CN105517732B - Method for operating a metal foundry, system for carrying out the method and metal foundry comprising the system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a method (200) for operating a metal foundry (2), in particular a green sand metal foundry (2), to reduce the environmental impact of the operation of the metal foundry. The metal foundry (2) includes at least one metal casting machine (10), such as at least one of a vertical green sand molding machine (30), a mold conveyor (50), a vibratory shakeout machine (60), or a sand cooler (70). The at least one metal casting machine (10) generates at least one environmental disturbance when used for the operation of the metal casting plant (2). The method (200) comprises the steps of: obtaining at least one measurement value (210) of the at least one environmental interference; obtaining at least one instruction (220) for the at least one metal caster based on the at least one measurement, the at least one instruction configured to cause the at least one environmental disturbance to be reduced; and operating the at least one metal caster (10) using the at least one instruction (280). The at least one instruction is preferably obtained using a look-up table or function based on the at least one measurement value. A system (100) for carrying out the method and a metal foundry (2) comprising the system are also provided.

Description

Method for operating a metal foundry, system for carrying out the method and metal foundry comprising the system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method of operating a metal foundry, in particular a green sand metal foundry, and a system for performing the method. The invention also relates to a metal casting plant comprising such a system.

Background

Techniques for automation of foundry operations are well known. US5125448 discloses an automatic casting apparatus in which information about the characteristics of each individual mould is sensed in a moulding machine and used in a downstream pouring unit for controlling the pouring of molten metal to the mould to which the information relates. This information is disclosed as being related to the following factors: the type of mold, whether the core has been placed in the mold, whether the mold is properly secured, and whether the mold is otherwise unsuitable for casting. This information can be used to control the pouring unit to position the pouring nozzle appropriately relative to the mould, or to not pour the particular mould to which the information relates. Information about whether a particular mould has been poured and about the weight of that particular mould is then provided by the pouring unit and used to control a water feed unit for ensuring the appropriate amount of water in the moulding sand leaving the extraction station where the mould is dismantled.

The method described in US5125448 neither minimizes nor measures the environmental disturbances caused by the cast house operation, but merely focuses on ensuring fault-free operation based on information about the characteristics of each individual mould.

Furthermore, WO89/09666 discloses a method and an apparatus for evaporative casting. The evaporation model is positioned in the container. The molding medium is compacted around it and the container is positioned under the casting unit. When molten metal is poured into the vessel and the mold is evaporated, the gas generated by the mold is evacuated using a vacuum pump. The pressure within the vessel is measured by a pressure probe and used to control a trim valve and vacuum buffer vessel connected to the pump. The flow rate of the molten metal is controlled by controlling the pressure. The method described in WO89/09666 neither minimizes nor measures the environmental disturbances caused by the operation of the foundry.

KR20120055925 discloses a local ventilation apparatus and a multi-hood local ventilation method for moving air pollutants.

DE102009031557 discloses a method for collecting heat from a continuous casting process using a heat exchanger.

In recent years, metal foundries have become increasingly more concerned with environmental disturbances that are interrelated with foundry operation, with increasing emphasis on challenges in today's society, and with the need to provide a comfortable environment for the workers of the metal foundries.

Some of the most relevant environmental disturbances related to the operation of metal foundries include air pollution, CO₂(carbon dioxide) emissions, heat, noise, energy, water consumption, and waste products such as waste molding sand, waste bentonite clay, and discarded castings. The waste molding sand and the waste bentonite clay cannot be recycled and must be discarded.

In addition, scrap also includes parts that are not part of the final casting but are formed in the runners and risers, i.e. accumulations in the mould, which are used to ensure proper casting and solidification of the molten metal and to ensure that they separate from the casting once it has separated from the mould.

In addition, the raw materials for metal foundry operations (which may be considered as environmental disturbances) include metal consumption, fresh sand and fresh bentonite clay consumption, consumption of any additives used to form green sand, and consumption of compressed gas or steam to run the machine or provide heating.

Each of these environmental disturbances involves one or more unit operations in the metal foundry. As an example, green-sand casting molding (in which a mold or a pattern made of sand is used) widely employs unit operations of supplying green sand, forming the green sand into a green-sand mold, pouring molten metal into the green-sand mold, allowing the molten metal to solidify, removing the green-sand mold from a casting, and making the green sand suitable for reuse.

Air pollution in the form of dust and fine particulate matter typically involves handling and unit operations using green sand, i.e., providing, forming and removing. Further, in the case where the molding sand used contains silica, when the molding sand in the mold is contacted by the molten metal during pouring of the molten metal into the mold, submicron-sized silica particles may be formed. Such particulate matter can cause silicosis in workers. Therefore, the metal foundry requires considerable effort in dust collection.

The dust resulting from different unit operations in a metal foundry has different substances and different compositions and may for example contain metals or metal oxides.

Air may also be contaminated with combustion products, such as carbon monoxide and/or Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

Many unit operations in a metal foundry produce odors or fumes in both the internal environment (i.e., the environment within the metal foundry) and the external environment (i.e., the environment outside the metal foundry). These odors and fumes can be unpleasant or harmful to breath.

The air in environments other than metal foundries may also be contaminated with sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from fuels such as coal, oil or natural gas used to heat furnaces used to melt metals. If the metal to be melted comprises scrap metal or recycled metal blocks, the paint and coating on these metal blocks may cause air pollution in the metal foundry due to, for example, dioxin. In addition, finishing processes such as polishing and welding of castings can also release toxic metal particulates into the air.

The heat is primarily related to the unit operations of pouring the molten metal and allowing it to solidify. Heat is also released from the furnace used to melt the metal. Heat can cause dehydration, hot cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke of workers in the foundry. Workers may also be infected with cataracts caused by infrared and ultraviolet rays radiated from molten metals. Splashes and sparks from molten metal may also cause burns.

Noise may involve any unit operation and may be of short duration (such as from a bump) or of long duration (such as noise from a vibrating shakeout machine). The most common sources of noise come from molding machines, vibratory shakers, and finishing operations such as sand blasting, carbon arc gouging, casting cleaning, and decorating. Noise is typically bounded between about 80 and 110db (a), however, some noise may be as high as 116db (a). Another source of noise is noise from cleaning the mold using compressed air or directing the mold material into the molding machine.

Although personal hearing protectors are available, they are generally not used for very short duration noise, however, short duration noise adds to the overall exposure to noise, i.e., the overall environmental impact.

Closely related to the noise is vibration which can affect not only worker health, but also the life, performance and maintenance requirements of the metal caster, ultimately affecting the efficiency of the metal casting plant.

CO₂The discharge generally involves the energy required to melt the metal to be used in the foundry and the energy required to perform the unit operations required to run the machinery, such as a sand molding machine, a mold conveyor, a vibratory shakeout machine, or a sand cooler. In addition, there is a need for energy to provide ventilation of the metal foundry.

Water consumption involves the removal of green sand from a casting, making the sand suitable for providing good sand moldability when being molded in a sand molding machine, for limiting dust formation, for example, at a vibrating shakeout machine, and for cooling.

In addition, water consumption often results in waste water that requires proper care. For example, the wastewater may contain metal dust or organic compounds. Waste water may also be caused by metal scrap storage reservoirs on the ground outside the metal foundry that store slag as rainwater absorbs contaminants from the scrap metal or slag and seeps to the ground.

All unit operations require energy to perform.

Production waste involves the unit operations of forming the sand, pouring the molten metal, removing the casting from the mold, and making the sand suitable for reuse. Production scrap also involves controlling the casting to detect defective castings that must be scrapped, i.e., casting scrap. The waste material can usually be remelted, however in some cases the slag must be disposed of in a landfill, the waste material also corresponds to slag.

Among these environmental disturbances, air pollution, heat and noise mainly affect the environment of workers, and CO₂Emissions, energy consumption, water consumption and production waste primarily affect the environment surrounding the foundry. Energy consumption, water consumption and production waste also affect the cost of running a metal foundry operation.

Further elucidation of the environmental impact of metal foundries is found in the "integrated pollution control and control reference on the best available technology in the forger and foundry industry" from the european IPCC bureau (7 months 2004).

To reduce the environmental impact associated with operating a metal foundry, CO₂The emissions, energy consumption, water consumption and production waste should preferably be as low as possible.

