CASTING INNOVATIONS
Westomat Furnaces Cut Energy Consumption Te Westomat 1200 SL furnace
offers efficiency and melt quality, according to StrikoWestofen Group, Zeeland, Mich. During a five-day test con- ducted under real-life conditions, a Westomat furnace was compared to a conventional holding furnace with an automatic pouring ladle. The energy consumed by the Westomat furnace, 8.1 kWh/hr., was one-third that required by the ladle system, and the metal yield was five times greater. In addition, the manufac- turer said the operating cost and downtime of Westomat furnaces are below those of conventional systems. The closed Westomat system is thermally stable. Temperature fluc- tuations do not occur, so overheating the melt is not necessary. Data collected in practical experi- ments indicated the Westomat furnace achieved maximum pouring preci- sion. Te testing also demonstrated its efficient use of the raw material. Te
Addition and removal of the melt below the level of the bath prevent oxides from entering.
closed furnace system showed metal losses of no more than 0.06%, outper- forming conventional ladles by a factor of five. While oxides from the surface
of the bath can enter the melt dur- ing pouring with a ladle system, the dosing system prevents the quality of the metal from being degraded and reduces waste. “Te introduction of oxides into the
pouring process is virtually ruled out for our Westomat dosing furnaces as the melt is removed and added below the level of the bath,” said Rudolf Rie- del, manager of the StrikoWestofen Group. Furthermore, Westomat dos- ing furnaces maintain a constant bath temperature, with maximum devia- tions of two degrees Celsius from the target value. Westomat furnaces’ dosing systems
feature low service and maintenance costs in daily use. Te pouring process can continue during filling. According to Riedel, the furnaces recoup their slightly higher operating costs in the second year of operation. “In combination with our high-
Westomat dosing furnaces consume one-third the energy required by conventional ladle systems. 46 | MODERN CASTING October 2012
performance ‘ProDos’ and ‘VPC’ control systems, our Westomat systems are currently the benchmark worldwide in terms of efficiency and dosing accuracy,” Riedel said. “In addition, thanks to their automated process cycles, they are user- friendly and make a variety of manual tasks unnecessary. Tus, they stand for high process reliability and stability as well as constant quality of the melt.” ProDos DPC is a precision pour- ing control unit specially designed
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