Simpson Hartley® Compactability Controller with Bond Determinator (Continuous) 2552-C1

Automatic Control For Your Green Sand System

Controlling the consistency of your sand is essential in producing higher quality castings and increasing your overall profitability. By reducing human error and by providing data tracking, hundreds of foundries have increased process control and reliability. The Simpson Hartley® reduces compactability swings, stabilizes moisture levels and reduces sand related defects.

Project Information Worksheet

The Simpson Hartley control system and compactability controller has been designed to precisely control green sand compactability, bond addition and water addition as well as provide full automation for an entire mixer/muller group. The compactability controller also measures and records green strength and moisture.

When combined with a capable continuous muller, the Simpson Hartley enables you to:

  • Accurately and automatically control prepared green sand to within ±3 compactability points from a desired set point (When a properly designed system and good sand handling practices are followed).
  • Interface with the sand system and/or molding line so that molding sand is produced only when desired and/or capable.
  • Automatically measure and control sand conditions.
  • Access sand data that can assist in determining the cause of your sand related scrap.

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Simpson Hartley®

Consistent sand quality is key to producing higher quality castings and boosting profitability. The Simpson Hartley system reduces human error and provides data tracking, allowing foundries to improve process control and reliability. It minimizes compactability swings, stabilizes moisture levels, and reduces sand-related defects.

 

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How it Works

  1. Measurements of the return sand temperature, moisture and feedrate are taken in the belt conveyor prior to dosing to the mixer.
  2. On the discharge belt, the Hartley tester obtains a sample of the sand and conducts tests on the compactability, green strength (model 2552 only) and moisture. The results are compared to the desired targets and the process control logic is adjusted accordingly.
  3. The data from each test (available for display or can be exported to a data system) on all model testers includes: time of day, test number, return sand temperatures, return sand conductivity, target compactability, actual compactability, target water addition, actual water addition, maximum muller drive motor amperage, target bond weight, actual bond weight and compactability deviation. The model 2552 additionally provides green compression strength, available bond percentage and the available bond average (last five tests).
  4. Once the process inputs have been measured, the Hartley Controller calculates the required water addition to be added through a water injection system consisting of a positive displacement pulse flow meter and diaphragm valve to maintain a targeted compactability. The model 2552 additionally calculates the needed bond addition automatically. Weight based bond additions are added to the muller with the BFS Bond Addition System for the 2552-C1.
  5. The control system is based on a high-performance, industrial programmable logic controller and has a touchscreen operator interface. The touchscreen provides display of, and the ability to adjust, all important parameters as well as diagnostic messages.

Sand Distribution Control System

The Simpson Hartley Series 45Mk2 Programmable Sand System Distribution Control is a completely automatic sand distribution system that will produce a signal to start and stop automatic sand preparation according to the demand from two or more molding stations. The sand distribution system will allow the user to change molding station priority and select different compactability targets for different molding stations. The operator interface displays controls for each molding station hopper so that any station can be shut down without any effect to the remainder of the system.

The Series 45Mk2 is a three level control system utilizing three level probes in each molding station hopper. Whenever the level of prepared sand in any operating hopper drops below the low level probe the Series 45Mk2 will signal the mixer group to start a mixing cycle. If more than one hopper is calling for sand, the hoppers will receive sand in order of the highest priority established by the user. When a molding station hopper is full a signal is sent to stop the sand demand from the mixer.

This system is designed to prevent prepared sand waste. The prevention of prepared sand waste offers the following advantages: 1) reduced additive cost, 2) reduced mixer wear and power cost, 3) reduced downtime due to lack of sand and 4) better control over prepared sand.

Remote Operator Interface Option

The remote operator interface option provides an operator the ability to view functions and make modifications to the operation of the Simpson controller. This interface can be located in an area that may be more convenient to a machine operator than the interface that’s located at the main Simpson control panel. From this remote screen, an operator can change several functions like the compactability set point, the green strength set point, enable or disable the sand demand. More than one remote operator interface can be added to the Simpson control system.

“For the past three years, our Hartley has been trouble free and virtually maintenance free. The Hartley has met our challenge to control moisture and compactability swings head-on. Our payback was less than six months. Nor our sand conditions are great. We’ve noticed a substantial reduction in scrap and bad molds and have a very positive gain in productivity.” -President of a Grey and Ductile Iron Foundry

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Could an obsolete control system shut down your foundry?

The robust design of Simpson equipment allows them to operate effectively for decades, but electrical components advance and fade rapidly. Simpson now offers a complete, modern PLC upgrade that extends the lifetime of your dependable Simpson Hartley or Multi-Cooler equipment. It replaces Allen Bradley PLC-5 controllers which are no longer supported. Learn more