Overview:
ATHI has successfully completed the installation and commissioning of an EPC production line in Russia that is designed to manufacture precision castings for agricultural machinery. This project highlights ATHI’s technical expertise and commitment to quality. The team followed the client’s requirements meticulously throughout the entire process—from design and delivery to on-site installation—ensuring an efficient and timely execution. The client has praised the project, which is further enhancing ATHI’s international presence.
Project Features:
The project utilises Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) patterns, replacing traditional moulds. The EPS pattern is embedded in unbonded sand within a flask and compacted via vibration, securely encapsulating the pattern. Molten metal is poured into the mould under negative pressure, and upon contact with the high-temperature metal, the EPS pattern decomposes and gasifies, leaving minimal residue. The cavity left by the pattern is then filled with molten metal. After cooling and solidification, the casting is removed by displacing the sand.
Production Line Composition:
Lost Foam White Zone Process
This includes the pattern manufacturing section and the pattern assembly & coating drying section.
Lost Foam Black Zone Process
- Molding Section: Comprised of one molding line and one flask return line, with a total of 25 sand flasks. It is equipped with a 3D vibration compaction table.
- Vacuum and Negative Pressure System: Includes a 2BE water-ring vacuum pump, a dust filter, a pressure stabilization tank, a water tank, and vacuum docking equipment.
- Sand Handling Section: Composed of a hydraulic flask turnover machine, a fluidized cooling bed, and a bucket elevator. Multiple sand storage silos are included to facilitate full-line sand recycling.
- Melting Section: Consists of three steel-shell furnaces, two sets of medium-frequency induction power supplies, two capacitor cabinets, and two closed-loop cooling towers.
- Control System: The entire production line is governed by a PLC-based fully automated control system, allowing seamless switching between automatic and manual modes.
Production Line Advantages:
- Cost Efficiency: Using foam patterns instead of traditional molds reduces material waste, offering significant cost savings.
- Design Flexibility: Can produce complex castings with intricate geometries, such as cavities, thin walls, and irregular structures, that are challenging for conventional processes. The integrated pattern design reduces the need for post-processing and assembly.
- High Dimensional Accuracy: Achieves a tolerance grade of CT6~8, surpassing the precision of traditional sand casting methods.
- Environmental Benefits: The process eliminates the need for chemical binders, and sand handling is entirely pollution-free.
- Shortened Production Cycle: The rapid pattern fabrication process reduces the design-to-delivery cycle by 30%-50%, enabling faster project completion.
