 Tapping of molten aluminium |
 Computational Fluid Dynamics used for optimization of the furnace |
The best technologies to be used in today's optimized production process are those that combine efficiency with the careful use of resources. Current developments from StrikoWestofen for light metal casting fill that need. Significant advances when building furnaces with regard to energy consumption and the yield and quality of metal can only be achieved when the appropriate engineering tools are used for designing the furnace geometry in addition to the most modern refractory and insulating materials.
The engineers at StrikoWestofen have significantly increased the efficiency of the well-known STRIKOMELTER by considering the furnace body, the fire-proof lining and the design of the burner as an integral system. This was achieved through designing a furnace based on a simulation of the thermal transfer using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) as well as finite element method (FEM) calculations for the steel structure.
The changes made to the aluminium shaft melting furnace extend deeper than its external appearance. While the overall height has remained unchanged, the energy consumption of the entire process has been reduced considerably more in comparison with the familiar STRIKOMELTER through the ETAMAX system, which utilizes waste heat.
Sustainability and the careful use of resources first become apparent when the entire service life of the furnace is considered. This is why StrikoWestofen completely reworked the furnace lining, resulting in significant improvements in terms of higher mechanical loads and in the insulating materials that are used. As a result, customers can book considerable savings in operating costs as well as a longer service life and lower costs for repairs.
As yet another innovation, StrikoWestofen has introduced a modified WESTOMAT dosing furnace, which now provides the greatest process reliability when casting thin-walled structural components. With their growing use in the chassis and body field, the demands placed on metal dosing systems in terms of dosing accuracy, casting temperature stability and metal quality are also increasing. The Westomat®, with an extended feed tube, meets all of these tough requirements. The pure metal is drawn off below the surface of the bath and is dosed into the filling chamber of the diecasting machine without turbulence. Contact with the oxidising atmosphere is reduced, metal reactions and oxidic inclusions are virtually excluded: these are the requirements for cast parts that have the necessary toughness and strength. And to accomplish this, the closed, electrically heated dosing furnace requires only 30% of the energy consumed by bale-out furnaces.
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GIFA
Hall 11 Booth C50
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| Striko Westhofen GmbH is a leading manufacturer in melting furnaces, for further information and contact dateils click here: Striko Westhofen GmbH |