Furthermore, in order to provide a suitable environment for the workers in the metal casting plant, air pollution and noise should be kept as low as possible, and measures are taken to prevent heat from causing too high temperatures in the casting plant.

At the same time, metal foundries must operate to provide efficient production of castings. For example, the number of defective castings that must be scrapped must be as low as possible so that the number of available, i.e., acceptable, castings per unit time and amount of environmental disturbance is as high as possible. This is because scrap castings that must be discarded or remelted indicate production scrap if discarded and energy, i.e., heat, if remelted. Furthermore, even in cases where the castings can be machined into conforming castings, for example, if the castings are slightly defective due to a mismatch of the mold halves that results in a defect in the casting adjacent to the parting line of the mold, such machining or cleaning requires both energy and labor, and may expose workers or operators of the metal foundry to a hard or unhealthy work environment. Thus, the number of available, i.e., qualified, castings per unit time and amount of environmental disturbance is maintained as high as possible, at least to minimize those environmental disturbances that involve scrapping the castings and the energy used for remelting.

It is therefore important to obtain a good internal environment (i.e. a low level of environmental disturbance to workers in the metal casting plant) and a good external environment (i.e. a low level of environmental disturbance to the environment outside the metal casting plant). Furthermore, the total level of environmental interference to the internal environment and the external environment should be as low as possible.

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method of operating a metal foundry in which environmental disturbances are minimized while still providing efficient production of castings.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a system for performing the method of operating the metal foundry.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a metal foundry which includes the system.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method of reusing heat resulting from the operation of a metal foundry.

At least one of the above objects, or at least one of any other object that will be apparent from the following description, is achieved by a first embodiment of a method according to the first aspect of the present invention. In a first embodiment, there is provided a method of operating a metal foundry to reduce the environmental impact of its operation, the metal foundry including at least one metal caster that, when used in its operation, generates at least one environmental disturbance comprising air pollution, heat, noise, CO₂Emission, energy consumption, water consumption or production waste, the method comprising the steps of: i. obtaining at least one measurement of the at least one environmental interference; obtaining at least one instruction for the at least one metal caster based on the at least one measurement, the at least one instruction configured to cause the at least one environmental disturbance to be reduced, the at least one instruction comprising instructions for controlling operation of a means for counteracting the environmental disturbance, and the means for counteracting the environmental disturbance comprising a ventilation unit for ventilating the metal foundry and/or a dust filter for capturing dust; operating the at least one metal caster using the at least one instruction, wherein the method further comprises the steps of: obtaining a first sum of the at least one measurement of the at least one environmental disturbance before performing step iii; v. obtaining an estimate of a second sum of said at least one measurement of said at least one environmental disturbance, said estimate being based on being introduced by performing step iii using said at least one instructionAn estimate of the reduction of the at least one environmental interference; comparing the estimate of the first sum with the estimate of the second sum and performing step iii if the estimate of the second sum is less than the first sum.

Operating the metal foundry to reduce the environmental impact of the operation of the metal foundry by operating the caster using at least one instruction obtained based on at least one measured value, the at least one instruction configured to cause at least one environmental disturbance reduction.

The operation of the metal foundry is also at least partially optimized by operating the metal foundry to reduce the environmental impact of its operation.

In the context of the present invention, reducing the environmental impact of the operation of a metal foundry refers to reducing the environmental interference caused by at least one metal casting machine (and thus by the operation of the metal foundry) in the vicinity of the metal casting machine, in the metal foundry and/or in the environment. Thus, the environmental impact of the operation of the metal foundry is reduced, which is both beneficial to the workers and operators of the metal foundry and to the environment.

The metal foundry is preferably a metal foundry that uses wet sand molds for metal casting, however other types of mold materials are possible.

Metal casters may include green-sand storage and supply machines, molding machines such as vertical green-sand molding machines, flask molding machines, match plate molding machines (matrix plate molding machines), core shooting machines, mold conveyors or molding lines, pouring units, vibratory shakers, sand coolers, and casting cleaning and handling machines, among others. In general, a metal caster may include any machine used in a metal foundry for its operation.

Furthermore, the at least one metal casting machine may comprise ventilation equipment.

The steps of the method defined in the first embodiment should be performed in the order i, ii, iii.

The at least one measurement may be quantitative, such as a number or value, or qualitative, such as a boolean value. The at least one measurement may be obtained in the metal caster, near the metal caster (e.g., beside, above, etc.), within a metal foundry (i.e., within a building housing the metal caster), or outside the metal foundry.

The at least one measurement may be a measurement of the magnitude, intensity, incidence, degree or concentration of the environmental disturbance, or the like. One example is a measurement of power usage for a metal caster.

The measurement may be a direct measurement of the environmental disturbance generated by the metal caster, or an indirect measurement of the environmental disturbance, the indirect measurement being a measurement of an environmental parameter affected by the environmental disturbance.

By way of example, air pollution is often caused by dust formed during handling of green sand or other mold materials. The dust can be measured, for example, by direct measurement by measuring the amount of dust particles trapped in the filter or on the charged membrane during a specified time. Dust can also be measured by indirect measurements by measuring how much light from the light source is received by the photodetector.

Where multiple measurements of at least one environmental disturbance are measured (such as multiple measurements of air pollution from different locations in the metal foundry), these multiple measurements may be combined with measurements from other sensors indicating the flow of air in the metal foundry into a 3D model used to infer air pollution at any point in the metal foundry.

Thus, the measurement value can be obtained directly with the sensor, resulting in a measurement value of environmental disturbances at the location of the sensor. Alternatively, by using sensor data from multiple sensors located at different locations, and by inferring measurements from the sensor data about a desired location, measurements may be obtained at the desired location without any sensors.

The at least one instruction is configured to cause the at least one environmental interference reduction. In other words, the at least one instruction is adapted to cause the at least one environmental interference reduction. This means that the at least one instruction is an instruction which, when used to operate the at least one metal casting machine, determines empirically or analytically to cause at least one reduction in environmental interference. Thus, there is an empirical or analytical or logical relationship between the at least one instruction, the at least one metal caster and the at least one environmental disturbance. The relationship between the at least one environmental disturbance and the at least one instruction to cause a reduction in the environmental disturbance may be determined empirically by operating the at least one metal caster under different conditions using different instructions and by obtaining at least one measurement of the at least one environmental disturbance for each of the different conditions. The relationship may also be determined analytically or logically by considering how and why the metal caster generates the at least one environmental disturbance. As one example, it can be readily empirically determined that the operation of spraying water onto a dust generating unit (such as a vibratory shakeout machine) reduces dust, such that increasing the amount of water sprayed will result in a reduction in the amount of dust formed. As another example, it may be readily determined from analysis or logic that reducing the speed of the mold conveyor reduces the noise caused by running the mold conveyor.

In the context of the present invention, the term "obtaining" is to be understood as also including the terms "determining" and "calculating".

Using the at least one instruction may include controlling the at least one metal caster directly (i.e., via a control interface or control computer of the at least one metal caster) or by controlling an external source, such as a water source, a power source, a compressed air source, to which the at least one metal caster is connected for receiving the water, electricity, compressed air, or the like.

The at least one instruction may be used to operate the at least one metal caster by being used to control the supply of media to the machine, such as controlling a valve that delivers water into the metal caster, controlling the speed of a motor of the at least one metal caster.

In the event that the at least one metal caster produces more than one environmental disturbance, the more than one environmental disturbance is typically of a different type. However, it is envisaged within the context of the present invention that the more than one environmental disturbance generated by the at least one metal caster may be of the same type, but obtained at different locations with respect to the at least one metal caster. The type of environmental interference is determined by the physical properties of the environmental interference. For example, one type of environmental disturbance may be dust, i.e. particles, while another type of environmental disturbance may be noise, i.e. sound waves. Other types include heat, i.e., energy and resource consumption.

Where the one or more instructions for operating the at least one metal caster are obtained based on one or more environmental disturbances, one of the one or more instructions may be configured to cause a reduction in one of the one or more environmental disturbances while also causing an increase in another of the one or more environmental disturbances. In this case, the method as defined in the first embodiment may further comprise the step of obtaining a priority order with respect to said one or more environmental disturbances, and the further step of modifying one of said one or more instructions based on such priority order may be performed such that said one of said one or more instructions having a low priority, which causes a reduction of said one or more environmental disturbances, is rendered ineffective before using it to operate said at least one metal caster, or vice versa.

