Global Casting Magazine Issue 3, 2020

Advances in Diecasting Are Also Good for Mold Making 压铸工艺进步助力模具制造

Also 还请关注: Industry News p. 6 行业新闻 p.6

Published By:

MODERN

CASTING A PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDRY SOCIETY

Casting Competence Across Three Continents

WWW.GLOBALCASTINGMAGAZINE.COM

OCTOBER 2020

volume 10 number 3

P.27

P.23

FEATURES

专题文章

23 Advances in Diecasting Also Good for Mold Making

23 压铸工艺进步助力模具制造

27 Laying Groundwork for High Speed Prinitng

27 为高速砂型打印奠定基础

DEPARTMENTS

专栏

6 Industry News 35 Product News

6 行业新闻 35 产品新闻

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STAFF/工作人員

STAFF/工作人员 MODERN CASTING

FOUNDRY-PLANET.COM

Managing Editor SHANNON WETZEL, swetzel@afsinc.org

Publisher/Editor THOMAS FRITSCH, tf@foundry-planet.com

Advertising Sales JOE MURPHY, AdSales25@aol.com FABIO CAVALIERI, fabio@afsinc.org

Senior Editor/ International Sales ADRIANA WEISENBACH, aw@foundry-planet.com Advertising Sales OANH LARSEN, ons@foundry-planet.com THERESA NEUMANN, tn@foundry-planet.com

Art Director MICHAEL J. BERRAFATO, mberrafato@afsinc.org

MODERN

CASTING CHINA FOUNDRY ASSOCIATION 中国铸造协会 Publisher/Executive Vice President & Secretary General/ 出品人 ZHANG LIBO/ 张立波 Senior Editor/ 主编 WEN PING/ 温平 Deputy Editor/ 副主编 HUANG TIANYOU/ 黄天佑 FAN QI/ 范琦, fanqi@foundry.com.cn Editor/编辑 GAO WEI/高巍, gaowei@foundry.com.cn Li Mengmeng/李 蒙蒙, limengmeng@foundry.com.cn Advertising Sales Manager/ 广告销售主管 GAO WEI/ 高巍, gaowei@foundry.com.cn

张立波 出品人 中国铸造协会

Shannon Wetzel Managing Editor MODERN CASTING

Thomas Fritsch Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Foundry-Planet.com

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INDUSTRY NEWS/行业新闻

Industry News Contents 行业新闻目录

Suzhu Foundry Machinery Signed Contract at METAL CHINA 2020 11 铸博会上结硕果 苏铸装备喜签约

New Service Offering Thanks To Connected Dry Ice Technology 8 物联网技术催生干冰技术的新服务

Sumitomo-Kimura Foundry Joint Venture Finalized For U.S. 3D Printing 住友、木村铸造成立3D打印合资企业

Foseco’s Latest Dycote Safeguard Products Extend Die Service Life 12 福士科DYCOTE 新产品延长模具使用寿命

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Inner Mongolia Zhuoyue High-tech Materials Opens New Plant 15 内蒙古卓越高新材料有限公司二期工程奠基 Successful Pouring of 100-ton Ductile Iron Container 19 百吨级容器筒体球墨铸铁件浇注成功 Release of Research and Application of New Precision Casting Shell System 19 新型精密铸造制壳系统研发及应用成果发布 Longfengshan Shares Research Results at China Foundry Festival 20 龙凤山在中国铸造节上分享基础研究情况 Vacuum Casting of High-performance Magnesium Forged-rolled Sheet 20 真空铸造高性能镁合金锻轧板开发成功

Signicast Signs 3D Printing Partnership 12 Signicast签订3D打印合作协议 Capital Investments Beef Up Adalet’s Molding Efficiency As Much As 5,000% 14 加大投资使阿达莱特的造型效率提高了50倍 Franklin Bronze Continues Automation Investments 16 富兰克林铸铜厂继续自动化升级 General Kinematics Celebrates 60 Years Of Innovation 17 GK公司庆祝成立60周年 Acquisition Nearly Doubles Lawton’s Capacity 17 收购将劳顿的产能提高近一倍

Ruiming Group Technical Transformation Project Passed Acceptance 21 瑞明汽车铝铸造智能工厂技改项目通过验收 CITIC Dicastal Invests in Aluminum and Differential Pressure Casting 21` 中信戴卡投资铝铸造、差压等试制线 Yongtong Cast Drag Pipe Successfully Advanced 319 meters 22 永通铸管拖拉管在浙江一次性成功推进319米

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Artificial Intelligence For All Foundries: Norican Strengthens Dataprophet Partnership With Strategic Investment 8 诺瑞肯集团战略投资DATAPROPHET公司开发 适用于铸造企业的人工智能技术

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INDUSTRY NEWS/行业新闻

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For more information do not hesitate to ask your Elkem representative or visit elkem.com/foundry

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INDUSTRY NEWS/行业新闻

New Service Offering Thanks To Connected Dry Ice Technology 物联网技术催生干冰技术的新服务

ASCO CARBON DIOXIDE LTD now offers its customers additional digital products for their dry ice production. With the launch of the “i-Series product line”, interconnectivity and IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) are entering the field of dry ice production with ASCO equipment. Thanks to the use of sensor components and state-of-the-art communication technology, ASCO offers a wide range of services in the areas of remote access, remote data and remote management for dry ice plants of the iSeries line.

The services of the package "Basic" are now available.

Subscribers receive a monthly status report of the condition of their machines and recommendations for pelletizer maintenance. This includes checking various temperature and pressure parameters. In addition, the production quantity, production time and LCO2 consumption are recorded.

Remote assistance is offered in the event of machine malfunctions and production interruptions. ASCO technicians can remotely assist the customer to correct the error or take the necessary steps to get the machines back into operation as quickly as possible. ASCO customers thus receive faster support and more transparency about their production parameters.

The service packages "Premium" and "Diamond" will follow soon. ASCO customers can access their personal ASCO platform at any time by login. In real time, detailed production data, machine status and error messages of their i-Series products are available. Furthermore, subscribers benefit from special conditions on spare parts and service assignments.

The ASCO dry ice machines P28i, P75i and BP420i are standardly delivered with the i-Series technology. The dry ice machine P15 is also available as i-Series model if required.

For the models P28, P75 and BP420 which have been delivered before 2020, retrofit kits are available in order to allow older models to also become part of the networked dry ice production - with all the advantages for an efficient and transparent utilization. ■

ASCO CARBON DIOXIDE有限公司为其客户提供了用 于干冰生产的附加数字化产品。随着“i系列产品线”的 推出，互联性和IIoT（工业物联网）正在进入使用ASCO 设备进行干冰生产的领域。由于使用了传感器组件和最先 进的通信技术，ASCO公司为安装i系列生产线的干冰工厂 的远程访问、远程数据和远程管理领域提供了广泛服务。 目前，“基础”软件包的服务已经可用。订户每月收 到有关其机器的状态报告以及造粒机的维护建议，其中 包括各种温度和压力参数。此外，还记录了产量、生产 周期和液态CO2的消耗量。当出现机器故障和生产中断 时，将提供远程协助。为使机器尽快恢复运行，ASCO的 技术人员可以远程协助客户纠正错误或采取必要步骤。因 此，ASCO的客户可以获得快速支持，并且可以更加透明 地了解其生产参数。 服务包“Premium”和“Diamond”将很快推 出。ASCO客户登录后，可随时访问其个人平台，实时 获得i系列产品的详细生产数据、机器状态和错误报告。 此外，用户可以从备件和服务的特殊条件中受益。 ASCO的P28i，P75i和BP420i系列干冰机配备有标准 i系列技术。如果需要，P15干冰机也可作为i系列型号使 用。对2020年之前交付的P28，P75和BP420型号安装 了改装套件，使旧型号也可以成为网络化干冰生产的一 部分，即具备高效、透明的所有优势。 ■

Artificial Intelligence For All Foundries: Norican Strengthens Dataprophet Partnership With Strategic Investment 诺瑞肯集团战略投资DATAPROPHET公司开发适用于铸造企 业的人工智能技术 Norican Global a/s ("Norican"), a leading metallic parts enhancement company, has taken a minority shareholding in South Africa-based DataProphet, a global leader in artificial intelligence (ai) for manufacturing. Norican CEO Anders Wilhjelm will take a seat on DataProphet’s board.

Norican’s participation in DataProphet’s $6 million 8

全球领先的金属零件成型和表面处理技术供应商诺瑞 肯国际集团（诺瑞肯）已收购了总部位于南非的DataProphet公司的少数股权，DataProphet是制造业人工 智能领域的全球领导者。诺瑞肯集团首席执行官安德斯 威廉将出任DataProphet公司董事会成员。

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INDUSTRY NEWS/行业新闻

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INDUSTRY NEWS/行业新闻 Series A financing round follows its industry-exclusive partnership with DataProphet, announced in January 2020, and Norican’s May 2020 launch of its commercial AI application Monitizer® | PRESCRIBE which incorporates DataProphet’s AI engine.

Monitizer | PRESCRIBE is a cloud-based AI service that rapidly optimises production and reduces scrap in real-life foundry environments.

“We remain committed and passionate about bringing practical AI applications into foundries, and we are excited to now become a shareholder in DataProphet,” says Anders Wilhjelm, CEO of Norican Group. “With fresh capital, DataProphet can accelerate their development efforts to benefit both Norican’s customers and other industrial clients.”

“Our experience so far shows massive value in leveraging AI to reduce waste and resource consumption, as well as to increase yield,” continues Anders. “We have already seen substantial customer interest in Monitizer | PRESCRIBE and are very optimistic about what DataProphet and Norican can achieve together.”

Over the last three years, Norican has grown its industry-leading data acquisition and automation solutions to create the Monitizer® Industry 4.0 platform.

Monitizer offers sophisticated digital tools that help foundries collect, visualise and analyse process data in order to make better decisions.

As part of this data-driven focus on quality improvement and cost saving, Norican and DataProphet started to jointly develop commercial digital products in 2018.

With this new funding round, DataProphet will grow its international presence to further support Norican and other industrial customers and partners.

“AI is just a tool. To truly deliver practical value, industry-specific expert knowledge needs to be embedded into its system design,” says Frans Cronje, CEO of DataProphet. “Over the past 24 months, through our commercial relationship and the combined expertise of Norican's and DataProphet's teams, we have realised that value for customers in the metal casting industry.”

“Norican participating in this round further improves our alignment and I look forward to welcoming Anders onto DataProphet's board to help guide us strategically towards a practical and meaningful holistic suite of AI solutions for industrial customers and partners.”

Monitizer | PRESCRIBE is an equipment-agnostic service that works with solutions from all Norican brands (DISA, Italpresse Gauss, StrikoWestofen and Wheelabrator), and with non-Norican equipment.

DataProphet have proven the technology behind Monitizer | PRESCRIBE over the past three years, with one project at a South African iron foundry reducing defects by 50% in the first month and achieving 0% external defects for three months, saving over $100,000 every month. ■

诺瑞肯集团参与了DataProphet公司的600万美元 A轮融资，在此之前，诺瑞肯集团于2020年1月宣布与 DataProphet达成行业独家合作伙伴关系，并于2020年 5月推出其结合了DataProphet的AI引擎的商业AI应用程 序Monitizer® PRESCRIBE。 Monitizer|PRESCRIBE是基于云技术的AI服务，可快 速优化生产并减少实际生产中的废品率。 诺瑞肯集团首席执行官安德斯®威廉说：“我们始终 致力于将实用的AI应用程序引入铸造，并且我们很高兴 现在成为DataProphet公司的股东。DataProphet公司 将利用新的投资加快研发工作，使诺瑞肯的客户和其他 的行业用户受益。” “根据我们的经验，到目前为止，利用AI技术对 减少资源和能源消耗以及提高产量有巨大的价值，” 安德斯继续说道，“我们已经看到了很多客户对 Monitizer|PRESCRIBE有浓厚兴趣，对DataProphet公 司和诺瑞肯集团的合作非常乐观。” 在过去的三年中，为创建Monitizer®Industry 4.0平 台，诺瑞肯集团研发了行业领先的数据采集和自动化解决 方案。铸造企业利用Monitizer完善的数字工具，收集和 分析可视化的工艺数据，从而做出更好的决策。 数据驱动，关注质量提升和成本节约，诺瑞肯集团和 DataProphet公司于2018年开始共同开发商业数字产 品。通过这轮新的融资，DataProphet公司将扩大其国际 影响力，进一步支持诺瑞肯和其他工业客户和合作伙伴 。 “AI只是一种工具。为了真正体现其实用价值，需要将 本行业的专业知识融入系统设计中，”DataProphet公司 首席执行官法兰斯®克龙涅说，“在过去的24个月中，通 过双方合作以及诺瑞肯集团和DataProphet公司团队的专 业性，我们已经为金属铸造行业客户提供了更多价值。” “诺瑞肯集团参与此轮融资进一步提升了我们的契合 度，我期待着安德斯加入DataProphet公司董事会后， 从战略上指导我们为工业客户和合作伙伴提供实用且有 意义的AI整体解决方案。” Monitizer|PRESCRIBE对设备没有要求，适用于所有 诺瑞肯旗下品牌（迪砂、意特佩雷斯、史杰克西和维尔 贝莱特）设备，也适用于其他品牌设备。 在过去3年，DataProphet公司已证明了 Monitizer|PRESCRIBE的实力。一个南非铸铁厂在第一个 月内将废品率降低了50％，在三个月内实现了外部废品率 的归零，每月节省了超过10万美元.

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INDUSTRY NEWS/行业新闻

Suzhu Foundry Machinery Signed Contract at METAL CHINA 2020 铸博会上结硕果 苏铸装备喜签约 On August 18, 2020, at the 18th China International Foundry Expo & the 14th China International Die Casting Industry Exhibition hosted by China Foundry Association, Suzhou Suzhu Complete Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. successfully signed a contract with Shanghai Huaxin Alloy Co., Ltd. It was the second cooperation between Huaxin Alloy and Suzhou Suzhu. The complete static pressure molding line with a tailored sand box of 800×800×300/250mm covers 80% of the original resin sand line and realizes the green and pollution-free production, reducing the production cost of castings, and improving the automation rate.

Founded in 1962, Suzhou Suzhu Complete Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is a pioneering foundry equipment enterprise in China and a permanent member of the Equipment Branch of China Foundry Association. Its automatic molding line occupies a leading position in highend market in China. It has produced more than 7,000 sets of core shooting machines, more than 5,100 sets of molding machines, more than 200 automatic static pressure molding lines, and nearly 100 pouring machines. It has 20 valid utility model patent and 7 effective invention patents. ■

2020年8月18日，中国铸造协会主办的第十八届中国 国际铸造博览会&第十四届中国国际压铸工业展览会上， 苏州苏铸成套装备制造有限公司与上海华新合金有限公 司成功签约。此次签约是华新合金与苏州苏铸的第二次 合作，量身设计砂箱尺寸800×800×300/250mm的静 压造型成套生产线，覆盖原树脂砂线上80%的产品，实 现铸造车间绿色无污染生产，降低铸件生产成本，提高 铸造车间生产自动化率。 苏州苏铸成套装备制造有限公司始建于1962年，是 中国铸造装备排头兵企业，装备分会的常任理事，自动 造型线在中国高端市场占有主导地位。已生产各类射芯 机7000多台、造型机5100多台、自动静压造型线200多 条、浇注机近100台，拥有有效实用新型专利20个、有 效发明专利7个。 ■

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INDUSTRY NEWS/行业新闻

Foseco’s Latest Dycote Safeguard Products Extend Die Service Life 福士科DYCOTE 新产品延长模具使用寿命 Poor die coating service life leads to reduced productivity and increases the risk of rejects due to poor casting surface quality.

