A major global manufacturer of biomass machinery and process plants, was looking for a more reliable foundry for base castings used on its wood pellet mills. The mills produce uniform wood pellets for use in biomass furnaces. Various machine components are installed and attached to the 5 ft. wide x 6 ft. high, 6,000 lb. gray iron base casting. The OEM’s existing casting supplier was having issues with quality and delivery.
TB Wood’s (TBW) has been supplying the OEM with high-quality, Made-To-Order (MTO) 60 in. diameter, 30-groove gray iron sheaves for many years. The sheaves are a key component on the customer’s belt-driven wood pellet mills.
Based on a history of high product quality and dependable service, the OEM contacted TBW for a competitive quote and ultimately awarded them the base casting business. In order to improve casting manufacturability, quality, and machinability, the TBW engineering team redesigned the molding method and suggested changes to where the casting is parted.
TBW engineers worked with the customer’s engineers to explain the suggested changes and identify how it would affect the machining vendor. The change required new pattern equipment, but allowed TBW to improve molding safety and casting quality, while reducing pattern maintenance and machine stock on the casting.
TBW also worked with the machining vendor to identify areas of concern and help with casting lineup for machining. This allowed the machining vendor to reduce their price, which provided additional savings for the customer. The customer and their machining vendor are very pleased with the quality and timely delivery of the new TBW castings.
Highlights
- Made-To-Order (MTO) 60 in. diameter, 30-groove, Class 35 gray iron sheaves
- 5 ft. wide x 6 ft. high, 6,000 lb., Class 30 gray iron base castings
- Re-engineered, economical casting design saved manufacturing and machining costs