KOVIS choose Sinto USR-II unit as most reliable system on the market to bring green sand back to core shop

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Foundry Corporate News Topic Full-mould casting Topic Machine mould casting Topic Moulding

23. January 2024

The Slovenian foundry Kovis Livarna d.o.o. decided on a mechanical regeneration system from HWS for the regeneration of green sand with a capacity up to 5 tones per hour. The reclaimed sand will use again in the core shop as a replacement for new sand. This saves significant amounts of new sand.

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Trendsetting: Reclamation of used sand secures the future of the foundry site

Heinrich Wagner Sinto Maschinenfabrik GmbH (HWS) is one of the leading international suppliers of machinery and equipment for the foundry industry and part of the Sintokogio group of companies with its headquarter in Japan. The company employs more than 300 skilled workers at its site at Bad Laasphe. The focus is on the manufacture and sale of moulding machines and moulding plants as well as pouring units for sand and die casting. The portfolio is supplemented by machines and plants for the mechanical reclamation of used sands in green sand foundries.

Mechanical reclamation by friction – USR-II

The HWS sand reclamation unit type USR-II (Ultra Sand Reclaimer) with a processing capacity up to 5 tonnes of used sand per hour with one unit, forms the heart of a HWS reclamation plant for green sand foundries. It provides efficient cleaning based on a friction process with high flexibility with regard to used sand composition and quantity. The process can be individually adjusted with a view to high reclaim yield (ratio of input quantity to output quantity) for both easy and demanding used sands to be reclaimed. An important feature is the gentle friction from grain to grain, without additional friction tools (see Fig. 1). This largely avoids grain breakage and keeps wear on the sand grain low.

Fig. 1: Reclamation process USR-II, Fig. 2: Workflow and machine overview USR-II

HWS test plant for sand reclamation

In its in-house test plant, HWS offers interested foundries the opportunity to convince themselves of the efficiency of used sand reclamation. With the USR-II machine in a near-series design, reclamation tests can be carried out under conditions that are similar to production. The focus here is on determining the suitability for reclamation and the process parameters for the conceptual design of an overall plant.

Fig. 3: Pictures of used sand and reclaim after testing

Reclamation of used sand instead of landfilling

Is the reclamation of used sand a real alternative to landfilling? Many foundries have to ask themselves this question. In case of suitability for reclamation, individual concept planning in cooperation with the process supplier and an economic analysis for the overall investment, reclamation can be a real alternative. For this, a sustainable cost reduction must be guaranteed. Other effects, such as the conservation of natural resources and the improved CO₂ balance of the plant, also contribute to increased sustainability and should be taken into account in the decision-making process for investment approval. Reclamation must already today be included in the strategy for securing the long-term future of our foundries in Europe. With its own reclamation process and technical center, HWS offers a full service to successfully address this issue.