How to select the equipment for lost foam production line？

I. How to do the layout of product line

1. Calculate casting productivity per unit time according to annual capacity and daily working hours;

2. According to the casting structure, size, weight and casting process experience, calculate casting amount of molten iron in unit sand box.  At the same time, calculate the size of the sand box and unit sand box cast iron;

3. Calculate the sand boxes that needed to model, pour and turn over the sandbox per unit time, and determine the number of moulding work stations, according to the melting capacity of the electric furnace and the above data;

4. Design sand box operation according to the castings’ cooling time;

5. Calculate the flow rate of sand treatment required per unit time, according to the number and size of sand boxes per unit time;

6. Consider the sand temperature after turning over the sandbox and confirm the the model of the selection of sand treatment cooling system according to the casting material and the cooling time in the sandbox;

7. Comprehensively consider the logistics order according to the workshop layout and the customer’s automation requirements. The design bases are usually as follows:

    A. The pouring and casting position is near the electric furnace

    B. The modeling position is near the drying room

8. The whole sand treatment system is designed with multiple dedusting points to the dust remover. The pouring position is designed with dust collector hood to collect dust during pouring and casting, and finally through the dust remover treatment;

9. To the gas from the negative pressure system during the casting, gas treatment system is needed to meet the  national emission requirements.

II. Case Analysis(taking the transmission housing of single shift annual output 5000T as an example)

1. Single shift annual output is 5000T;

2. 300 working days per year, producing molten iron 9 times, need to produce 5000T÷300÷9=1.85T castings;

3. product casting yield rate is 80%; then the molten iron needed is 1.85T÷80%=2.3T per hour; recommend 2T electric furnace, meet the need of 2.3T molten iron per hour;

4. according to the transmission housing size and technical process, the net size of the sandbox is 1200*1200*1000mm;

5. the unit weight of the transmission housing rough part is 30kg; every sandbox can hold 6 pieces; the castings in each box weighs 180kg;

6. need to model 1850÷180=10.2 boxes and pour 11 boxes per hour; then the number of modeling, pouring and turning over is 11 boxes per hour;

7. the sand-processing capacity is 1.2×1.2×1×11=15.84m³/h, (20-40mesh ceramsite); the main cooling equipments are water-cooling sand shakeout machine, horizontal cooling machine, sand-temperature modulator.

III. Layout Scheme

1. the white area & the yellow area
   

2. the black area

   2.1 semi-automation

   

   2.2 full automation

   

VI. Case Show(the pictures of white area equipment, black area product line and offgas-process equipment)

white area equipment

black area production line

offgas process system

V. Technological Process

1. according to several casting site experience, 1T castings need 3kg foam raw material, 2.3T molten iron per hour; that is about 2.3*3=6.9kg foam raw material.

2. After the production, the white models need to be dried in the drying room and then make them into model clusters. Then paint the coating for 2-3 times; every time after painting, dry the models and each time the drying time is 8-12 hours;

3. after drying the models, they can be sent to the modeling position to be modeled, and then the modeling is finished by a three-dimensional vibrating table and a moving rain-shower sand feeder.

4. The sand box operation adopts the design of automatic operation. There are 2 movable shower sand feeder modeling positions, 11 butt joint casting positions and 2 sandbox carriers. Currently, the castings cooling time is 1 hour. The auto production line is suitable for small size difference and large output castings.

5. The production line is equipped with auto turning over machines to realize the auto operation of the LFC transmission housing. The castings are lifted to the next position by the crane and the sand will be taken to the sand processing system to be screened, cooled, dudusted, and then conveyed into the storage bucket by the conveying belt.

6. The design and layout of the production need to be based on the site conditions. The pouring and casting area needs to be near the electric furnace so that it is convenient for pouring and casting to the workers. The modeling area needs to be near the drying room to avoid long transfer distance, getting damp by absorbing moisture from the air or the cracks by bumping and crashing. The turning over machine area needs to be near the machining workshop, convenient for the machining of the castings.

Scientific and reasonable planning of epc production line is very important to a company;

Scientific and reasonable planning of epc production line can reduce the investment for a company and improve the utilization of the workshop;

Scientific and reasonable planning of epc production line can make the production smoother and safer;

Scientific and reasonable planning of epc production line can make a company have lower cost and more efficient production capacity.