Excellence in energy efficiency.

Wisconsin state energy efficiency program recognises foundry for outstanding commitment to saving energy

Emerson's Appleton Group iron casting facility has received a 2025 Energy Excellence Award from Focus on Energy®. The award recognizes companies in that US state that go above and beyond basic energy efficiency solutions, both within their own organizations and those they support. As one of 11 recipients, the South Milwaukee foundry proves how energy-efficient industrial facilities can reduce costs, contribute to a healthier environment and strengthen local economies.

“Emerson's foundry shows that even energy-intensive operations can be leaders in energy efficiency,” said Erin Soman, managing director of Focus on Energy. “This award isn’t just about saving energy – it’s about people coming together to think differently about how we use energy and what that means for Wisconsin’s future.”

LtoR: Doug Presny, CleanTech Partners; Joe Pater, Wisconsin Public Service Commission; Paul Kling, Focus on Energy; John Schuster, Emerson; Bob Axtell, Emerson; Bill Bolhuis, Franklin Energy; Chris Larson, Chris Jansen, Wisconsin State Senator, District 7; Jim Garbowski, WEC Energy Group. 

Focus on Energy is the statewide energy efficiency and renewable energy program for businesses and residents in Wisconsin. It offers a range of rebates and incentives for energy-saving technologies as well as services that help organizations reduce energy use and costs.

The Appleton foundry, which manufactures electrical fittings, enclosures and other cast products for electrical infrastructure, has worked with the Focus on Energy initiative since 2017. In that time, the partnership has made it possible for the foundry to identify, evaluate, design and implement many successful energy efficiency and utility cost-savings projects.

These updates include new controls on its makeup air units, the replacement of channel furnaces with cordless induction melting furnaces and the replacement of over 800 fluorescent lights with Appleton industrial LED fixtures. Combined, the energy improvements save the facility over 10,000 megawatt-hours (MWh), 65,000 million British thermal units (MMBtu) and $1 million in energy costs annually. The team also identified nearly $350,000 in energy-related incentives throughout this period.

The foundry team’s commitment to optimizing energy efficiency has cut the facility’s total energy consumption and emissions by about a third since 2017, drastically reducing its own emissions and operating expenses. These reductions are especially significant given that the century-old foundry had been among the largest energy-consuming facilities across all of Emerson.

“The Energy Efficiency Excellence award highlights the dedication of our team to improve our own environmental impact, support our cost reductions in Wisconsin’s energy system and work with external organizations to move toward a more sustainable future,” said John Schuster, plant manager at Emerson’s discrete automation business. “What we've achieved in South Milwaukee is a success story for the Emerson portfolio, as well as for the castings industry overall. It’s an honor to be acknowledged in this way.”

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• See also: Innovative BMS at foundry recognised. (20/6/1025)

@AppletonEC @EmersonExchange @Emerson_News @focusonenergy #Energy #Sustainability #USA 

Foundry temperature measurement.

Atik Metal the foundry industry leader, has approved AMETEK Land’s Cyclops L portable pyrometer for use in its furnaces, with the aim of replacing its traditional dip thermocouple instruments.

Prasath Venkatasamy, AMETEK Land’s Regional Manager of Business Development and Service for the Middle East and India, commented: “As a leading foundry company, Atik was looking to make sure its processes and systems were first-class, which led to implementing the testing of Cyclops. We’re pleased to see that the results are unquestionable – using Cyclops leads to improved quality and a reduction in defects. Most importantly, it increases safety for furnace workers.”

Atik was using dip thermocouples to take measurements at the furnaces, casting lines and pouring lines, collecting temperature data at each part of the casting. However, the company wanted to assess the Cyclops for its suitability to improve quality, reduce casting defects and costs, and minimise the use of the short-lived dip thermocouples.

The Cyclops L is a portable handheld optical pyrometer that delivers instant temperature measurements using a trigger control. It can be aimed at the area of focus on liquid metal by looking through an eyepiece.

