In today’s increasingly competitive casting market, keeping costs down is crucial to long-term success. In the equally competitive labor market, skilled and even semi-skilled labor is at a premium price. Moreover, the safety and health of your workforce is of paramount concern. Now more than ever, foundries must decrease the labor required to prepare castings for shipment. In addition, today’s stricter quality standards dictate greater part-to-part consistency and tracking capability. Vulcan’s Automated Casting Cleaning Systems answer the call.
By working closely with the customer, we analyze the castings that are most conducive to automated cleaning and then identify where the greatest labor savings can be realized. We then determine the equipment needed to properly process the castings, recommending either flexible or fixed automation.
Flexible Automated Casting Cleaning Systems
Flexible Automated Casting Cleaning Systems are best suited for the majority of today’s foundries, where the ability to adapt to changing demands is crucial. By taking advantage of the speed and flexibility of industrial robots, we create work cells that are capable of performing diverse processes on a wide range of castings. Changes in casting design are easily accommodated by modifying the robot program and (perhaps) changing some relatively inexpensive tooling. This approach minimizes investment in fixed tooling, while utilizing flexible multi-use equipment:
Robots
While we can use virtually any make of robot the customer prefers, we specialize in integrating ABB industrial robots. As an ABB Flexible Automation Certified Systems Integrator, Vulcan is best suited to supply robotic systems with minimum cost and lead-time, thus superior value. ABB specifically meets the stringent demands of foundry automation with a line of true foundry-duty industrial robots. These robots offer an impressive combination of speed, precision and reliability, even in the harshest environments. When used to handle castings through cleaning processes, their function can easily be expanded to include sorting, palletizing, automated inspection, etc.
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Robotic cutting is faster, cleaner and safer than manual cutting. We manufacture a line of cutting equipment designed specifically for foundry robotic service.
Grinding equipment
Robotic grinding has several advantages over manual grinding, including reduced part temperature, increased abrasive life, less part-to-part variation and greater safety. We manufacture a line of grinding equipment designed specifically for foundry robotic service.
De-flashing and de-burringequipment
We offer a variety of fixed and compliant tools for removing fins and burrs from even the most complex casting shapes.
Trim presses
While trim presses are more typical of fixed automation, they are often an excellent addition to a robotic cleaning cell. We offer hydraulic trim presses complete with precision-made tooling, designed and manufactured in-house for maximum value.
 Other equipment
For maximum efficiency and savings, we recommend performing as many operations as possible while the casting is inside the robotic work cell. Castings can be inspected or gauged, using nondestructive testing (NDT) methods such as Vision, Ultrasonic Testing, Eddy Current, hardness testing, etc. They can be marked, washed, coated, painted… or processed in virtually any way desired while the robot has control of them. The castings can exit the cell by chute, belt conveyor, overhead conveyor, basket/tub, pallet/carrier, or virtually any means imaginable.
With several divisions specializing in different areas of expertise, Vulcan is ideally positioned to offer complete flexible automated cleaning systems, acting as a single-source manufacturer, supplier and integrator.
 Fixed Automated Casting Cleaning Systems
Fixed (or “hard”) automation is typically best suited for extremely high-volume production where shear production rate is of higher concern than flexibility or adaptability. Vulcan offers custom-engineered solutions to meet practically any cleaning requirements, for castings weighing from ounces to hundreds of pounds. With the capability to perform all engineering, manufacturing and testing in-house, Vulcan Engineering has superior control over the complete automation project, offering minimum lead-time and maximum value. |
