effect on operating
procedures. Additionally, extraction
equipment of the latest design has been
installed in the casting shop. “That has
markedly improved the working conditions
in the casting area,” says Rainer
Kurtz. For the 120 employees in Hasloch
that means a healthier workplace
as a result of dramatically reduced emissions,
lower temperatures and more
space to work. Smart control and tim-
Man and machine
interact perfectly
36 Casting Plant & Technology 4/2015