Lodge Cast Iron in South Pittsburg, TN, plans to install the first DISAMATIC D5 vertical molding machine in the U.S., an investment that also will include Disa’s Monitizer digital process control platform, including an Artificial-Intelligence-based too, Monitizer | Prescribe. It will be the sixth automatic molding line for Lodge, which is already pouring 70 million lbs/year of iron at five Disa lines installed at its two foundries.
The D5, introduced in Germany earlier this year, offers faster throughputs, higher yields, and greater uptime than the previous D3 model. It is offered in three mold sizes up to 650x850 mm and 500 mm thick. The D5 has three speeds of operation, up to 450 uncored molds per hour, and combines premium mold quality with speed, short-run flexibility and minimum maintenance, according to the developers.
The new Disamatic D5 is scheduled to start up at Lodge by Spring 2022.
Lodge plans to implement Monitizer | CIM module across all its lines to improve process automation and recipe management, along with Monitizer | Global for data collection, data visualization, real-time monitoring and alerting. Monitizer | Prescribe will be introduced as a single-line pilot, to maximize casting quality.