THIRTY FIVE YEARS OF DISAMATIC ACHIEVEMENT

  José Oliveri, Lingotes

The Lingotes foundry purchased its first DISAMATIC 2013 moulding machine 35 years ago in order to take advantage of the combined quality and cost-effectiveness of the vertical green sand moulding process. Since then, the foundry has acquired four additional DISAMATICS together with a DISA FORMA horizontal moulding machine. And for more than 30 years, DISA has provided applications support in order to optimise castings quality and yield at Lingotes.

Located north of Madrid in Spain on the road to Burgos, the Lingotes foundry employs a total of some 480 people primarily in the production of components for the automotive and electrical appliance industries. Annual revenues are some h70 million with 80% of the annual output of 90,000 tonnes being exported to other EU countries.

“The two vital competitive parameters in our industry are quality and price,” says José Oliveri, director of the Lingotes foundry. “This means that we must combine consistent production of high-quality castings with productivity. DISA engineers and technicians have helped us regularly over the years with applications support and training to ensure that we always get the best possible quality and yield from all of our DISA equipment. At one time we had a DISA applications engineer assigned to us for a series of visits totalling sixteen weeks to assist us in optimising our castings processes.”

From horizontal to vertical moulding

The Lingotes foundry was one of the first to see the performance benefits offered by the DISAMATIC vertical moulding principle. The first vertical moulding machine a DISAMATIC 2013, which was  installed in 1968. The vertical technology was so new back then that it was a revolution. Looking back, José Oliveri remembers the challenge of training people to think in a completely different way. “Working a DISAMATIC requires different skills and a different mindset,” José Oliveri explains. “The DISAMATIC involves less physical work and less intervention from the operator. So in addition to training our operators in the new technology, we also had to get them accustomed to leaving all the hard work to the DISAMATIC! DISA technicians looked after this for us during installation and made sure that we were 100 per cent ready to start full production from day one.” Improved sand quality means higher earnings One of the essentials at the very start of the line is to ensure correct and consistent sand quality in order to optimise mould stability and avoid scrap. “Mould stability means higher throughput and less scrap,” explains José Oliveri, “and that means higher value and bigger earnings. As a supplier to the automotive industry, we are extremely aware of the importance of consistent and stable moulds, not only as far as our own earnings are concerned, but also because of the safety aspect. Over the years, DISA has provided on-site advice and support in sand preparation for a variety of castings applications, enabling us to produce consistently at high speed with high mould stability and very low scrap rates.”

New gating system led to dramatic reduction in scrap

Brake discs are one of the main applications at the Lingotes foundry. In spite of optimised sand preparation, however, the foundry was still experiencing high scrap rates after machining. When called upon to investigate, DISA applications engineers suggested a new hybrid gating system. “The new gating system immediately brought about a dramatic reduction in scrap rates,” José Oliveri relates. In fact, scrap rates dipped below 1 per cent after the introduction of the hybrid gating system.

Pattern plate design enhanced cylinder liners castings quality

Another casting made at the Lingotes foundry is cylinder liners for small engines. The pattern plate contains as many as 36 patterns and the foundry was experiencing problems in moulding the deep pockets. “Actually, the solution was fairly straightforward,” José Oliveri explains. “The DISA application engineer who helped us with this problem had the benefit of years of  experience at other foundries who had faced similar problems. He arranged for the installation of more suitable vents and also ensured that proper venting channels were provided on the back of the pattern plate.”

Optimising the DISA 230

The latest moulding machine from DISA to be installed at the Lingotes foundry is a DISA 230X. After an initial period of production, the foundry production team realised that they could achieve higher throughput and less scrap by modifying the sand filling system. “This was an example of how experience and expertise gained over the years through our close relations with DISA enabled our own people to come up with a successful solution,” José Oliveri explains. In fact, the modification to the sand filling system resulted in a 50 per cent decrease in downtime together with a reduction of scrap down to 1.5 per cent. “The thing about DISA applications people is that they don’t just work for you. They also work with you,” says José Oliveri. “And that means we learn as well. In the long run that is the best possible way of adding value to a customer’s processes,” he concludes.

LINGOTES
Spain DISA Industries A/S
Herlev Hovedgade 17
DK-2730 Herlev
Denmark