Simple Solutions That Work! Issue 6

43 Contact: TROY TURNBULL [email protected] This housing assembly supports the total weight of the arm so there is no load applied to the gear box assembly, allowing very smooth arm travel without torque interruptions. Without the weight of the arm being supported by the gearbox, the gear box works for many years. No Dunking Industrial Innovations – Advance Automation has developed proprietary circuitry that prevents dunking. The smart probe (see Figure 4) remembers the furnace metal position from its last pour pickup. A back up probe is activated if the primary probe fails. If both probes fail, the ladler is programmed to go no more than 1” lower than the previous metal pickup point. If it doesn’t sense the metal, it goes to its home position and turns itself off. The ladler doesn’t dunk, even if all the probe wires are broken. Our system consists of three probes: standard, backup, and smart. Should the standard probe fail, a backup probe takes over to prevent dunking of the arm into metal. Warning lights flash on the Operator Interface Station, signaling a probe failure. Additionally, a smart probe remembers the last metal level detected and allows the probes to advance only 1” below the last metal level sensed. If the smart probe doesn’t sense metal within 1”, the ladler will dump all the metal in the cup back into the dipwell and return to the home position before shutting itself off automatically. Electronics and Operator Interface Servo Ladler operator stations are equipped with easy-to-read color LCD (see Figure 5). Each program should be easy to set up and be menu prompted so even operators with little or no previous programming experience can program the ladle. Typical units can store up to 500 parts programs in non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM). The Operator Interface Station allows the operator to monitor the status of the ladler and the metal level in the furnace and control all basic ladler functions. Warning lights signal probe failures, low metal levels, and aborted cycles. Indicators signal the mechanism position and ladle cup status. Controls can be set to manual or auto by turning a selector switch. A selector switch increases or decreases the shot size. LADLE CUPS Die cast, direct mount - pin- mounting design means no tools or adapters needed for changing. Die cast ladle cups are 1/4 to 5/16-inch thick, heat-treated cast iron for long life. The cups have non-wetting surfaces that are resistant to thermal shock and breakage. The cups also insulate metal from heat loss during the delivery cycle for uniform product. For long-lasting performance and value, ceramic ladle cups are die casting’s best kept secret. Made from alumina-silica composition, these cups are ideal for high- temperature applications such as zinc and aluminum casting. Understanding the importance of repeatable accuracy in ladling is not hard, and there are many automated control systems available to make it even easier that guarantee the accuracy of your shot size. Figure 4 Small probe-No dunking Double insulated wires for each probe. Super high temperature bearings require no lubrication or graphite powder. The probe assembly can be mounted on either side of the arm. Probe tips are easily replaceable and treated with Advance’s exclusive adwear treatment, which resists aluminum for months and sometimes years. The probes do not require a coating.