Atlantis Foundries increases its automation processing of core handling and assembly with Fanuc robots and completes installation of a second Nederman MikroPul FS system

Adding to the foundry’s environmental control and atmospheric emissions licenses that already meet the strict regulations is high on the agenda.

Just over eight years ago Castings SA reported that Atlantis Foundries had embarked on a process that would pave the way to Atlantis Foundries becoming a Smart Foundry by embracing the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This project aimed to combine various technologies available to gather and analyse process data, with the aim of improving product quality and cost efficiency. The basic building blocks for such a concept are robotics, process instrumentation, and the tracking of components using RFID and other software applications. With all the data available and it being traceable to individual castings, the door opened to enable the use of Artificial Intelligence for process control and inspection of components.

It was the beginning of an era where Atlantis Foundries would be recognised worldwide as a leader. I still remember the enthusiasm and vision of CEO Pieter du Plessis and, with his help, we conveyed a message of forward thinking to the rest of the world that foundry owners were only dreaming of at the time.

I always remember, and, continue to regularly ‘dine’ on the fact that the MD of the company involved in gathering and analysing the data so as to help Atlantis Foundries achieve the correct combination of process parameters during the production of the castings – DataProphet – told me that he had been summoned to Europe by influential foundry owners, once they had read the article in Castings SA.

“They were astounded to see that South Africa was so far ahead of them,” he said. “They wanted the same for their businesses.”

Front and rear end core automation. The core shooter has not changed. It’s the operational processes between the cores leaving the core shooter, followed by fettling and sub-assembly before being transported by the same conveyor system to the main assembly cell that has been automated with three Fanuc robots and another turn-table. The operational aspect starts with the exit of the cores – rear and front end – which are then lifted by a Fanuc R2000iC 270kg robot from the mould before being placed on a location fixture

Atlantis Foundries produces engine blocks that weigh in the region of 430kgs and all of them are exported. To deliver them to the US or Germany, for example, with sub-surface defects is a costly exercise and reputation damaging. The brief to DataProphet was to determine the combination of process parameters that gave Atlantis Foundries the best results and reduce scrap. They were pioneers.

But it was not just the process parameters that Du Plessis and his colleagues looked at. They looked at the supporting systems and what it would take to have an overall operational improvement on processes and flows. They were not shy to engage Robotic Innovations, who would introduce a programme of automation using Fanuc robots that would become the workhorses to carry instruments that acquire data, while handling or performing their operations, aside from introducing consistency and relieving human stress and mistakes in the handling aspect.

If it meant moving equipment to accommodate the Fanuc robots, it was done.

An aerial view of the Atlantis Foundries site. Atlantis Foundries constantly sets and exceeds global best practice. The company’s renewable energy adoption agreement comprises more than 20 000 solar panels and a total rated capacity of 13.5MWp. The system, which has been specifically engineered to align with the foundry’s electrical consumption profile, is estimated to replace up to 20 per cent of Atlantis Foundries’ annual electricity consumption, considerably reducing its carbon footprint and representing a major step towards sustainable energy utilisation

Operational improvements

“From the beginning Atlantis Foundries has not stopped looking at ways to improve its operational processes so as to reduce its scrap rate and increase efficiencies. Improvements in scrap and efficiencies have a direct impact on bottom line and sustainability,” said du Plessis.

“Our Smart Foundry ambitions have been the core of the dramatic improvements at Atlantis Foundries. But you can’t reach these high goals that we have set by only making improvements in a few areas of production and manufacturing. You have to look at every step of the process, analyse, decide on a solution and then implement the improvements into the process, whether it is main line or supporting, and realise the benefits. And there are many different steps in a foundry that need to align,” said CEO Du Plessis.

Once placed on the specially designed fixture, which is located on a three-station indexing turn-table, they then proceed for fettling by two Fanuc M10iD 12kg robots and then a manual inspection

“Besides the investment in the robots, the inline instruments, and the data collection we also had to invest in upgrading and developing further all the manufacturing and material processing operations normally associated with a foundry.”

Process and capacity building began with the installation of a new core drying oven, two new core shooters, a new sand drier and de-coring machines. Mould line improvements included the installation of a second ABP Induction Systems pressure pour furnace and a fourth ABP Induction Systems power pack.

This was followed by the installation of a new Tinius Olsen tensile tester, a new air conditioner for the temperature-controlled measuring room and a new GOM 3D optical inspection and measuring system on the quality and inspection side. The foundry also installed a fixed laser for continuous temperature monitoring during the pouring process and an automated visual inspection system to detect surface defects using eight cameras connected to an Artificial Intelligence system.

