Services of AccuAluminum

DC Billet Casting Audits and Defect Troubleshooting Visits

Declining casting performance is caused by everyday interactions and changes within the DC Billet Casting process. To troubleshoot why there is a high scrap rate it is recommended that R. J. Collins do a 5 day independent casting audit. The objective of this audit is to cast as many of the most difficult billet sizes and alloys as possible. It is also recommended that the Accu-Test Billet Mold Testing System be onsite and used to test all of molds before the actually casting audit begins. From each cast the scrap data is analyzed and compared to the mold testing results to determine if there is a mold problem, a table position problem or a randomly occurring problem. From this data key learning’s are developed and documented in a trip report of what the long and short term recommendations are to be able to achieve:

  • Maximum billet recovery.
  • Keeping the consumable and operating costs as low as possible.
  • Maximum billet production and productivity improvements in the shortest possible time frame.

R.J. Collins Incorporated holistically troubleshoots all aspects of the casting process that includes:

  • Mold tooling design, consumable life and maintenance.
  • Casting machine equipment design, layout, and maintenance.
  • The 3 key aspects of water quality.
  • The 4 key aspects of metal quality.
  • The casting pit and mold room knowledge, motivation, and training.
  • One of the most important, most overlooked and the last thing to do is – optimize the casting parameters.

R. J. Collins uses a team approach to collect and analyze the casting data. This way key learning's and action plans are developed and implemented with buy-in from the operators as it will make their jobs easier and motivates them.

Accu-Guide™ Proactive Billet Defect Troubleshooting Program (Coming Soon)

Accu-Guide™ is proactive billet defect prevention and troubleshooting program that includes hardware, web based software and expert technical services. It is based on forty years of casting experience and clones how R. J. Collins troubleshoots casting problems 24/7. To assist casting operators, the system coordinates information collected from the casting pit, mold shop, billet inspection and ultrasonic inspection station using a user-friendly drag and drop data entry program on a rugged touch screen computer. The Accu-Guide™ system monitors for billet defects, mold performance, number of casts made, consumable usage and SCADA data analysis to proactively and automatically provide feedback to the casting operators of what steps to take place in order to fix a casting defect. It also coordinates with the mold shop personnel what maintenance should be done on a mold once it is removed from the table or what preventative maintenance should be done to the table at the end of the casting campaign. This program also includes a web-based operator defect prevention training program that ensures every operator gets the very best training and support 24/7. Finally, it ensures continuous improvement with quarterly analysis of all process data such as graphite ring testing, SCADA data and casting pit data to look for defect trends. From this analysis, recommendation and program upgrades will be coordinated with your technical staff for implementation and follow-up. Accu-Guide™ is for all companies who want world class billet quality and recovery. It includes a 3 phase product implantation for the first year and site license and maintenance fees in the following years.

Plant Site Hands-On Expert Operator & Mold Room Training Program

R. J. Collins offers a tailor made operator training and casting support program that is focused on billet defect prevention. It is based on many years of experience using the R. J. Collins approach to critical issue training for both, the casting pit operators in each stage of the casting process and with the mold shop personnel. The training uses Microsoft Power Point class room presentations combined with interactive hands-on training in the casting pit and the mold shop.

Other Technical and Consulting Services

  • Mold tooling installation, retrofit supervision or mold table start up assistance.
  • Optimize casting parameters after casting is stabilized from retrofits or defect troubleshooting.
  • Provide expert new alloy casting recipe development.
  • Provide casting pit mass balance modeling and/or scrap rate reduction cost savings analysis for cost justification. For examples click on Mass Balance Model or Cost Savings Analysis for more information or contact info@accualuminum.com.
  • Vendor proprietary casting trials for new product innovation, design and development.