Weighing in Foundries

Load monitoring in foundries and other high temperature environments is very important.

The use of a load monitoring system allows a foundry to carefully control the addition of additives, preventing waste and giving the foundry greater control over the composition of their metal.

Using a wireless crane scale in a foundry not only helps to reduce costs and increase efficiency, but it also increases safety and it helps to prevent dangerous overloads.

For this application we recommend: our Ron 2501 Wireless Crane Scale.

Designed for environments where a cable connection is not possible, due to the extreme temperatures.

The following Ron 2501 options are crucial for foundry use in order to protect the system and ensure long term reliability:

Thermal fabric jacket for load cell.
Steel plate heat shield provides shade to the load cell and protects it from radiant heat.
Internal Thermometer for load cell, helps prevent overheating.
Average (dampening), helps eliminate the effects of a swinging load on measurements.
Additional wireless displays, bright LED scoreboard displays.

The most demanding task our systems have to endure in terms of heat is exposure, is weighing ladles of molten metal.

Recommended principles for use of crane scales in foundries:

Cooling cycles: Limit heat exposure time and include long enough cooling phase will enable the interior temperature to remain below the 80ºC (175ºF) limit.
The distance between the load cell and the heat source should be as great as possible. There are cases where the load cell can be installed above the crane hoist. In this way, the distance from the heat source is greater and the load cell shielding is also improved.
Whenever possible, the foundry ladle should be covered in order to decrease the ambient temperature and direct heat radiation.
In some cases, drops of molten metal spray from the ladle. Use suitable means to protect the load cell and prevent molten drops of metal from hitting the heat shield jacket and, in particular, to prevent them from adhering to the jacket. This will avoid damage to the jacket which can affect its insulation properties.

Foundry and Steel Catalog