| HotFlo! | Advanced Shot Monitor: Die Thermal Control | |
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Heat Based Control The Die-Shot Thermal Control panel works by directly controlling the amount of heat energy removed by each cooling line in the die. It therefore functions quite differently from temperature based controllers, although the end result is the same:- stable production conditions and consistent casting quality. Shortest Cycle Time - Maximum Shots per Hour To operate your dies at the fastest production rate, you need to have the maximum heat removal rate. The way to achieve this is to use the cooling fluid with the highest heat capacity, and that fluid is water. Yes, water has by far, the best properties for rapidly removing heat from die casting dies. However, it will only work effectively if it is carefully controlled. If the water runs continuously in the cooling lines there is no control, and you will suffer from continual variances in the process conditions with the corresponding effect on product quality. Using Die-Shot Thermal Control you can get water based cooling back under control and at the same time produce the maximum number of shots per hour. No Thermocouples Required A big advantage of heat based control is that it does not require thermocouples to be fitted to the die thereby making die operation and maintenance much easier. Instead, by a simple calibration process Die-Shot is able to control the number of kilojoules removed from each separate cooling line. For example, in moving slide cores you can reduce the amount removed to prevent them from becoming too cold. Similarly, for regions near thick casting sections, you can increase the amount of heat removed. You now can have total control over die heat and maximum control over part quality. Die Cooling Module The Die Cooling Module plugs into the Die-Shot Monitor and the cooling lines are attached. Die-Shot adjusts the water flow in each cooling line to remove the required amount of heat. At start-up, Die-Shot changes the water flow so that the minimum number of warm-up shots are produced. Die-Shot also knows when production has been stopped and performs another calculation to adjust the water flow accordingly. Die Heating For some dies, it is a big improvement to production consistency to heat the dies before production and to maintain it during extended stoppages. A good way to do this is to use an oil heating unit. The oil is passed through the die blocks or bolsters and the water is passed through the cavity inserts. In this way, the properties of each fluid are used to maximum effect. |
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