Alternatively, the method as defined in the first embodiment may additionally comprise the step of determining the one or more environmental disturbances and the one or more instructions configured to cause a reduction in these environmental disturbances, such as whether running the risk of running away from each other as described above, and further comprising the step of obtaining an order of priority of the one or more environmental disturbances.

Generally, a metal foundry includes a first plurality of metal casters. The second example of the present disclosure thus defines a preferred embodiment of the method according to the first aspect of the invention. In this embodiment, the method according to the first embodiment, i.e. steps i-iii, is performed for each of said first plurality of metal casters, resulting in a large overall reduction of said at least one environmental disturbance for a large reduction of the environmental impact of the operation of the metal foundry.

Each of the first plurality of metal casters is preferably different from one another.

Generally, a metal foundry includes a first plurality of metal casters that create a second plurality of environmental disturbances. The third example of the present disclosure thus defines a preferred embodiment of the method according to the first aspect of the invention. In a third embodiment according to the present disclosure, the first plurality of the metal casters produces a second plurality of environmental disturbances when used for operation of the metal foundry, step i includes obtaining a third plurality of measurements of the first plurality of environmental disturbances, step ii includes obtaining a fourth plurality of instructions for the first plurality of metal casters, the fourth plurality of instructions being configured to cause a reduction in the first plurality of environmental disturbances, and step iii includes operating the first plurality of metal casters using the fourth plurality of instructions. The third embodiment according to the present disclosure is advantageous in that in the third embodiment, the method of the first embodiment, i.e. steps i-iii, is performed for each of said first plurality of metal casters and each of said second plurality of environmental disturbances, resulting in a large overall reduction of said second plurality of environmental disturbances for a large reduction of the environmental impact of the operation of the metal foundry.

The second plurality is preferably greater than the first plurality, in other words, at least one of the first plurality of metal casters preferably produces two or more environmental disturbances.

The third plurality is preferably greater than the first plurality, but may be less than the first plurality. In the latter case, the environmental interference generated by more than one of the first plurality of metal casters may be measured collectively in a single measurement for those metal casters.

The fourth plurality may be equal to or greater than the first plurality, in other words, each of the first plurality of metal casters may operate using one of the fourth plurality of instructions.

In a fourth embodiment according to the present disclosure, the step of obtaining the at least one instruction comprises the sub-steps of: a. comparing the at least one measurement value to at least one threshold value to obtain at least one comparison result, and if the at least one comparison result indicates that the at least one measurement value is not within an acceptable range defined by the at least one threshold value, using the at least one comparison result to look up the at least one instruction in at least one look-up table, using at least one function operating on the at least one comparison result or the at least one measurement value to obtain the at least one instruction, or communicating the at least one comparison result or the at least one measurement value to a worker or operator of the metal casting plant to obtain the at least one instruction from the worker or operator of the metal casting plant; or alternatively the following sub-steps: b. calculating the at least one instruction using at least one function operating on the at least one measured value. The use of at least one threshold value is a simple way of reducing the environmental impact of the operation of the metal foundry, since the threshold value is easy to set.

The at least one threshold may be an upper or lower threshold depending on the measured environmental interference. The at least one threshold value should be chosen to define a level at which: at this level, environmental disturbances result in an environment that is harmful to workers or operators of the metal foundry, or environmental disturbances destroy the environment or result in defective castings.

The at least one threshold may be set manually by a worker or operator of the metal casting plant and/or the metal caster. The at least one threshold value may also be set automatically, for example by calculation according to some algorithm. For example, the at least one threshold may be set as a product of a factor and an average of the at least one measurement of the at least one environmental disturbance during the last month, the last week or the previous day, such that the at least one threshold may be automatically updated to e.g. 110% of the average of the at least one measurement of the at least one environmental disturbance during the last month. The at least one threshold value may alternatively be set such that a cumulative estimate of the at least one measure of environmental interference over some future time period results in the total environmental interference being below a certain amount. In the presence of a synergy of the first and second environmental disturbances (for example heat and noise with synergy to the environment of the worker), or in the case where the first or second environmental disturbance has a higher priority (i.e. it is more important to remain within an acceptable range defined by a threshold value relating to a measured value of the first environmental disturbance than it remains within an acceptable range defined by a threshold value relating to a measured value of the second environmental disturbance), the threshold value for the measured value of the first environmental disturbance may additionally be influenced by the threshold value of the second environmental disturbance.

The at least one threshold may further be set according to official guidelines or regulations. For example, with regard to air pollution by lead (Pb), the prescribed threshold in air is 50 μ g lead/m³. In a further embodiment regarding lead, a higher threshold is set according to official guidelines or regulations, said higher threshold being 50-75 μ g lead/m³And>75 μ g lead/m³And requires the use of personal safety equipment and separately checks the health of the worker. Manganese (Mn) as an additive for metal foundries for casting steels and special steels, with 0.1mg/m manganese in relation to the breathable form³Official threshold level of air, and 0.2mg/m for manganese as smoke, dust or powder³A threshold level of air. Manganese is highly toxic and can cause severe and irreparable damage to the brain and nervous system.

The at least one comparison result may be a value indicating how different the at least one measurement value differs from the at least one threshold value, or it may be a boolean value indicating whether the at least one measurement value is within a range defined by the at least one threshold value and the measurement value when the metal foundry is not operating. In the case where the at least one measurement value is a direct measurement value, the at least one threshold value is typically an upper threshold value, and when the at least one measurement value is an indirect measurement value, the at least one threshold value is typically a lower threshold value.

Looking up said at least one instruction in a look-up table is fast, while using a function operating on said at least one comparison result or said at least one measurement value provides more different instructions for more accurate and miniaturized operation of said at least one metal casting machine.

The look-up table may include measurement values, wherein each measurement value is associated with a respective instruction. The instruction corresponding to a certain measurement value may have been determined empirically by testing different instructions for a certain measurement value of environmental interference and by including in the look-up table the instruction that reduces the environmental interference the most. The instructions relating to a certain measurement value may alternatively be determined from an analysis by taking into account how different instructions will affect the environmental disturbance.

In addition, the instruction corresponding to a certain measured value is set according to past experience (i.e. by considering whether a certain instruction, such as increasing the water flow to the vibrating shakeout machine, was performed on measured values already obtained in the past or previous hour or day of operation of the metal foundry). Thus, in the event that an operator or worker of the metal casting plant provides instructions for operating the at least one metal casting machine, the instructions corresponding to the measured values in the look-up table may be set to the instructions provided by the operator or worker corresponding to the measured values at the time the operator or worker provided the instructions.

Furthermore, the instructions in the look-up table regarding a certain measured value may be arranged to be the instructions prevailing at the time of the stoppage of the operation of the metal foundry for said certain measured value, so that the next time the operation of the metal foundry is restarted, it is started with the instructions prevailing at the time of the stoppage of the operation of the metal foundry.

Obtaining instructions from a worker or operator of a metal foundry against manipulating abnormal environmental disturbances outside of the allowed input values with respect to the look-up table and the function. The instructions obtained by the operator or worker are then stored in a look-up table for future use, along with measurements prompting instructions from the worker or operator.

The look-up table may comprise more than one threshold value for each measurement value. Thus, at a first threshold value corresponding to a comparison result indicating a small deviation of the measured values, a first instruction may be obtained. This first order may result in small changes in the operation of the metal foundry. At a second threshold value corresponding to a comparison result indicating a large deviation of the measured values, the obtained second instructions cause a large change in the operation of the metal foundry. The second instructions may be obtained, for example, from an operator or worker at a metal foundry.

In some embodiments of the method according to the first aspect of the present invention, the method further comprises the steps of:

obtaining information about the operation of a metal foundry; and

the information is used in obtaining the at least one instruction.

This information may include, for example, the intended production speed of the metal foundry, the type of molds used in the metal foundry, the number of molds on the mold conveyor, the weight of each mold, whether the molding machine and mold conveyor are running, etc.

