Ajax Foundry Case Story - DISA MATCH 130
The Ajax Foundry in Sydney, Australia, makes a wide range of quality ferrous castings for general machinery and engineering components, pumps and valves. In December 2007 the Ajax Foundry decided to replace one of its Hunter moulding machines with a DISA MATCH 130.
DISA MATCH improves environment and efficiency
Environmental issues such as noise, emissions and health and safety are important issues for the Ajax Foundry, which is situated in a suburb to the west of Sydney. When the time came to consider the replacement of one of the two existing matchplate moulding machines, on which the foundry had based its production for many years, the DISA MATCH was an obvious option.
Environmental issues
“Moulding machine technology has come a long way in the last 10 to 15 years, especially
for foundries like us who make a wide variety of castings in shorter runs. We had been happy with our old moulding machine, but were now looking for a more ambitious solution that would address several important issues at once,” says Ajax Foundry Director, Anthony McKelvey.
The environmental aspect was an important one for the Ajax Foundry. Noise and dust always make it difficult to reconcile an iron foundry with urban surroundings, and the foundry’s two Hunter moulding machines lacked the technology to meet modern environmental standards.
In-chamber spray
“Our quality policy dictates the use of modern technology and the credentials of the DISA MATCH made it impossible to ignore,” Anthony McKelvey states. “The first thing you notice about the DISA MATCH is the compact and attractive design with a hidden promise of advanced technology. One of the major advantages for us in this respect was the closed system with the spray inside the moulding chamber. This contrasted with the open spray of the Hunter, helping to make a very significant improvement to the working climate.”
Reuse of pattern plates
“The new DISA MATCH 130 Moulding Machine was installed during a one week shut-down in September 2008. It is located in the same place as its predecessor beside the remaining old matchplate machine where it serves the same cooling line.
Higher speed and precision core setting
“One striking difference between the DISA MATCH and the replaced moulding machine is speed with the DISA MATCH performing at a constant 150 moulds per hour without
cores, against just 80 from the other machine.
Another speed-related issue was core setting. “One of the reasons for going with the DISA MATCH was the automatic core setter which ensured precision core setting and enabled us to maintain a constant 120 cored moulds an hour,” says Anthony McKelvey.
Flexibility and lower costs
Speed is not everything however. The DISA MATCH can produce a wider range of castings with the Quick Matchplate Change Unit enabling rapid changeover between runs. The lack of mismatch of the DISA MATCH means a significantly reduced finishing requirement leading to savings in production costs. Another area in which the DISA MATCH has delivered significant cost savings is in metal usage.
Engineering support
DISA engineering experts from Denmark provided a detailed layout and supervised installation on the spot to make sure that the new plant came on line on time. In addition, DISA also assisted in handling the integration between the existing sand plant and the DISA MATCH in order to ensure optimum mould quality.
Superior quality, lower costs
Several months after the DISA MATCH came on line, Ajax staff and operators can stand beside the new machine and savour the low noise level and clean working environment. “We are getting the output and castings quality we were promised. Both are far superior to what we were used to on the old machine. And on top of that we are realising considerable savings in finishing and metal costs, our customers are happy and so are our employees and immediate surroundings.
Our new DISA MATCH is performing well and we are extremely satisfied with it.”
DISA is well represented in Australia by Machinery Forum who assisted competently in every step from concept to commissioning.