In order to carry out the required tests, Atik used the Cyclops L to measure temperatures in the melting furnaces and moulding plants, evaluating the pyrometer’s ergonomics, accuracy of data transfer, and ease of use.

To calibrate and compare, Atik measured temperature with both a dip thermocouple and the Cyclops. The measurement time for a dip thermocouple was 13-14 seconds. The Cyclops, meanwhile, only took 1-2 seconds.

The Cyclops measurement testing was also carried out without the need to open the furnace lid, and directly measured from pouring metal. With a range of up to 5 metres away, this provided a much safer environment for the workers.

An additional benefit of using the Cyclops L is that, unlike thermocouples, it does not use disposable tips that need replacing, thereby allowing for successive measurements.

Following the assessment, Atik Metals has approved the use of Cyclops L in its furnaces.

 @landinst @codacomms #Pauto

Wireless safety foot switches.

To avoid failures during routine work due to hot metal splashes that damage the power or signal cables, a wireless safety foot switch using Steute “sWave 2.4 GHZ-safe” technology has been chosen. It greatly increases reliability while being easy to install and flexible.

The foundry profits from a longer lifespan
of the foot switches because there are no
longer cables which can be damaged
by hot metal splashes.

Foot switches are standard control elements in many metalworking enterprises. Operators have both hands free to start or stop a machine or drive. Because foot switches can be placed anywhere on the floor, they also offer a high degree of ergonomic comfort.

Foot switch advantages
It is precisely these advantages which a light metal foundry in Switzerland is currently exploiting. It manufactures high-quality cast aluminium parts, amongst other things for electrotechnology, railroad engineering and machine building. Machinery at the foundry includes tiltable gravity casting machines which were previously operated via cabled safety foot switches. These machines perform dangerous (tilting) movements during casting.

The search for an alternative
The switches repeatedly failed during routine work because hot metal splashes damaged the power or signal cables. In their search for an alternative, the technical management at the foundry came across a wireless safety foot switch which had just come onto the market and which communicated with the evaluating unit in the control cabinet via a safe wireless protocol.

New: wireless protocol for safety applications
This series of switchgear is the first to work with the safe wireless protocol “sWave® 2.4 GHz-safe” developed by steute. This wireless system uses the physical layer of standard IEEE 802.15.1. Due to a high level of reliability which is guaranteed, amongst other things, by the FHSS (“Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum”) procedure on 79 channels and by the adaptive frequency hopping procedure, as well as to a very good coexistence with other wireless systems, it is especially suited to use in rough industrial environments. The transmitter/receiver system – as is to be expected from safety applications – is fundamentally designed as a two-channel system.

Several safe foot switches can work in parallel within one radio range. The power supply is battery-based, creating the conditions necessary for a highly accessible bidirectional radio connection. The system, consisting of the wireless foot switch and the receiver unit, is EC type examination tested and in Performance Level (PL) d according to ISO EN 13849-1, as well as Safety Integrated Level (SIL) 2 according to IEC 62061.

“Misappropriation” for new technology
The wireless safety foot switches were originally developed for special operations, such as the “setting mode” or “process monitoring mode”. Here the machines can still be operated in compliance with the standards, with opened guard doors and reduced speed, as long as the user actuates the pedal and keeps it depressed in the middle position.

A test at the foundry quickly showed, however, that the safety foot switch could just as effectively be used in this application. By doing away with the cable connection, the lifespan of the foot switch in this environment increases significantly. Ergonomic comfort is also improved because there is no cable to get in the way.

All steute foot switches are renowned for their ergonomic design. They are also extremely stable once positioned, which for this type of switch is an important criterion for ergonomic and intuitive operation. The metal housing can withstand a high degree of mechanical wear and tear and, like the high-quality switching inserts, makes for a long lifespan, even in rough ambient conditions – in foundries and elsewhere.