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Case Studies

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Case Study: Rotary Drums Done Right

 by General Kinematics,

Challenge

A Canadian foundry had several rotary drums in their facility and were looking to update one of their rotary drums. Their application required careful handling of intake manifolds, yet needed to be aggressive enough to leave a clean casting surface with no damage.

Approach

The foundry had existing General Kinematics conveyors, feeders, and other vibratory machines, but no GK rotary drum technology. In order to “see the difference” between GK rotary and other rotary designs, site visits were coordinated to other foundries where a GK media drums were installed. This customer was already very knowledgeable about rotary drums, and these visits showcased and confirmed the key advantages found in GK rotary technology.

 

BEFORE CONSTRUCTION AFTER

 

 

Solution

Looking at the process and application, General Kinematics proposed their DUCTA-SERIES™ XL media drum, which uses a vibratory conveyor instead of the drum shell to return media to the inlet of the drum. This design was preferred because there would be no wear on the drum body itself, eliminating possible leaks and replacement down the road.  The GK liner system could easily be installed in one shift with two men, meaning more uptime for the foundry. The old drum that GK replaced required a three day shutdown and a professional crew to replace the entire drum liner. (The foundry estimated a $50,000 loss a day for the lost downtime.)

Results

With a superior unit and four year warranty on the liner life, the foundry selected General Kinematics to manufacture the rotary drum. They recognized the GK liner system would provide a superior level of wear characteristics compared to the old ductile liner alternative, all while providing greater assurance of uptime and ease of maintenance for the foundry.

 

Update: After experiencing the benefits GK’s rotary technology brought to their foundry process, this customer has subsequently installed two more GK rotary drums in their facilities around the world.

 

For more information about General Kinematic’s foundry equipment and rotary drums, visit our foundry page here. If you have a project in mind, contact the General Kinematics team today!

 

 

General Kinematics Corporation, incorporated in 1960, was established to market, design, and custom fabricate innovative vibratory equipment for the foundry, recycling, mining, and processing industries. Today the company continues as one of the world’s largest suppliers of vibratory processing equipment and has evolved into an industry-leading EPC firm. Headquartered in Crystal Lake, IL, General Kinematics has seven global locations providing engineering and support to a world-wide customer base. GK is a third generation, family-owned company and is ISO 9001 certified.