Automated Transport, Cooling for Castings

The MAGALDI Casting Cooler (MCC^®) is an automated system for transporting and cooling castings from molding lines. It may also be used as a workstation for de-gating operations, avoiding further need for a conveyor. Magaldi hot bulk-material handling systems are installed in power plants, cement manufacturing, and mining and metallurgical operations. Designed for reliability and to increase productivity, the MCC is able to work in typical foundry conditions that include high temperatures, heavy loads, abrasive media, or sharp castings.

The Magaldi Casting Cooler is equipped with a cooling tunnel, held under negative pressure, in which a stream of cooling air flows at controlled speed to avoid thermal shocks to the castings. Ambient air is forced to enter the extremities of the cooling hood then sucked from the center of the hood itself. The cooling tunnel is provided with a set of optical pyrometers for casting temperature detection at different points along the transportation (inlet, middle and outlet of the tunnel.)

Downstream from the cooling tunnel, an uncovered section of the MCC allows operators to comfortably degate the cooled castings and to sort the sprues by sliding them down and out, without noise and vibration, thanks to the conveyor’s low speed and available large flat work surface (if required.) The cooled and de-gated castings are then conveyed to the shot-blasting machine.

The Magaldi Casting Cooler overcomes the limitations of cooling drums, vibrating coolers, or carousels that may be subject to maintenance (and thus, loss of production time) thanks to the dependable Magaldi Superbelt technology and a fully automatic castings cooling process suitable for high volume production.

The Magaldi Superbelt is designed to withstand high mechanical impact caused by heavy castings (hundreds of kilograms) and shock loads generated by hammers, air cannons, or manipulators during sprue removal. It can be arranged with slopes up to 35° to transport materials such as castings, sprues, scraps and crop ends. The multilink Superbelt technology, specifically designed with no chains and sprockets, minimizes the risk of sudden failures, and ensures a dependable and safe operation.

Machine wear also is minimal, because the material is slowly conveyed with no relative motion against steel pans. Maintenance is very easy, according to the machine builder, which adds that in most cases the steel belt operating life exceeds 10 years.

The MCC also includes the Magaldi Integrated Supervision System (MISS^®.)  
Linked to molding line operation signals, the MISS receives the identification number (ID) of each casting from the molding line along with the actual casting temperatures. Depending on these parameters, the MISS automatically adjusts the MCC belt speed and the cooling-air flow rate, thus maximizing foundry productivity.

The MCC can be implemented in new projects or retrofitted to molding lines already installed, including customized installations.