Automatic Molding Machine Improves Productivity.

Elkhart Brass Manufacturing Co., Inc., Elkhart, Indiana, has achieved increased productivity, improved quality and reduced downtime with the installation of Roberts Sinto's FRO III flaskless molding system in January 2000.

"We worked closely with Roberts Sinto on making some changes on the machine...tailored to our needs," said Elkhart Co-President of Manufacturing and Personnel Hans Ashbaugh. "These changes have made it easier to handle our larger molds. We worked together to find the root of the problem, and Roberts Sinto's engineers and fabrication staff then worked out the final design and actual hardware. Working together on this project helped reduce our downtime by 90% compared with some of our other older molding machines." Since the system was installed, the foundry has operated the machinery for more than 100,000 cycles without visible wear.

Foundry operators were trained in a few days to operate the system, which features touch screen controls. "The new touch screen controls have made a real difference in many areas," Foundry Manager Dennis Grenier said. "They have helped speed up production by making it much easier for the operator in both startup and repeat patterns. It also was easier to train operators because the screens led them through each step of the production process."

The system has allowed the foundry to achieve more than a 90 mold hardness consistently across the cope and drag, improving the casting finish, according to Grenier, who added that the foundry has seen no mold shift on the system, leading to the better quality finish necessary for the firefighting equipment castings it produces.

From a productivity standpoint, the foundry has increased castings per mold by 2-3 times, Grenier said. "Our original goal was 700 molds/8-hr shift," he said. "We haven't reached that quite yet, but when we have all of our production functions working in sync, I feel we can reach that goal. Our cycle time now is 30 sec with no cores."