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  1. Shakeout

The Challenge of Cooling Castings Without 400 Feet of Conveyors

Jan. 28, 2015
A foundry with no options for layout redesign comes around to a vibratory solution Saving installation, maintenance costs Built-in sand collection 8X smaller footprint

Does your foundry have the available space needed to cool finished casting effectively using conveyors? How about the proper ventilation for such an installation? Are there elevation restrictions?

General Kinematics has a process available to handle the problem, and a single machine that will address the design dilemma. The SPIRA-COOL® vibratory conveyor can replace up to 400 feet or more of traditional vibratory
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system installed to cool and convey castings. This saves costs for metalcasters in the initial installation (i.e., the foundation) and in the maintenance requirements.

Capable of handling heavy, fragile castings, the SPIRA-COOL’s patented air-chamber design cools castings efficiently and quietly, and the vibratory design shuffles castings in an oriented path with no damage to the products. The SPIRA-COOL design incorporates abrasion-resistant 400 Brinell steel troughs, SYNCRO-CUSHION® drives and GK motors.

In addition to all of this, sand collection is built into the deck and sand is returned to a single vibratory sand-removal conveyor.

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The SPIRA-COOL can conserve space in the workplace by reconfiguring casting cooling conveyers, which also reduces the costs of foundation and maintenance requirements.

GK’s SPIRA-COOL is able to operate with one-fifth of the horsepower that competitive designs require. And, the patented two-mass design of GK’s SPIRA-COOL means no vibration will be transmitted into surrounding areas of the operation.

In addition to the design advantages, once in operation the system maintains travel rates that are simple to control with a Velocitrol control and frequency invertor.

In process … performance.  Recently one foundry approached General Kinematics with the following dilemma: they needed to process and cool their castings, but could not accommodate any re-design to the existing plant layout. Also, they needed to reduce excessive environmental issues related to vibration transmission they were experiencing with a vibratory unit of an alternative design.

GK engineered and designed a SPIRA-COOL that, on analysis, reduced the previous footprint requirements by a factor of eight. The vibratory casting cooling spiral produced very efficient heat transfer by containing ventilation to work area, instead of redirecting it across the entire plant.

In addition to the design advantages, GK delivered the new SPIRA-COOL within six months of the order.

In summary, the new conveyor design completely dampened the environmental impact of the cooling process, and reduced re-work requirements — and therefore product costs.

Claude Hutchens is the foundry industry manager and Amy Donahue is the marketing coordinator, both for General Kinematics. Visit www.generalkinematics.com

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