Foseco’s new range of DYCOTE SAFEGUARD die coatings have been developed specifically to maximise the service life and maintain surface quality for critical aluminium components such as aluminium wheels and cylinder heads.

DYCOTE SAFEGUARD products are nano-ceramic coatings designed to be applied on top of existing insulating DYCOTE base coatings, and have been proven to increase lifetime by up to 300%. Best results are achieved when DYCOTE SAFEGUARD is applied using the Foseco DYCOTE Spraygun which ensures a very consistent and uniform coating layer application. The extended life achieved with DYCOTE SAFEGUARD coatings reduces the frequency of coating touch-up operations and also complete mold cleaning and re-coating operations, thereby reducing die downtime and maximizing productivity.

Improved casting surface finish consistency has also been noted.

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模具涂层的使用寿命短会使生产率下降，而且增加铸 件表面质量不合格的风险。 为最大限度延长关键铝合金铸件（如铝合金轮毂和气 缸盖）的使用寿命并保证其表面质量，福士科公司推出 了新模具系列DYCOTE防护涂料。 DYCOTE防护产品是纳米级陶瓷涂料，设计应用于现 有的DYCOTE基础耐热涂料之上，并已证明最高可将使 用寿命延长300％。配合福士科DYCOTE型喷涂枪喷涂 DYCOTE防护涂料可获得最佳效果，能够保证涂层的均 匀和一致性。使用DYCOTE防护涂层可延长模具的使用 寿命，减少涂层修补操作的频率，并且还完成了模具的 清洁和重新涂覆操作，从而减少了模具生产的停机时间、 达到了最高的生产率。 此外，铸件表面光洁度的一致性也得到了改善。

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Signicast Signs 3D Printing Partnership Signicast签订3D打印合作协议 Signicast, a Form Technologies company, has signed a partnership with DDM to offer the convenience and speed of ceramic 3D printing with the precision of investment casting.

“DDM is extremely proud to join hands with Signicast to modernize investment casting while offering speed, complexity and value to customers. This partnership greatly accelerates the introduction of DDM’s ceramic 3D printing based Digital Foundry offering to the market,” said Dr. Suman Das, founder and CEO of DDM. DDM’s LAMP (Large Area Maskless Photopolymerization) ceramic 3D printing technology brings advanced capabilities—including topology optimization and generative designs—for achieving complex components with the convenience and shorter lead times of 3D printing. Partnered with Signicast’s wide selection of material options, state-of-theart automation technology, and design for manufacturability expertise, the companies say customers can expect to receive high-quality prototypes to validate their component designs in a fraction of the conventional time.

“This is a great process to bring to Signicast customers and offers new growth opportunities to all the markets we serve,” said Marc Riquelme, president of Signicast. “DDM’s 3D printing technology will bolster our core offering and amplify our footprint in additive manufacturing.”

The partnership between Signicast and DDM is evidence of the advancements in precision casting technologies and opens up new design opportunities for both of their customers. Over time, Signicast expects to transition this technology for full-scale production runs in addition to prototyping. ■ 12

制壳技术公司Signicast已与DDM公司签订了合作伙 伴协议，用3D打印技术，便利且迅速的为精密铸造工 艺提供陶瓷型壳。 DDM公司创始人兼首席执行官Suman Das博士 说：“DDM非常荣幸能与Signicast携手进行现代化的 精密铸造，同时为客户创造价值，使客户具备更快、生 产复杂铸件的能力。这种合作关系极大地加速了DDM基 于数字化铸造3D打印的陶瓷型壳产品向市场的推广。” DDM的LAMP（大幅面无掩模光聚合）陶瓷3D打印 技术具备先进的功能（包括拓扑优化和生成设计），可 通过3D打印的便捷性和更短的交货时间来实现复杂零 部件的生产。Signicast公司具有广泛的材料选择，最先 进的自动化技术以及可制造性专业知识的设计，双方表 示，通过合作，客户可以预期在更短的时间内收到高质 量的原型并检验其零件设计。 “这是吸引Signicast客户的绝佳工艺，并为我们服务 的所有市场提供了新的增长机会，”Signicast总裁Marc Riquelme说，“DDM的3D打印技术将巩固我们的核心 产品，并扩大我们在增材制造领域的市场份额。” Signicast和DDM之间的合作关系证明了精密铸造技 术的进步，并为双方的客户带来了新的设计机遇。今 后，Signicast希望除了原型生产之外，还可以将该技术 应用于大规模生产。 ■

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INDUSTRY NEWS/行业新闻

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INDUSTRY NEWS/行业新闻

Capital Investments Beef Up Adalet’s Molding Efficiency As Much As 5,000% 加大投资使阿达莱特的造型效率提高了50倍 As part of an extensive capital improvement of its foundry, AFS Corporate member Adalet, a Scott-Fetzer Company (Cleveland, Ohio) installed a new automatic DISA Matchplate (LaGrange, Georgia) 24/28 molding machine this spring, the latest generation of DISAs and the first of this size in the U.S. In addition, the company added a complete automated mold handling system custom-built by Summit Foundry Equipment (Fort Wayne, Indiana).

Adalet is a 92-year-old manufacturer of explosion-proof electrical enclosures and custom products for the electrical industry, the oil and gas industry and large OEM customers whose products use aluminum castings. Adalet’s human-safety products are used throughout the world in factories, petrochemical plants, gas stations and airports, for example.

“We're very customer driven and OEM-manufacturer driven, and our expectations for quality are extremely high,” said Adalet President Gary Weisenburger. “So in order to continue making our product in the U.S. and outcompete other companies that are outsourcing and offshoring production of their products, we

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作为对其铸造厂进行大规模投资的一部分，美国铸造 协会会员企业阿达莱特，斯科特-菲茨公司（俄亥俄州 克利夫兰）的子公司，于今年春天安装了DISA Matchplate（乔治亚州拉格兰奇）的24/28新型自动造型机， 这是迪砂最新一代的造型机，也是此型号在美国的第一 次安装。此外，该公司还安装了由Summit铸造设备公 司（印第安纳州韦恩堡）定制的完整自动化取 模系统。 阿达莱特是一家拥有92年历史的防爆电气外壳和定制 产品制造商， 为电气行业、石油和天然气行业以及大型 OEM客户提供铝铸件。例如，阿达莱特（Adalet）的 人身安全防护产品已在全球的工厂、石化厂、加油站和 机场中使用。 “公司以客户至上，以OEM制造商为导向，我们对 质量要求很高，”阿达莱特总裁加里·魏森伯格（Gary

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INDUSTRY NEWS/行业新闻 needed to step up and make a serious investment in our foundry that makes both a quality product and does so with the maximum efficiency available in industry. That's what we've accomplished with this combination of DISA and Summit Foundry Equipment machinery.”

Replacing a 34-year-old automatic molding machine, the new DISA unit is capable of producing up to 120 molds per hour, greatly increasing Adalet’s efficiency and quality while reducing labor cost at the same time. The upgrade also enables many manually molded parts to be shifted to automatic molding.

“By increasing the size of our automatic molding machine, we were able to take some work off of our floor molding, which is much slower than what we can do on the DISA,” said Adalet Foundry Manager Clint Hess. “With one of our high running castings, for example––we’d be lucky to get two castings an hour on floor molding. We can now run that same job on the DISA and get 100 molds an hour. Going from two an hour to 100 an hour is a no-brainer.”

Adalet spent two years researching equipment, working with consultants and visiting other foundries before making its final investment selections. The seven-week installation process of both machines–from mid-March to mid-May–involved digging two massive new pits in the foundry’s concrete floor, and some equipment was lowered through a hole created in the roof.

“What we're about is taking care of our customers and keeping people safe,” said Weisenburger. “This equipment and the infrastructure investment we made in our foundry is a huge step in our ability to do that even better than before––and to control our own destiny by continuing to make our own products right here in the United States.” ■

Weisenburger）说，“因此，为了继续在美国生产我 们的产品，并与其他外包公司或将产品外包生产的公司 竞争，我们需要加大对铸造厂的投资，以生产出高质量 的产品，同时拥有行业的最高效率。这就是我们将迪砂 设备和Summit铸造设备结合起来所达到的效果。” 新的迪砂造型机取代了已使用34年的自动造型机，每 小时可生产多达120个模具，大大提高了阿达莱特公司的 生产效率和产品质量，同时降低了人工成本。设备升级还 使许多手动成型的零件可以转换为自动成型。 “通过增大自动造型机的尺寸，我们可以减轻地面造 型的工作量，这比我们在迪砂造型线上的加工速度要慢 得多，”阿达莱特铸造厂经理克林特·赫斯说，“例如， 生产其中一款高效率铸件，我们最多可以每小时在地面 造型上得到两个铸件。现在，通过迪砂造型线，我们每 小时可以获得100个模具。从每小时2个铸件到每小时 100个是轻而易举可以实现的。” 在做出最终的投资决定之前，阿达莱特公司花了两年 时间研究设备、咨询并参观其他铸造厂。从3月中旬到 5月中旬，这两台设备的安装用了7周时间，包括在铸造 厂的水泥地面上挖两个大坑，并通过屋顶的一个孔降低 了一些设备的高度。 “我们要做的是满足客户需求并确保人员安全，” 魏森伯格说，“我们对铸造厂的设备升级和基础设施投 资，是我们在这方面迈出的一大步，并通过继续在美国 生产自己的产品来掌握公司的命运。”

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INDUSTRY NEWS/行业新闻

Sumitomo-Kimura Foundry Joint Venture Finalized For U.S. 3D Printing 住友、木村铸造成立3D打印合资企业 Sumitomo Corp. (Tokyo) has entered an agreement to invest in AFS Corporate Member Kimura Foundry America (KFA) and will hold a 35% interest in the Schaumburg, IL-based manufacturer of prototype casting using 3D printing technology.

Sumitomo Corp. has long been engaged in the overseas sales of castings made by KFA. Through its new investment, Sumitomo says it aims to generate synergy effects between the businesses, including Sumitomo’s auto parts manufacturing unit, while also expanding the prototype casting business across its customer networks in construction and agricultural machinery, industrial equipment, and others.

In addition to the U.S., the companies say they’ll pursue business expansion in Europe and Asia, hoping to support the development of related industries around the world. ■

住友商事株式会社（东京）对美国铸造协会会员企业 木村铸造美国公司（KFA）进行投资，签订了协议，并 将持有这个位于伊利诺伊州绍姆堡的使用3D打印技术生 产原型铸件的制造商35％的股权。 住友商事株式会社长期从事木村铸造美国公司铸件的 海外销售业务。住友商事表示，通过新的投资，其目标 是在包括住友汽车零部件制造部门在内的各业务部门之 间产生协同效应，同时还将其原型铸造业务扩展到建筑、 农业机械、工业设备等客户。 两家公司表示，除了美国以外，他们还将在欧洲和 亚洲进行业务拓展，以期支持全球相关行业的发展。 ■

Franklin Bronze Continues Automation Investments 富兰克林铸铜厂继续自动化升级 AFS Corporate Member Franklin Bronze Precision Components (Franklin, Pennsylvania) has upgraded its shell room with new robotic technologies––earlier this year, it upgraded the robotic arm and supervisory system in its Shell Room 2.

Additionally, the company’s operating platform–– SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system––has been upgraded to the newest version available. The upgrade allows for unlimited future growth and flexibility of Franklin Bronze’s investment cast shell room processes.

The new operating system provides more accurate identification of molds and parts with less manual manipulation, essentially allowing for quality protection of products during the production process.

Franklin Bronze is implementing Industrial 4.0 technology with the installation of first-of-its-kind, automatic laser level adjustment, a technique brand-new to robots and automated investment casting foundries.

“The new robot arm, with the laser level adjustment, can automatically and instantly determine the level of slurry tank and will stop if it’s too low,” said Chris Barber, operations manager. "It senses the levels on its own and is a great example of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) with its interconnected sensors triggering the robot to respond. It's a game-changer and keeps us way ahead of the competition."

In addition to the groundbreaking laser level adjustment, RFID scanning was also installed, which equips the robot to recognize and group like products together for the most efficient mold shelling process in the shortest run time necessary. ■ 16

美国铸造协会会员企业富兰克林精密铸铜厂（宾夕法 尼亚州富兰克林），于今年年初对其壳型造型车间进行 了自动化改造，对2#壳型车间的机械臂和监控系统进行 了升级。 此外，该公司的操作平台—— SCADA（监控和数据 采集）系统已升级到最新版本。升级后，富兰克林铸铜 厂的精铸壳型工艺将获得无限的增长和灵活性。 新的操作系统通过较少的人工操作就可以更准确地识 别铸型和零件，从而在生产过程中对产品进行质量保护。 富兰克林铸铜厂正在应用工业4.0技术，安装了首创 的自动激光水准仪，这是机器人和自动精密铸造厂的全 新技术。 “带有激光水平调节装置的新机械臂可以自动、立即 确定液箱的液位，如果液位过低，它将停止运行，”运 营经理克里斯·巴伯说，“它可以独立感知水平面，它的 互连传感器触发了机器人的响应，是工业物联网（IIoT） 的一个很好的例子。它是一个变革性产品，使我们在竞 争中遥遥领先。” 除了突破性的激光水平调节装置外，还安装了无线射 频识别扫描仪，使机器人可以识别和分组类似的产品， 从而在最短的运行时间内实现最有效的脱壳。 ■

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INDUSTRY NEWS/行业新闻

General Kinematics Celebrates 60 Years Of Innovation GK公司庆祝成立60周年 Vibratory equipment maker General Kinematics (GK), an AFS Corporate Member based in Crystal Lake, Illinois, marked its 60th anniversary in September. GK thanks its employees, customers and community for their continued support.

In a company released statement, GK says, “It is the culmination of talent from every GK employee that has led General Kinematics to where it is today.”

Led by Tom Musschoot, the grandson of Founder Albert Musschoot, GK’s in-house manufacturing has grown to a 220,000-square foot modern fabrication facility, using the latest material cutting, forming, and welding technology. GK has also expanded its global manufacturing footprint to include outsourced fabrication partners in Canada, China, England, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Thailand. ■

振动设备制造商General Kinematics（GK）是总部 位于伊利诺伊州水晶湖镇的美国铸造协会会员企业，于 9月迎来了其60周年庆。GK感谢其员工、客户和社区一 如既往的支持。 GK在公司发布的声明中称：“正是由于GK每位员工 的智慧，公司才有了今天的发展。” 在创始人Albert Musschoot 的孙子Tom Musschoot的带领 下，GK的生产部门使用最新的 材料切割、成型和焊接技术， 现已发展成为一个220,000平方 英尺的现代化制造工厂。GK还 扩大了其全球制造业务，包括 加拿大、中国、英国、德国、 意大利、日本和泰国的外包合 作伙伴。 ■

Acquisition Nearly Doubles Lawton’s Capacity 收购将劳顿的产能提高近一倍 AFS Corporate Member The C.A. Lawton Co. (Lawton) (DePere, Wisconsin), owned by private equity firm Oakland Standard Co., has acquired Midwest Manufacturing & Logistics (Midwest) (Minster, Ohio) from Nidec Minster Corp. (Nidec). The Ohio iron foundry will operate as a second location of Lawton.

A 117-year-old foundry with wide ranging engineering and machining services, Midwest offers gray and ductile castings up to 45,000 lbs., which will nearly double the manufacturing capacity of Lawton. The Minster location brings Lawton logistical benefits in a prime manufacturing center.

