Simple Solutions That Work! Issue 9

BACK-2-BASICS weeks. The production goals met the objectives for cycle times and core quality. The catalyst gassing system was modified from amine gassing to CO2 gassing, thus eliminating the need for additional amine delivery systems and air pollution control. machinery guarantees similar to new equipment options: Core Machine Retrofit Challenge: Modify a high production cope eject core machine to a drag out style, including updated hydraulic circuits for smoother and improved cycle times. Solution: This re-design included the cope strip assembly to ease maintenance and cleaning, providing accurate separation for cope and drag. OSHA approved safety guarding was added with “control reliable” machine directives. By analyzing an existing machine design and comparing to the customers production goals, we were able to identify new design features and options that offered greater flexibility and improved productivity. Re-purposing many of the existing machine components and adding new controls where necessary provided a new machine with substantially reduced costs and faster lead time. Results: In this case the repurposed core machine was delivered at a cost savings of over 50% when compared to an equivalent new machine and the delivery time was reduced by 8 Continued on page 46 45 Before After