This information can be used to obtain instructions for actively operating the metal caster. As an example, the measured value regarding air pollution/dust at the vibrating shakeout machine may reflect a low value of air pollution during operation pauses. In order to influence the environment, the method attempts to further reduce water consumption. When the operation is suspended, no mould is delivered to the vibrating shakeout machine, so that the vibrating shakeout machine does not generate dust, which may eventually completely cut off the water consumption. Using this information, which in this case is now information that the operation has been started again, for example by obtaining information about the moulds being produced by the moulding machine, the supply of water to the vibrating shakeout machine can be actively started so that there is already water being supplied to the vibrating shakeout machine when the first mould is passed there after the operation has been started again. This avoids a sudden release of dust from the first mould and a corresponding peak in air pollution before air pollution has been detected and the water supply to the vibrating shakeout machine is restored.

This information may be obtained from a control computer and/or from operational sensors associated with the respective metal casters.

This information may be used as an additional input for the at least one measured value in order to adjust the obtained instruction or may be used to obtain an instruction different from the instruction obtained based on the measured value alone.

This information may also be used to set instructions in a look-up table or to set thresholds. This may result in more aggressive operation of the metal foundry.

Such information may include, for example, information such as the current speed of the metal caster, which may be derived from measurements or other current execution instructions of the metal caster. Thus, this information can be obtained from the molding machine, for example, by analyzing instructions currently used to operate the molding machine. Such information includes, for example, the number of molds formed per hour. This information can then be used to actively provide instructions in a look-up table for the vibrating shakeout machine that, based on past experience, are known to be suitable for keeping air pollution within a threshold.

Thus, the look-up table may include more than one input parameter for each instruction. For demonstration purposes, the look-up table may include a first input for a measure of environmental disturbance (in this case dust/air pollution caused by the vibrating shakers). The look-up table may further comprise a second input regarding the number of moulds being manufactured per hour, an example of which is information regarding the operation of the metal foundry. The first and second inputs may be prioritized, for example, such that during the first hour of operation, the vibratory shakeout machine may be operated using the present number of instructions associated with the molds per hour. However, after the first hour, the vibratory shakeout machine may be operated using instructions associated with measurements of air pollution at the vibratory shakeout machine. In this way, a better and more robust operation of the metal caster is achieved.

Information about the operation of a metal foundry may be used to obtain instructions for a metal caster, such as a compressor of compressed air. In this case, the information may include the total demand of compressed air for the metal caster in the metal foundry. The information also includes pressure measurements for a reservoir of compressed air for the compressor.

With respect to air pollution, information when production is about to start may be used to obtain instructions for starting the ventilation or air filter system before the actual start of operation of the metal foundry.

Further, information about whether the molding machine is running can be used to obtain instructions to stop the metal casting machine (such as a vibratory shakeout machine or a mold conveyor) in the event that no molds are produced by the molding machine, thereby saving money and resources. In this case, information about the operation of the metal foundry may be obtained directly from the control computer or through operational sensors connected to the molding machine.

Also, information about the operation of the metal foundry may be used to control the lighting of the metal foundry to avoid lighting the metal foundry without its operation.

In the event that a long-term production objective is known from and consists of this information, this information can be used to obtain instructions for the at least one metal caster for causing the at least one metal caster to operate at the lowest speed while still allowing the desired production objective to be achieved.

If the information or the at least one measurement includes an air temperature, the air temperature may be used as an instruction to preheat the extraction duct so that hot air from the metal foundry does not condense in the extraction duct causing sand and dust to accumulate in the extraction duct. Such aggregates are difficult to remove and it is therefore desirable to prevent the formation of such aggregates.

Furthermore, information about the operation of the metal foundry can be used to reduce noise by operating the molding machine and mold conveyor at a low speed.

Information regarding the operation of the metal casting plant may also be collected from operational sensors, such as vibration sensors, which may be used to alert the at least one metal casting machine of impending failure diagnosed by vibration. This increases the life of the metal casting machine. Furthermore, oil quality sensors may also be used to measure and analyze lubricating or hydraulic oils in order to operate the metal caster to prevent it from malfunctioning.

Other operational sensors include image sensors for obtaining information about the quality of the mold. Hyperspectral imaging using hyperspectral sensors can be used to measure air pollution caused by dust and/or chemicals.

In a first embodiment according to the present disclosure, the operation of the metal foundry is optimized so as to minimize the total amount of environmental disturbances. The first sum and the second sum may be formed by multiplying each of the respective measurements of the environmental interference by a constant of a common unit used to obtain the sum value. Such units may be, for example, cost or energy. The common units may be dimensionless by dividing each measurement by the base measurement. For example, the noise level in dB may be divided by the base measurement of 100 dB. Likewise, the power measurement in watts may be divided by the base measurement of 1000 watts. The base measurement value for each measurement value may be used to emphasize the effect that each environmental disturbance should have over the sum of the environmental disturbances. Thus, if the base measurement is small, the corresponding environmental interference will contribute more to the sum of the environmental interferences, and vice versa.

In order to turn the sum of the environmental disturbances into a cost, each base measurement should be set to reflect the costs associated with operating the metal foundry with the respective amount of environmental disturbance measured. For example, with respect to power, the base measure is the cost per watt hour of power consumed. Similarly, the basic measure of water usage is water consumed per m³The cost of (a). The wastewater that must be released into a municipal wastewater treatment plant also needs to be charged per m³The cost of (a). Filters used in air filtration apparatus to filter contaminated air also need to take on the air being filtered and the amount of contaminants in the airPer m³The cost of (a).

Instead of having a single constant basic measurement value for each ambient disturbance when calculating the first sum, a basic function may be set for each ambient disturbance. The basis function accepts as input the measured value of the corresponding environmental disturbance and returns a dimensionless number or cost. In fact, the basic measurement values as described above represent simple basic functions. More complex basis functions may include quadratic, polynomial, linear, exponential, or other relationships between the measurements and the cost. The basis function may also be discontinuous, for example in the case of a basis function for noise, at which noise levels below a first threshold do not necessarily entail costs, noise levels above the first threshold and below a second threshold result in moderate costs based on the costs of providing hearing protection for the workers, while noise above the second threshold entails high costs based on the need to interrupt the operation of the metal foundry due to the loss of revenue that accompanies the violation of regulations concerning the environment of the workers.

Another example of a discontinuous basis function is the cost of electricity, where the cost per watt-hour may be different for different times of day and night. This differential cost of electricity will affect the operation of the metal foundry. One embodiment directed to reducing air pollution includes increasing the power supplied to the fans in the ventilation unit during nighttime when power is cheap, thereby reducing the water supply to the vibratory shakers and thus reducing water costs. During the day, when power is expensive, the power to the fan is reduced and the water supply to the vibrating shakers is increased. In both cases (i.e., night time operation and day time operation), air pollution is minimized, while taking advantage of the lower cost of night time electricity.

Step vi may further comprise: obtaining at least one previous instruction associated with a state of at least one metal caster on which at least one measurement was obtained; storing the at least one previous instruction; and if the estimated value of the second sum is greater than the first sum, equating the at least one instruction obtained in step ii with the at least one previous instruction prior to performing step iii.

This ensures that the at least one previous instruction is used to operate the at least one metal casting machine if the estimated value of the second sum is greater than the first sum.

The estimate may be obtained by modeling the at least one metal caster using empirical or analytical or logical relationships between the at least one measure of environmental disturbance and the at least one instruction.

In the case of mold conveyors having different speeds, and for each instruction to measure and store a value of an environmental disturbance, an empirical relationship between the at least one measured value of the environmental disturbance and the at least one instruction may be determined, for example, empirically by operating the metal caster with different instructions. In the case of a mold conveyor, the mold conveyor would run at different speeds and the noise generated at each speed would be measured and stored. The measurements may be used to construct a look-up table, or alternatively may serve as data for performing a linear or other regression that is applied to a function that accepts as input a command and provides as output a measure of the environmental disturbance that is generated when the metal caster is operated using the command.

The case of an analytical or logical relationship between the at least one measured value of the environmental disturbance and the at least one instruction can be obtained, for example, for the water consumption of a vibrating shakeout machine, since in this case the instruction to increase the water supply by 50% logically leads to an increase in the water consumption by 50%.

