FOUNDRY MAY/JUNE, 2015

IT-Solutions in FoundriesFoundry Resource Planning (FRP)

Kei BembenekRGU GmbH

Karl-Harr-Strasse 1D-44263 Dortmund, Germany.

Email : kbe@rgu.de

Although metals & alloys have been melted and cast in foundries for many centuries; ever since Planning andControl systems were introduced, processes have changed, and these are now constantly being put to test. Youjust cannot do things by “rule of thumb” anymore today. Cost transparency, material and energy efficiency andprocess security in real time, combined with the much quoted “fast time to market”, have become essential iffoundries want to survive.

These include: product planning and calculation,production planning and control, administration andmaintenance monitoring for casting tools, integratedproduct and test planning, integrated materialsmanagement, as well as special detailed planningsolutions, such as for melt management and charges.

In more than one hundred foundries the standardisedoverall solution RGU OPTI was created, where it isoften the details which are particularly significant when

delivering an integrated view of each foundryprocess. (Fig.1 : Diagram of the OPTI Cycle)

In foundries the usual ERP systems availableon the market quickly reach their limits, eitherbecause they are just not able to understand,synchronize and map the processes neededfor manufacturing cast parts, or because theycan handle this only after expensive additionalprogramming. Instead of having a bill of partsand materials with a separate working plan,the core of the FRP system from RGU is theintegrated multi-step resources plan, whichdisplays all the resources needed to producethe cast parts in a Tree-structure (Figs. 2 + 3,Resources Plan, OPTI Parts Master Mask).

For 30 years now, German software company RGU hasbeen involved in mapping, displaying and designingprocesses in foundries and homogenizing them in auniform software environment. The two most importantchallenges here are:

(i) to optimize communications between different areaswithin a foundry, and

(ii) to have detailed knowledge about each individualstep of the process.

New Products/New Technologies....

Fig.1 : Diagram of the OPTI Cycle

Readers, Kindly Note!

Information under “New Products/New Technologies”column is presented in good faith as received fromthe sender company/author. FOUNDRY Editor doesnot have any means to verify the correctness of theclaims made in it. Interested readers shouldthemselves ascertain with the author/company aboutthe claims made in the presentation.

– Editor

FOUNDRY MAY/JUNE, 2015

RGU OPTI Software Representative in India:Shri Bhushan Bhatt (Auto Design Online, Vadodara), <info@auto-design-online.com>, mobile : 098242 47774.

FOUNDRY MAY/JUNE, 2015

This covers all the production steps for the raw casting,the mould tools, cores and purchased parts, as well asthe personnel resources required, together with relevantschedule times and process instructions for theactivities; and continues right through to when theproduct is ready for shipping, and all relevant packaginginstructions.

When new parts need to be generated, or adaptationsare needed to meet changing conditions, the structurescan be duplicated and modified. This enables fast androbust calculations for products, including all relevantsurcharges, and fast reaction times to ensure that thetime from enquiry to offer is extremely short. Thecalculations are then archived and saved to form thebasis for future offers or costing analyses (audit trail).Integrated, foundry-typical order fulfilment is the corecompetence here: after a customer has made anenquiry, the resources plan is created, and sales cancalculate the possible selling price. All specificationsfrom the resources plan – including all the times requiredfor different production steps – are transferred to theProduction Planning and Control module (PPC), andall production steps are simulated. The scheduling takescapacities, production bottlenecks as well as holdingand cooling times into account, carries out productionlot allocations and reserves the resources needed forthe required time in the system. The customer receivesa detailed offer very quickly, with prices, according tothe desired or earliest possible delivery time.

When the order is placed, the relevant reservations aredispatched to production. The solution’s high level offlexibility means changes in the scheduling frameworkcan be carried out easily and are also filed traceablywithin the audit trail. The dispatching then automaticallygenerates material requisitioning for purchased and/orself-produced parts, such as cores. The manufacturingdocuments are created at the touch of a button takingall relevant job instructions, available images andrevised drawings into consideration.

In the detailed planning which follows, the sequenceand machine scheduling is generated. Attention is alsopaid, for example, to ‘considering parts with heavy andlight cores together’ while planning capacity utilizations.The requirement for molten metal is then determinedaccordingly. All internal work orders are then generatedfor this automatically. In the context of the “extendedworkbench” concept, the system also generates ordersfor external services, such as finishing, coating and anypossible tests by external experts. The system can alsohandle the situation where dispatch to the customer is

then carried out directly by an external service provider,and parts do not come back to the company first.

The feedback chain is also particularly significant duringproduction. Production feedback during defined processsteps means complete production lots or even individualcast parts can be traced end to end. This feedback isinitiated at each workplace, on paper or via speciallyconfigured terminals. Machine data from moulding plantor core shooters can be fed back directly into the systemvia a standard interface. All quantities and consumptionsare registered automatically. It is also possible to derivedetailed product costing analysis, using the evaluationof actual times and any reported error messages orcomplications in the manufacturing process. Thisinformation can be used to update the resources planso as to specify the basis for calculations for any followon parts more precisely.

When the parts are registered as ‘ready for dispatch’,the appropriate test certificates, freight and customsdocumentation is created automatically andtransportation orders are transmitted to the relevantforwarding company.

To make sure that an overview of the complete processis maintained, there is a freely configurable, web-capable information system, which aggregates anddisplays all relevant process information usingmanagement or control centre cockpits.

In the OPTI environment there are also specially linkeddetail solutions and MES systems. These includestandard solutions for inventory management, mobiledata collection and highly available PDA/MDA systemsas well as evaluation tools, data cubes and processcontrol centres. OPTI.melt delivers a detailed planningsolution for melt operations which has the completeprocess chains for melting under control – from chargeoptimization and post charges, through all differenttreatment steps for the melt, taking account of availablefurnace capacities and tool life monitoring in the ladleparks, right through to tap planning.

So, whatever the material or casting process, the FRPsystem RGU OPTI links all foundry processes in oneinnovative, integrated solution. This means foundrieshave a comprehensive overview of all the processes inthe company; while increasing transparency, efficiencyand profitability. RGU System’s customers includeArcelor Mital, KSB AG, Gontermann Peipers GmbH,Componenta B.V., and Europe’s largest independentfoundry Fritz Winter Eisengiesserei GmbH & Co. KGamong others.