Covid-19 Emergency Does Not Stop Innovation

GMS (Engitec Group) will provide an innovative technology package which will improve the safety of Operations of an European aluminium rod plant. An order acquired at the height of the Covid-19 crisis

by Carmelo Maria Brocato, GMS, Sales & Marketing Director, Aluminium BU

In the darkest time of the lockdown of many Countries worldwide, GMS/Engitec has been contracted by one of the largest nonferrous Rod Producer in Europe, for supplying a technological package of equipment called “Modernization to Safety”for their existing Al Rod Plant.
The Contract, on EPC (Engineering Procurement Construction) basis, covers the supply, installation and commissioning of equipment designed for making safe– without any manual intervention of the Operators – the most critical and hazardous operations of the Al Rod Plants such as start-up and emergency bar cropping occurring in the unlucky event of cobble formation in the Rolling Mill.
The key equipment included in this package is the so-called AGA System (acronym for Aladdin Guiding Arms), that has been conceived and designed by GMS/Engitec for pulling and guiding the cast bar during the start-up transient.

As can be seen in the 3D sketch, the AGA namely comprises two tilting arms (6a and 6b) each one equipped with motorized caterpillar. During the startup transient, each of the two arms, moves against the cast bar (8) emerging from the crystallizing wheel (2) so that the cast bar is, at the same time, pushed against the roller way of the bar deflector (5) and pulled towards the exit of the bar deflector. It must be underlined that the sequence of such operations is performed without any hazardous manual intervention of Operators.
The AGA System, complete with bar deflector, has been conceived for the installation onto almost all existing crystallizer machines in operation worldwide. Obviously, the motorized arms and the cast bar deflector will be tailored to the specific configuration of each crystallizer machine.
The AGA System, is extremely beneficial especially for those Plants dedicated to the production of alloyed rods where, the setting procedures of crystallizing parameters for new products, might require several cycles of start and stop of casting and rolling process and the management of deeply cracked or even not formed cast bar.

Safety first!

The “Modernization to Safety” we are trying to illustrate includes also the equipment for making safe and more efficient the methodology of cropping the cast bar and the handling/collection of chopped bars, but the detailed description is beyond the scope of this short article.
The EPC philosophy – “bread and butter” of Engitec Group since ever – applied to this Contract, allows the Client to avoid any distraction from his duties and the inevitable extra costs and stress which might arise, and become very significative,when the erection and commissioning activities are under shared responsibilities between Client and Supplier.
Engitec Group is very proud about this important Contract and is eager to provide, for existing Al Rod Plants, modernization/revamping tailored on Industry 4.0 concepts, and technical and technological consultancies addressed to the reduction of production costs.

….we make simple the metal complexity….