“Since our founding in 1896, our ability to locally source high-quality parts has been extremely important to both our internal product as well as the external customers we serve,” said David Winch, executive officer at Nidec. “Over that same period, the metal forming industry and especially the foundry business has adapted to many changes. We believe that in today’s market, domestic production of these products and quality standards is best accomplished as a team – increasing available

美国铸造协会会员企业C.A.劳顿公司（威斯康星州德 佩雷），隶属于私募股权公司奥克兰标准公司，已从尼 得科明斯特集团(Nidec)收购了中西部制造业与物流公 司（Midwest）（俄亥俄州明斯特）。俄亥俄州的Midwest铸铁厂将作为劳顿公司的第二个生产基地。 Midwest是一家拥有117年历史的铸造厂，提供广泛的 工程和机械服务，可生产重达45,000磅（约20400Kg） 的灰铸件和球墨铸件，这将使劳顿的生产能力增加近一 倍。位于明斯特的工厂为劳顿的主要制造中心带来了物 流便利。 Nidec公司的执行官大卫温奇说：“自1896年成立 以来，我们在本地采购高质量铸件的能力对于我们的内 部产品以及我们服务的客户都极为重要。与此同时，金 属成型行业，尤其是铸造行业已经适应了许多变化。我 们相信，在当今的市场中，在本国生产这些产品并达到

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INDUSTRY NEWS/行业新闻 resources to serve customer needs as well as supply chain availability. We are very happy to have found this operational partner in The C.A. Lawton Co.” Alex Lawton, CEO of Lawton’s specialty metals platform––which also includes Temperform, LLC, and Damascus Steel Casting Co–– will lead the integration of the businesses and management teams.

“The combination of The C.A. Lawton Co. and Midwest Manufacturing & Logistics creates a unique powerhouse in the gray iron space,” Lawton said. “Together we have literally hundreds of years of history coupled with modern approaches to meeting metal casting needs.

Couple that with the rest of the partners on the steel side of our platform and we are indeed crafting the premier supplier-partner where reliability meets flexibility.”

Lawton President Barry Adamski added, “We are excited to welcome [Midwest] to The C.A. Lawton, Co. family. Our combined foundry experience of more than 250 years allows us to be a unique supply source and resource to the iron casting industry. We believe that with our forward intention of planet, people, and then profit, we can help shape the foundry of the future to better serve our existing, as well as new, customers.” ■

质量标准最好通过团队合作，不仅可以增加可用资源来 满足客户需求，而且可以增强供应链。我们很高兴找到 了C.A.劳顿公司作为合作伙伴。” 劳顿公司的特种金属平台（包括Temperform公司和 Damascus铸钢公司）的首席执行官亚历克斯劳顿将 负责业务和管理团队的整合。 “ C.A.劳顿公司和中西部制造与物流公司在灰铁领域 具有独特的实力。我们都有数百年的发展历史，并且具 备满足金属铸造需求的现代工艺。此外，我们还有铸钢 方面的其他合作伙伴，我们的确在打造可靠性与灵活性 兼具的最佳供应商合作伙伴。” 劳顿公司董事长巴里·亚当斯基补充说：“我们很高兴 欢迎Midwest加入C.A.劳顿公司大家庭。两家公司一共 250多年的铸造经验，使我们成为铸铁行业的优秀供应 商和资源。我们相信，随着世界、人类的发展，然后是 利润的增长，我们可以帮助塑造未来的铸造厂，从而更 好地为我们的现有客户以及新客户服务。” ■

Inner Mongolia Zhuoyue High-tech Materials Opens New Plant 内蒙古卓越高新材料有限公司二期工程奠基 To further increase production capacity and provide customers with a stable supply, the Inner Mongolia Zhuoyue High-tech Materials Co., Ltd. (Excellent Hightech Materials Company) laid the foundation for its second phase in early June 2020. The project is expected to have a total investment of 120 million yuan. 160 tanks of calcining furnaces will be built, with a designed capacity of 150,000 tons of calcined coke per year, and graphitization furnaces with an annual output of 100,000 tons of graphitized recarburizer products. The construction area of the project is about 133,333 sq, which is expected to be completed and put into operation in Jan 2021.

It is estimated that the annual output of recarburizers will reach 300,000 tons, the annual sales revenue will increase 500 million and reach 1.2 billion after the completion of the second phase. It will mainly provide better quality recarburizer products with more stable supply for steel and foundry industries home and abroad.

The Zhuoyue High-tech Materials Company was founded in 2018, formerly known as Shandong Minfeng Casting Materials Co., Ltd. It is a large and professional company in the production, process and sale of graphitized recarburizer. It integrates various products and services, including graphite electrode crucible crucibles, high temperature graphitized recarburizers, and medium temperature graphitized recarburizers. ■ 18

为进一步扩大产能，并为客户提供稳定的货源供 应，内蒙古卓越高新材料有限公司（以下简称“卓越 高新材料公司”）二期工程于2020年6月初奠基。二 期预计总投资1亿2千万元，将建成煅烧炉160罐，设 计产能为年产15万吨煅后焦，石墨化炉年产石墨化增 碳剂产品10万吨。二期建设用地约200亩，预计将于 2021年元旦建成投产。 据估算，二期建成后，增碳剂年产量将达到30万 吨，年销售收入将增加5亿，实现年销售收入12亿， 主要为国内外钢铁及铸造行业提供更优质的增碳剂产 品，供货能力将更趋稳定。 卓越高新材料公司成立于2018年，前身为山东民 丰铸造材料有限公司，公司以各类型铸造用增碳剂为 主营方向，集石墨电极坩埚碎、高温石墨化增碳剂、 中温石墨化增碳剂等多方面产品和服务为一体，是国 内较大的、专业的石墨化增碳剂生产、加工、销售公 司。 ■

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INDUSTRY NEWS/行业新闻

Successful Pouring of 100-ton Ductile Iron Container 百吨级容器筒体球墨铸铁件浇注成功 Recently, led and undertaken by China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd., the nuclear energy development project "Development of Ductile Iron Spent Fuel Transport Containers" has completed the pouring of the first 100-ton ductile iron castings.

The ductile iron spent fuel transport container is a new member of radioactive material containers of China Nuclear Power Engineering's "Dragon Boat" series. The project aims to develop large-scale ductile iron spent fuel container castings weighing more than 100 tons. The casting pouring is the key for the successful development of the container in this project and a prerequisite for the subsequent assembly and manufacturing of the container prototype.

The tooling height of the ductile cast iron spent fuel container barrel is more than 8 m, and the crane needs a lift of more than 250 t, and the mold needs a workshop of at least 15m high and a pit of 7m deep. About 150t of molten iron must be prepared for inoculation, spheroidization and pouring within a short period after melting, otherwise it will produce variation in metallographic structure, which is also a key factor restricting the production and quality of final castings.

At present, the castings have been cleaned up and transferred to a special dissecting saw for dissection. Samples will be used for tensile, impact, fracture toughness and metallographic tests, and performance tests will also be carried out. ■

近日，由中国核电工程有限公司牵头承担的国防 科工局核能开发“球墨铸铁乏燃料运输容器研制”科 研项目完成首台百吨级容器筒体球墨铸铁件的浇注。 球墨铸铁乏燃料运输容器是中核集团“龙舟”系 列放射性物品容器的新成员，该项目拟最终研制出重 量100吨以上的大型球墨铸铁乏燃料容器铸件。铸件 浇注是该项目容器研制成功的关键路径，是后续容器 样机总装制造的先决条件。 球墨铸铁乏燃料容器筒体铸件工装高度超过8米， 吊运需要250吨以上的行车、造型需要至少15米高的 厂房以及深7米以上的地坑。约150吨铁液要在熔化 后短时间内进行孕育、球化和浇注准备，否则会产 生金相组织变异，这也是制约最终铸件生产和质量 稳定的关键因素。 目前，铸件已完成清理并转移至专用解剖锯床进 行解剖，后续将按照取样方案进行拉伸、冲击、断 裂韧性和金相测试取样，并开展性能测试工作。 ■

Release of Research and Application of New Precision Casting Shell System 新型精密铸造制壳系统研发及应用成果发布 Sponsored by China Foundry Association and organized

by Taizhou Xinyu Precision Manufacture Co., Ltd., the press conference for research and application results of “Fullfunction intelligent and environmental protection precision casting of shell making system” was held on Oct. 17.

In 10 years, the company has developed this shell-making system that is fully functional, intelligent and environmental-friendly, with high production efficiency, low manufacturing cost and high level of intelligence. At the conference, the company gave an explanation on the technical capabilities and quality improvement of complex products, energy consumption, comprehensive cost advantages, research and development goals, main design indicators of the system, and system composition.

The company is a joint venture that specialized in the production and development of investment castings. It has experiences in producing more than 9,000 types of precision castings and has a good reputation in providing quality products and first-grade services to over 500 worldwide companies. ■

10月17日，中国铸造协会主办、泰州鑫宇精工股份 有限公司承办的“全功能智能环保精密铸造制壳系统” 研发及应用成果发布会举行。 通过10年时间，该公司研制出了全功能智能环保精密 铸造制壳系统，生产效率高，制造成本低，智能化水平 高。发布会上，该公司相关工作人员就复杂产品技术能 力和质量提高、降低能耗、综合成本优势、研发目标、 系统主要设计指标、系统组成等方面情况作了讲解。 泰州鑫宇精工股份有限公司是一家专业从事熔模精密 铸造零件的生产与开发中外合资企业，拥有生产9000多 种精铸件积累的丰富经验、为500多家世界各地客户提供 产品和服务积累的良好声誉。

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INDUSTRY NEWS/行业新闻

Longfengshan Shares Research Results at China Foundry Festival 龙凤山在中国铸造节上分享基础研究情况 For more than 20 years, Hebei Longfengshan Casting Co., Ltd. (Longfengshan) has continued to focus on the research and development of iron purification technology, and has become the best partner to supply high-quality new iron-based materials.

At the Longfengshan “Preparatory Meeting for Highend Ductile Iron Basic Technology Seminar” organized by Advisory Committee, China Foundry Association, Mr. Liu Wucheng, the Vice President of Longfengshan shared the application of six series of new iron-based materials including ultra-high purity pig iron in the field of high-end castings and customized production.

At the 5th National Foundry Industry Innovation and Development Forum held during the 4th China Foundry Festival, Mr. Bai Xinshe, the chief engineer of Longfengshan Technology Center, made a report titled of "High-purity pig iron and ultra-high-purity pig iron provide strong support for high-end iron castings", illustrating and demonstrating the performance and application of eight series of new casting materials, including high-strength, high-plasticity ductile iron and ultra-thick and large-section ductile iron, silicon solid solution strengthened ductile iron, ultra-low temperature ferritic ductile iron, austempered ductile iron, ultra-thin ductile iron, wear-resistant ductile iron and vermicular graphite ductile iron from the characteristics and advantages of high-purity pig iron and ultra-high-purity pig iron, as well as its application in high-performance and high-quality ductile iron.

At METAL CHINA 2020, Longfengshan exhibited a variety of customized pig iron for high-end casting, ultrahigh-purity pig iron, high-purity pig iron, hypoeutectic pig iron, and pig iron for nuclear power. More than 1,000 visitors came to visit its booth on the first day.

In addition, the GB6 engine crankshaft (QT1000-5) and heavy-duty vehicle balance shaft bracket (QT800-5) produced by Longfengshan’s customer using its ultra-highpurity pig iron and high-purity pig iron won the gold award for high-quality castings (accounting for 30% of the total gold awards). ■

20余年来，河北龙凤山铸业有限公司（以下简称“龙 凤山”）持续专注于铁的纯净化技术研究，成为供应顾客 所需优质铁基新材料的最佳伙伴。 在中国铸造协会顾问委员会组织的龙凤山铸业有限 公司“高端球墨铸铁基础技术研讨筹备会”上，刘武成 副董事长代表龙凤山做超高纯生铁等六大系列铁基新材 料在高端铸件领域的应用以及实现定制化生产的分享。 在第四届中国铸造节期间举行的第五届全国铸造行业 创新发展论坛上，龙凤山技术中心主任工程师白新社做 了题为“高纯生铁、超高纯生铁为高端铸铁件做强力支 撑”的报告。从我国高纯生铁、超高纯生铁的特性和优 势，以及在高性能、高质量球墨铸铁中的应用两个方面 展开论述，详细论证了高强度、高塑性球墨铸铁、超厚 大断面球墨铸铁、硅固溶强化球墨铸铁、超低温铁素体 球墨铸铁、等温淬火球墨铸铁、超薄壁球铁件、耐磨球 铁件和蠕墨球铁件等八大系列铸造新材料的性能和应用。 在2020年铸博会上，龙凤山展出了高端铸造用定制化 生铁、超高纯生铁、高纯生铁、亚共晶生铁、核电用生 铁等多个品种。其展厅首日接待参观人数达千余人次。 此外，龙凤山的用户采用超高纯生铁和高纯生铁生产 的国6发动机曲轴（QT1000-5）、重型汽车平衡轴支 架（QT800-5）双双荣获优质铸件金奖（占金奖总数的 30%），在铸博会上大放异彩。

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Vacuum Casting of High-performance Magnesium Forged-rolled Sheet 真空铸造高性能镁合金锻轧板开发成功 Recently, Zhengzhou Research Institute of Light Metals has realized true solvent-free magnesium casting through its proprietary large-scale high-vacuum melting equipment, and developed a vacuum casting of ZK61M magnesium alloy forged rolled sheet with high purity and high strength. After multiple rounds of forging and rolling, the constant temperature and humidity of the solvent-free ZK61M magnesium alloy produced by vacuum casting is above Class A, the segregation degree is <0.5%, the grain size is well-distributed, and the segregation is small. It shows excellent performance after forging and rolling.

ZK61M (MB15) is a magnesium-zinc-zirconium alloy with high strength and corrosion resistance. It is generally used for various parts with high load and high yield strength.

It is a conventional low-cost and high-strength magnesium alloy. Low cost makes it one of the most promising highstrength magnesium alloys for mass production. However, in the past, due to the characteristics of large temperature 20

日前，郑州轻研合金科技有限公司通过其专有的大型 高真空熔炼设备，实现了真正意义上的无溶剂镁合金熔 铸，开发出了真空铸造高纯净度/高强度ZK61M镁合金 锻轧板。经过多轮次锻造、轧制等工艺的验证，郑州轻 研真空铸造生产的无溶剂ZK61M镁合金恒温恒湿A级以 上，偏析度＜0.5%，晶粒度均匀，偏析少，经过锻造轧 制后性能优异。 ZK61M（MB15）是镁-锌-锆系镁合金，具有较高 的强度和耐蚀性，一般用于各种承受高载荷和高屈服强 度的零件，是常规低成本高强度镁合金，由于其合金元

| FOUNDRY-PLANET.COM | MODER N CASTI NG | CHINA FOUNDRY ASSOCIATION October 2020

INDUSTRY NEWS/行业新闻 difference between the solid and the liquid phase and serious segregation of Zr, low melt purity, low actual yield of Zr, serious segregation, uneven crystal structure, hot cracking and other problems have always existed in the production.

On the market, there are problems for ZK61M, such as difficult to forge and roll, poor stability in different batches, and quality discrepancy.

