REIS ROBOTICS - REIS-CASTline

RKM Series Tilting casting machine

RHD Series Casting machine

Casting system with Reis Linear Robot - synchronous pouring into tilting casting machine

With the take over of the Senator Technology casting machines established on the market Reis Robotics has been completing the Castline automation program for the gravity die casting field since spring 2011. The gravity casting and tilting casting machines broaden the product range of Reis. The vast modular system for gravity casting and tilting casting machines allows composition of casting machines with customer-specific configurations. The state-of-the-art and proven control technique and the hydraulics correspond to the requirements for energy-saving equipment. All the casting machines are built in the Obernburg facilities so that the complete foundry competence of Reis is focused at one place. The first machine with the new features was delivered to a customer in May 2011. New developed machines could already be seen live at GIFA 2011 exhibition.

Very often, casting machines are specific solutions for the requirements of an individual customer. With the take over of the casting machinery development and production Reis now uses its know-how also here for developing individually adapted solutions on the basis of standardized products and modules. "For many years Reis has been acting as system supplier and has brought together products of other manufacturers into an integrated automation solution," says Rudolf Brand, sales manager for foundry applications at Reis. "Our customers can achieve even higher Return on Investment in the highly competitive markets if they use the already integrated, adapted automation concept CASTline from Reis. Beginning with foundry-specific removal and casting robots via trim presses and now also casting machines Reis covers all application tasks on the gravity die and die casting field after the melting furnaces. From process simulation and visualization via follow-up processing to the cell control and quality assurance Reis now offers its own fully integrated solutions. Or in other words: "From liquid aluminum to the component ready for operation."

Gravity casting and tilting casting machines

Many foundries are in fierce, sometimes international competition. Therefore from the commercial point of view it's a matter of getting maximum productivity from the systems used in order to survive. High flexibility of the foundry systems therefore is a basic requirement for fast reaction to the desires of the market. Reis attaches special importance to designing solutions in such a way, that they can be adapted to the new requirements and also can grow with them. Manual filling of the gravity dies therefore is also possible, like all intermediate steps to the completely automated cell requiring only little intervention by personnel. Therefore, for the most part different arrangements are realized according to customer's request - e.g. with a rotary table or in linear form.

An elegant, safe and energy-efficient solution for very special parts is the KM series of tilting casting machines. Software-controlled tilting movements ensure a defined mold filling and thus less oxide inclusions and blowholes in the casting. Every Reis tilting casting machine allows a defined mold filling with optimum casting from the top requiring small feeders and in all helps minimizing the circulating material to 10 to 20 percent. In comparison with that the gravity casting requires up to 100 percent circulating material. A benefit of the Reis tilting casting machines, not least because of rising energy costs, is that less material in all needs melting.

A typical tilting casting machine like the RKM4 is provided with the following functional components:

• Tilting frame swiveling the complete closing unit for filling of the gravity die
• Main closing unit with ejector/core pull cylinder
• Stationary clamping plate with core or ejector cylinder or alternatively second closing unit, with ejector/core pull cylinder combination, too.

Further core pull cylinders are possible as option in the front, at the rear, at the top, and at the bottom. Flexibility at Reis also means that for example the tilting casting machines even in the basic version are prepared for mounting of core pulls in all directions. An advantage is that they need not be flanged to the gravity dies and can remain at the casting machines for setting operations. The standardization with a standardized assembly kit allows for models with clamping platen sizes of 300 x 400 mm to 1,200 x 1,200 mm already from the regular product program.

They cover casting weights up to 100 kg. If dimensions shall exceed this, Reis can also develop, based on the standards, individual solutions according to the instructions of the caster.

For a flexible production it is helpful if operation and programming of the system is done fast and safe. Reis therefore generally focuses on an intuitive control that is easy to understand.

With pictograms, softkeys and a syntax check during input, new process controls are quickly built up and possible errors are eliminated in good time. CASTcontrol reads in the prepared data such as calculated die filling characteristic line and ladle characteristics and hereof automatically generates the robot control with the movement program for casting of the components. The software application CASTassist completes process monitoring with current actual values of the process and casting data. The experience of the caster, of course, is used for optimum casting. In addition, he can correct the prepared program manually.

"Green" foundry

A special challenge was to bring control technique to the latest state-of-the-art. Michael Bartel / Technical Consultant and sales foundry application said: "It was a matter of concern for us to control a complete system - including the casting machine - without any interface problems. All components including the peripheral equipment now run via the proven Reis software. In addition, it was imperative to do more for the energy efficiency in a market extremely depending on energy costs."

The goal of Reis is to consider all automation systems in foundries as a whole and critically with regard to their consumption and then to optimize them as full system. A Reis robot for example operates as an energy manager because its control represents the most intelligent system in automation technique. The robot for instance switches off a casting machine - compared to the standby operation - if not required in the production process. After this, the robot starts the wakeup phase in good time in order to exclude production delays.

The comprehensive energy-saving efforts from Reis start even earlier, because one issue, at the very beginning of the casting process, must not be underestimated. The temperature could be lowered easily for quite a few pot furnaces without affecting the safety of the process. Practical experience proves this. For example, if in aluminum casting the temperature is just lowered by 40 °C, the energy consumption is reduced by more than 50 percent! Further costs can be saved if the robot control closes the pot with an inexpensive, tilting cover for the time when nothing is taken out. Consumption lowering from 90 kWh at the beginning to approx. 20 kWh thus has been realized with minimum expenditure. At GIFA Reis demonstrated further savings possibilities live.

Result

With the program extended by casting machines Reis now covers the complete casting process after the molten metal. The complete integration of all machines and peripheral equipment in a central control not only optimizes the process regarding the speed, but on top of it reduces the probability of faults and in all allows a more efficient handling with the energy used. Thus, the comprehensive solution statement also helps optimizing the operating costs of international foundry clients in the long term. Foundry never can be totally "green", but intelligent solutions result in very high saving potentials.

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