CPT International 02/2021

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MACHINING An electronically controlled coolant supply ensures the temperature stabilisation of the workpiece and the tool and takes care ofswarf removal. Die casting foundry invests in machining Expanding value creation in the lockdown While the lockdown in Italy saw many companies struggle, atraditional foundry in the Italian region of Lombardy used the involuntary break in production to establish a mechanical manufacturing facility. Infuture, the rough cast parts will no longer need to leave the factory to be finished —instead, they will be finished on-site using two Heckert machining centres. By Nikolaus Fecht, Gelsenkirchen Photos: STARRAG/RALF BAUMGARTEN Acompany‘s choice of pictures can often tell you something about the company itself –and this is also the case in Bedizzole, not far from Lake Garda. In the conference room of Industria Metalli, there is apicture titled „Obiettivi“ (goals). The picture shows ahiker standing on amountain top, gazing at afar-off mountain range. The caption also sounds exciting: “Look to the future and then look even further ahead.” While hikers can simply enjoy the view, looking ahead is vital for companies such as Industria Metalli as its customers come from the automotive sector –one of the most demanding industries. The company specializes in vehicle components, from supports and brackets through toall manner of housings. With ahigh level of vertical integration, each year the factory produces more than five million cast aluminium parts for 160 customers around the world using 8,000 tons of secondary aluminium. The medium-sized company from Lombardy generates 40 %ofits turnover from the automotive industry, around 30 %from commercial vehicle manufacturers and around another 30 %from agricultural technology companies. Learning from the automotive industry During the tour of the large factory premises, Fausto Becchetti, Managing 10
Director and co-owner, explains to us that he learned alot from his previous work on the automotive sector management team at ABB and the process-oriented thinking that this required: The factory is divided into three production cells and follows similar principles. All of the production areas are connected digitally via amanufacturing execution system which controls the entire manufacturing process in real time. Every production step is carried out inaccordance with Toyota‘s Poka- Yoke principle, which detects and prevents faults. It is supported by aproduction-oriented and seamless quality assurance system, which is based on the strict requirements of IATF 16949 (International Automotive Task Force). In the factory, the former ABB manager proudly points to one of the four gas-operated furnaces in the first production cell. „The aluminium immediately reaches the ideal processing temperature of 700 °C, at which point it becomes fluid“, explains Becchetti. „The next steps are degassing and transport“. In the meantime, the manufacturing execution system fully automatically organizes just-in-time transport and assigns adriver via the digital network. The forklift truck is located nearby and features atablet that informs the driver which furnace to collect the crucible from and which of the 16 robot-assisted high-pressure die-casting presses in the second production cell is waiting for the liquid aluminium. Not far from Brescia, the second largest city in Lombardy, Industria Metalli has used the involuntary break in production caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to establish amechanical manufacturing facility. The first step is the melting process, which heats the secondary aluminium up to the ideal processing temperature of700 °C, ready for the die-casting presses. Outsourcing slows down the flow of materials Like most firms in the industry, the company has so far relied on outsourcing: After the die casting process, the components have anear-net shape and therefore have to be taken to anearby workshop to be finished. Outsourcing INDUSTRIA METALLI SRL, BASED IN BEDIZZOLE The foundry has around 100 employees and manufactures components weighing between 0.5 and 30.0 kg using the aluminium high-pressure die-casting process, all on aproduction area covering approximately the equivalent of eight football fields. The product range includes housings for steering systems, gears and oil filters, supports, brackets, lighting fixtures and much more. The second-generation family-owned company oversees the entire production process, from the melting of the secondary aluminium (around 8,000 tons per year), degassing, high-pressure die-casting, heat treatment, shot-blasting, deburring, mechanical processing and assembly, all with ahigh level of vertical integration. The quality control process spans the entire company, from the incoming goods department with aquality control laboratory that analyses aluminium alloys using aspectrometer, to the X-ray machine for detecting blowholes and the expensive 3D coordinate measuring machine. This „cultura di qualità“ is the result of quality management certificates received for compliance with IATF 16949 (International Automotive Task Force) and ISO 9001. Due to its sustainable, low-emission production, the company has also received ISO 14001 certification. www.industriametalli.it leads to an increase inlogistical considerations and cost, while quality decreases. For example, small air pockets known as blowholes can occur in cast parts, but these are often not detected during X-rays and are only picked up during final machining. The late detection of these blowholes by external companies results in significant delays to the production process and increases the cost enormously: There is no immediate quality check after high-pressure die-casting on the machine tool. The result: The process chain becomes slower and the part has to be melted down and poured again. These bottlenecks were athorn in the former manager‘s side. The turning point came with the arrival of anew project manager, who had worked as amachining specialist in the automotive industry and who recommended purchasing afive-axis Heckert X40 and afour-axis Heckert H40 to assist the establishment of a CASTING PLANT &TECHNOLOGY 2/2021 11
Page 1 and 2: www.cpt-international.com WITH SUPP
Page 3 and 4: EDITORIAL Innovative spirit and dig
Page 5 and 6: CONTENTS INTERVIEW Hannes Erger suc
Page 7 and 8: the same time, we see agrowth in no
Page 9: Iron Melting Conference& Exhibition
Page 13 and 14: One of the 16 high-pressure die-cas
Page 15 and 16: The leading English-language trade
Page 17 and 18: Figure 1: Illustration of the energ
Page 19 and 20: As aresult, the melt does not have
Page 21 and 22: Table 1: MAXImolding has many advan
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Page 25 and 26: a b Figure 1: Real casting and subs
Page 27 and 28: AUTOMATION PHOTOS AND GRAPHICS: AUG
Page 29 and 30: Figure 3: Separate discharge of cor
Page 31 and 32: nally bonded wheels to Foundry Xdia
Page 33 and 34: Digitalization actually only become
Page 35 and 36: now. While it was initially ademand
Page 37 and 38: of the upper moving mechanism of th
Page 39 and 40: The serpentine curved flow channels
Page 41 and 42: NEWS ASK CHEMICALS Hubert Windegger
Page 43 and 44: ENEMAC Manufacturing of steel parts
Page 45 and 46: O.M.LER Rotating decoring machine T
Page 47 and 48: and afocus on lightweight castings.
Page 49 and 50: SUSTAINABLE FUTURE IN METAL CASTING
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CPT International 02/2021

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