Posted by Andy Marin on | Comments Off on Case Study: Vacuum Impregnation Enables Continuous Production
The Albert Handtmann Metallgusswerk GmbH is the largest lightweight (aluminum) foundry in Germany. The family-owned company has continually endeavored to improve its casting and machining processes to benefit its customers worldwide.
Thus, when Daimler AG awarded Handtmann a contract to cast and machine one third of the entire worldwide production of transmission cases and clutch housings for the Mercedes A-Class, B-Class, CLA-Class, and GLA-Class vehicles, the managing directors and board at Handtmann saw an opportunity. It was an opportunity to build a world-class production facility fully dedicated to automated one-piece flow in the complete machining and post-machining processes of these Mercedes cases and housings.
The Challenge
As a company, Handtmann was expert in almost all of the production processes required as part of this new facility. However, in order to achieve true one-piece flow, Handtmann had to bring inside a critical aspect of quality control that the company had previously hired out, vacuum impregnation.
In the past after machining, Handtmann had always sent out its transmission cases and clutch housings to vendors to be vacuum impregnated. The company’s experience here was not always pleasant. At external points parts have been damaged during transport or contaminated. To avoid additional handling and costly washing-process, they decided to integrate this process into the (manufacturing) line.
For Handtmann, the challenge was to quickly educate its executives on the detailed aspects of vacuum impregnation, then chose the proper vacuum impregnation equipment to install. This equipment would have to meet Handtmann’s demands to seal casting porosity effectively and to meet production volumes, to do so in a 96-second per piece TAKT time, to fit into a confined space on the facility’s floor, and to fully integrate within the automated processes that would govern the entirety of the plant.
The Solution
Since several of Handtmann’s vacuum impregnation service providers also build impregnation equipment, the company began by soliciting bids from these traditional sources. However, it was apparent immediately on receipt of these bids that the equipment proposed could not possibly be installed as part of a one-piece flow manufacturing line. The big batch systems that were recommended require parts to be manually loaded and unloaded and they carry a high risk for damage and contamination to the machined parts. They require significantly more TAKT time to complete the impregnation process. They also require a tremendous amount of floor space, for both the equipment itself as well as for loading and unloading areas. Hence, the big batch systems proposed early on were completely disqualified. Handtmann needed more advanced technology. Enter Godfrey & Wing.
By chance, a Handtmann engineering executive came across an article about a different process of vacuum impregnation called Continuous Flow Impregnation written by Ralf Versmold, Godfrey & Wing’s sales and service director for Europe based in Germany. As the name itself indicates, Continuous Flow technology was developed by Godfrey & Wing to answer the demand for the vacuum impregnation process to be fast, efficient, and capable of being installed as part of a machining line where floor space is limited.
The Results
After visiting several CFi installations in 2012 and learning firsthand from Godfrey & Wing customers about the effectiveness and efficiency of these CFi systems, Handtmann purchased a multi-station CFi from Godfrey & Wing in early 2013. The system was installed in Handtmann’s new Mercedes one-piece flow manufacturing facility in Biberach, Germany in late 2013 where it operates alongside machining centers, parts cleaning equipment, and pressure test benches in a fully automated environment. This CFi includes a compact impregnation pressure vessel, a high-speed centrifuge, a wash tank, and three cure stations, all serviced by a robotic arm and automated conveyors. Six days per week, 24 hours per day, this CFi vacuum impregnates every transmission case and clutch housing that fails its initial pressure test.
In Summary
Considering the four demands required of it– speed, efficiency, and total automation within a small footprint, Godfrey & Wing’s Continuous Flow Impregnation system has proved to be the perfect solution for Handtmann Metallgusswerk in its dedicated Mercedes machining facility. Today, this CFi plays an integral role in the manufacture of these transmission cases and clutch housings and it does so in one of the most advanced manufacturing facilities in the world.
Production manager Heiko Pfeiffer sees a huge cost/handling and thus competitive advantage due to the direct automatic integration of the CFi-technology. He confirms, that the CFi-technology is actually the only possibility to integrate the impregnation-process into the manufacturing-process within a modern production-environment.
Sealing equipment specialist Godfrey & Wing has a contract to supply its HVLV vacuum-impregnation system to SEW-Eurodrive, to seal diecast aluminum motor and gear components at its operation in Fordach, France. SEW is a developer and manufacturer of decentralized motor control technology. It also produces large industrial gearboxes, with helical, bevel helical, and planetary gears.
The system will be installed next year. According to Godfrey & Wing, the order also includes its 95-1000AA recoverable sealant and ongoing techni cal support.
Also, according to G&W, the contract resulted from SEW-Eurodrive’s plan to move its vacuum impregnation processes in-house. In-house production will reduce freight costs and production delays that necessitated by outsourcing the part-sealing stage of production.
