Coin Makers Order Precious Metal Casting Machines

Rautomead has secured three repeat orders from existing customers for equipment used for the production of gold and silver coinage strip. The Perth Mint in Australia has just taken delivery of a Rautomead RMT 200; a continuous casting machine designed with an output capacity of 80-100kg (Ag) per hour for the production of silver-based alloy strips of up to 100mm x 25mm, or round billet for extrusion. This will be the sixth Rautomead model to be used at the Perth Mint.

In addition to other RMT models, the mint also operates three Rautomead RMJ machines for the production of gold coinage strip. The Perth Mint also supplies coin blanks to other mints, including the Royal Mint in the UK and the USA Mint. The Shanghai Mint installed its first Rautomead continuous casting machine in 1991 - an RMJ/H025 for processing gold and gold alloys. A second, larger Rautomead RMT model casting machine for processing silver and silver alloys followed in 1994.

To expand its production capabilities, the Shanghai Mint is opening a new factory facility installing a new Rautomead RMT continuous casting line including in-line cut-to-length saw. The Royal Thai Mint installed its first Rautomead RMJ/H 025 model continuous casting machine with in-line cut-to-length shear in 1996.

A second RMJ/H025 machine will double the installed precious metal continuous casting capacity at the new Royal Thai Mint factory, located close to the Don Muang airport in Bangkok. The machine will be supplied complete with an automated ingot feed system as well as an automated cut-to-length shear. The 2010 model RMJ/H025 features a PLC control system and servo motor driven withdrawal.

This enables production operating programmes for different alloy and section size combinations to be recalled by menu from the memory to ensure consistent quality of production each time a specific strip shape is produced. The Rautomead casting process is based on the use of a graphite holding crucible, surrounded by electric resistance heating elements to provide the power to melt and hold the metal charge. Heating is by thermal radiation and heat convection. The interior of the machine is protected in an inert gas atmosphere to protect the hot-working graphite components.

The totally enclosed nature of the Rautomead process, where the molten metal is in contact only with the pure carbon surfaces of the holding crucible and casting die, is a particularly suitable process for casting silver and eliminating any residual oxygen present. An additional feature is the still metal bath created by the external resistance heating elements, thus avoiding the turbulence associated with many induction heating systems in close proximity to the casting die.

Lantek Expert Optimises Sheet Metal Work

Lantek has developed Lantek Expert II for sheet metal/profile cutting and punching and Lantek Expert III for business process management at Terclima, Lecitrailer and Aceros Morales. With these solutions, the company aims to optimise manufacturing processes and all processes connected with managing day-to-day work.

Lantek Terclima, a company specialising in the air conditioning sector, began a project for modernising its software infrastructure with the dual aim of making full use of its machinery and having overall control of its production processes, alongside a view to meeting the needs of different customers, both domestic and commercial/industrial. Terclima has installed several modules from the Lantek Expert II range, including Lantek CAD 2D, WOS and Lantek Expert Duct, enabling it to quickly design and automatically generate metal-forming figures for the creation of ventilation and aeration ducts.

In addition to these modules, the company has also installed the Manufacturing, Warehouse, Product, Purchasing, Sales and Offers modules from the Lantek Expert III range to obtain overall control of its production processes and to facilitate management of tasks connected with purchases, offers and sales. Lecitrailer, a Spanish automotive sector company, has utilised Lantek products for the manufacture of semi-trailers and a reference brand on the European market.

The company has embarked on an expansion process, including the renewal of its technological infrastructure with the aim of modernising its automated production lines. To do this, it has applied the Lantek Expert Cut CAD/CAM system to its Prima machines to optimise its laser sheet metal cutting processes, while also simplifying machine handling, as the user now only has to follow the steps indicated by the software. The system has also allowed the company to obtain savings in time and materials.

Aceros Morales, an outsourcing sector company catering for the naval sector, public works, agricultural and construction machinery and the steel-related machinery market, has implemented the Lantek Expert II solution and the WOS, Manufacturing, Warehouse, Purchasing, Offers and Sales modules of the Lantek Expert III management software. This solution will enable the company to perform integrated management of all of its key processes. Aceros Morales now offers its services on the basis of real costs calculated by the Lantek Expert III modules. This has improved management processes and Aceros is now able to carry out real-time control of all the production work, while quickly responding to customer needs.