Simple Solutions That Work! Issue 9

Not only does the melting process benefit from this kind of integration but the entire process of the part as well. Integrating the melt process benefits all parts. A solid melting foundation reduces scrap and increases productivity, which means the bottom line is enhanced. Imagine if your melting process was all on a monitor, laid out just like your furnaces are on your plant floor, and that each monitor was color-coded for each stage (each color for a different meaning) that could be easily understood from a glance of an eye. Very quickly you could know exactly the stages and operation levels of all of your furnaces. From a monitor on your desk, you could also view each furnace along with their temperature readings. This could also be displayed in strategic areas on the plant floor for everyone to observe. How much more effective would this be – to catch an issue before it becomes a problem? With a glance of an eye in passing, you would be able to see everything is green which means everything is in tolerance and can then focus on other issues in the process. If there is an issue and something has turned yellow (which means getting close to being out of tolerance), you can take quick action to prevent it from turning red (which means a stoppage in production or a possible quality issue). There are also programs to stop the casting machine when it turns red, to prevent it from producing a part out of tolerance. Imagine how beneficial this would be to decrease your scrap, increase productivity, and eliminate a quality issue. When your process will not cast a part that is out of tolerance this eliminates the melting process from being part of the quality issue. The system can also be programmed to signal when a casting furnace is getting low and needs to be filled, which optimizes the melt delivery to the casting process. The options and possibilities are endless once the process has the ability to send data. In an integrated system everything is time stamped and recorded for archiving the data for future reference. Everything can tie into this data collection and display including temperature set points, hydrogen checks, metrology, power usage per shift per pounds melted, gas usage per shift and per pounds melted. Tap well temperature in which the transfer pump will not operate if the temperature is out of tolerance, and a trend chart of each furnace’s temperature per shift gives you great information in the event there was a large temperature swing (which could mean an element or over loading or other issue occurred sometime during the shift). In the foundry data is everything, and especially beneficial in the melting operation. Conclusion: Integrating the melting process increases productivity and saves many ways: • Operators can easily view at a glance, the furnace productivity throughout your plant to quickly address changes. • Metal will stay in tolerance reducing scrap & increasing productivity. • Automatic data collection will be critical for future reference and will track your process and progress. • The melt process will not be a quality issue for your customers. This type of awareness and application to your melting process will absolutely have positive effect on the bottom line. Contact: RICHIE HUMPHREY richie.humphrep@theschaefergroup.com BACK-2-BASICS 7