In addition, the conventional solvent protection method for producing magnesium alloys always had problems such as high oxide content and serious solvent inclusions, which further deteriorated the corrosion performance of magnesium alloys and reduced the mechanical properties, which was one of the main reasons that hindered further expansion of magnesium alloys. ■

素成本低，是一种最有期望获得批量化生产的高强度镁 合金之一。但是以往由于该合金特性存在的固液相温差 大、Zr偏聚严重，在生产过程中一直存在着熔体纯净度不 高、Zr实收率低，同时偏析严重、结晶组织不均匀、铸锭 铸造应力大容易产生热裂等问题，市场上的ZK61M存在 着锻造难、轧制难、批次稳定性差、质量差异大等问题。 此外，常规溶剂保护法生产镁合金一直存在氧化物含 量多、溶剂夹杂严重等问题，进一步恶化了镁合金的腐 蚀性能，同时降低了合金的力学性能，是阻碍镁合金进 一步扩大应用的主要问题之一。 ■

Ruiming Group Technical Transformation Project Passed Acceptance 瑞明汽车铝铸造智能工厂技改项目通过验收 Recently, Zhejiang Ruian's first batch of 10 smart manufacturing pilot demonstration projects passed the acceptance, including Ruiming Automobile's aluminum alloy casting smart factory technical transformation project.

It’s reported that, in the Ruiming workshop, the entire production process of auto aluminum parts from raw material capture to product is done in one go, and workers only need to sort out finished product. Compared with the traditional process, the per capita efficiency of the project has increased by 136.97%, the reject rate has decreased by 66.67%, the operation cost has decreased by 20%, and the energy efficiency has increased by 39.26%.

Ruiming Group was established in 1995. It is mainly engaged in the production, sales and technological development of aluminum parts. It uses gravity casting, low pressure casting, high pressure die casting, sand core low pressure casting and other processes to produce automotive aluminum die castings. ■

日前，浙江瑞安首批10个智能制造试点示范项目通 过验收。其中包括瑞明汽车铝合金铸造智能工厂技术改 造项目。 据介绍，在瑞明工厂车间内，汽车铝合金配件生产线 从原材料抓取到产品成型，生产全过程一气呵成，工人 只需整理成品进程即可。与传统工艺相比，该项目人均 效能提升136.97%，不良品率下降66.67%，运营成本 下降20%，能源效率提升39.26%。 瑞明集团成立于1995年，主要从事铝部件产品生产、 销售和技术开发的企业，采用重力铸造、低压铸造、高 压压铸、砂芯低压铸造等工艺生产汽车铝压铸件。 ■

CITIC Dicastal Invests in Aluminum and Differential Pressure Casting 中信戴卡投资铝铸造、差压等试制线 Recently, the lightweight auto parts project built by CITIC Dicastal Co., Ltd. has been approved by the environmental review. The project is to build production lines such as aluminum casting and differential pressure casting through technological transformation to produce lightweight auto parts.

The project is located in the west of Qinhuangdao Development Zone. The existing plant will be used for technical transformation. Some of the original equipment will be relocated to construct an Audi casting trial line, a trial production line for differential pressure parts and a trial production line for large-size auto parts. After the project is completed and put into production, the annual trial production capacity will reach 5,594 tons of auto parts. The total investment is 44,457,300 yuan, including 1.1 million yuan in environmental protection.

CITIC Dicastal is a wholly-owned subsidiary of China CITIC Group Corporation. Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Qinhuangdao, Hebei, it is an internationally renowned manufacturer and exporter of automotive aluminum wheels. The company also produces automotive powertrains, chassis and body systems. ■

近日，中信戴卡股份有限公司建设的轻量化汽车零 部件项目进行了环评审批，该项目是通过技术改造， 建设铸造、差压等生产线，生产轻量化汽车零部件。 本次建设项目位于秦皇岛开发区西区，利用现有厂 房进行技术改造，搬迁部分原有设备，建设一条奥迪 铸造件试制线、一条差压零部件试制线和一条大尺寸 汽车零部件试制线。项目建成投产后，可年试制能力 5594吨汽车零部件。项目总投资4445.73万元，其中 环保投资110万元。 中信戴卡系中国中信集团公司全资子公司，成立于 1988年，总部位于河北省秦皇岛市，是国际知名的汽 车铝车轮制造商和出口商，公司同时生产汽车动力总 成、底盘和车身系统轻量化铝制铸件产品。 ■

October 2020 FOUNDRY-PLANET.COM | MODERN CASTI NG | CHINA FOUNDRY ASSOCIATION |

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INDUSTRY NEWS/行业新闻

Yongtong Cast Drag Pipe Successfully Advanced 319 meters 永通铸管拖拉管在浙江一次性成功推进319米 On September 25, Angang Yongtong’s DN500 cast pipe was used in Jiaxing Port District (Water Supply, Sewage) Co., Ltd. and was successfully dragged 319 meters at one time; the 430-meter water conservancy project in Jiaxing will be the longest dragging pipe project under construction in China.

In the first half of this year, Yongtong started to research and develop new non-excavation cast pipes, and made a blueprint for the development of drag pipes. Yongtong Cast Pipe Technology Research Institute undertook the research and development.

They organized a team, including drawing design, field testing and designing, and developed a new cast drag pipe in May after many experiments. At present, the new DN300-DN800 drag pipe has been successfully applied in China.

According to Wang Hailing, chief engineer of the Cast Pipe Research Institute of Yongtong Company, the drag pipe is a new type of trenchless construction technology.

The pipeline is laid without digging or digging less trenches, without damaging the ground facilities and avoiding impact on traffic, residents and normal work order can be a onetime long-distance drag.

In addition, the cast drag pipe has a simple interface, high pressure bearing capacity, high pull-out resistance, large deflection angle, and high compression resistance. During construction period, the directional drilling machine construction method can be used to cross railways, highways, rivers and other places in a short period of time, greatly reducing the working space, and personnel do not need to enter the dangerous area, so as to maximize the protection of workers. ■

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9月25日，安钢永通DN500铸管拖拉管在嘉兴市港区 （供水、污水）有限责任公司使用，一次性成功拖拉319 米；即将实施拖拉的嘉兴430米水利项目，将是国内目前 施工长度最长的铸管拖拉管在建工程。 今年上半年，永通公司着手研发非开挖施工技术铸管 新产品，并规划了拖拉管的研发蓝图。永通铸管工艺研 究所承担了此项研发重任，他们组织团队精英，从图纸设 计、现场试验、设计配套件开始，重复多次试验，于5月 份成功研发出铸管新产品拖拉管。目前，DN300-DN800 拖拉管新产品已在国内成功应用。 据永通公司铸管研究所总工王海玲介绍，拖拉管是 一种新型的非开挖施工技术，在不开挖或少开挖沟槽的 情况下进行管道铺设，不用破坏地面设施，避免了对交 通、居民和正常工作秩序产生的影响，可实现一次性长 距离拖拉。 此外，铸管拖拉管的接口简单，承压能力高，高抗拔 脱能力，具有大偏转角、高抗压性能等特点。施工期间， 采用定向钻机械施工法，可短期内穿越铁路、公路、高速 公路、河流等处，大大减少作业空间，人员也无需进入危 险区作业，最大限度保护工人安全。 ■

| FOUNDRY-PLANET.COM | MODER N CASTI NG | CHINA FOUNDRY ASSOCIATION October 2020

Advances In Die Casting Are Also Good For Mold Making thomas fritsch, foundry-planet.com chief editor

压铸工艺进步助力模具制造 铸造星球主编Thomas Fritsch

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nly a clairvoyant can really foresee the direction of transformation the drives will take -- “everything that makes die casting more competitive overall is also good for mold making. We are not in competition with other mold makers, but with other processes and materials,” emphasizes Siegfried Heinrich (CEO Schaufler Tooling Gmbh & Co.) After the shutdown of public life and large parts of industry in Germany and Europe, it was high time for the Foundry-Planet editorial team for the first factory visit after the crisis.

The European Union had just decided to support the ailing economies with record sums in the European Economic Area.

In China, but also in Europe, there were clear signs that the 3rd quarter of 2020 could pick up strongly, so good signs for looking ahead.

We visited the Swabian mold and tool maker Schaufler Tooling GmbH & Co.KG in Laichingen and had the pleasure to meet Mr. Siegfried Heinrich and Mr. Marc Klapper.

“The effects of the pandemic changed a lot overnight, including at our offices in the US and China. After the first months of the pandemic experience and its effects, the managers at Schaufler Tooling GmbH & Co.KG were confronted with completely new challenges almost overnight,” reports CEO Siegfried Heinrich, after OEMs and diecasting were largely at a standstill worldwide. “In Germany, we were able to adapt the short-time work regulation very quickly and quickly apply for KfW loans, so that current orders could be served well and we are financially prepared for all eventualities.”

The situation is different at Fischer Tool & Die, the U.S. subsidiary of the SF Tooling Group, where the workforce initially had so-called temporary leaves and, from the end of April, liquidity was secured with state-covered loans. In Schaufler China Co., Ltd., where Schaufler Tooling cooperates with two well-known, strategically Chinese mold making companies, the partners were able to cushion the challenges comparatively well. In general, business in China is developing very well despite the COVID-19 pandemic and

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有有未卜先知能力的人才能真正预见驱动 转型的方向。绍夫勒模具有限公司首席执 行官齐格弗里德·海因里希强调：“所有使

压铸业整体更具竞争力的变化也对模具制造有利。我 们不是要与其他模具制造商竞争，而是与其他工艺和 材料竞争。” 在德国及欧洲的公共生活和大部分行业停摆之后，现 在是时候让铸造星球的编辑团队进行危机之后的第一次 走访了。 此外，欧盟已决定以前所未有的力度来扶持陷入困境 的欧洲经济体。 有明显迹象表明，中国以及欧洲的经济在2020年第 三季度可能会强劲增长，这是一个好兆头。 我们参观了绍夫勒模具集团位于莱辛根的模具生产企 业施瓦本公司，并很荣幸地见到了齐格弗里德·海因里希 先生和马克·克拉珀先生。 由于全球大部分OEM厂商和压铸厂处于停产状态， 齐格弗里德·海因里希先生说，“全球疫情在一夜之间改 变了很多，包括我们美国和中国的办事处。在经历了前 几个月疫情及其影响之后，夫勒模具公司的经理们几乎 在一夜之间面临着全新的挑战。在德国国内，我们能够 非常迅速地适应缩短工作时间的规定，并迅速申请德国 复兴信贷银行的贷款，这样就可以很好地满足当前订单 的要求，我们也为所有可能的情况做好了财务准备。” 绍夫勒模具集团在美国的子公司费舍尔模具公司的 情况有所不同，那里的员工从4月底开始了所谓的临时 休假，现金流由国家贷款担保。对于绍夫勒中国有限公 司，绍夫勒集团与两个知名中国模具制造公司进行战略 合作，能够相对较好地缓解压力。总体而言，在全球新 冠疫情的影响下，中国的模具制造业发展形势良好，而

October 2020 FOUNDRY-PLANET.COM | MODERN CASTI NG | CHINA FOUNDRY ASSOCIATION |

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mold construction there is in no way inferior to European standards in mold production.

There, too, 5-axis technology and high-speed machines are used to manufacture molds for complex cast parts, but in the high-end segment the know-how, simulation, design, thermal household calculation and engineering still come from Germany. In the medium term, people are also thinking of having their own assembly site in China.

In 2019, the trade magazine Wirtschaftswoche counted the SF Tooling Group with Schaufler Tooling in Germany and Fischer Tool & Die in the USA among the world market leaders.

Heinrich is convinced that his company will cope with the challenges and is well positioned, because the corona effects are temporary.

The entrepreneur sees the situation very realistically and expects good opportunities for Europe shortly, because the average age of the vehicles is relatively high and that means replacement needs and fleet renewal is imminent. The export of vehicles could become less in the medium term because the value chains tend to shift to other markets in the direction of Asia.

The investment climate for OEMs and suppliers in the automotive industry is determined by the transformation and the discussion about alternative drives, connectivity and autonomous driving, so that classic investments are sometimes delayed. Overall, it can be seen that the variety of models is being reduced in favor of future technologies.

However, anyone who claims to know how the transformation of the drives is really developing must be a clairvoy-

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且生产水平丝毫不逊于欧洲标准。 中国企业也采用5轴技术和高速机器生产用于复 杂铸件的模具，但是在高端领域，专有技术、仿 真、设计、热室计算和工程技术仍然来自德国。从 中期来看，德国企业也将考虑在中国设立装配厂。 2019年，《德国经济周刊》（Wirtschaftswoche）将绍夫勒模具集团、德国绍夫勒模具公 司和美国费舍尔模具公司列为模具行业的世界领导 者。 海因里希坚信，新冠疫情的影响是暂时的，他的 公司能够应对挑战并已做好了准备。 企业家们非常清楚当前的形势，并期望在不久的 将来欧洲能有好的发展机遇。汽车的平均寿命相对 较高，这意味着汽车零部件的更换和车辆更新的需 求将变得迫切。从中期看，汽车出口可能会减少， 因为产业价值链倾向于转移到亚洲市场。 汽车行业OEM厂商和供应商的投资环境取决于 技术转型以及对替代动力、物联和自动驾驶的探 讨，因此传统的投资有时会延迟。总体而言，可以 看出，为了支持未来技术的发展，汽车的型号正在 减少。 但是，任何声称知道驱动转型将如何真正发展变 革的人都一定是有先见之人。现在的技术还不成熟

| FOUNDRY-PLANET.COM | MODER N CASTI NG | CHINA FOUNDRY ASSOCIATION October 2020

ant, because we are in very young and dynamic technologies that make forecasting difficult. In any case, there are excellent opportunities for die casting in the light metal sector for each of the possible drive types to be part of the demand and supply chain, and that for all common drive types in parallel for the coming years. This requires a high degree of flexibility and knowledge transfer and challenges everyone involved to work more closely together. In Heinrich’s opinion, mold makers and foundries could well be involved in the development processes earlier.

Everything that makes die casting more competitive overall is also good for mold making, including integrated large cast parts for the body Of course, die casting is extremely dependent on the automobile and the question of how much die casting is left in a purely electric vehicle has not yet been decided. It is not necessarily European manufacturers who set the pace.

Siegfried Heinrich is convinced that all OEMs are closely following Tesla’s bold plans to use large-scale, highly integrated cast parts for body-in-white construction and drawing their conclusions. When asked to what extent mold making is already prepared for these challenges, he is diplomatic. This is a new league of tools that did not exist up to now, so it is necessary to build up the appropriate infrastructure in order to be optimally set up, but that is possible and feasible.

In general, Heinrich advocates that the industry and those involved in the process use all technological advantages.

As usual, the die casting mold is about the potential for improvement in terms of quality, service life and cycle times.

Whether there are alternative, new areas of application for die-casting, Heinrich mentions the electronics, photovoltaics and mobile phone technology environment, especially when it comes to the need for 5G expansion, there are interesting examples of die-cast housing technology.

The signs of an economic recovery are palpable, governments around the world are campaigning for rapid and sustainable industrial funding and, as is so often the case, psychology plays a decisive role in the current situation.

Siegfried Heinrich exudes confidence, when asked about the outlook for the second half of 2020, he is confident. “We still have big plans for 2020, the order books are full and we have new projects. There are so many interesting and forwardlooking aspects that affect die casting and mold making and good work is being done everywhere.