On the capital equipment side, besides automating with the robots for handling processes in the core shop such as coating and dipping, drying and drilling of the core vents, a large amount was spent on a new G-U-T chromite reclamation plant, a sand reclamation plant and a sand curing plant, also supplied and in the fettling department they automated as best possible with conveyors and rollovers.

Fettling by the two Fanuc M10iD 12kg robots

“Besides finding the correct process parameters for castings to be a daunting challenge for any foundryman, fettling of castings can be a major bottle neck in any foundry too. It is a time-consuming process as well as one that is physically demanding on the employees. With automation replacing manual repetitive processes, foundries are now achieving better productivity along with consistency in output,” said Du Plessis.

A number of processes were implemented during the pandemic to further organise the various areas of the foundry and to streamline the operations. This included purchasing new equipment, as well upgrading and refurbishing existing equipment, and even the installation of radiation portal monitors that detect radioactive sources in trucks tasked with transporting iron and steel scrap to site.

A new A1 Roper 14.5 ton capacity lip pour ladle with extended sidearms has been delivered for use, supplied by Mondeco. For the liquid metal transport between the ABP melters and the holding furnaces and then onto the pressure pour furnace, a semi-automatic monorail system for the transfer ladles was installed. The main objective of the project was to eliminate the need of forklifts with rotating fixtures to transport molten metal, thus minimising the risk of spillage, as well as ensuring a much safer working environment.

An ingate cutting system was installed that has a combination of one large Fanuc M900iC 700kg capacity handling robot that loads and unloads the blocks into a positive location jig, so that a smaller Fanuc R2000iC 210F robot fitted with a Fanuc spindle motor and diamond cutting blade can cut the moulding ingates situated on the CAM section of the blocks after moulding.

The core shop became the focus of Atlantis Foundries’ investments and process automation improvements. The major project was the implementation and installation of equipment for the automation of core trimming and assembly handling

This was followed by the installation of a small Fanuc LR Mate robot fitted with a special industrial ink-jet printer for marking of the sand cores after they leave the slurry curing oven so as to account for easy traceability.

The CNC machining operations by three Heller machines on the blocks, before finishing, was vastly improved with the installation of a 12m long robotic linear rail – strategically placed in front of the CNC machines – carrying a Fanuc M900iC 700kg capacity robot to run to each machine’s loading/unloading. The same robot collects the machined blocks out of each CNC machine and places them onto an outfeed conveyor. This process was previously performed manually with blocks swinging from KBK overhead cranes. The robot has removed the danger of the operation and implemented control with predictability. Efficiencies have also rocketed and cycle times have been reduced to 90 seconds.

Fanuc robots for picking and placing as well as core trimming and assembly

The core shop then became the focus of Atlantis Foundries’ investments and process automation improvements, although planning had started long before. The major project was the implementation and installation of equipment for the automation of core trimming and assembly handling.

The goal of the project is to automatically stack the eight sand cores which make up the centre cores of the engine block. These cores are made up of two core assembly variants each with three sub-variants that make up the inside of the different engine blocks. The cores come from three separate core shooters. Seven Fanuc robots were used by Robotic Innovations in the project. Three medium sized Fanuc R2000iC 270kg capacity robots do the picking and placing with four Fanuc M10iD 12kg robots performing the core trimming. A cell of two robots has been setup at either end of the core shooters and there are two very large 120˚ servo indexing turn-tables and then one even larger 180˚ forward/backwards indexing turn-table. A core reject conveyor and an over/under front and rear core buffering conveyor rounds out the larger pieces of equipment for the system.

A fully assembled core leaving the automated assembly cell

This project, which was installed and commissioned in December 2023, also allows for the cleaning of each core’s edges of any moulding flash. Then they have to undergo an inspection go/reject process followed by the creation of sequenced sub-assembly stack and then a final full assembly, all to within very strict automotive tolerances and cycle times.

Front and rear end core automation

Directly opposite the centre core manufacture core shooters and the core assembly cell is the front and rear end core shooter machine. Up until December 2024 these cores were manually handled and then put on a conveyor to be transported to the core assembly cell. This has now been automated with the introduction of a three-robot cell.

“The core shooter has not changed. It’s the operational processes between the cores leaving the core shooter, followed by fettling and sub-assembly before being transported by the same conveyor system to the main assembly cell that have been automated with three Fanuc robots and another turn-table,” explained Altus Mostert, Managing Director of Robotic Innovations.

“We were given the order in April 2024 with a target date of December 2024 foundry shutdown to install our system. We had to design the whole project from scratch, which includes the tooling, jigs, fixtures, manipulators, gripper, turn-table and other system requirements such as the software. We then had a month to install and commission.”

