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Though there are no alchemists on the payroll, AACOA, Inc. (Niles, MI) has an exceptional ability to turn aluminum into gold. That is to say, since 1972, the firm has been a very successful and growing supplier of aluminum-associated products and services. First (and still), as a leading provider of anodizing services for a variety of industries throughout the Midwest, then, from 1998 forward, as one of the country’s premier manufacturers of aluminum extrusions offering an extensive range of fabrication and machining processes for aluminum-based products. And now, thanks to a new chip handling system that includes the FastPac Briquetter compacting unit from Mayfran International , AACOA is even turning its aluminum chips and scrap into gold—with a threefold increase in the scraps’ value thanks to the heavier density of aluminum chip scrap.
According to Dave Sheaks, plant manager at the AACOA extrusion facility, the briquette machine has contributed more than just monetary gains. “It’s easy to review the numbers, the dollar figures,” says Mr. Sheaks, “and feel good about the increased rate of payback. But, in addition to higher price-per-pound scrap values, we’ve found that the entire handling system has contributed to a cleaner chip processing operation, and cleaner production areas. It’s also virtually labor free since it requires no additional personnel to operate beyond those who would normally be collecting and transporting chip materials, and so far, has also been maintenance free.”
All are key elements critical to lean manufacturing and continuous improvement for AACOA, as Mr. Sheaks explains the company’s extrusion operation. AACOA’s 120,000 sq. ft. Niles production facility houses two automated 2,500-Ton extrusion press lines producing standard profiles such as ‘L’ angle, T- and I-bar, round and hexagon bars, round, square and rectangular tube, plus H- and U-channel pieces along with custom profiles from a variety of aluminum alloys. Each press line can produce profiles of up to 10” diameter in size...from billet sections of up to 8” diameter. And each line is hungry, requiring the continuous operation of five billet saws and two finish fixture construction, and modeling/engineering services The combination of five fabrication saws also contributes a lot of shavings.
“It all adds up to about 35,000 to 40,000 pounds of aluminum chips and scrap per month,” Sheaks says, “and we needed an efficient handling system. We were able to see a compacting system in operation at another company, and made the decision to acquire one. The next decision, which one to purchase?”
Sheaks relates that they (AACOA) tested one unit at the Niles facility, a prototype machine built by one of their equipment suppliers. The results, Sheaks reports, were unsatisfactory as the machine only compacted the chips to a 65% level of the required density and did not substantially affect the value of the scrap to the salvage dealers. Plus, the temperature of the machine’s hydraulic oil used in the compacting machine was rising to unacceptable degrees during operation.
That’s when AACOA contacted Mayfran. Mayfran application engineers were able to demonstrate the operation and performance of the FastPac Briquetter System—at the Mayfran facility but using actual AACOA aluminum chips and swarf.
“Mayfran did a fine job working with us, analyzing the entire process and providing solutions where needed, including incorporating shredders for the long strings to facilitate the compacting operation,” Sheaks states. “They worked out a special hopper design and screw conveyor concept that feeds the FastPac to assure optimum performance, and made sure that everything operated as we expected, before and after installation.”
In operation at the saws, the lightweight chips are first collected by cyclonic-type vacuum units, shredded as necessary at the secondary sawing, and deposited in dumpsters. These dumpsters, when filled, are moved to the briquetter’s hopper where the load is dumped. The special design of the FastPac hopper and feed auger make sure chip flow is even, smooth and efficient. Mayfran also included a sensor in the feed area of the compactor to monitor the chip flow, actuating the auger if the system needs more chips, or signaling a stop to prevent overflows in the feed chutes.
“Once a load of chips is in the FastPac hopper,” Sheaks notes, “one only needs to push a button and walk away...operation is automatic. The unit is small enough to be put in just about any convenient location, and works so well you don’t even know its there, except for the cleaner floors, machines and scrap handling/loading areas.”
The Mayfran FastPac Systems were developed to work with all types of metalworking chips, strings and nests, fines and sludge and transform them into dense, dry and compact briquettes. Typical applications of the FastPac Briquetters result in volume reductions of six to eight times that of the unprocessed materials.
As noted by Mr. Sheaks, the FastPac features a compact, space-saving footprint, in most instances offers easy “plug and run” installation and operates with lower energy consumption. “We were getting about $.20 per pound before installing the FastPac,” Sheaks says. “Now, the two inch square by three inch long pucks bring in about triple the price. We hit the payback amount in about 13 months. That’s pretty good for a new machine that doesn’t actually produce a product.”
The FastPac System eliminates the need for large areas to be set aside for scrap storage, by helping users keep better track of scrap volumes and weights, and by providing a cleaner, safer, work environment.
The FastPac System incorporates a dual-stage compacting process and dual-action compression/ejection cycle that requires less horsepower, thus lower energy consumption and operating costs than other machines and contributes to faster payback.
The operational sequences include a preliminary compacting step, a pre-charge chamber fed by the auger that helps eliminate possible air pockets and gaps and assures maximum chip volume and density will be achieved during the second briquette compacting stage. As previously noted, the screw drive’s running time is monitored and actuated to optimize pre-charge load, depending upon types of chips and materials being processed.
When the pre-charge chamber is loaded, a secondary piston is activated to provide preliminary compression. This load is then transferred to one of two compression die chambers where the system’s main compression piston transforms the loosely packed material into a dense block. Simultaneous with the forward movement of this primary piston an ejector pin propels a briquette, located in the opposite die chamber and formed during the preceding cycle, through an offload opening to a chute. As the primary piston retracts, the die chambers slide to reposition the just emptied chamber for the next compression cycle while the second chamber, with the completed briquette is set in position for ejection.
Meanwhile, the screw feed and pre-charger have already begun subsequent steps of loading and pre-compression for the next cycle. This dual-stage, dual-action operation, unlike other systems typically requiring multiple strokes, means a briquette is formed with every machine cycle. This results in the FastPac Systems’ ability to maximize output capacity while minimizing horsepower requirements and energy consumption.
From a maintenance standpoint, Scott Van Paris, maintenance manager at AACOA, boasts of the FastPac’s dependability. “The system is very reliable and takes care of itself,” Van Paris remarks. “We get a very consistent three inch puck slug that weighs about one pound, so its simple to track amounts. The FastPac generates about 40,000 pucks per month, and to date we’ve pressed nearly 1,002,600 pucks over 4,200 hours of operation with very little maintenance required. Even the mold to shape the pucks is holding up well, we may not have to replace it for at least another year or more.” |