In addition to the technology for new large cast parts, we see great challenges and optimization opportunities on many levels. The consequences of the pandemic may contribute to global standardization becoming more important. With standardized machine interfaces, you could save expenses and unnecessary costs, drive the trend towards standard parts and, in the Internet of Things (IoT), please do not neglect mold making. This is a plea for closer cooperation between manufacturers, foundries and mold making and an optimistic signal for the entire industry. ■

且处于变化中，因此是很难预测的。无论如何，因为每 种可能的驱动转型都将成为需求和供应链的一部分，压 铸业在轻金属领域都有很大的机会；而在未来几年中， 所有常见驱动器类型都将平行发展，这就要求高度的灵 活性和技术转移，并要求参与其中的所有企业更加紧密 地合作。海因里希认为，模具制造商和铸造厂很可能会 更早地参与开发过程。 使压铸业整体更具竞争力的一切因素也对模具制造有 利，包括用于车身的大型集成铸件。 当然，压铸业的发展高度依赖于汽车行业，在纯电 动车中将使用多少压铸件还不明确，这个问题不一定由 欧洲制造商来决定。齐格弗里德·海因里希坚信，所有 OEM厂商都在紧跟特斯拉的大胆计划，即使用大型、高 度集成的铸件进行白车身制造并已有了答案。当被问及 模具制造在多大程度上已经为这些挑战做好了准备时， 他成竹在胸。就是组建新的模具联盟，到目前为止还没 建立，因此有必要建立适当的基础设施，以便更可行的 建立联盟。 总的来说，海因里希提倡压铸业和与之有关的行业都 利用好所有技术优势。像往常一样，压铸模具关乎压铸 件的质量、使用寿命和生产周期的改善。 关于压铸件是否有其他新的应用领域，海因里希提到 了电子、光伏和手机等领域，尤其是在需要扩展5G技术 时，有一些引人关注的压铸外壳技术实例。 经济复苏的迹象很明显，世界各国政府都在争取快速 和可持续的产业资金。此外，在当前情况下，信心起着 决定性的作用。对于2020年下半年的展望，希格弗里 德·海因里希信心满满的表示：“我们有宏伟的计划， 今年的订单已满，还启动了新项目。很多重要且有前瞻 性的因素会影响压铸和模具制造业，各个方面表现出 色。” 除了用于生产新型大型铸件的技术外，很多其他方面 还有巨大的挑战和改进机会。全球疫情的影响将会促进 全球标准化的发展并使之变得更加重要。借助标准化的 机器界面，企业可以节省开支和不必要的成本，推动标 准零部件的发展趋势。在物联网（IoT）时代，请不要 忽视模具制造，这就要求设备生产商、铸造厂和模具制 造商之间进行更紧密的合作。对于整个行业来说，这是 一个积极的信号。 ■

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Laying Groundwork for High Speed Sand Printing The next generation of printing materials will be required to balance quality and speed, all while trying to reach higher production rates. jerry thiel, university of northern iowa (cedar falls, iowa); nathaniel bryant, imerys (atlanta); kip woods, emerson process management (marshalltown, iowa)

为高速砂型打印奠定基础 在努力提高生产率的同时，新一代打印材料需要能够平衡质量和速度。 杰里·泰尔（Jerry Thiel），北爱荷华大学（爱荷华州雪松瀑布）； 纳撒尼尔·布莱恩特（Nathaniel Bryant），艾 默里斯（亚特兰大）； Kip Woods，艾默生过程管理（爱荷华州马歇尔敦）

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D sand printing has seen a drastic increase in use over the last five years. The technology is primarily used for prototype or high-mix, low-volume tooling. It offers lower production rates but has a significant advantage in complex designs of high production parts. Unfortunately, the production rate of the current technology is not applicable to higher-speed manufacturing needs. As new technologies are developed, the speed of printing is believed to increase exponentially.

Current additive manufacturing technologies are targeted at service centers, where utilization rates can be kept high and that find benefits in high machine costs, which dictate high printed sand costs. This has stagnated the industry, keeping it viable for only low production and prototype casting.

The next generation of equipment targeted at operating foundries is already being conceived and will be produced

Fig 1. The chart compares bulk sand density vs. gas permeability.

在

过去的五年中，3D砂型打印的使用量急剧 增加，主要用于原型生产或复杂程度高、小 批量的铸件生产。尽管生产率较低，但是

3D砂型打印仍然对大批量、复杂零件的生产具有显著 优势。然而，当前技术水平下的生产率还不能满足高速 制造的需求。随着新技术的发展，打印速度将势必成倍 增长。 当前，增材制造技术主要面向服务中心，在这些服 务中心，机器可以保持较高的利用率，尽管机器成本很 高，服务中心也可从中受益。机器成本高则意味着打印 成本高，这使整个行业停滞不前，使其仅适用于小批量 和原型铸造。 适用于铸造企业的新一代打印设备已经在研发中，将

图1比较了砂子的密度与气体 渗透率。

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图2所示为测试砂中的接 触点。

Fig 2. Contacts points in test sands are shown.

by a U.S. domestic supplier of foundry equipment. As small and medium enterprises incorporate the next generation of equipment and advance their technology, they will become a more valuable part of the supply chain.

In sand printing, the process starts and fails with the sand layer. The iterative creation process must be repeatable under many different environmental conditions that are present in small to medium foundries to be successful, all while trying to use the most cost-effective printing media available. The selection of sand media requires the understanding of how it will spread, impact printing resolution, and long-term reusability. A slight change in the screen distribution for a printing media can have a large impact of the final printing even if the pH and ADV are the same for Furan printed parts.

由美国一家铸造设备供应商生产。随着中小企业逐渐选

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

实验结论

Aggregates such as silica sand used for any casting process must exhibit a balance between density, grain shape, and permeability. Density must be high enough to resist metal infiltration, but low enough to permit gasses generated by decomposing resins to pass without raising internal pressures beyond the surface tension of the metal being poured. This surface tension is minimal in light alloys such as aluminum

Fig 3. Determination of contacts points in aggregate samples is depicted.

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择新一代打印设备来提高技术水平，它们将在供应链中 变得更有价值。 在砂型打印中，工艺核心皆取决于砂层铺设。在尝试 使用最具成本效益的打印材料的同时，层层铺砂的过程 必须在中小型铸造企业的不同环境下都可重复进行，这 样才能成功。砂介质的选择需要了解它将如何铺开、影 响打印分辨率和长期可重复使用性。即使使用呋喃树脂 砂型打印部件的pH和ADV相同，打印介质筛孔分布的 微小变化也会对最终打印效果产生很大影响。

用于任何铸造工艺的骨料（例如硅砂）必须在密度、 晶粒形状和渗透性之间达到平衡。密度必须足够高以防 止金属液的浸渗，同时还必须足够低以允许分解树脂产 生的气体通过而不会将内部压力提高到超过所浇注金属 的表面张力的水平。表面张力在铝、镁等轻合金中最

图3描述了如何确定混合物样品中的 接触点。

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Fig 4. Screen distributions of the sands used in the testing are seen here.

and magnesium, and highest in iron and steel alloys. Early attempts at developing silica sands maximized density and mechanical strength but suffered in a high number of gas porosity defects in the resulting castings. As is seen in Figure 1, the single and two screen sands possess high permeability, but lack the density associated with refractory sands that can resist metal penetration.

Four-screen sands tend to have high densities but reduced permeability. Within the samples tested, the three screen sands possessed a good mix of density and permeability.

Sands used for casting are held together by either mineral or chemical binders. The binder, which forms an adhesive, connects aggregate materials at the points at which they touch each other. These are considered contact points at which binder bridges are formed. In conventional chemical bonded molding practice, the sand grains are coated equally and adhere to each other at the contact points. The greater the number of contact points, the greater the available strength of the mixture. The number of contact points is not controlled by the size of the grains but by the distribution of large and small diameter sand grains. Previous studies have determined for spherical systems, regardless of the diameters and distribution present, a single sphere on average touches six other spheres. While the foundry industry refers to this functionality of spherical packing as the contact points, physicists refer to this as the coordination number (CN).

Fig 5. Test sands’ tensile strength were compared.

图4所示为测试中使用的砂 子的筛网分布。

小，而在铁、钢合金中最高。早期试验开发的硅砂，最 大程度地提高了铸型的密度和力学强度，但却出现了大 量气孔缺陷。如图1所示，单筛砂和两筛砂具有高渗透 率，但与耐火度相关的能阻止金属渗透的的密度不够。 四筛砂的密度往往较高，但渗透率降低。在测试的样 品中，三筛砂均具有良好的密度和渗透性。 铸造用砂由矿物或化学粘结剂组成。形成粘合剂的材 料将骨料在接触点连接起来。这些被认为是形成粘合剂 桥的接触点。在常规的化学粘结剂成型实践中，砂粒被 均匀地涂覆并在接触点彼此粘附。接触点的数量越多， 混合物的可用强度就越大。接触点的数量不受砂粒大小 的控制，而是受砂粒直径大小分布的控制。先前的研究 已经确定了球形系统，无论目前的直径大小和分布情况 如何，单个球面平均接触其他六个球面。 铸造行业将这种球形填充的功能称为接触点，而物 理学家将其称为配位数（CN）。通过增加晶粒尺寸来 增加接触点，从而增加机械强度，将受到砂粒表面积增 加的限制。表面积的增加减小了砂粒上粘结剂涂层的厚

图5测试砂的抗拉强度比 较。

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图6所示为通过差距打 印测试树脂流动性。

Fig 6. Resin mobility testing was performed by gap printing.

Increases in contact points by increasing the number of grain sizes to increase mechanical strength is limited by the accompanying increase in sand grain surface area. Increases in the surface area decrease the thickness of the binder coating on the sand grains, resulting in lower mechanical properties.

Since the surface area is not only dependent on the average size of the particles but also the distribution of various size particles, the optimization of distribution of sand sizes becomes complex. Figure 2 compares two typical sands used in the 3D sand printing process.

The sample designated IC80 has an AFS Grain Fineness of 83.05 compared to the W730, which has an AFS Fineness of 84.99. Figure 3 illustrates a visual method of determining the number of contact points for an individual sand type.

The IC80 surface area is equal to 188 cc2/gr while the W730 surface area is 193 cc2/gr. This does not seem to be a significant difference. The W730 is a four-screen sand while the IC80 is a three-screen sand. The screen numbers as shown in Figure 4 would indicate that the IC80 has a potential for higher strengths, although the number of contact points shown in Figure 2 seem to take a precedence. Reviewing the mechanical strength comparison in Figure 5, we see that the strengths developed were very similar.

Conventional chemically bonded sands depend on the equal distribution of resin through mechanical mixing of the sand and resin. 3D printed sands are normally mechanically premixed with a catalyst, with resin being applied by drop on demand or binder jetting. The binder is applied to the surface of the sand layer and relies on capillary action to draw the resin from the surface to the previous layer to assure adhesion. The resin transport is thought to result primarily from

Fig 7. Shown is the ranking of resin migration through sand adherence.

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度，导致力学性能降低。由于砂粒表面积不仅取决于颗 粒的平均尺寸，还有各种尺寸颗粒的分布，因此砂粒尺 寸分布的优化变得复杂。图2比较了3D砂型打印中使用 的两种典型砂子。 命名为IC80的样品的AFS细度为83.05，而W730的 AFS细度为84.99。图3说明了确定单个砂型接触点数量 的直观方法。 IC80表面积等于188 cc2/gr，而W730表面积是193 cc2/ gr，似乎没有太大的区别。W730是四筛砂，而 IC80是三筛砂。尽管图2所示的接触点数量似乎更多， 但图4所示的筛孔数量表明IC80将具有更高的强度。从 图5所示的力学性能比较中，我们发现它们的强度非常 相似。 常规上，化学粘结砂通过砂和树脂的机械混合来均 匀分布树脂。通常情况下，将3D打印的砂子与催化剂 进行机械预混合，并通过按需滴落或粘合剂喷射来施加 树脂。粘合剂被铺设到砂层的表面，并依靠毛细作用将 树脂从表面渗入前一层，以确保粘合。树脂传输被认为 主要是由于砂粒之间空隙的毛细作用引起的。 在测试中，玻璃管中充满了测试用的砂子，并用过

图7所示为树脂通过砂子粘附 而流动的等级。

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图8所示为各种树脂砂组 合中的树脂流动情况。

Fig 8. Resin migration is shown in various sand resin combinations.

capillary action of the voids between sand grains.

In the testing, glass tubes were filled with the test sands and closed with a filter material to prevent sand from leaking out. The tubes were then placed in the resin, allowing the liquid to be drawn up into tubes. The rate and total length were measured at intervals for 2 hours. It is theorized that although the test times greatly exceeded the time between deposition of the resin and the loss of mobility resulting from polymerization, a general comparison of capillary forces between various aggregates could be made. The greater mobility of the resin in the W730 may be a result of the packing of the sand grains due to the screen distribution. The W730 is categorized as a four-screen sand and has a slightly flatter distribution.

As seen Figure 2, the W730 also has more grain to grain contact points that may tend to increase capillary action.

Previous studies regarding the capillary force between spheres has demonstrated that smaller diameter spheres will have a larger capillary force than larger diameters. Also, the greater

Fig 9. Resin penetration is shown in the Z direction based on X resolution.

滤材料封闭，防止砂子漏出。然后将管子放入树脂中， 使树脂被吸入试管中。每隔2小时测量一次增长率和总 长度。从理论上讲，尽管测试时间大大超过了树脂沉积 到因聚合反应导致的流动损失之间的时长，但可以对各 种聚合物之间的毛细作用进行大致的比较。W730中的 树脂的流动性更大，可能是由于筛分分布导致砂粒堆积 的结果。W730属于四筛砂，分布略扁平。 如图2所示，W730还具有更多的晶粒间接触点，可 能会增强毛细作用。先前有关球面之间的毛细作用的研 究表明，直径较小的球粒比直径较大的具有更强的毛细 作用力。同样，球粒之间的尺寸差异越大，球粒之间的 毛细作用力越大。 为了确定骨料的毛细作用力对砂型打印清晰度和分辨 率的影响，还进行了更多的测试，包括树脂聚合速度限

图9所示为基于X分辨率， 在Z方向上显示了树脂渗 透率。

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Fig 10. The effect of increasing X resolution and corresponding resin migration is illustrated.

图10所示为提高X分辨率以及相应的树脂流动效果。

the size disparity between spheres the larger the capillary force between the spheres.

Additional testing was conducted to determine the influence of the capillary forces of aggregates on the definition and resolution of printed sands. This testing included the effect of the speed of resin polymerization to limit mobility and compared various resins, catalyst, and molding aggregates.

The printed geometry included varying distances between printed cubes. The distance between the cubes varied from a close of 0.14 mm to 1.4 mm in ten increments as shown in Figure 6. Benchmark testing was conducted so that changes in performance could be gaged. The IC80 sand using a midstrength toluene sulphonic acid showed separation between blocks 6 and 7, which represent 0.84 mm. There appears to be a relationship between the amount of catalyst and the

制流动性的影响，并比较了各种树脂、催化剂和成型聚

Fig 11. The exit hole size required for sand flow through a funnel is charted.

图11绘制了砂子流过漏斗所需的出口孔尺寸。

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合物。 打印的几何参数包括打印模块之间不同的距离。如图 6所示，模块之间的距离从0.14 mm 到1.4 mm，有10 倍的增量。为了可以衡量性能的变化，还进行了基准测 试。使用中等强度甲苯磺酸的IC80砂显示模块6和7的间 距为0.84 mm。催化剂的量与树脂流动的距离之间似乎 存在关系。更高强度（酸度水平）的催化剂可以降低添 加量较小时的流动距离。干酸催化剂（例如氟硼酸）可 降低树脂的流动水平。 树脂的流动在两种条件下很重要。树脂的流动性越

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图12所示为砂子在24小时 后的流动率和溶剂蒸发。

Fig 12. Sand mobility after 24 hours and solvent evaporation is charted.

distance the resin will migrate. Higher strength (acidity level) catalysts can reduce the amount of migration at lower addition levels. Dry acid catalysts such as fluoroboric acids allow for low levels of resin migration.