Thus, once the at least one instruction has been obtained, the at least one instruction is used in the above-mentioned look-up table, regression or function to obtain the corresponding measure of the at least one environmental disturbance. A second sum is then calculated by obtaining a cost or magnitude of the environmental disturbance using the above-mentioned basis measurement or basis function.

The first embodiment of the present disclosure also defines different environmental interferences. The air pollution may be air pollution caused by dust, sand particles, ore powder, chemical vapors, metal droplets, metal vapors, and the like. Heat quantityHot air, hot steam and hot fluid may be included. The noise may include sound, vibration, and the like. CO 2₂The emissions may include CO occurring directly from the metal caster₂Emission, and CO occurring indirectly through the use of the power supply of the metal casting machine₂And (5) discharging. Energy consumption includes the energy consumed by a metal caster. Water consumption includes water consumed by metal casters. The production waste includes waste in the form of green sand that cannot be reused, defective castings that must be discarded or melted away, and excess metal that is poured by melting, etc. Additional environmental disturbances include air flow and air jets from the metal caster, the release of compressed air, and the like.

A fifth embodiment of the present disclosure defines different instructions including instructions for controlling the speed of the metal caster, instructions for controlling the water supply to the metal caster, or instructions for controlling the lubrication of the metal caster. Controlling the speed of the metal caster may include reducing the speed, which may be dependent on the metal caster, reducing noise, air pollution, energy consumption, water consumption, and/or CO₂And (5) discharging. Controlling the water supply to the metal caster may include increasing the water flow that causes a reduction in dust formation, thereby reducing air pollution. Controlling lubrication of a metal caster may include adding a lubricant to the metal caster to cause a reduction in power consumption. Controlling the means for counteracting the environmental disturbance may include controlling a fan, a fresh air inlet, a filter, an air purifier, etc. to reduce air pollution, controlling an air conditioner to reduce heat, etc.

In a sixth embodiment according to the present disclosure, the means for counteracting the environmental disturbance comprises a heat exchanger for absorbing heat. The heat exchanger not only reduces the heat by absorbing it, but also allows the heat to be reused to heat other parts of the metal foundry or to generate electricity.

Preferably, the heat exchanger is mounted above a metal casting machine (such as a mould conveyor, furnace, pouring furnace or moulding line) to absorb heat from the molten metal in the mould.

Furthermore, the metal casting machine above or against which the heat exchanger may be placed for absorbing heat includes both heated and unheated casting units, such as casting ladles.

Thus, the present invention also assumes that energy can be re-used from the mould conveyor, furnace, pouring furnace or moulding line via a suitable turbine by absorbing heat from the molten metal in the mould and using that heat to heat or generate electricity, and that the absorption of heat also provides a better environment, i.e. a non-heated environment, for the workers or operators of the metal foundry.

Preferably, the energy absorbed by the heat exchanger is used in the metal casting machine and/or a ventilator providing ventilation for the metal casting plant.

In a preferred embodiment of the method according to the first aspect of the present invention, the measured values and/or the comparison results may be displayed on a metal casting machine, a printout or a computer screen, a central printer or a computer screen, or remotely on a computer, PDA or smartphone. This is advantageous as it allows reporting of the measurement of the environment and environmental disturbances to workers or operators of the metal casting plant.

At least one of the above objects or at least one of any other object, which will be apparent from the following description, is achieved according to the system of the second aspect of the present invention. In a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for operating a metal foundry to reduce the environmental impact of its operation, the metal foundry including at least one metal casting machine which, when used in its operation, generates at least one environmental disturbance comprising air pollution, heat, noise, CO₂Emission, energy consumption, water consumption or production waste, the system comprising: at least one sensor configured for obtaining at least one measurement of the at least one environmental disturbance; a control computer configured to obtain the at least one measurement, the control computer further configured to obtain at least one instruction for the at least one metal caster based on the at least one measurement, the at least one instruction configured to cause the at least one environmental disturbance to be reduced; controlA manufacturing apparatus for operating the at least one metal caster using the at least one instruction; and means for counteracting the environmental disturbance, the means for counteracting the environmental disturbance comprising a ventilation unit for ventilating the metal foundry and/or a dust filter for capturing dust, wherein the at least one instruction comprises instructions for controlling operation of the means for counteracting the environmental disturbance, the control computer further comprising: a summing module for obtaining a first sum of the at least one measurement of the at least one environmental interference; a modeling module for obtaining an estimate of a second sum of the at least one measured value of the at least one environmental disturbance, the estimate being based on the reduced estimate of the at least one environmental disturbance caused by operating the at least one metal caster using the at least one instruction; and a control module for operating the at least one metal caster and/or at least one of the control apparatuses using the at least one instruction if the estimated value of the second sum is less than the first sum.

The system according to the second aspect of the invention performs the method according to the first aspect of the invention.

Preferably, said at least one sensor is placed in the vicinity of said at least one metal caster; however, it may also be placed inside at least one metal caster associated with the resources required by said at least one metal caster, in a metal foundry, or outside a metal foundry.

The at least one sensor may be an air quality sensor, such as CO₂Sensor, O₂Sensor, O₃Sensors, dust content sensors, smoke sensors, gas sensors, relative humidity sensors and air flow sensors.

The at least one sensor may also include a thermal sensor, such as a temperature sensor or a radiant heat (IR) sensor.

The at least one sensor may also include a flow sensor, such as a water flow or dosage sensor, a green sand flow or dosage sensor, or the like.

The at least one sensor may also include a power sensor (measuring the electrical power used by the metal caster).

The at least one sensor may comprise a microphone or a sound meter to measure noise. Furthermore, the sensor may be a vibration sensor for measuring vibrations.

The at least one sensor may be a pressure sensor or strain gauge for measuring the pressure and forces existing between the components of the metal caster and/or between the mould and the metal caster.

The at least one sensor may be a vision system for obtaining and processing images of the metal casting machine, parts of the metal casting machine, molds, castings, molding sand, and the like. The at least one sensor may also include an electric field sensor or a magnetic field sensor.

The at least one sensor may be a scale for weighing the production waste or green sand waste. The at least one sensor may additionally comprise a PDA, computer or smartphone which is used by a worker to manually provide measurements, such as the subjective air quality experienced by the worker or operator and the amount of cleaning (i.e. manual handling, such as cutting, sand blasting, polishing) of the casting.

The at least one sensor may be connected to the central computer wirelessly or by wire.

The at least one sensor is configured to obtain at least one measurement of the at least one environmental disturbance. This means that the at least one sensor is adapted to obtain at least one measurement value of the at least one environmental disturbance.

The control computer is configured to obtain the at least one measurement and the at least one instruction. This means that the control computer is adapted to obtain the at least one measurement value and the at least one instruction.

The control computer may be a server or a personal computer running a program which causes the computer to be configured for the multitasking defined by the system according to the second aspect of the invention. The central computer may host a server or web site for displaying the measured values and/or the comparison results to local or remote workers or operators of the metal foundry and making the measured values and/or the comparison results available to the local or remote workers or operators of the metal foundry. The control computer may include a screen for displaying the measurements and comparison results to a worker or operator of the metal foundry.

The control computer is also preferably configured or adapted to communicate the at least one instruction to the control device.

The at least one control apparatus may comprise any means for operating the at least one metal caster using the at least one instruction. Examples include electronically or pneumatically actuated valves, electronic speed controllers for controlling the speed of metal casters, electronically controlled lubricant pumps, electronic relays for starting air conditioning or air cleaning equipment, and the like.

The control computer may be configured to obtain the at least one instruction by performing a method according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the control computer is further configured for obtaining information about the operation of the metal foundry and for using this information in obtaining the at least one instruction.

The control computer may be configured to store or access, for example, the expected production rate of the metal foundry, the type of molds used in the metal foundry, the number of molds on the mold conveyor, the weight of each mold, whether the molding machine and mold conveyor are running, etc.

In some cases, the system according to the second aspect of the invention may comprise at least one operational sensor configured to obtain at least a portion of the information. The operation sensors may include, for example, a motion detector for checking the motion of the mold conveyor, a weight sensor for determining the weight of the mold, an image sensor for detecting workers in the metal casting plant. Operational sensors may be associated with the metal caster, or alternatively, the control computer may be configured to obtain information directly from the metal caster.

