On the melt deck, digital systems control and track data for critical processes.
Steel Casting Co., Milwaukee. (See “Start Gaining Process Knowledge,” Modern Casting, May 2013.) With ever increasing costs and quality requirements, interest in shop-floor data collection is growing, according to Allen. “Software can help report and isolate what you need to do to control scrap,” he said. Shop-floor data collection also
can assist workers in communicating critical data on jobs in process. “We’re starting to see more plants push information manage- ment down to the shop floor,” said Matthew Gacek, vice president of business development for B&L Information Systems, Bridgman Mich. Anywhere in the process, trusted operators can be allowed to alter work instructions based on their observations in production. “The molding line is a very criti-
cal job,” said Gacek. “If, for what- ever reason, there’s a problem with a parting line on a casting, in the past you’d call the supervisor over and talk about it. And, sometimes it wouldn’t be communicated to the next department.”
26 | MODERN CASTING September 2013 Shop-floor
data collection can assist
workers in communicating critical data on jobs
in process. Instant communication takes
place in modern facilities via touch- screen, to improve workflow in a wide variety of casting businesses. A management information system (MIS) keeps work information up to date as a job travels from one zone to the next. The ability to show pho- tos of a product as it moves through a casting facility can be particularly beneficial where multiple languages
are spoken on the shop floor. “The person running the job
can go into the work instructions, upload a snapshot of the mold, circle where the problem is, and put it into, for example, the grinding instruction,” Gacek said. “They can annotate it to say, ‘For this job, keep an eye out for this parting line that’s excessive. Please grind it down.’ And all this is done in real time.” “Automated melting is an ideal
process using computerized con- trols,” said Satyen N. Prabhu, presi- dent and CEO, Inductotherm Corp., Rancocas, N.J. “Adaptive melting control optimizes power usage by minimizing temperature overshooting, saves time by reduc- ing frequent temperature checks and enhances safety.” The operator enters the weight
of the charge, or it is received automatically via a weigh system, and the heat content and desired pouring temperature are used to calculate automatically the kilowatt hours needed to complete the melt. It turns off the system or drops to holding power when the melt is
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