Case History 15

ALUMINUM FOUNDRY

Ontario, Canada

Casing Diameter: 12 inches
Elevation: 36 feet
Rate per hour: 27 tons
Material: Silica Sand
Temperature: 900°F

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

A manufacturer of cast aluminum engine blocks for the automobile industry sought to replace an existing pneumatic conveyor used to return hot foundry sand to a cooler. Their existing pneumatic suffered from chronic wear issues that resulted in the release of silica sand inside the plant when conveyor piping wore through due to abrasion of the hot sand. Maintenance costs to keep the conveyor running were unacceptably high. Electric costs from running a dedicated 100 HP blower were also excessive.

The plant operates 24 hours per day, 7 days per week and has two 1-week scheduled plant shutdowns per year.

An Olds elevator was installed in January 2014. Due to the extreme temperature, the elevator is designed to accommodate thermal expansion of the lift tube and static screw of up to 4 inches without mechanical interference. It has since operated for every minute of the plant's production time requiring no maintenance or service in over 1 year. There have been no breakdowns or lost time due to the Olds elevator. Annual maintenance costs have been reduced from $45,000 to $0.00. Electrical costs have been reduced by 83%.

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