Resin migration is important in two conditions.

Lower resin migration allows for higher printing resolution, and the ability to print very small features along with small cavities in sand cores and molds. Higher resin migration improves the physical strength of printed sand but may result in larger amounts of sand adhering to cores and molds. During the printing process, resin will migrate from the printed areas by capillary action until it is polymerized and solid. Some of the resin is separated through what is thought to be a chromatography effect, separating heavier compounds from those with lower molecular weights. These low molecular weight compounds have little or no binding effects on the sand and exist as a lightly adhering gray layer. Recycling this gray layer for later printing has been seen to cause degradation of mechanical properties on subsequent printing.

Higher strength catalysts with lower liquid addition levels have shown, in some cases, to limit the resin migration and separation, reducing the grey layer adhering sand.

The benefits of reducing the gray layer are seen in the ability to use higher percentages of recycled sand without strength reduction, along with faster cleaning of the cores and molds.

The resin migration was ranked at four levels as seen in Figure 7. The ranking was defined as follows: Rank 3—no visual layer defects, Rank 2—bonded with a visible layer defect but maintained structure while cleaning, Rank 1—large layering defect zone required little force to separate, and Rank 0—complete separation no bonding zone present.

Sand binder and catalyst properties are not the only variables in resin migration. Figure 9 illustrates the degree of resin penetration based on the X resolution print head setting. The X resolution defines the separation of the droplets in the inkjet printing process that are applied in the X axis direction. The smaller the X resolution, the

低，越可实现更高的打印分辨率，并能够打印出很细 小的尺寸以及砂芯和模具中的小空腔。较高的树脂流 动性可改善打印砂的力学性能，但可能导致大量砂粘 附到型芯和铸型上。在打印过程中，树脂将通过毛细 作用在打印区域流动，直到聚合起来并固化。某些树 脂通过色谱作用分离，从而将较重的化合物与分子量 较低的化合物分离。 这些低分子量化合物对砂子的结合作用很小或根本 没有，并以轻微粘附的灰色层形式存在。已经发现， 将该灰色层回收再利用会导致后续打印的力学性能下 降。在某些情况下，具有较少液体添加量的高强度催 化剂已显示出能限制树脂的流动和分离，从而减少了 附着在砂层上的灰色层。减少灰色层的好处体现在， 使用更高百分比的回收砂不会降低力学性能，而且能 更快地清洁型芯和铸型。 如图7所示，树脂的流动分为4个等级。等级定义 如下：等级3-无可见砂层缺陷，等级2-有可见层缺 陷，但在清洁时保持结构完整，等级1-存在大分层缺 陷，无需用力即可分离，等级0-完全分离，没有粘合 区域。 砂粘结剂和催化剂的性能不是树脂流动的唯一变 量。图9说明了基于X分辨率打印头设置的树脂渗透程 度。X分辨率定义了喷墨打印在X轴方向上的液滴的分 离情况。X分辨率越小，液滴之间的距离越小。由于 液滴的大小与X分辨率无关，因此增加了涂覆到砂子 上的树脂量。对于测试中使用的打印头，Y方向上的 液滴之间的距离由大约0.100毫米的喷嘴位置固定。 图8显示，增加液滴的间距会减少树脂的使用，从而

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less distance between the droplets. Since the droplet size is independent of the X resolution, the amount of resin applied to the sand is increased. The distance between droplets in the Y direction is fixed by the inkjet nozzle placement approximately 0.100 mm for the print head used in the testing. Figure 8 shows that increasing the spacing between droplets results in less applied resin, which corresponds with less resin migration or penetration.

Block testing results as shown in Figure 10 illustrate that increasing resin content from lower X resolution settings increases the resin migration and reduces overall definition and resolution possible.

High activator levels not only reduce printing accuracy and resolution by increased resin migration, but also cause issues in spreading sand by providing adhesion between sand grains. This adhesion can form sand balls and are not easily broken up when sand is transferred from the mixing chamber to the re-coater. These sand balls, if large enough, will be separated by the re-coater screens, but, if smaller, can cause issues in the smooth application of sand layers.

Small particles that pass the screens are often caught in the labyrinth that controls the amount of sand deposited and allows for a smooth recoated surface of fresh sand.

The flowability of the sand is reduced with increasing catalyst levels (Fig. 11). The flowability was evaluated by placing sands mixed with varying levels of catalyst in a funnel with varying exit hole diameters. The size of the hole was increased until the sand was able to flow. Various printing aggregates were used in the testing, which generally illustrated increasing catalyst levels required increasingly larger exit hole size to flow.

The chart shows large differences between printing materials, which can be traced to characteristics relating to surface area and surface tension between catalyst and aggregate. The surface area is controlled by the screen size distribution of the printing materials. Larger percentages of finer particles increase the amount of surface area and result in lower liquid film thicknesses. This not only effects the flowability of the sands but also can affect the rate of resin polymerization and subsequent resin migration.

Even small amounts of fine particles can increase resin migration through capillary action with a secondary effect of lowering sand particle catalyst film thickness, and thus polymerization rate.

Catalysts used in 3D sand printing using furfuryl alcohol resins are comprised of sulphonic acids in mixtures of toluene solvent. The high vapor pressure of the toluene solvent is easily evaporated. During polymerization, this evaporation helps remove moisture generated in the chemical polymerization of the resin. Although present and active by reducing the pH level of the sands, the solvents will evaporate, changing the flowability of the sands. This effect is seen in Figure 12 by allowing solvent evaporation for 24 hours after mixing. Evaporation of the catalyst carrier increases flowability of the sand as seen by the reduction of hole size required for mobility. ■

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会有较少的树脂流动或渗透。 图10所示的模块测试结果表明，较低的X分辨率 设置会增加树脂含量，从而增加树脂流动性并降低 总的清晰度和分辨率。 高活化剂含量不仅会由于增加的树脂流动而降低 打印精度和分辨率，还会由于砂粒之间的附着力引 起砂子涂覆问题。这种附着力会形成砂球，并且当 砂子从混合室转移到重新涂覆设备时不容易破裂。 如果砂球足够大，它们将被涂覆机的筛网分开， 但如果较小，则可能会导致砂层的平滑应用出现问 题。通过筛子的小颗粒通常被迷宫一般的涂覆设备 接收，因此，涂覆机控制着沉积的砂子量，并使新 砂表面光滑。 随着催化剂含量的增加，砂子的流动性降低（图 11）。通过将混有不同含量催化剂的砂子混入出口 直径不同的漏斗中来评估其流动性。出口孔的尺寸 不断增大，直到砂子能够流动为止。测试中使用了 各种打印粘结砂，得出的结论是，随着催化剂含量 的增加，有更大的出口孔尺寸砂子才能流动。 图表显示了不同打印材料之间的巨大差异，这 可以追溯到与催化剂和化合物之间的表面积和表面 张力有关的特性。表面积由打印材料的筛网尺寸控 制。较大百分比的较细颗粒会增加表面积，并导致 较低的液膜厚度。这不仅影响砂的流动性，而且可 以影响树脂聚合的速率和随后的树脂流动。即使少 量的细颗粒也可以通过毛细作用增加树脂的流动， 其次，可以降低砂粒催化剂膜的厚度，从而降低聚 合速率。 在使用糠醇树脂的3D砂型打印中使用的催化剂 由甲苯溶剂混合物中的磺酸组成。甲苯溶剂的高蒸 气压容易蒸发。在聚合过程中，这种蒸发有助于除 去树脂化学聚合过程中产生的水分。尽管溶剂随降 低砂粒的pH值而存在且具有活性，但溶剂会蒸发， 从而改变砂粒的流动性。如图12所示，化合物混合 后，溶剂蒸发可持续24小时。减小流动性所需的孔 的尺寸，从而，催化剂载体的蒸发增加了砂子的流 动性。 ■

| FOUNDRY-PLANET.COM | MODER N CASTI NG | CHINA FOUNDRY ASSOCIATION October 2020

product news/产品新闻

Product News Table of Contents 产品新闻目录 MOLD, CORE & SAND PREPARATION

MELTING, POURING & HEAT TREATMENT

The Unveiling Of The New Norican Changzhou Manufacturing Center 诺瑞肯常州制造中心开业

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Exone Launches New Sand 3d Printing Network EXONE推出新的砂型3D打印服务网络

39

Perspectives On Roi For Successful Adoption Of Data-Driven Process Control By Foundries; Focus On Improved Casting Outcomes Using Green Sand Analytics 39 铸造企业采用数据驱动的过程控制的投资回 报关注改善使用湿型砂工艺铸件效果的分析 法 LXS 3D Sand Printing Realizes Industrial Application 立鑫晟3D打印砂型铸造实现产业化应用

Otto Junker Supplies Two Coreless Induction Furnaces For High Pressure Die Casting Plant 38 奥托容克公司为压铸厂提供两台无芯 感应电炉 Ready For The Next 30 Years: Control System Upgrade Puts Trusted Italpresse Machine At Digital Cutting Edge 41 着眼未来30年：升级版意特佩雷斯控制系统 处于数字化领先水平 Waupaca Resists Pneumatic-Line Abrasion With Deflection Elbows 42 沃帕卡铸造公司的挠性弯头可避免气动传输 的管道磨损

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October 2020 FOUNDRY-PLANET.COM | MODERN CASTI NG | CHINA FOUNDRY ASSOCIATION |

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product news/产品新闻

The Unveiling Of The New Norican Changzhou Manufacturing Center 诺瑞肯常州制造中心开业 Recently, Norican Group, provider of parts formation and surface preparation technologies, held the grand opening ceremony of its Changzhou Hanjiang Plant. This move means that all of Norican Group China’s R&D and production facilities are gathered in Changzhou. The unremitting effort to present Norican’s integrated manufacturing and R&D center in Changzhou exhibits another milestone of Norican Group’s development in the Asia-Pacific region.

Through three years of R&D and supply chain integration, Norican Group, consisting of four major brands, namely DISA, Italpresse Gauss, StrikoWestofen and Wheelabrator, has now developed a complete manufacturing center in Changzhou, China. It leverages the available resources to provide a one-stop solution for foundry, and starts a new chapter for the smart manufacturing in the Asia-Pacific region represented by China.

As China’s pillar industry, the manufacturing industry affects production and development of the national economy. Thus, foundry plays an overwhelming role in the manufacturing industry. With increasing foundry output and continuous development of foundry technologies, high-precision and automated foundry machinery becomes more popular. The die casting industry tends to embrace one-stop efficient service. Norican Changzhou manufacturing center, through this expansion, integrates R&D, design and production of four brands, thereby speeding up Norican Group’s supply chain integration and improving operational efficiency.

Optimize collaboration and integrate brand strength Apart from the pursuit of technology and product innovation, the die casting industry also values energy conservation, environmental protection and lightweight manufacturing. In order to create a modern manufacturing model featuring environmental friendliness and resource efficiency, Hanjiang Plant becomes an indispensable part of Norican’s overall layout in the Asia-Pacific region. Such move will help to speed up the integration of Norican Group’s supply chain, and improve operation efficiency and flexibility, thereby better coordinating production among four brands.

Norican’s manufacturing center commenced operation in 1997, gradually producing more products. After Hanjiang Plant officially opens, Changzhou manufacturing center has a total of 20,000 sq.m factory building, covering leading products and solutions through melting, dosing and die-casting to surface preparation.

To build on the collaborative design and transnational technology transfer among R&D centers, Norican continuously improves its product R&D capabilities 36

近日，全球领先的金属零件成型和表面处理技术供应 商——诺瑞肯集团常州汉江工厂开工典礼隆重举行。此 举代表了集团在中国所有的研发和生产部门已全部迁入 常州，共同打造诺瑞肯常州一体化制造及研发中心，同 时也彰显了诺瑞肯集团在亚太区发展的又一大里程碑。 历经三年研发与供应链的整合，诺瑞肯集团携旗下的 四大品牌——迪砂（DISA）、意特佩雷斯高斯（Italpresse Gauss）、史杰克西（StrikoWestofen），以 及维尔贝莱特（Wheelabrator）在中国常州形成了完 整的体系化生产基地，致力于为铸造行业提供一站式解 决方案，为以中国为主的亚太区智能制造行业再续新篇 章。 制造业作为中国的支柱产业，在一定程度上影响着国 民经济的生产和发展水平，铸造则是制造业中至关重要 的基础产业。随着我国铸件产量的增加和铸造技术工艺 的不断发展，高精度和自动化的铸造机械逐渐得到市场 的青睐，一站式的高效服务也是压铸行业的大势所趋。 诺瑞肯常州制造中心经此扩建，集四大品牌的研发、设 计、生产于一体，从而加速集团供应链整合并提升运营 效率。 优化协同，整合品牌实力 除了对技术和产品的创新需求，压铸行业同样看重节 能环保与轻量化制造。为了打造一个综合考虑环境影响 和资源效率的现代制造模式，汉江工厂是诺瑞肯亚太地 区整体布局中不可或缺的一部分。此举有助于集团供应 链整合，提升集团运营效率和灵活度，从而提高各成员 间生产协同。诺瑞肯于1997年在中国开始本土化生产， 并且持续不断扩大本土化产品范围。汉江工厂正式开工 后，常州制造中心共拥有近两万平方米的生产厂房，覆 盖从熔炼、给料、压铸到表面处理的领先产品和解决方 案。凭借各技术研发中心之间的协同设计和跨国技术转 移，诺瑞肯不断提升产品研发能力和科技含量，向市场 提供更环保更智能的产品。 工业4.0——最佳本土选择 秉承着全球化和本土化并重的战略，诺瑞肯不仅是全

| FOUNDRY-PLANET.COM | MODER N CASTI NG | CHINA FOUNDRY ASSOCIATION October 2020

product news/产品新闻

and technological content, ready to put on the market more environment friendly and smarter products.

球技术的领导者，同时也致力成为当地客户的最佳选

Industry 4.0 - Best local choice

更是着眼于定制化、个性化的产品及服务需求。亚太

As a leading global technology provider, Norican strives to become a brand of choice for Chinese customers. With customers’ increasingly demanding requirements for the quality of die casting products, Norican focuses more on the needs of customized and personalized products and services. Norican’s Asia-Pacific after-sales service team keeps close communication with customers and provides a seamless 24/7 one-stop service, making sure the equipment always in optimal condition. Norican Group is ready to help customers improve production efficiency, enhance product quality and reduce resource consumption, presenting a safe, efficient, digital and smart factory.

Norican always believes that application of digital and smart technologies to metal foundry will be an epoch-making change. Therefore, in recent years, Norican has spared no effort to invest in Industry 4.0 solutions, covering remote support, data aquisition, visualization and analysis service. Today, Norican’s digital solution, Monitizier® I PRESCRIBE has also been officially launched. As the first authentic artificial intelligence solution for foundry, it will help customers gain real production benefits, cut cost, and improve quality.

Baohua Wei, Senior Vice President of Asia Pacific Region, Norican Group, said: “In recent years, China has emerged as a development hub for the world’s manufacturing industry, and boasts the technology, equipment and supporting industrial chain ready for die casting development. With the continuously stable development of cars, communication equipment and electric machinery, future development of China’s die-casting industry shall be very promising.

