A ductile iron foundry in Germany has adopted a noncontact pyrometer device to simplify and optimize its automatic pouring operation. Hundhausen Casting GmbH in Schwerte produces a variety of high-quality parts it supplies to manufacturers for automotive components, mechanical engineering, hydraulics systems, and railway technology.
The foundry operators wanted more reliable temperature measuring capability at the point of mold tapping, a production step that demands accuracy and consistency in order to ensure that each part is in conformity with the continuous quality control and documentation expected for every finished casting.
The standard approach for foundries collecting that data is to dip a thermocouple into the mold, but the operators at Hundhausen Casting recognized that such measurements were contributing significantly to their operating costs. Also, they understood that their measurements did not account for temperature variations during tapping, or time differences between the thermocouple measurements and tapping. Thermocouple readings were recorded for several taps over longer time periods, but did not register temperature differences over the defined time.
A further factor in the operators’ inquest was their desire to capture the continuous data so that they could optimize the automated process and improve product-quality standards.
The resolution to all the aims set out by Hundhausen Casting operators is a “smart, non-contact infrared thermometer” developed to measure liquid metal temperature in foundry tapping operations.
The AMETEK Land SPOT+ MM (MeltMaster) pyrometer is a single-sensor device for liquid metal temperature measurements in foundry applications. Optimized signal processing and a dedicated application mode allow the SPOT+ MM to measure tapping stream temperatures accurately independent of surface and condition changes during the process. It has “millisecond responsivity,” with integrated time functions to monitor and hold the tapping temperature for a configured time or until the next tapping process starts.
Multiple digital and analog interfaces make it simple to integrate the SPOT+ MM into new or established process control systems. An internal camera assists with alignment and provides a remote process view via an integrated webserver and Modbus TCP/IP, with no requirement for any additional software.
Hundhausen Casting reported that its adoption of the SPOT+ MM application pyrometer delivered a very favorable return on investment.
Jonas Störmer, electrical engineer at the foundry, stated that with the SPOT+ MM pyrometer, “the liquid iron temperature measurements using dipping thermocouples can be mostly omitted, which results in cost savings.
“In addition, we now receive continuous casting temperatures in our casting process, building the basis for process optimization and quality improvements.”