Pyrometer saves costs in iron foundry.

One of the leading foundries in Germany, Hundhausen Casting GmbH – a member of the Beinbauer group – specialises in the production of cast iron parts with nodular graphite. Its high-quality products and first-class service are designed to meet the demands of renowned customers from the automotive, mechanical engineering, railway technology, and hydraulics sectors.

The company was looking for a reliable temperature measurement solution to be installed at its Schwerte foundry to support high product quality while reducing lifetime costs. The automated mould tapping processes used at the foundry require accurate, consistent measurement of the temperature of each part tapped in moulds to ensure continuous quality control of the process and documentation for each casting part produced (reformatted).

Dipping thermocouples traditionally used for these measurements contributed significantly to ongoing operational costs, and do not take into account temperature variations during tapping, or time differences between the thermocouple measurements and the tapping. The thermocouple readings were accepted for several taps over longer time periods, not detecting any temperature differences during this time interval.

Additionally, the company was seeking a way to capture the continuous data that would allow it to optimise the automated process and further improve quality.

To address the needs of the Schwerte foundry, AMETEK Land supplied the SPOT+ MM Application Pyrometer, a smart, non-contact infrared thermometer specifically designed to measure liquid metal temperature in foundry tapping applications.*

With an intelligent integrated Meltmaster (MM) application mode and optimized signal processing functions, it provides a single-sensor solution for liquid metal and tapping stream temperature measurements, overcoming the challenges caused by the continuous surface and condition changes common to those applications.

The SPOT+ MM is easily integrated into new and existing process control systems, enabling the operator to monitor and control the tapping process in real time. Analog and digital communications can be used, including worldwide leading and essential cybersecurity features. By using the SPOT+ MM application pyrometer at their Schwerte foundry, Hundhausen saw a rapid return on investment.

Jonas Störmer, Electrical Engineer at Hundhausen Casting GmbH, said: “By purchasing the SPOT+ MM pyrometer, the liquid iron temperature measurements using dipping thermocouples can be mostly omitted, which results in cost savings.

“In addition, we now receive continuous casting temperatures in our casting process, building the basis for process optimisation and quality improvements.”

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* The Case study (pdf) maybe viewed and downloaded here!

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