Norican Group has been attaching great importance to localization. The opening of the Hanjiang Plant marks the successful completion of Norican Group China’s research and development, and supply chain integration. Over 300 Chinese employees of Norican Group are ready for the stronger Norican Changzhou manufacturing center. Norican Group, a century-old brand, will continuously make innovation and explore needs of Chinese market. To drive growth through innovation, Norican will team up with our partners to usher in a promising digital future.”

The milestone cemenomy has been marked by a number of celebrities, including Norican’s respected customers, partners and colleagues. Besides, Norican also hosted a technical exchange panel meeting with customers and arranged plant visit. Apart from sharing its deep industry insight, Norican Group vividly showcased the leading industry solutions and outstanding strength of its four brands. ■

择。随着客户对压铸件产品质量要求的提高，诺瑞肯 区整体售后服务团队始终与客户保持紧密沟通，提供 7天24小时无缝对接的一站式服务，以保障设备随时 处于最佳状态。助力客户提高生产效率、提高产品品 质并降低资源消耗，共同打造安全高效、数字化智能 化工厂。 诺瑞肯始终相信数字化技术在金属铸造领域的智能 应用将是划时代的变革，因此近年来诺瑞肯在工业4.0 解决方案上始终不遗余力地投入，提供从远程支持、 数据收集到可视化和分析的服务。如今，其数字化解 决方案， Monitizier®I Prescribe也已正式推出。作 为首个专为金属铸造行业开发的真正的人工智能解决 方案，它将助力客户在生产过程中实实在在地获得收 益、降低成本、提升质量。 诺瑞肯集团亚太区高级副总裁魏宝华表示：“近 年来，中国已然成为世界制造业发展的基地，具有发 达压铸产业该有的技术、设备及其配套产业链。随着 汽车、通信设备、电气机械等应用行业的持续稳定发 展，我国压铸行业的未来发展空间不容小觑。诺瑞肯 一直非常看重集团的本土化发展，此次汉江工厂的启 用，标志着诺瑞肯集团中国研发和供应链整合的胜利 完成，300多名中国员工共同打造诺瑞肯亚太地区一 体化的常州制造中心。未来，我们将秉承百年品质、 不断创新，继续立足本土化战略并深挖本地需求，用 创新驱动增长，与众多工业制造企业携手共赢数字化 未来。” 活动现场集结了诺瑞肯尊敬的客户、合作伙伴以 及铸造界的同仁齐聚一堂，共同见证这一里程碑式庆 典。除此之外，诺瑞肯特别举办了客户技术交流会以 及工厂参观环节，深入分享行业洞察，并且向参与者 零距离展现了诺瑞肯四大品牌的领先行业解决方案和 卓越品牌实力。 ■

October 2020 FOUNDRY-PLANET.COM | MODERN CASTI NG | CHINA FOUNDRY ASSOCIATION |

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product news/产品新闻

Otto Junker Supplies Two Coreless Induction Furnaces For High Pressure Die Casting Plant 奥托容克公司为压铸厂提供两台无芯感应电炉 Lundbergs Pressgjuteri, based in Vrigstad, Sweden, placed an order with Otto Junker Gmbh in April for the supply of two medium-frequency induction melting furnaces for aluminium.

The company has a long history of manufacturing high-quality high-pressure die castings, which are used in the telecommunications industry, heavy vehicle manufacturing, machine and equipment engineering, electronics industry, furniture making, and disability aids and equipment.

In order to manufacture high-quality products with maximum energy efficiency, the company has invested in the use of electric power from renewable sources. In 4 years’ time the changeover should be completed, resulting in savings on previous consumption of 40% (1 million kWh).

Lundbergs Pressgjuteri is thus taking a future-oriented approach, feeding their high pressure die casting machines with hot metal from induction furnaces. It was recognized that these offer significant advantages over resistance heated or gas fired furnaces. An essential advantage is the bath movement, which enables return material to be stirred into the melt. Due to its particularly light weight and small size, this material cannot be utilized in the existing resistance-heated process and has to be sold as scrap. By using coreless induction furnaces, the melting process can now be optimized in terms of resource and energy efficiency.

The new melting system consists of two 1,000 kg furnaces operated in tandem via a 750 kW frequency converter. Thanks to this DUOMELT design, power can be distributed freely between the two furnaces operating in tandem.

The frequency converter used is equipped with modern IGBT modules in order to operate the system with a consistently high power factor (cos phi = 0.99 at the converter input).

Since energy efficiency is particularly important to Lundberg Pressgjuteri, both furnaces were fitted with a modern energy-saving coil, which increases efficiency by up to 7%, especially when melting aluminium.

The JOKS-Touch system with two operator stations is used to control, monitor and document the process automatically.

The complete equipment is easy to maintain, thus guaranteeing high availability, and impressively demonstrates the current state of the art of OTTO JUNKER process technology. ■

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今年4月，总部位于瑞典弗里格斯塔德的Lundbergs Pressgjuteri公司与奥托容克公司签订购买两台用于铝 合金熔化的中频感应电炉的订单。 Lundbergs Pressgjuteri公司在生产高质量压铸件方 面历史悠久，其产品可用于电信行业、重型车辆制造、 机械和设备工程、电子行业、家具制造以及残疾人辅助 设备等。 为了生产具有最高能效的高质量产品，该公司已投资 使用可再生能源发电。该项目将在4年内完成，将节能 40％（100万千瓦时）。 因此，Lundbergs Pressgjuteri公司以未来新工艺为 驱动，使用感应电炉进行熔炼。与电阻加热炉或燃气炉 相比，感应电炉具有明显的优势，这是公认的事实。而 且，熔体运动是一个重要的优势，它可以将返回的物料 搅拌到熔体中。由于质量轻、尺寸小，这些物料不能采 用现有的电阻加热工艺，而必须作为废料出售。使用了 无芯感应电炉，熔炼工艺的资源和能源效率可以得到优 化。 新的熔炼系统包括两个通过750kW变频器串联运行 的1,000kg熔炉。得益于这种双熔炼设计，熔炼功率可 以在串联运行的两个熔炉之间自由分配。 为了以一致的高功率因数（在变频器输入处为cos phi=0.99）运行，为变频器配备了现代IGBT模块。 由于能源效率对Lundberg Pressgjuteri公司尤为重 要，两个炉子均装有现代节能线圈，特别是在熔化铝 时，能效最大可提高7％。 具有两个操作工作站的JOKS-Touch系统用于自动控 制、监视和记录工艺过程。 整套设备易于维护，保证了高可用性，并彰显了奥托 容克公司工艺技术的最新水平。 ■

| FOUNDRY-PLANET.COM | MODER N CASTI NG | CHINA FOUNDRY ASSOCIATION October 2020

product news/产品新闻

Exone Launches New Sand 3d Printing Network EXONE推出新的砂型3D打印服务网络 The ExOne Company (Nasdaq: XONE), the global leader in industrial sand and metal 3D printers using binder jetting technology, today announced the creation of a Sand 3D Printing Network in North America, which aerospace, automotive, agricultural and other manufacturers can use to tap the benefits of 3D printed sand molds and cores for high-value metal casting projects.

The newly formed network is powered by more than 40 proven binder jet 3D printers throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Largely owned by premium pattern shops and foundries, this fleet of S-Max and S-Print systems can provide quick turnaround on high-quality 3D sand molds and cores, usually within 3-5 days. To locate an ExOne sand 3D printer in the network for your project, visit www.exone.com/sandnetwork.

“The new ExOne Sand 3D Printing network can help manufacturers easily locate an ExOne sand 3D printer that best meets their needs,” said John Hartner, ExOne CEO. “What’s more, our network can help ensure a steady supply of sand molds and cores for metal castings, especially during a crisis, as well as enable reshoring of key parts that may be difficult to ship during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.” ■

Exone公司（纳斯达克股票代码：XONE）是使用粘 合剂喷射技术的工业砂和金属3D打印设备的全球领导 者，宣布在北美建立了砂型3D打印服务网络。航空航 天、汽车、农业机械和其他制造商可以使用该网络来挖 掘3D打印砂型模具和型芯在高价值金属铸造项目中的 优势。 新组建的网络由分布在美国、加拿大和墨西哥的40 多台经过检验的粘合剂喷射3D打印机提供支持。这批 S-Max和S-Print系统主要由高级制模车间和铸造厂拥 有，通常在3-5天内即可提供高质量3D砂模和型芯的快 速打印服务。如果您需要ExOne的3D打印服务，请访 问www.exone.com/sandnetwork。 “新的ExOne砂型3D打印网络可以帮助制造商轻松 找到最能满足需求的ExOne砂型3D打印机，”ExOne 首席执行官约翰哈德纳说，“此外，我们的网络有助 于为金属铸造提供稳定的砂模和型芯，尤其是在疫情期 间，可以使在此期间受运输困难影响的关键零件生产回 归本国。” ■

Perspectives On Roi For Successful Adoption Of Data-Driven Process Control By Foundries; Focus On Improved Casting Outcomes Using Green Sand Analytics 铸造企业采用数据驱动的过程控制的投资回报 关注改善使用湿型砂工艺铸件效果的分析法 Author: Deepak Chowdhary – Inventor of SANDMAN data analytics SaaS software for green sand molding and digitalization in foundries.

Data Science is precisely what the name suggests: it is the science of mathematically modeling data and using the logic and computational flow of algorithms to predict outcomes and recommend the most optimal solutions to achieve them in the process to which applied.

In Machine Learning (ML), the historical and real-time data that is determined for modeling is processed and analyzed to derive an optimal solution. Typically, the data source applied is a human decision. ML cannot decide which data is relevant or access data on its own decision to target the desired outcome.

Therefore, the accuracy of data modeling has its own perceptional limitation in “data-driven decision” making.

True AI may be able to impute data beyond what is available or seen in the data sets using advanced technologies like used in autonomous cars, for example. Someday, maybe sooner than later, casting processes will be AI-driven.

But first, at this juncture in moving towards Industry 4.0; foundries still have a lot to catch-up on the concepts and tremendous value of digitalization and machine-learning

作者：Deepak Chowdhary–SANDMAN数据分析 软件SaaS（用于铸造厂的湿砂成型和数字化）发明者 数据科学可以准确地解释为：它是对数据进行数学 建模并使用算法逻辑和计算流程来预测结果，推荐最 佳解决方案并应用于生产过程的科学。 在机器学习（ML）中，通过处理和分析确定用于建 模的历史和实时数据，得出最佳解决方案。通常情况 下，所使用的数据来源由人为决定。机器学习无法自 行识别相关数据和访问数据，从而实现预期结果。因 此，数据建模的准确性在做出“数据驱动决策”中具 有自身的感知局限性。 真正的AI可以使用先进技术，如自动驾驶技术，推 算超出可用或可见数据范围的数据。也许很快，铸造 生产将实现AI驱动。但是，当前处于向工业4.0迈进 的关键时刻，在通过数字化和机器学习决策实现盈利 的概念和价值方面，铸造企业还有大量的工作需要追 赶。减少废品率、减少添加剂的用量以及通常被忽略

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product news/产品新闻 decision support for-profits in terms of; reduced casting rejections, dose-by-need additive consumption and the often overlooked but considerable savings in time (time also being money) in analyzing unexpected shop-floor problems and process deviations, and being alerted to them well in time.

Data by itself is just a set of figures or numbers. By itself and without correlation, there is not much one can do or make out of the data sets. In other words, data without insight is meaningless data: Example:

Data visualization - without correlation Insight is just the first goal of data modeling. Actionable insight is the next goal. When data can guide and or predict an action, then that is meaningful data.

For example, in foundry green sand molding processes, if we just know that from the correlation of all the available sand properties in a foundry, active Clay is influencing defects the most in a given date and time series, that’s an insight. Now, if the analytics can provide some directional prediction support in terms of increasing or decreasing the active Clay to achieve better outcomes in terms of defect reduction, it’s a more actionable insight and, therefore, more meaningful. Now that cold data set has value!

However, the real value of data analytics support comes into play when the algorithm is able to predict and prescribe near-precisely how much of an increase/decrease in the active clay percentage is optimal to achieve related casting defect reduction.

An analytic data software can either be generic or specific for a process or domain, be it in manufacturing, services, whether physical, virtual, or internet delivered.

If the algorithm is generic, it can only create co-relation between data sets and predictions arising therefrom without the benefit of specific domain know-how. Therefore, without specific or granular and domain enriched insights on the relevancy of the modelled data-set, it is difficult to expect to achieve specifically targeted casting outcomes.

On the other spectrum, some algorithms are built around specialized domain inputs wherein the causal co-relations are modeled from the infusion of know-how and experience of skilled domain experts. That is where algorithms are designed and embedded with ‘virtual artificial intelligence.’ The predictions from algorithms deriving from the know-how and logic of trained, skilled, and domain-focused expert minds enable better and more accurate casting and process control outcomes.

However, despite the actionable insights derived from predictive and prescriptive models, the continuously evolving and dynamically changing conditions in foundry ecosystems such as varying core sand influx, will keep pushing the needle away from the goalpost. The model predictions will, at the same time, keep the process equally dynamically targeted towards the goal post.

“This dynamic “push and pull’ is where the perspective of data science as a “decision support” needs to be understood.

User expectations driven by calculating ROI solely in terms of liquidated profits deprive the user of the sight of the benefits that the data-driven process control is providing, many a time intangibly.”

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的，在分析车间的偶然因素和工艺偏差并及时发出警 报而节省的可观的时间（时间也是金钱）。 数据本身只是一组数字。就其本身而言，数据没 有相关性，我们对数据只能做有限的使用和处理。 换句话说，不做研究，数据就是毫无意义的数字。 例如： 数据可视化—无关联性 洞察力只是数据建模的首要目标。 可行的见解是 下一个目标。 当数据可以指导和/或预测一个动作 时，那就是有意义的数据。 例如，在湿型砂工艺中，如果我们仅从铸造中所 有可用砂属性的相关关系中知道，活性粘土在给定 的日期和时间序列中对缺陷的影响最大，这是一种见 识。 现在，如果分析可以在增加或减少活性粘土方 面提供一些方向性的预测支持，从而在减少缺陷方面 获得更好的结果，则它是一种更具可操作性的见解， 因此也就更有意义。 现在，冷却数据具有价值！ 但是，当算法能够准确预测并规定有效黏土百分 比的增/减量达到实现相关铸件缺陷减少的最佳程度 时，数据分析支持的真正价值就发挥了作用。 分析数据软件可以是通用的，也可以是过程或领 域的专用软件，无论是在制造，服务（无论是物理， 虚拟还是互联网交付）中。 如果该算法是通用算法，则它只能在数据集和由 此产生的预测之间建立关联，而无需使用特定领域的 专业知识。 因此，如果没有对建模数据集相关性的 特定或细粒度和领域丰富的见解，就很难期望实现专 门针对性的铸造结果。 另一方面，一些算法是围绕专用领域输入构建 的，其中因果相关关系是根据技术领域专家的知识和 经验的注入来建模的。 那就是设计算法并嵌入“虚 拟人工智能”的地方。 来自受过训练的，熟练的和 专注于领域的专家头脑的知识和逻辑的算法预测可以 实现更好，更准确的铸造和过程控制结果。 但是，尽管从预测模型和规范模型中得出了可行 的见解，但铸造生态系统中不断变化和动态变化的条 件（例如不断变化的砂芯涌入量）仍将针头推离球门 柱。 同时，模型预测将使过程同样动态地动态针对 目标职位。 “这种动态的“推拉式”需要理解数据科学作 为“决策支持”的观点。 仅根据清算利润来计算ROI 所驱动的用户期望，使用户无法看到数据驱动的过程 控制所提供的好处，这是无形的。 真正的投资回报率是基于使用传感器（IIoT） ，SCADA甚至人工实验室数据进行数字化处理而对 整个成型过程进行的恒定，一致，准确和可扩展的 控制。

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product news/产品新闻 Constant, Consistent, Accurate, and Scalable control of the entire molding process, based on digitalization of data using sensors (IIoT), SCADA, and even manual laboratory sources, is the real ROI. Algorithms will work whenever the process accesses them. However, the availability of continuous, correlated, collated, and authenticated data without gaps in dates and time is the key for the software to do its job. ■

每当进程访问它们时，算法都将起作用。 但是，连 续，相关，整理和经过身份验证的数据的可用性在日期 和时间上没有差异是软件完成其工作的关键。 ■

Ready For The Next 30 Years: Control System Upgrade Puts Trusted Italpresse Machine At Digital Cutting Edge 着眼未来30年：升级版意特佩雷斯控制系统处于数字 化领先水平 A control system upgrade by Italpresse Gauss, a Norican technology, has brought a legacy high-pressure die casting machine into the digital age for Ningbo Boli Automotive Components, a non-ferrous foundry based in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China.