Posted by Andy Marin on | Comments Off on Article: Vacuum Impregnation Enables Lightweight Material Use
Godfrey & Wing has published an article in LightWeighting World titled “Vacuum Impregnation Enables Lightweight Material Use”. This article discusses the surge in aluminum use and how vacuum impregnation eliminates aluminum casting porosity. You can read the entire article below.
Recent decades have seen a surge in use of aluminum castings in car manufacturing. Aluminum has been a key material in car manufacturing since the beginning. The first sports car featuring an aluminum body was unveiled at the Berlin International Motor Show in 1899. Carl Benz developed the first engine with aluminum parts two years later1. Since this time, aluminum has become the leading material used in various components and car models. Aluminum use now ranges from mass-market to luxury vehicles.
As this surge has happened, vacuum impregnation has become the primary method to eliminate the porosity inherent in aluminum castings. OEMs are redesigning parts and bringing vacuum impregnation systems in-house to meet the aluminum use demand.
Posted by Andy Marin on | Comments Off on Do Vacuum Impregnation Sealants Melt?
A question that is often asked is “Will the sealant used in vacuum impregnation melt?” This is asked by those who’s castings need to withstand heat. In this blog, we will answer this question.
The short answer is no, Godfrey & Wing sealants do not melt under standard operating temperatures. Impregnation sealants are based on polymethacrylate plastics. There are two types of polymethacrylates: thermoplastic and thermoset.
Thermoplastic
A thermoplastic is a polymer that softens on heating and hardens on cooling. Common thermoplastics are polyethylene and polystyrene.
Thermoset
A thermoset is a durable plastic that once formed or molded, retains its form and shape even if heated or subjected to various solvents. Vacuum impregnation sealants are thermoset.
Comparing Thermoplastic to Thermoset
These two types of plastic are both called polymers. Polymers (“poly” = many from Greek) are very large molecules comprised of smaller molecules called monomers (“mono” = one). Most polymers consist of monomers that are similar to each other, joined together in a straight chain, like a strand of spaghetti. However, chemists have learned to link these chains together, called “crosslinking”. Chemists crosslink thermosets in a 3D network to prevent them coming apart when heated or exposed to aggressive liquids.
Looking at the pictures above, a simple way of understanding this is to imagine a thermoplastic polymer is like a bowl of spaghetti. If you are really careful, then you could separate all the individual strands or chains. This is what happens when a thermoplastic is heated –the chains separate and flow. In the thermoset example, this is impossible.
Sealants are Thermoset Plastics
The crosslinked methacrylate polymers used in impregnation sealants can often withstand temperatures over 392 °F (200 °C). The sealants can also withstand aggressive fluids such as hot automotive fluids without degradation. As a result, vacuum impregnation is the preferred method to seal casting porosity. It is the simple and permanent solution to porosity.
Posted by Andy Marin on | Comments Off on Types of Vacuum Impregnation Processes
Vacuum impregnation in metal castings and powdered metal parts refers to the sealing of leaks resulting from porosity. In this post, we will discuss in detail one of the selection variables, the three different types of vacuum impregnation processes.
Posted by Andy Marin on | Comments Off on Continuing Advances in Vacuum Impregnation Systems
Godfrey & Wing has published an article in Foundry Management & Technology titled “Continuing Advances in Vacuum Impregnation Systems”. This article discusses the manufacturing safety and manufacturing production advancements in vacuum impregnation equipment. You can read the entire article below.
Posted by Andy Marin on | Comments Off on Video: How Godfrey & Wing’s Equipment Works
Godfrey & Wing’s vacuum impregnation equipment is the best in the world. The equipment re-imagined vacuum impregnation by making it safer, increasing production and eliminating casting defects. But how exactly does it work? Watch this animation video.
Posted by Andy Marin on | Comments Off on Understanding the Vacuum Impregnation Process
Vacuum impregnationseals porosity and leak paths in metal castings and powdered metal parts that form during the casting or molding process. The process is done by filling the pores with a sealant under pressure to stop fluids or gases from leaking under pressure. Vacuum impregnation stops casting porosity and allows manufacturers to use parts that would otherwise be scrapped.
Posted by Andy Marin on | Comments Off on Why Use Dry Vacuum Pressure Impregnation?
To say that all vacuum impregnation processes are equal would be to say that every die casting process is the same. Nothing could be further from the truth. The vacuum impregnation process will have a direct impact on the sealing quality.
Posted by Andy Marin on | Comments Off on Porosity Classification System Helps Determine Solutions to Casting Leaks
Water, as we all learned in basic chemistry, exhibits a unique phenomenon: as it solidifies, it expands. For other liquids in our physical world, solidification results in just the opposite: shrinkage.
