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Casting a new chapter

By Niranjan Mudholkar,

Added 10 May 2014

India’s the largest machine tool group ventured into the foundry industry to complement its core business and to have better control over processes with improved reliability

According to B Raghavendra, Director and VP, Finance, Ace Designers Ltd, "The foundry is capable of manufacturing good quality castings from anywhere between 100 kilos and 2,000 kilos on a fast loop line. They will be available both in gray casting iron as well as SG iron. Eventually, it will also be possible to produce up to 6,000 kilos of on-floor mould. Use of advanced simulation software will ensure reduced machining costs. Value will also be provided through improved surface finish, reduced rejections and improved delivery as a result of the fast loop line."

To achieve this vision in the long run as well as the near future, the foundry is being readied to be made into a world-class facility. Mechanical reclamation and thermal reclamation systems are in place. Once the sand goes through mechanical reclamation, it will be reclaimed once more through the thermal reclaimer at the rate of five tonnes per hour. "The thermally reclaimed sand will essentially be as good as new sand. In fact, the reclamation systems will make sure new sand requirement will be less than 10 percent as against the usual 30 percent," points out Raghavendra. The sand plant at the new foundry comes with silos - so that sand can be separated based on whether it is reclaimed or not. The reclamation process will enable the re-use of almost 95 percent of the total sand used originally. From the safety standpoint too, the sand reclamation plant is world-class. The silos come fitted with anti-explosion and anti-implosion valves.