The fully assembled cores are transported for further inspection and then onto the casting process

“The operational aspect starts with the exit of the cores – rear and front end – which are then lifted by a Fanuc R2000iC 270kg robot from the mould before being placed on a location fixture. We have custom designed and manufactured the dual Fanuc servo driven gripper that move simultaneously in a single motion for this robot, as it has to perform special operations during the process before the cores are transported to the main assembly line.”

“Once placed on the specially designed fixture, which is located on a three-station indexing turn-table, they then proceed for fettling by two Fanuc M10iD 12kg robots and then a manual inspection. The Fanuc R-2000iC 270kg robot then places the cores onto one of the ten buffer conveyor location trolleys where the tricky operation of inserting a timing chain insert, which is a filter piece core, into the main core, is performed. All these operations have to be aligned so as to fit into the main assembly core to specification.”

“The Fanuc servo driven dual motor system on the gripper allows the rear end core to be rotated 180 degrees while being transported from the turn-table after inspection to the buffer conveyor. The cores are presented face up for fettling but the rear core needs to be placed face down on the buffer conveyor location trolleys.”

“The timing and space constraints ensured that these were challenging systems to supply – both the December 2023 and December 2024 projects – but we believe we have designed and installed world class solutions.”

Atlantis Foundries installed their first Nederman MikroPul FS type filter for dust extraction system back in 2019. They have now installed a second Nederman MikroPul FS type filter for a few reasons. The current equipment is working according to specifications but will need upgrading in the future. To circumvent any breakdown, Atlantis Foundries are making provision for uninterrupted dust extraction and air filtration

Pattern cleaning cell

“During 2024 we were also required to design, manufacture and install a pattern cleaning and spraying solution within the moulding hall. Here we have used two Fanuc M710 20L robots to blow the cope and drag moulds clean using air. Once this is done the robots spray a fluid over the moulds to protect them and to aid the moulding process.”

“Each robot is equipped with an AI camera system that detects whether compressed sand has been left behind within each mould after the cleaning process. These cameras take photos of the process for self-teaching, product predictability intelligence and process traceability.”

Second Nederman MikroPul FS type filter: Emission phase 2

“We installed our first Nederman MikroPul FS type filter for dust extraction system back in 2019. We have now installed a second Nederman MikroPul FS type filter for a few reasons. The current equipment is working according to specifications but will need upgrading in the future. To circumvent any breakdown, we are making provision for uninterrupted dust extraction and air filtration,” said Engineering Manager Mike Hartung.

“The added benefit is that even though we are way below the stipulated requirement we are going to further enhance our air quality, while having the satisfaction that the working environment will not be compromised for our staff.”

“The installation is part of Atlantis Foundries’ Emission Phase 2 project and is the second FS filter on this site.”

“The filter system has a design volume flow of 186 000m³ per hour. It will be supplied with a 250kW fan unit controlled by a Danfoss frequency converter type VLT for optimised control and energy consumption. The emission warranty stipulates residual dust level in the clean gas of maximum 5 mg/Nm3.”

“The plant incorporates Nederman Insight Software that monitors the filter plant performance on PC Dashboard and mobile app. The system includes alarm history and trend detection and uses remote (cloud) data storage with security technology.”

The extensive fabrication work was done locally and Nederman MikroPul supplied the IP and detailed engineering which was overseen by Mondeco Solutions

“The FS type filter is a cassette type filter bag design using continuous cleaning of the filter bags without the use of costly compressed air. This leads to improved filter bag life.”

“The advantages of the FS filter design are numerous including a compact design with a small footprint and low space requirement, easy access to replace bags, reverse air cleaning so no use of compressed air is required, can handle very fine dusts, has low maintenance requirements and an attractive dust emission warranty.”

“The FS filter offered a number of advantages that were attractive to us such as the small footprint mentioned before, no use of compressed air, an emission warranty of maximum dust content in clean gas of 10mg/Nm, low maintenance requirements and a number of worldwide references in foundry applications including foundries in South Africa.”

“The Nederman MikroPul FS type filter was purchased from Nederman MikroPul, who are based in Germany, and Mondeco handled the local scope as well as all aspects of installation based on detailed engineering from Nederman MikroPul.”

Atlantis Foundries uses cold box technology to facilitate the full spectrum of shapes and sizes across its engine blocks, operating fully automated core dipping facilities to connect to its tunnel indexing core drying oven and using green sand moulding techniques to be able to cast the full range of automotive component grey cast iron grades. This certainty in planning and the rolling out of projects at the foundry has been aided by the reacquisition of the foundry by Daimler Truck AG in 2020.

Published in February 2025 by Crawford Publications on website: www.castingssa.com