Product category:
Diecasting machines and equipment
News Release from: Frech | Subject: Frech DAW 20 die-casting machine
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 24 January 2005
Automating die-casting goes beyond the
machine
Automating die-casting to meet consistent high outputs does not stop at the machine: ingot-loading and using a robot on second-operation work have to be considered to raise productivity.
Owners of Frech diecasting machines have adopted a variety of approaches to the task of automating their manufacturing processes The 'one step at a time' method is exemplified by UK zinc diecaster PMS, which acquired its Frech DAW 20 in 2002 for the consistency and dimensional accuracy the Realtime Control system would bring to its output, in line with customer specifications
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 26 Mar 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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Automation in the interests of efficiency and labour-saving was always the long-term ambition for the machine, and the first step was taken within the year with the arrival of an ABB six-axis robot - an unfamiliar sight on such a small machine, but necessary for the sequence of functions it has to perform.
As well as removing the casting from the die, the robot transfers it to a pneumatic press - where the four parts are separated and delivered into separate collection bins - and then immediately returns the hot runner to the furnace.
To complete the automation of the cell, earlier this year PMS installed an ingot feeder that has sufficient capacity to keep the machine furnace supplied with metal for a full shift, so that it can run unattended - even 'lights out' overnight if required.
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"The machine more or less looked after itself already, and now staff don't even have to keep an eye on the furnace and replenish it by hand during the shift, which means they can give their full attention to other tasks," says technical director Gordon Panter.
It's a similar "look, no people" picture in the aluminium section of fellow UK company Daften Diecasting - but here all the constituent parts of the cell were installed simultaneously with the DAK350-40M cold chamber machine when it arrived in 2002, and Frech engineered the whole project.
"This was our first venture into automation, and we needed to be sure all the equipment would work together from the very beginning," says director Mark Weedon.
Frech's scope of supply included a Spesima ladle taking metal from an aluminium bale-out furnace, a Spraymotion die spray and a Gripmat casting extractor.
Castings from the Gripmat cool on a conveyor that delivers them into a bin for later manual handling through a hydraulic clipping press.
"Further downstream automation is not practical in our case, because the machine - which now produces around 75% of our aluminium output - handles such a wide range of different jobs," says Weedon.
"At any one time we have around 150 active part numbers on the machine for 20 or so different customers, and runs can vary from a few hundred up to tens of thousands." In contrast to Daften's need for flexibility is the dedicated diecasting cell built around a DAK 580 cold chamber machine that Frech recently put together for a German supplier to the automotive industry.
The customer needed to deliver within a tight time frame an optimised and competitively priced product in a ready-for-assembly condition - four requirements that all had to be met in order to counteract the mounting pressures of global competition.
The part in question was an aluminium bearing bush with a steel sleeve, and Frech's brief was as simple as it was challenging: to produce 450 parts an hour to automotive industry standards - including inserting the sleeves into the die, and trimming and sorting the completed parts.
Notable features of the cell's operation include the handling of the sleeves, which are fed by a vibratory conveyor to a gripper that places them in six positions around the circumference of a revolving turntable that correspond with the cavities in the die.
After the positioning of the sleeves has been checked, the robot lifts all six and places them into the movable half of the die.
At this point, the critical consideration is to ensure that the sleeves stay in position until the die is completely locked, which is achieved by close control of the die closing sequence.
The casting that the robot had previously removed from the die is allowed to cool during the sleeve insertion routine, after which the robot picks it up again and puts it under the trim press.
To complete the cycle, a separator sorts the six parts according to the cavity number, and the overflows and runner are delivered by a conveyor belt to a collection box to await re-melting.
Apart from the speed of the casting sequence itself, ancillary operations have been accelerated and telescoped as much as possible.
At the beginning of the cycle, for example, time is saved by having the locking unit and the safety guard opening simultaneously - and only just far enough for the robot to remove the casting from the die.
Time-saving measures have all contributed to the mere 48 seconds that it takes to produce six parts, complete with cast-in insert and ready to fit.
Frech also took responsibility for assessing the complete cell to ensure that it complied with current CE safety regulations, and for preparing and submitting appropriate documentation.
Although the project brought together all facets of Frech's expertise - die making, mechanical engineering and process technology - it was in fact relatively small-scale in terms of the aluminium diecasting industry's needs and the company's own capability.
Cells built around machines of up to 2000tlf have already been satisfactorily completed, for magnesium as well as aluminium.
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