In response to far-reaching new environmental regulations, a large Chinese automotive foundry was forced to switch completely from organic to inorganic core production in late 2016. In this short period of time, three production lines with 36 core shooters had to be installed and put into commission.
The project
HA’s client on this flagship project was KPSNC, Kolbenschmidt Pierburg Shanghai Nonferrous Components, the largest manufacturer of cylinder heads in China.
From the outset of the project, the Chinese foundry enlisted the services of industry-leading partners for toolmaking, mechanical engineering and foundry chemistry. The companies Aurrenak and Meissner helped to optimise the tools, while Laempe and Loramendi supplied the core shooting machines and carried out core shooting tests. And Hüttenes-Albertus provided support with laboratory tests, the selection of the binder system and core shooting simulations.
Developing the optimal solution together
Throughout the project, the technology suppliers’ experts regularly met in Europe and at the Chinese foundry, developing and installing the production processes in close coordination both with each other and with KPSNC.
The first inorganic-bonded cores were shot as early as summer 2017. Thus, the partners achieved what had previously seemed unlikely and made rapid progress on delivering the project, which was unique in its type and scope, well within the allotted time.
By late 2017, fully automatic core production was in full swing – as planned – and 2,000 cylinder heads were being shot per day.
Meanwhile, KPSNC is proud to report that, by mid-2018, the company had already produced more than one million castings for large automobile manufacturers (OEMs) using inorganic cores.
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