Complete control for your sand preparation

The quality of sand treatment only becomes fully clear if the electrical equipment is correct. Recognition of technical procedural requirements is primary – what does the sand need? For every treatment step in the sand circuit, the correct design concerning measurement, regulation and control technology must be implemented.

The reclaimed sand from the shake-out station is highly inhomogenous, highly tempered and dessicated. For the next passage through the moulding plant, it must be once again restored to the equivalent condition; the treatment steps particularly in the cooler and the mixer assist with this. Special homogenisation strategies help to homogenise it.

Cooler and mixer control systems with their moulding material inspection units and binding agent control systems are integrated. Moulding plants must be supplied with a sufficient quantity of the sand appropriate for the casting process, automatically triggered by fill level indicators. Dosing in accordance with the formulation and early supply are required. When two batches from several moulding plants with different sands are fed in, they must not be mixed. The whole process must be fully visualised. Important measurement values are integrated into the overview image, which also represents the operating status of the assembly units. Reliable and secure unmanned operation is essential; monitoring and default settings take place when the moulding plant is completely controlled.

Process technology and implementation in the management and assembly of the electrical control cabinet (power unit) form a single unit. Electrical control cabinets with sufficient dimensions meeting the current security requirements and equipped with the latest technology are a necessary element. Failsafe controls are today required of modern technology for more flexible design. Electronic protection components for small consumer goods extend the service life, as switch contacts are not subject to wear.

All circuit diagrams are also provided in digital form to the electrician on site, and therefore the corresponding pages in the circuit diagrams are simple to locate using search algorithms. This simplifies matters significantly compared to handling heavyweight files with hundreds of pages.

The latest PLC technology such as the S7 1500 from Siemens are integrated into the ethernet and communicate with decentralised units. This basic structure permits use by remote maintenance from the office in Braunschweig, to provide important assistance if problems occur.

All elements relating to sand preparation are integrated into the overall design within the complete control system. It is not only the important cooling, dosing and mixing assemblies that are operated by the control system, but also the conveyor assemblies for used sand and moulding sand.

All the measurement technology is implemented in the control system via the ethernet in order for the measurement values and settings parameters to be transparently available through the network.

Safe and reliable operation requires comprehensive fault monitoring, which will provide notifications and reactions on a timely basis to avoid damage involving long periods of downtime. Fault monitoring either takes place via external systems such as speed monitors or misalignment monitors for conveyor belts or internally by monitoring the time between the start and end of an operation.