CPT International 02/2017

CASTING TECHNOLOGY
Figure 3: Drag with molded cods for brake drums
Figure 4: View onto the drag/core setting line; left above is the cope line
connection to the core-making shop remains
as it is (Figure 4).
The pouring line was relocated to the
opposite side of the foundry which results
in a considerably shorter transportation
distance for the supply of liquid
iron. As a result of the required mold
output, there are two fully automatic
HWS pouring units type “P-30-M” (M
= accompanying changing unit of ladles)
at the pouring line. One of them
had been installed shortly before at the
previous pouring line, the second new
pouring unit is identical in design. The
key function of the pouring units is the
software-monitored fill quantity of the
ladle and data communication. Thus,
the pouring units can “decide autonomously”
which unit pours which mold
so that the logistics of the supply of liquid
metal proceed in an optimal way.
For cooling the poured molds, Busch
still relies on the proven concept of the
mold cod cooling. After a defined cooling
phase inside the molding box, two
mold cods each are transferred into a
mold jacket. The 4-floor cooling structure
that had already been installed at
the former molding plant, was extended
by using additional steel structure in
order to reach the required total cooling
time. The lifting and lowering devices
at the front faces have completely
been redesigned according to the current
state of the art. Shake-out of the
jackets is done by means of a cod lifter
that lowers the cod into the cellar and
pushes it off onto a new casting cooler.
Monitored and controlled is the
molding plant by the latest version
of the production monitoring system
ALS 2010 Advanced that has been developed
by HWS themselves. This system
provides the administration of
process and pattern parameters, the visualization
of cooling times and plant
states as well as the data communication
with the peripherals.
The GLS 2010 (monitoring system for
pouring units, Figure 5) has been developed
particularly for the administration
and processing of data of pouring
machines. It assists the plant personnel
by displaying all important process data
such as pouring weight, pouring time
and pouring temperature as well as by
the representation of molding box information
of the molds that are located
in the pouring area.
Further important functions like a
comfortable administration of pouring
parameters, an evaluation of malfunction
periods and cycle times and a detailed
logging of quantities are also part
of the standard package of this management
system. The GLS uses, of course,
the same operating interface as the ALS.
For fully automatic pouring, a repeat
accuracy of 100 % of the pouring
parameters must be ensured at the
pouring machine in case of a pattern
change. By means of an optional data
communication to the control system
of the molding plant, the transmitted
pattern number enables the automatic
loading of a pattern-specific pouring
program. Using these regulation
and control parameters, the fully automatic
pouring is started.
The whole pouring process can be
observed by an installed camera. For a
22 Casting Plant & Technology 2 / 2017