Case Study of Cupola Foundry in Howrah Hand Moulding to Mechanisation Presented by Rahul Paul Calcutta Ferrous Ltd, Howrah
Our Concerns
Meeting Production Targets • Orders available but could not deliver with hand moulding set up in given time line. • Long manufacturing cycle – 120 days from order to despatch Reduced availability of Skilled Workforce • New Generation moving to better environment jobs • Skill pool available reducing for hand moulding
Increasing Demand for Better Quality by Clients • Need to improve surface finish, dimensional stability and weight consistency to meet the competition
The Transformation Setting the road map for Howrah Foundries The Typical Hand Moulding Foundry in Howrah
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/26/nyregion/26manhole.html From online report
High Pressure Moulding with Mould Bank
Aug 2016 @ CFL, Howrah
Plant Elements Tooling •Pattern Making shifted to VMC (high quality, high productivity and accurate tooling) Cupola Melting •Adapted existing melting capacity with right balance of mould bank and box size Mechanised Moulding •MultiflexFM® High Pressure Moulding Machine with automated track & trolley, punch out (Highly Energy Efficient) –FM 2 Rhino Mahines. •Pneumatic Simultaneous Moulding Machine with automate d track & trolley, punch out –SAMPA 900. Sand Handling System •rEcoFlex® Sand Handling System with Mixer-Cooler & Online Sand Control (Highly Energy Efficient) •Fully automated and with Centralised PLC Control •Automated additives dosing Pouring System •Crane & Hoist with Geared Pouring ladles with minimum human fatigue matching cupola continuous operation
Notable Milestones in Implementation
Plant Installation Order to Production – 365 Days in Howrah’s difficult conditions
Production Achieved from 30% utilisation to 90% from March 2016 to Jan 2017 (11 Months)
Despatch Cycle – Achieved the target of 45 Days Order to Despatch against 120 Days a huge impact in customer satisfaction and business cycle.
Insights of Plant Deliverables, Space & Productivity
Production Capacity in EXISTING Area of 26,000 sq ft • Increased from 75 MT/month to an Installed Capacity of 700 MT/Month • Approx 9+fold increase in production in same area • Production increaased from 2.9 kg/sq ft to 26.9 kg/sq ft
Liquid Metal Melting Cpaacity in MT/man/month for the same product mix • With a team of 99 persons per shift, from management to dispatch the avg production is 7 MT/man/month • Only 35 persons in Sand & Moulding to pour 700 MT/Month
Process Benefits Improved Weight & Dimension Consistency • Weight Variation as Measured: • Hand Moulding 5% to 13% • Simultaneous Jolt Squeeze – 1 % to 4% • High Pressure Moulding – 1% to 2% • Fettling activities were reduced saving direct metal loss and cost of material removal manpower & consumables Improved Surface Finish • Sand Sticking reduced • Reproduction of small lettering, and clarity of casting improved .
Intangible Benefits Change in Manpower Skill Needs • Working with mechanised & automated plant the skill needs shifted from domain specific skills of moulding to generic skills of operation & maintenance • The pool of persons available has increased Better Working Conditions – OHSAS Compliance • Change from Dark Dusty & Dirty Foundry Conditions to Lighted, Dust free & much cleaner foundry environment.
Conclusions and Project Recommendations Actual Achievement
Achievable Benchmarks
Achievable Benchmarks
700 MT LM/Month
400 MT LM/Month
200 MT LM/Month
Space (Melting to Despatch) 26,000 sq ft
13,000 sq ft
6,000 Sq ft
Time 150 Days
Time 150 Days
Target Cost/ Project
Target Cost/ Project
Rs 4 Crores
Rs 2.5 Crores
Time 365 Days Cost – Rs 10 Crores
Our Recommendations to Evaluate before Going Ahead with Project Tooling, Correct Box Sizes, Infrastructure, Production list FootNote Our project is planned for 12 hours working – the provision to increase production 2 times is available subject to govt regulations. Having reached 90% of Planned Capacity – we are already planning for our next expansion.
Thank You