budget of $6 million, will be completed as the nobake line approaches full production. Blackhawk selected GEMCO, Eindhoven, Neth-


erlands, to handle the engineering and installation of the Luino, Italy-based IMF nobake molding line with 55 x 47-in. flasks. Gil also brought in a team of outside consultants to help employee training. “The two new technologies we are starting here


[are] nobake molding and heavy section metallurgy,” Gil said. “Since we are adding these new things, we didn’t have the expertise in-house. Some of our people spent years in nobake foundries, but in general, it is a new process for us.” Considering Caterpillar’s long history as a suc- cessful nobake metalcaster of similar components, Blackhawk brought in Jim Walkup and Bill Sullins, two retired Caterpillar engineers, to focus on mold and core production. With a combined 80 years of experience in the nobake process, the two emphasized process controls as a way to ensure the operation’s long-term success. “We wanted to make sure they were going to go


for quality,” Sullins said. “For process controls, we insisted they had tensile testers, sand conditioning equipment, an air flow meter and an infrared heat gun.” To further ease the transition into the nobake pro-


cess, Blackhawk developed a “pilot plant” that began operation in September 2013. Located alongside the green sand facility, the small plant featured a com- paction table, mixer, bridge crane, pouring platform and mold manipulator, rollover and conveyors. With Blackhawk investing four months and $400,000, this operation gave engineers and hourly employees the ability to get hands-on experience in the nobake pro- cess without involving the full production line. “They were able to hit the ground running,”


Walkup said. “They got going very quickly. It allowed them the opportunity to avoid making the same mistake twice.”


The pilot plant continues to operate, with many


parts starting on a smaller scale before going into full production next door. “They have a pretty sophisticated program when it


comes to design, simulations and being able to bring jobs online,” Sullins said. “Working through the pilot program to production mode is not that difficult once everything is lined up to make castings. You’ve got the same type of mixture, the same chemicals, the same sand, so when you do your [part approvals], it’s very simple to run it over in the production area.” Finally, when looking to secure coatings, resins and binders, Sullins and Walkup suggested a single supplier, considering the multiple variables in the nobake process. “If you have all their products in house, you can stop a lot of bickering down the road,” Walkup said. “If you have a defect, and no one has one in the


Blackhawk公司选定GEMCO公司（荷兰•埃因霍 温），负责工程和安装IMF公司（意大利•卢伊诺）砂 箱尺寸55 X 47英寸的自硬砂造型线。Gil还聘请了外 部顾问团队帮助员工培训。


“对我们来说，自硬砂造型和重型冶金铸件是两项 新技术”Gil说，“虽然我们正在新上这些设施，但我 们内部没有专业的知识。我们中有些人在自硬砂铸造 厂工作过几年，但坦白的讲，这是新的工艺。” 考虑到卡特彼勒公司在自硬砂铸造领域的长期经验 和成功，以及相似的产品，Blackhawk公司聘请了两 位从卡特彼勒退休的工程师Jim Walkup和Bill Sul- lins，负责造型和制芯生产。用他们加起来超过80年 的在自硬砂生产中的经验，强化这两个关键工序的控 制，以此来确保作业的长期成功。


“我们希望确保达到他们要求的质量，”Sullins 说，“对于质量控制，我们要求配备拉伸试验机，型 砂检测设备，气体流量计和红外线测温枪”。 为了能更好的过渡到自硬砂工艺的生


产，Blackhawk公司建了“试验车间”并于2013年9 月开始运行，小型试验车间位于湿型砂车间旁边，配 有振实台，混砂机，梁式起重机，浇注平台和模具机 械手，翻转起模机和传送带。Blackhawk公司投资40 万美元，4个月时间建立的试验线，让工程师和小时工 能够通过动手操作获得使用自硬砂工艺生产的经验， 而不涉及整条生产线。 “他们能够旗开得胜，”Walkup说，“因为他们 能很快上手，他们有机会避免犯两次同样的错误。” 试验线继续运行，许多产品在投入大批量生产前在 该线上小批量试制。


“他们有非常精细的流程，从设计、模拟开始，直 到能够上线投产，”Sullins说，“只要满足了生产铸 件的条件，通过试验流程转到生产模式并不难。由于 使用相同类型的混砂机，相同的化学添加剂，同样的 沙子，所以你只需照章办事，在生产区域中作业变得 非常简单。”


最后，在寻找可靠的涂料，树脂和粘结剂时，考虑 到自硬砂工艺中多个变量，Sullins和Walkup建议选择 单一的供应商。


“如果你们厂里全部使用他们的产品，你可以避 免很多生产过程中的麻烦，”Walkup说，“如果你 的铸件有了缺陷，没有供应商原意承认是他们的错， 但如果你全部使用他们的产品，他们很难不承担一些 责任。”


Gil与ASK化工（德国•希尔登）达成了为期三年的 44 | FOUNDRY-PLANET.COM | MODERN CASTING | CHINA FOUNDRY ASSOCIATION June 2014


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