Automated casting finishing cell empowers jobbing foundries.

For jobbing foundries to compete in today's global market, they must reduce labor and increase efficiencies throughout their plants. This especially holds true for the cleaning and finishing department. But until recently, few options existed for jobbers to automate their finishing systems.

Vulcan Engineering Co., Helena, Alabama, is hoping to change that with its new Foxall Automated Casting Finishing Cell, which the firm unveiled in June at GIFA 2003 in Dusseldorf, Germany. Designed for the jobbing foundry, this system incorporates full six-axis flexibility, a large work envelope and Tru-Teach programming software to clean both ferrous and nonferrous cast components.

The finishing system has two basic machine types. The 424FS has a work envelope of 610 him diameter x 380 mm height with a 45 kg part weight limit and a spindle of 15 kW. The 636FS has a work envelope of 915 mm diameter x 380 mm height with a 91 kg part weight and a spindle of 30 kW.

In production, the casting is either manually or automatically secured into a fixture on the system's turntable (an optional high speed turntable is available for higher part throughput). Once the casting is secure, the turntable rotates 180 degrees to bring the casting and fixture inside the enclosed system for access by the finishing robot. The system's future has a 90-degree rotator that allows the robot complete casting access during finishing operations.

Before the casting was brought inside the finishing cell, a bar code reader already had scanned the code on the fixture for the cast component that directs the robot to the proper finishing program to upload. The robot then selects the proper grinding wheels, cutting discs, etc. for metal removal and proceeds with the job. When the finishing process is complete, the turntable rotates back and the casting is either manually or automatically unloaded from the fixture.

To program the finishing cell, the system has been designed to maintain a high uptime through the Tru-Teach software. Available for online and quick offline programming, the system enables the operator to trace around a fixture-mounted-casting prepared to the required grinding standard with a six-axis CMM arm fitted with a replica tool (including a cut-off disc, parallel or tapered burr, disc, wheel, etc.). During tracing, the program automatically records the tool's coordinates and orientation and generates the predetermined point increments along the prescribed path. Once the path is traced, the fixture is given a name and bar code for production purposes. For production, the software automatically generates the finishing program and stores it until the bar code is scanned to pull it up.

The finishing system can store up to 12 tools, and automatic tool changer receptors allow the robot within the cell to select the appropriate tool as designated by the programming for each job. The system's high-speed, two-position turntable fitted with two 4-position rotating part fixtures provides high work access times by allowing the castings to be picked and placed while the machine is in operation. The software ensures that the correct cutting speed is used for each tool by controlling the motorized spindle speed.

The finishing system is designed to accommodate several tooling types, including plated super abrasives for ductile and gray iron and copper-base alloys, tungsten carbide tipped blades and cutters for aluminum and copper-base alloys, and standard bonded abrasive wheels and discs for steel and gray and ductile iron.

Select No. 044 at www.moderncasting.com/info

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