The control computer may be configured to use this information as an additional input with respect to the at least one measured value in order to adjust the obtained instructions. In some cases, the control computer may be configured to prevent execution of the obtained instructions until the information indicates that the criteria (production is running) are met.

In addition, the operation sensor further comprises a vibration sensor, an oil quality sensor, an image sensor, a humidity sensor and a hyperspectral sensor.

In one embodiment of the system according to the second aspect of the present disclosure, the metal foundry comprises a first plurality of metal casters that, when used in the operation of the metal foundry, generate a second plurality of environmental disturbances, the system further comprising: a fifth plurality of said sensors, said control computer configured to obtain a third plurality of measurements, said control computer further configured to obtain a fourth plurality of instructions for said first plurality of metal casters, and a sixth plurality of control devices for operating said first plurality of metal casters using said fourth plurality of instructions. Generally speaking, a metal foundry comprises a first plurality of metal casters generating a second plurality of environmental disturbances, so the above-described embodiment of the system according to the second aspect of the present disclosure is advantageous in that it reduces the total amount of environmental disturbances.

The fifth plurality may be greater than the second plurality, wherein more than one sensor is configured to obtain measurements of the same environmental disturbance.

The sixth plurality may be less than the fourth plurality, wherein the at least one control device may process more than one instruction.

Corresponding to the method according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the control computer may be configured to obtain an order of priority for the environmental interference for prioritizing the instructions in case there is more than one environmental interference and more than one instruction.

The preferred embodiment of the system according to the invention minimizes environmental impact.

The summing module, modeling module, and control module may be implemented in hardware or software. The control computer is preferably configured to perform a method according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

In a third aspect according to the present disclosure, a metal foundry is provided. The metal foundry includes at least one metal caster that, when used in its operation, generates at least one environmental disturbance comprising air pollution, heat, noise, CO₂Emission, energy consumption, water consumption or production waste, the metal foundry further comprising a system according to the second aspect of the present disclosure. The metal foundry has a low environmental impact. The system according to the second aspect of the invention is particularly suitable for sand foundries.

In a preferred embodiment according to the third aspect of the present disclosure, the metal foundry comprises any one of a mould conveyor, a pouring unit, a furnace, a pouring furnace or a moulding line, the metal foundry further comprises a heat exchanger positioned to absorb heat from any one of the mould conveyor, the pouring unit, the furnace, the pouring furnace or the moulding line, and the metal foundry further comprises means for converting the heat absorbed by the heat exchanger into energy for operating the metal foundry. The preferred embodiment of the metal foundry provides for lower environmental impact by reusing heat from the metal caster.

The means for converting the heat absorbed by the heat exchanger may include thermocouples, steam turbines, heat pumps, and the like. The energy may be thermal energy or electrical energy, etc.

The heat exchanger may be used in a foundry as defined in the preferred embodiment above and not in a system according to the second aspect of the invention.

Accordingly, a metal foundry, including any one of a mold conveyor, a pouring unit, a furnace, a pouring furnace, or a molding line, may include a heat exchanger positioned to absorb heat from any one of the mold conveyor, pouring unit, furnace, pouring furnace, or molding line, and may also include a heat exchanger for converting the heat absorbed by the heat exchanger into energy for operating the metal foundry and a metal caster in the metal foundry.

Drawings

The invention and many of its advantages will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, which show, for purposes of illustration, some non-limiting embodiments, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a metal foundry, which includes a system according to a second aspect of the invention for operating the metal foundry in accordance with the method according to the first aspect of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a system according to a second aspect of the invention and its connection to an exemplary metal caster; and

fig. 3A-3E show a flow chart of an embodiment of the method according to the first aspect of the invention.

Detailed Description

In the following description, the addition of a prime roman numeral to a reference numeral indicates that the element it marks has the same or similar function as the element designated by the non-prime reference numeral, but is different in structure.

When other embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings, new elements have been given new reference numerals relative to earlier shown embodiments, and previously shown elements are referred to as stated above. The same elements have been assigned the same reference numerals in different embodiments, and will not be described otherwise.

Fig. 1 shows a metal casting plant, designated in its entirety by reference numeral 2. The metal casting plant 2 comprises a plurality of metal casting machines which will now be described. The first metal-casting machine is a green-sand storage and supply machine 10 that includes a reservoir tank 12 for holding molding sand, an elevator 14 for receiving and delivering the reused molding sand to the reservoir tank 12, a screen 16 for dressing (conditioning) and sorting the molding sand, a sand mixer 18 for mixing the molding sand, and a molding-sand measuring device 20 for providing a flow of control of the green-sand to a conveyor 22.

The green-sand is transferred from the green-sand storage and supply machine 10 to a second metal casting machine, which is a vertical green-sand molding machine 30, via a conveyor 22. The vertical green-sand molding machine 30 receives green-sand with a hopper or sand supply unit 32 and forms the green-sand into a mold by pressing a strand of the green-sand between a pair of pattern plates (not shown). In the event that it is desired to form a void in the casting, a core (not shown) may be attached to one or both sides of the green sand mold 34 that is withdrawn from the vertical green sand molding machine 30. In a third metal caster, which is a core shooting pot 40, the cores are made of green sand or other material.

After the green-sand molds 34 have been ejected from the vertical green-sand molding machine 30, they are transferred to an ever-growing row of sand molds carried by a fourth metal foundry machine as a mold conveyor 50. The two green sand molds 34, when placed together, form a mold cavity therebetween for receiving molten metal.

The molten metal is then poured by a pouring unit, such as a casting ladle (not shown), into the mold cavities formed by the array of wet sand molds 34 present on the mold conveyor 50.

Ash from the burned-out components of the green sand molds 34 may escape into the air during pouring, and thus represent air pollution generated when the mold conveyor 50 and/or the pouring unit are operated.

A heat exchanger 52 is placed above the conveyor 50 for receiving some of the heat radiated by the molten metal in the green sand molds 34. The heat exchanger 52 may include an elongated shroud for collecting hot air rising from the wet sand mold 34 on the conveyor 50 and the tubes placed within the shroud through which the heat exchanger flows to be heated by the hot air. The heated fluid may be used to drive a turbine, which in turn is used to convert the heat of the hot air into electrical energy using a generator connected to the turbine. Alternatively, the heated fluid may be used to heat other components of a metal casting plant for providing steam to a metal casting machine. The electrical energy may also be used to power the metal caster.

After the molten metal has solidified, the green sand mold 34 is deposited into a fifth metal caster which is a vibratory shakeout machine 60. The shakeout machine 60 is vibrated to separate and break apart the green sand molds 34 to allow the green sand molds 34 to be removed from the castings. Water is added through the spray heads, one of which is designated by reference numeral 62.

The vibrating shakeout machine 60 then transfers the cast and green sand molds 34 to a sixth metal casting machine which acts as a sand cooler 70, the sand cooler 70 including a roller 72 through which the cast and green sand molds 34 are guided 72. The water further humidifies the molding sand and reduces air pollution in the form of molding sand and dust generated when the molding sand cooler 70 is operated. The sand cooler 70 also cools the casting. The sand cooler 70 also includes a breaker 74 for further breaking up the green sand into individual fine particles before passing it to a seventh metal caster as a third conveyor 80, wherein the third conveyor 80 transports the sand back to the green sand storage and supply machine 10 for reuse. The third conveyor 80 also includes a magnetic separator 82 for removing any iron or steel particles present in the green sand.

After passing through the sand cooler 70, the castings are passed to an eighth metal caster which is a casting cleaning and handling machine 90 where they are further cleaned by removing any sand residue, further cooled and further collected for further processing in the casting cleaning and handling machine 90.

Regarding environmental disturbance, the green sand storage and supply machine 10 generates dust and noise when used for the operation of the metal foundry 2, and thus air pollution and noise are local environmental disturbances. Another environmental disturbance related to the storage and supply of green sand 10 is the amount of water and electricity used.

The vertical green sand molding machine 30 and the core shooter 40 also generate dust and noise when used for the operation of the metal foundry 2, and thus air pollution and noise are environmental disturbances of these machines. In addition, these machines require a power source, and therefore the amount of power used is also an environmental disturbance of these machines.