Ningbo Boli, a subsidiary of Ningbo Heli Mould Technology Co., Ltd, specialises in the high-technology production of automotive parts using sand casting, high-pressure die-casting and gravity casting equipment. The company operates thirteen Italpresse die-casting machines, including four IP750T, 750-tonne, high-pressure die-casting machines. Although over 30 years old, these four machines still perform extremely well.

“Their casting quality remains far better than newer, cheaper machines with the same closing force,” explained Mr. Zhuxi Lin, project manager at Ningbo Boli. “So we didn’t want to scrap the equipment and replace it with domestic machines, new or otherwise. Instead, we talked to Italpresse about upgrading the equipment, especially the control system.”

升级后的诺瑞肯集团旗下品牌意特佩雷斯高斯公司 的控制系统，使位于浙江省宁波市的有色铸造企业宁波 博力汽车零部件有限公司从传统的压铸机时代进入了数 字化时代。 宁波博力公司是宁波合力模具技术有限公司的子公 司，专门从事砂型铸造、压铸和重力铸造设备生产汽车 零部件。该公司有13台意特佩雷斯压铸机，其中包括4 台750吨压铸机IP750T。尽管已运行了30多年，这4台 机器的性能仍然非常出色。 “他们的质量仍然比具有相同合模力的新型、便宜 机器好得多，”宁波博力的项目经理林先生解释说，“ 我们不想把这些设备报废，换成新的或其他国产机器 代替。相反，我们与意特佩雷斯公司谈过设备升级的问 题，特别是控制系统。”

The problem: an obsolete control system

存在的问题：过时的控制系统

Picking a single IP750T to upgrade first, Ningbo Boli knew exactly what the project’s priorities should be. Scrap castings had to be automatically separated from good castings while the new system had to support digital data collection, remote access and injection data analysis.

Any solution had to collect, store and display relevant process data like the injection curve in real time while making it possible to remotely access and export data so that managers could easily monitor die casting production.

At the same time, the system had to be simple and userfriendly so operators could easily supervise, monitor and control the tasks performed by the machine. This ease of use would also allow new technical personnel to learn how to operate it quickly.

Italpresse Gauss supplied a technical proposal and quotation in May 2019 for an EMP (Equipment Modernisation Programme). The EMP would install the IP LV (Light Version) supervisor control panel system. The IP LV had already featured in more than 40 successful upgrade projects but this would be its first deployment in China.

The solution: a new control system fitted in less than a week

宁波博力公司非常清楚首先应该做什么并选择了一 台IP750T进行升级。废品铸件必须从合格铸件中自动 筛选出来，因此，新的控制系统必须支持数据收集、远 程访问和压射数据分析。 任何解决方案都必须实时收集、存储和显示相关工 艺数据（例如压射曲线），同时可以远程访问和导出数 据，以便管理人员可以轻松地监控生产过程。 同时，系统必须简单易用，以便操作员可以轻松地 监督、监视和控制。这种易用性还可以使新员工快速掌 握操作。 2019年5月，意特佩雷斯高斯公司提出了EMP（设 备现代化计划）项目的技术升级建议和报价。EMP将 安装IP LV（轻型）监控控制面板系统。IP LV已经在40 多个升级项目中发挥了重要作用，此次安装将是其在中

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product news/产品新闻 The IP LV installed at Ningbo Boli in October 2019 is specifically designed to replace old Italpresse control systems like the SYSTEM 2000, SYSTEM 3000, SYSTEM PC and DIGISTAR. It employs the popular Gefran display controller which is compact, fast and easily accessible for maintenance.

The system’s new fanless 15” operator panel offers full touchscreen control and can record, monitor, analyse and display injection data in real time – very convenient for equipment maintenance technicians and machine operators alike.

IP LV’s fast network connectivity supports remote machine control and operation via VNC. Its Ewon industrial router enables remote troubleshooting and monitoring by on- or offsite engineers, and makes the machine Industry 4.0-ready, with comprehensive data collection and export abilities.

The results: cutting-edge digital control “A big attraction was how short the whole upgrade period would be – Italpresse predicted one week of commissioning and delivery,” said Mr. Lin. “In fact, the project only took five days and, compared with installing new equipment, the cost was far lower.”

With only the electrical control system upgraded, the mechanical operation of the IP750T remains unchanged.

However, it’s now possible to use the features of the updated control system to optimise the legacy machines’ performance to improve productivity and quality.

“Italpresse Gauss met every one of our requirements with this EMP which has proved to be a very cost-effective solution,” said Mr. Lin. “We are very satisfied with their efforts and with the better performance of the upgraded machine, especially its new digital capabilities. We’re looking forward to many more years of high quality production.”

“The IP LV control system upgrade is a great option for older machines that are still working well but whose control systems are obsolete,” concluded Mr. Lin. “We now intend to upgrade our other three machines with the IP LV system.” ■

国的首次。 解决方案：新型控制系统在一周内安装 IP LV于2019年10月在宁波博力安装，用于替代旧的 意特佩雷斯控制系统，例如SYSTEM 2000、SYSTEM 3000、SYSTEM PC和DIGISTAR。它采用了备受青睐的 Gefran显示控制器，该控制器紧凑、快速且易于维护。 该系统的15英寸新型无风扇操作面板可提供完整的 触屏控制，并且可以实时记录、监视、分析和显示压射 数据，对于设备维护人员和操作员来说使用方便。 IP LV的快速网络连接支持通过VNC进行远程控制和 操作。它的Ewon工业路由器可以由工程师在现场或远 程进行故障排除和监视，赋予工业4.0的性能，并具有 全面的数据收集和导出功能。 结论：先进的数字控制技术 林先生说：“新系统的一个很大的吸引力是整个升级 周期所需时间很短，意特佩雷斯公司预计调试和交付需 要一周时间。但实际上，项目完工仅用了5天时间。与 安装新设备相比，成本要低得多。” 由于仅升级了电气控制系统，IP750T的机械操作保 持不变。但是，升级后的控制系统可以优化旧机器的性 能，从而提高生产率和产品质量。 林先生说：“意特佩雷斯高斯的EMP满足了我们的 所有要求，事实证明，这是一种非常经济高效的解决方 案。我们对他们付出的努力以及系统升级后的性能（特 别是新的数字功能）非常满意。我们期待着还可以实现 很多年的高质量生产。” 林先生总结道：“对于运行良好但控制系统已过时的 旧设备，IP LV控制系统是一个不错的升级选择。我们现 在打算将其他三台机器也升级为IP LV控制系统。” ■

Waupaca Resists Pneumatic-Line Abrasion With Deflection Elbows 沃帕卡铸造公司的挠性弯头可避免气动传输的管道磨损 AFS Corporate Member Waupaca Foundry, a Hitachi Metals company, casts automotive, semi-truck, home-heating and agricultural parts of gray iron, ductile iron, austempered ductile iron and compacted-graphite iron in seven plants.

At Plants 2 and 3, a shared cupola furnace melts 120 tons of iron per hour. To maintain that pace, several pneumatic conveying systems are routed throughout the 665,850 sq. ft. facility.

“We use pneumatic conveying systems to move metallic additives into ladles, and transport sand and sand additives to our core rooms,” said Mike Hemmila, assistant plant manager. “We also use pneumatic conveying to transport metallic waste and waste sand back into the silos, and we use it in our dust collection systems.”

The pipelines are 2 or 4 in. (50 or 100 mm) in diameter and 30 to 300 ft. (9 to 90 m) long.

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日立金属公司的下属企业，美国铸造协会会员企业 沃帕卡铸造公司的7家工厂为汽车、二轮半拖车、家庭 供暖设备和农业机械生产灰铁、球墨铸铁、奥氏体球墨 铸铁和蠕墨铸铁的零部件。 在2号和3号工厂，共用的冲天炉每小时可熔化120 吨铁。为了保持这一水平，在665,850平方英尺（约 61860平方米）的工厂安装了多个气动传输系统。 “我们使用气动传输系统将合金材料输送到钢包 中，并将砂子和添加剂运送到芯核室，”工厂助理经理 迈克海米拉说，“气动传输系统将金属回炉料和废砂 运回料仓，并将其用于集尘系统。” 管道的直径为2或4英寸（50或100毫米），长为

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product news/产品新闻 With a near-constant stream of abrasives moving through the lines at high speed, wear is a major design and maintenance consideration. Line integrity is especially critical at the bends, where a change in direction can cause the material to impact and wear-through elbow walls resulting in blowouts.

Extending the Service Life of Pneumatic System Elbows To extend the service life of the pipeline bends and minimize downtime, Waupaca deploys deflection elbows from HammerTek Corp., Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The company’s Smart Elbow design features a spherical vortex chamber protruding from the elbow. When material passes into the elbow, part of the flow is automatically diverted into the vortex chamber, where it forms a loosely packed mass that slowly rotates in the direction of flow. This gently deflects incoming particles around the bend.

“We’ve found applications where the HammerTek elbow works really well and is the better solution [over other types of short-radius bends and 90-degree sweeps],” Hemmila said. “For the system I designed for moving waste sand, I put in the HammerTek deflection elbows because they worked really well with that particular material.”

Hemmila also noted that this system has provided reliable service since 2004.

The Smart Elbows are also suited to applications at Waupaca in which materials are diverted downward into silos and bins.

“Dead-end stops are a good application for them as the material absorbs the impact as direction changes,” Hemilla said.

We have some HammerTek 45-degree elbows that can last two years,” said Dale Harris, maintenance foreman at Plant 2/3.

According to Harris, replacing a Smart Elbow bend is a simple matter of changing eight bolts, with most jobs taking several minutes. If the leak occurs in a very high area or is otherwise difficult to access, it might take an hour to replace because of the time needed to round up a lift, hoist and other equipment.

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30-300英尺（9-90 m）。 随着近乎恒定的磨料高速流过管道，管道的磨损是设 计和维护的主要考虑因素。在弯曲处，流速的稳定性尤 为关键，因为流向的改变会导致物料撞击和磨损弯曲的管 壁，从而导致爆裂。 延长气动传输系统弯头的使用寿命 为了延长管道弯头的使用寿命并最大程度地减少停 机时间，沃帕卡公司使用了宾夕法尼亚州伯利恒HammerTek公司的弯头。该公司的智能弯头（Smart Elbow）设计具有从肘部突出的球形涡流腔。当物料进入 弯头时，部分会自动进入到涡流室中，在那里形成松散堆 积的团块，该团块会沿流向缓慢旋转，从而使进入管道弯 曲处的颗粒缓缓转向。 海米拉说：“我们发现HammerTek弯头确实表现突 出，并且是（相对于其他类型的短半径弯头和90度后掠 角）更好的解决方案。对于废砂运输系统，我们采用了 HammerTek挠性弯头，因为它们确实能很好地完成任 务。” 海米拉还指出，该系统自2004年以来已提供了可靠的 服务。 智能弯头（Smart Elbows）还适用于沃帕卡公司将物 料运输到料仓中。海米拉说：“死角制动器是一个很好的 应用，因为物料会随着方向的改变吸收冲击力。” “我们还安装了HammerTek 45度弯头，可以使用两 年，”2号、3号工厂的维修工长戴尔哈里斯说。 哈里斯表示，智能弯头（Smart Elbows）的更换很简 单，只需更换八个螺栓，几分钟就可完成。如果很高或难 以接近的区域发生渗漏，更换可能需要一个小时完成，因 为需要准备好电梯、吊车和其他设备。 ■

LXS 3D Sand Printing Realizes Industrial Application 立鑫晟3D打印砂型铸造实现产业化应用 As a company that focuses on R&D and promotes intelligent manufacturing technology, Tianjin Lixinsheng Advanced Casting Co., LTD.(LXS) actively participates and continues to advance in 3D printing, and has achieved fruitful results. On June 2, 2017, it became a shareholder of the total 12 shareholders of National Intelligent Casting Industry Innovation Center (Innovation Center); in September 2017, China Foundry Association, Innovation Center and LXS signed an agreement to prepare for the establishment of Tianjin branch; In 2018, the first 3D printing machine realized industrial application. LXS uses 3D printing sand molds to actively explore, test and produce various wear-resistant castings used in construction machinery, mining machinery and cement building machinery

作为一家研发并推进智能制造技术的集团，立鑫 晟积极参与国家智能铸造项目，在3D打印方面不断 前行，并取得了丰硕成果。2017年6月2日入股共 享国家智能铸造产业创新中心（立鑫晟研究院是12 家股东之一）；2017年9月中国铸造协会、创新中 心、立鑫晟签订三方协议筹备天津分中心；2018年 第1台3D打印机实现产业化应用。立鑫晟利用3D打 印砂型，积极探索、试验和生产工程机械、矿山机 械及水泥建材机械等行业用的各类耐磨铸件，推动

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product news/产品新闻 industries, and promote and implement the industrial application of 3D printing sand molds in the casting of high-end wear-resistant parts.

At present, LXS 3D printing machines have achieved mass production. The specific mass production process can be divided into three stages: The first stage is mainly to undertake verification of R&D product and 3D printing sand mold production for complex parts.

The second stage is mainly to optimize the casting process, reduce the sand-iron ratio by combining multiple pieces, and use 3D printing sand molds to produce more suitable products.

The third stage is to optimize the sand mold design, reduce the sand-iron ratio, reduce the cost of 3D sand molds, and use 3D printing sand molds to produce cost-effective products.

Founded in 1995, LXS is aiming to produce high-tech products and is positioned to the thought of development of high-end “three-resistant” (wear-resistant, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant) products. LXS will further realize the integration of intelligent casting units through innovative technologies such as 3D printing. ■

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和实施3D打印砂型在高端耐磨件铸造中的产业化应用。 目前，立鑫晟3D打印设备已实现量产，具体量产过 程可以分为三大阶段： 第一阶段主要是承接研发类产品验证和复杂件的3D 打印砂型制作。 第二阶段主要是优化铸造工艺、多件组合降低砂铁 比，用3D打印砂型生产比较适合的产品。 第三阶段则是优化砂型设计，降低砂铁比，降低3D 砂型成本，采用3D打印砂型生产性价比高的产品。 立鑫晟成立于1995年，走的是高起点生产“代替进 口、填补空白”的高技术产品，高定位在高端“三耐” （耐磨、耐热、耐蚀）铸造产品的发展思路。下一步， 立鑫晟将通过3D打印等创新技术实现铸造智能单元的 集成。

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| FOUNDRY-PLANET.COM | MODER N CASTI NG | CHINA FOUNDRY ASSOCIATION October 2020