The manufacturer kept its 290 employ-
ees in the loop on the construction and implementation plans through weekly team meetings. “Our people were really good about ex-
ƼĶ ÞŘÞض ɠÌ Ǽ ɠs Ì _ ǼŸ _Ÿʰˇ ɟÌÞǼfisĶ_ ǣ Þ_. “We were prepared.” By the end of 2013, Lodge Manufacturing
had completed the new melt center, which melts iron for all three of Lodge’s molding and casting lines. The melt center consisted of two 10-ton furnaces and a robot that takes samples of the metal for testing and checks the temperature of the molten metal. Foundries need the metal to be at a certain
temperature when they pour it into the mold ǼŸ Ŏ Ĩs ǣȖNjs ǼÌs fiŘ Ķ O ǣǼÞضǣ OÌÞsɚs ǼÌs necessary properties, like strength, durability and appearance. When the cast iron in the furnaces are at
the right temperature, the furnace is mechan- ÞO ĶĶy ǼÞĶǼs_ ǼŸ fiĶĶ ONjȖOÞEĶsʰ ɠÌÞOÌ Þǣ ɚsǣǣsĶ that carries molten metal in a metalcasting
facility. At Lodge, the crucible hangs from a crane in the ceiling and after it is full, it is automatically sent to the molding machines on a rail overhead. Once at the molding machines, the molten metal is automatically poured into each mold. A computer pro- grams how much metal to pour in each mold at a time and uses sensors to know when to start and stop pouring. ¯ǼsNj ǼÌs Řsɠ ŎsĶǼÞض OsŘǼsNj ɠ ǣ fiŘÞǣÌs_ʰ
Lodge completed the new molding line and sand system, which recycles and feeds sand to the molding machines to make the sand molds. The new line makes 420 molds per hour, with four 12-in. skillets, in a single mold. That means 1,680 skillets an hour. After the molten metal is poured into the
molds, they are sent along a conveyor while the metal cools down and becomes solid. Eventually, the molds go on a conveyor belt that vibrates, which shakes off the sand, leav- ing the casting free and loose. These castings are retrieved and put through a cleaning
Two 10-ton furnaces in the new melt center at Lodge Manufacturing Co. service its three automated molding lines.
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Lodge’s new automatic molding machine can produce four 12-in. skillets in a mold, twice as much as its older, smaller machines.
MELTING POINT
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