Product category:
Metals processing plant and equipment
News Release from: Rautomead International | Subject: Horizontal casting machines
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 22 December 2005
Quick caster die-change ups efficiency
by 20%
A revolutionary form of quick die change for a range of horizontal casting machines enables casting dies to be changed without cooling the furnace and reduces typical die change time to about 1h.
Continuous casting technology specialists, Rautomead Limited, of Dundee, UK, have developed a revolutionary new form of Quick Die Change (QDC) for their range of horizontal casting machines The new system enables casting dies to be changed without cooling the furnace and reduces typical die change time from around thirty hours to about one hour, with over 20% improvement in operating efficiency
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 3 Dec 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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Rautomead have been building horizontal continuous casting machines for the production of bronze, nickel-silver and brass alloys for over twenty-five years.
Designs have evolved over the years as a result of continuing programmes of product improvement and in response to customer needs, but Quick Die Change is by far the most significant engineering step to-date in improving the up-time performance of this equipment.
Rautomead machines operate at temperatures from around 1,000 deg C to 1350 deg C, according to the alloys in production.
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Hallmarks of Rautomead furnace designs have been the use of a graphite containment system for the molten metal, electric resistance heating and inert gas protection of the internal hot working components of the machines.
Advantages of the use of graphite crucibles include the stability, strength and metallurgical cleanliness of the material at these elevated temperatures.
Customers also have experience of eight and ten years typical service life from a single crucible in these machines.
Nevertheless, graphite erodes quickly in air at such high temperatures and, for that reason, it has until now, been necessary to cool the machine down to change the casting dies to avoid internal damage to the furnace.
With QDC technology, a non-graphitic protective sleeve is used between the casting die assembly and the other internal hot working components of the machine, enabling the casting die to be changed immediately the molten metal has been suitably drained or cast out.
The new system is already in use at two Rautomead customer sites.
Typical example of efficiencies to be gained by using Rautomead QDC technology: * Criteria - working days per year - 322 days.
* Working hours per day - 24h.
* Casting campaign - 10 days.
* Time to cool down and change dies - old - 30h.
* Time to change dies - QDC - 1h.
* Comparison - Production campaigns/year: * (old system) 322/12.25 = 26.29.
QDC: 322/10.04 = 32.07 * Productive days/year: (old system) 26.29 x 10 = 262.9.
(QDC) 32.07 x 10 = 320.7.
* Increase in efficiency: (QDC) 320.7/262.9 = +22%.
* Over 40% increase in efficiency - in casting campaigns involving more aggressive alloys, where die life may only be five days, the increase in efficiency using QDC is over 40%.
An added technical advantage of the new QDC technology is the avoidance of regular thermal cycling of the casting machine, thus greatly reducing the inherent stresses borne by the equipment in such a pattern of operation.
In terms of operating cost, not only is there substantial extra productive time available, but energy, labour and inert gas costs in re-heating the machine between die changes are all eliminated.
* Retrofit opportunity - available with new Rautomead equipment, QDC may be retrofitted to most older Rautomead horizontal continuous casting machines.
International patent coverage is pending.
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