The mold conveyor 50, when used in the operation of a metal foundry 2, can require electrical power and generate noise, and therefore power usage and noise are local environmental disturbances. Furthermore, the heat of the molten metal in the green sand molds 34 causes the green sand molds 34 on the mold conveyor 50 to radiate a large amount of heat, and thus the heat is an environmental disturbance related to the machine.

The vibrating shakers 60 generate both dust and noise when used in the operation of the metal casting plant 2, and thus air pollution and noise are local environmental disturbances. In addition, the machine requires electricity to operate and water to limit dust, so that electricity consumption and water consumption become environmental disturbances of the machine.

The sand cooler 70 generates both dust and noise when used in the operation of the metal foundry 2, and thus air pollution and noise are local environmental disturbances. The sand cooler 70 uses water in order to cool the green sand and the casting and limit dust formation, so the amount of water used is an environmental parameter of the machine. In addition, the local machine uses electric power, so the used electric power is also environmental disturbance of the local machine.

The third conveyor 80 requires electricity to operate and generates both dust and noise, so electricity usage, air pollution and noise are local environmental disturbances.

The casting cleaning and treatment machine 90 requires electrical power to operate and generates noise, so power usage and noise are local environmental disturbances.

The metal foundry 10 also includes a system, generally designated by the reference numeral 100, for operating the metal foundry. The system 100 includes a control computer 110, various environmental disturbance sensors (not shown in fig. 1), and a plurality of operating or control devices (not shown in fig. 1). The environmental interference sensors are distributed throughout the metal casting plant 10 and are preferably placed in close proximity to the metal caster.

The control computer 110 includes a display 112, the purpose of which will be described with respect to fig. 2 and 3A-3E. The control computer 110 may also communicate with a smartphone 150 via a network 140, as will be further described below.

The vertical green-sand molding machine 30 shown in fig. 1 may be replaced with a horizontal sand box molder.

The core-shooting phone 40 may be Cold-Box, Hot-Box, Croning, SO₂Or an inorganic core-shooting phone.

FIG. 2 shows a system 100 associated with an exemplary metal caster, in this case a vibratory shakeout machine 60. An environmental disturbance sensor, which is an air quality sensor 120, is placed near the vibratory shakeout machine 60 and connected to the control computer 110 via a wired or wireless connection. The air quality sensor 120 is positioned to measure the air quality and any corresponding air contamination caused by the vibratory shakeout machine 60.

The system 100 also includes a control device, wired or wirelessly connected to the control computer 110, for controlling the operation of the vibratory shakeout machine 60. In fig. 2, such a control device is implemented by a controllable valve 130 that governs the water supply to the vibratory shakeout machine 60.

Additional environmental interference sensors included in system 100 include noise sensor 120^I Thermal sensor 120^II Energy consumption sensor 120^III Water consumption sensor 120^IVAnd a production waste sensor 120^V。

Control computer 110 may report the measurements and/or comparison results to smartphone 150 via network 140 as described below.

Although in fig. 2, the respective sensors, including in particular the air quality sensor 120, are placed in the vicinity of the metal caster, the sensors may alternatively be placed remotely from the metal caster. In this case, the metal caster that generates some environmental disturbance may be operated in conjunction with the control computer 110.

The control computer 110 may include a control interface for setting thresholds and functions for respective environmental disturbances. The control computer may additionally include a server for hosting a control interface for displaying measurements, thresholds, functions and/or instructions, and accepting commands for setting thresholds, modifying or setting functions or issuing instructions via a network 140, which network 140 may include a LAN, WLAN or WAN network, such as the internet.

The control computer 110 includes a data store for continuously storing the measurements, current thresholds and functions and/or instructions in a log file. The control computer preferably provides a log file for display on the display 112 or on a control interface.

The control computer 110 may be programmed to display a 2D or 3D picture of the metal foundry and display the respective measured values and threshold values in the picture adjacent to the respective technical caster.

The control computer 110 is preferably located in the metal casting plant 2 as shown in fig. 1. However, the control computer 110 may alternatively be located remotely from the metal casting plant 2. In the latter case, the control computer 110 may be placed in a building adjacent to the metal foundry 2, or further away, provided that a suitable communication link, either wired or wireless, interconnects the control computer with the air quality sensor 120 and the controllable valve 130.

If desired, control computer 110 may be programmed to provide an alert to the workers or operators of metal foundry 2 by displaying a visual cue on display 112, sounding using a speaker (not shown) or by email and/or SMS to alert the workers or operators of metal foundry 2 when the measurer deviates from (such as too high or too low) a threshold.

Fig. 3A shows a flow chart 200 of an embodiment of a method performed by the system 100. These steps are described below with reference to the system 100 shown in fig. 2. In step 210, the control computer 110 obtains measurements from the air quality sensor 120. In step 220, the measurement is compared with a threshold value corresponding to the maximum allowable air pollution (i.e., the amount of sand dust in the air). If the amount of air pollution is above the threshold value, the method obtains an instruction in step 230 and then sends that instruction to the controllable valve 130 to increase the amount of water to reduce dust formation in the vibratory shakeout machine 60. In this way, the air quality suitable for the worker is maintained.

In step 240, a status report including the measurement and/or comparison results is sent to the worker using network 140 and smartphone 150, or by display on screen 112.

In the event that the amount of air pollution is below the threshold, the method may proceed directly back to step 210, or alternatively to step 230 but generate instructions that cause controllable valve 130 to remain intact.

If the system 100 includes a water usage sensor positioned to measure the water usage of the vibratory shakeout machine 60, the method 200 may further require steps for measuring, comparing, and operating based on the water usage. In such a case, the above-described operation of the controllable valve 130 (to increase water flow to reduce dust formation) may cause the water usage read by the control computer 110 using the water usage sensor to increase beyond the threshold water usage. In this case, the control computer will obtain instructions and send them to the controllable valve 130 to reduce water consumption. The control computer 110 is preferably programmed to give priority to environmental disturbances, so as to give priority to those related to the environment of the worker and to the health of the final staff. Thus, the control computer 110 is preferably programmed to maintain the water usage below the water usage threshold only if the air quality measurement is below the air quality threshold. Thus, the method 200 may comprise the steps of: for measuring a plurality of environmental disturbances, comparing the measured values with a plurality of threshold values, generating a plurality of instructions that are prioritized according to the priority of the environmental disturbance corresponding to the instruction, and operating the vibration shakeout machine 60 using only the highest priority instruction of each type of instruction.

The control computer 110 may alternatively be programmed to modify instructions associated with environmental disturbances having a lower priority in order to render them ineffective.

FIG. 3B shows a flowchart 200 similar to FIG. 3A^IHowever, in the present embodiment, the power consumption of the mold conveyor 50 is at step 210^IMeasured and at step 220^IAnd compared to a threshold. If the power consumption is too high, instructions for activating the means for providing lubricant to the mold conveyor are performed at step 230^IAnd is used to operate the mold conveyor 50. At step 240^IUsing network 140 and smartphone 150, or by display on screen 112, a status report including the measurements and/or comparison results is sent to the worker.

FIG. 3C shows classesFlow chart 200 similar to FIG. 3A^IIThere are the same steps 210 and 220, but in this embodiment if the air quality is too bad, the diagnostic alarm is sent to the operator by sending it to the smartphone 150 in step 250, and the operator manually instructs the control computer 110 to increase the water flow to the vibratory shakeout machine 60 in step 260. In step 270, the status report is finally sent to the control computer for storage.

FIG. 3D shows a flowchart 200 similar to FIG. 3A^IIIThere is the same step 210, but in this embodiment, there is step 220^IIUsing a function operating on air quality, i.e., f (a), to generate the command. In this case, the instruction is at step 230^IIIs used to regulate the flow of water to the vibratory shakeout machine 60. For example, f (a) may be the concentration of particulate matter in water flow k x air, where k is a constant. Thus, in the event that the concentration of particles in the air increases, the water flow will also increase. Thus, the instructions generated by the function are configured to cause the concentration of particulate matter in the air to decrease.

