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Foundry Products

Caterpillar | Mapleton, IL

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General Information:

The Caterpillar Mapleton Foundry began operation in 1978. They are a high production shop specializing in gray iron castings, primarily engine blocks and heads, for heavy industrial and power generating applications. The foundry uses a wide range of sand binder technology including Phenolic Urethane No-Bake, Phenolic Urethane Cold Box, Epoxy Acrylic Cold Box, Hot Box, Shell, and Furan No-Bake.

Chemical Binder Systems Used:

  • Phenolic Urethane No-Bake
  • Phenolic Urethane Cold Box
  • Epoxy Acrylic Cold Box
  • Hot Box
  • Shell
  • Furan No-Bake

Casting Metal Types:

  • Gray Iron

Melting Facilities:

  • 2-5mw Electric Arc Furnaces
  • 2-65 ton Induction Furnaces

Sand Facilities:

  • Core Processes
    • Epoxy Acrylic Binder
  • Molding Processes
    • Green Sand
    • Phenolic No-Bake

Cleaning Facilities:

  • Tumbleblast
  • Auto Grinding

Heat Treating:

  • Stress Relieve

Project Objective:

  • Improve Process Repeatability
  • Reduce Environmental Problems
  • Improve Machine Productivity

Original Problems:

  • Inaccurate/inconsistent vaporizing of SO2 liquid
  • Adding excess SO2 for the process
  • High PPM exposure levels in coreroom

Solution:

MT Systems' vaporizing and blending system was installed.

Number of SO2-N2 blending systems installed - 2

Goals: Better cores and less SO2 residual in cores

Number of Core Machines - 15

Results and Benefits:

  • Reduced average SO2 Levels
  • Reduced core scrap
  • Increased productivity by reducing purge time
  • Lower environmental PPM exposure levels
  • Better scrubber efficiency
  • Ability to change gassing pressure at each machine
  • Consistent gas pressure through entire cycle
  • Better gas flowability through cores
  • Built in reliable safety features
  • State of the art process control

Monetary Savings/Payback/Justification:

  • Better competitive position in the market place
  • Improved environmental exposure levels
  • Increased machine productivity
  • Lower air compressor energy usage
  • Lower purge cycle times