Challenge
A Canadian metal casting facility had an existing rotary media drum that was due for replacement. They were looking to upgrade from their old style rotary drum to a state-of-the-art casting cleaning and de-gating technology that catered to their foundry process. What prompted them to look for a new solution was that the existing technology utilized a cumbersome cast grid liner system that was difficult and expensive to replace, as well as having a drum body that had to be repeatedly patched to stop sand from leaking all over the foundry floor.
Approach
When it came time to replace the existing drum due to wear and increased maintenance costs, they contacted GK for recommendations. The engineering experts at GK worked with the foundry production team to create a rotary solution that would cater to their demanding production schedule, reduce maintenance downtime and eliminate costly repairs. In placing the order, the customer mandated strict performance criteria, which included such items as 99.5% uptime, mitigation of jamming in the drum, and total casting damage no great than .3%.
Solution
General Kinematics provided the foundry with the DUCTA-CLEAN® DC100 Rotary Media Drum. The DUCTA-CLEAN® utilizes GK’s patent pending fabricated liner system, which utilizes a rolled high abrasion wear plate design rather than cast grid sections. This design significantly reduces replacement costs without a compromise to liner life, strength, or wear characteristics. The DUCTA-CLEAN® liner is provided in individual quadrant pieces and is held in place with clamp bars to the skin of the drum. Using this method of retention, expected installation requirements are reduced to approximately one to two shifts, allowing replacement to take place over a weekend. This liner design also eliminates the requirement to replace the entire liner system should one panel fail prematurely. By utilizing a lower vibratory conveyor for return of the fines and media rather than transferring between the drum shell and the liner, this design also eliminates costly and timely skin/shell replacement every 4-7 years like with competitive products.
Results
The customer installed the GK DUCTA-CLEAN® rotary drum into the existing space in a very short time. The engineers and service staff at GK worked hand in hand with the foundry’s team, who appreciated the high level of service and support they received throughout the process. This customer is now evaluating the GK rotary drum technology for their other facilities when the time comes to replace and upgrade their existing drums.