FIG. 3E shows a flow chart 200 of an embodiment of a method performed by the system 100^IV. In step 210^IIUsing e.g. sensors 120, 120^I、120^II、120^III、120^IV、120^VAnd the like to obtain a third plurality of measurements of the second plurality of environmental disturbances produced by the first plurality of metal casters. In step 280, the sum of the third plurality of measurements is determined, which represents the total amount of environmental disturbance caused by the metal casting shop 2. In determining the sum, appropriate constants can be used to transform the measurements into common units, such as energy, cost, and the like. The sum determined in step 280 is stored in the system 100, such as the computer 110.

At step 220^IIIUsing the second plurality of measurements to obtain a fourth plurality of instructions for reducing environmental interference associated with the third plurality of measurements. These instructions are then used in a model of the metal casting plant 2 to estimate the total amount of environmental disturbance in step 290And, if at step 220^IIIThe instructions obtained in (1) are to be used to operate a metal casting machine, the sum being the result. In step 300, the estimated sum is compared to the stored sum determined in step 280, and if the estimated sum is less than the stored sum, then in step 230^IIIWill be in step 220^IIIThe instructions obtained in (1) are for operating the metal casting machine. If the estimated sum is greater than the stored sum, the method returns to step 220^IIIIn an attempt to obtain better instructions. If the second, or third or fourth set of instructions, as set by the operator of the metal foundry 2, still does not result in less than the stored estimated sum of sums, the method exits and returns to step 210^II. The second, third or fourth instruction set may be obtained by: by adding a random value to it at step 220^IIIA further plurality of instructions to attempt to obtain a new minimum sum of the environmental interference.

Step 220^IIIThe instructions in (1) may be obtained by: by using a threshold as described with reference to fig. 3A-3B, by using operator input as described with reference to fig. 3C, or by a function as described with reference to fig. 3D. Different measurements of the third plurality of measurements may be used to obtain instructions according to different methods (i.e., thresholds, manual inputs, functions).

As an alternative to the situation as shown in fig. 3D, steps 290 and 300 may be omitted and the sum stored in step 280 is merely used for reference or display to the workers or operators of the metal casting plant 2.

List of parts with reference to the accompanying drawings

Claims (14)

1. A method (200) of operating a metal foundry (2) to reduce the environmental impact of the operation of the metal foundry (2), the metal foundry (2) including at least one metal caster that, when used in the operation of the metal foundry (2), generates at least one environmental disturbance comprising air pollution, heat, noise, CO₂-emission, energy consumption, water consumption or production waste, the method (200) comprising the steps of:

i. obtaining at least one measurement value (210) of the at least one environmental interference;

obtaining at least one instruction (220) for the at least one metal casting machine based on the at least one measurement, the at least one instruction configured to cause a reduction of the at least one environmental disturbance, the at least one instruction comprising instructions for controlling operation of a means for counteracting the environmental disturbance, and the means for counteracting the environmental disturbance comprising an aeration unit for aerating the metal foundry and/or a dust filter for capturing dust; and

operating the at least one metal caster using the at least one instruction,

wherein the method (200) further comprises the steps of:

obtaining a first sum (280) of the at least one measurement of the at least one environmental disturbance before performing step iii;

v. obtaining an estimate (290) of a second sum of the at least one measurement of the at least one environmental interference, the estimate being based on the estimate of the reduction of the at least one environmental interference caused by performing step iii using the at least one instruction; and

comparing the estimate of the first sum with the second sum (300), and performing step iii if the estimate of the second sum is less than the first sum.

2. The method (200) of claim 1, wherein the metal foundry (2) comprises a plurality of metal casters, the method being performed in connection with each of the plurality of metal casters.

3. The method (200) of claim 2, wherein the plurality of metal casters generate a plurality of environmental disturbances when used for operation of the metal foundry (2), step i comprises obtaining a plurality of measurements of the plurality of environmental disturbances, step ii comprises obtaining a plurality of instructions for the plurality of metal casters, the plurality of instructions configured to cause a reduction of the plurality of environmental disturbances, and step iii comprises operating the plurality of metal casters using the plurality of instructions.

4. The method (200) of claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining the at least one instruction comprises the sub-steps of:

a. comparing the at least one measurement value with at least one threshold value to obtain at least one comparison result, and if the at least one comparison result indicates that the at least one measurement value is not within an acceptable range defined by the at least one threshold value, using the at least one comparison result to look up the at least one instruction in at least one look-up table, using at least one function operating on the at least one comparison result or the at least one measurement value to obtain the at least one instruction, or communicating the at least one comparison result or the at least one measurement value to a worker or operator of the metal casting plant to obtain the at least one instruction from the worker or operator of the metal casting plant,

or alternatively the following sub-steps:

b. calculating the at least one instruction using at least one function operating on the at least one measured value.

5. The method (200) of any of claims 1-4, wherein the at least one instruction comprises an instruction for controlling a speed of the metal caster, an instruction for controlling water supply to the metal caster, or an instruction for controlling lubrication of the metal caster.

6. The method (200) according to claim 1, wherein the means for counteracting the environmental disturbance comprises a heat exchanger (52) for absorbing heat.

7. The method (200) according to any of the preceding claims 1-4, wherein the metal foundry (2) is a green sand metal foundry.

8. The method (200) according to any one of the preceding claims 1-4, wherein the at least one metal casting machine is at least one of a vertical green sand molding machine (30), a mold conveyor (50), a vibratory shakeout machine (60) or a sand cooler (70).

9. A system (100) for operating a metal foundry (2) to reduce the environmental impact of the operation of the metal foundry (2), the metal foundry (2) including at least one metal caster that, when used in the operation of the metal foundry (2), generates at least one environmental disturbance comprising air pollution, heat, noise, CO₂-emission, energy consumption, water consumption or production waste, the system (100) comprising:

at least one sensor (120) configured for obtaining at least one measurement of the at least one environmental disturbance;

a control computer (110) configured to obtain the at least one measurement, the control computer (110) further configured to obtain at least one instruction for the at least one metal caster based on the at least one measurement, the at least one instruction configured to cause a reduction in the at least one environmental disturbance;

a control apparatus (130) for operating the at least one metal caster using the at least one instruction; and

means for counteracting the environmental disturbance, the means for counteracting the environmental disturbance comprising a ventilation unit for ventilating the metal foundry and/or a dust filter for capturing dust,

wherein the at least one instruction comprises instructions for controlling operation of the apparatus for resolving the environmental disturbance,

the control computer (110) further comprises:

a summing module for obtaining a first sum of the at least one measurement of the at least one environmental interference;

a modeling module for obtaining an estimate of a second sum of the at least one measured value of the at least one environmental disturbance, the estimate being based on the reduced estimate of the at least one environmental disturbance caused by operating the at least one metal caster using the at least one instruction; and

a control module for operating the at least one metal caster and/or at least one of the control apparatus (130) using the at least one instruction if the estimated value of the second sum is less than the first sum.

10. The system (100) of claim 9, wherein the metal foundry (2) includes a plurality of metal casters that create a plurality of environmental disturbances when used for operation of the metal foundry (2), the system further comprising:

a plurality of said sensors (120),

the control computer (110) is configured to obtain a plurality of measurements, the control computer (110) is further configured to obtain a plurality of instructions for the plurality of metal casters, an

A plurality of said control devices (130) for operating said plurality of metal casters using said plurality of instructions.

11. The system (100) according to any one of claims 9-10, wherein the at least one metal casting machine is at least one of a vertical green sand molding machine (30), a mold conveyor (50), a vibratory shakeout machine (60), or a sand cooler (70).

12. A metal foundry (2) comprising at least one metal caster that, when used in the operation of the metal foundry (2), generates at least one environmental disturbance comprising air pollution, heat, noise, CO₂Emission, energy consumption, water consumption or production waste, the metal foundry (2) further comprising a system (100) according to any one of claims 9-11.

13. A metal foundry (2) according to claim 12, wherein the metal foundry (2) is a green sand metal foundry.

14. The metal foundry (2) according to any one of claims 12-13, wherein the metal foundry (2) comprises any one of a mould conveyor (50), a pouring unit, a furnace, a pouring furnace or a moulding line, the metal foundry (2) further comprises a heat exchanger (52) positioned to absorb heat from any one of the mould conveyor (50), pouring unit, furnace, pouring furnace or moulding line, and the metal foundry (2) further comprises means for converting the heat absorbed by the heat exchanger into energy for operating the metal foundry (2).

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