Innova Systems help to speed up Furnace Design
Wednesday, October 20, 2010Solidworks and Innova Systems help Meltech Ltd get upto speed
Meltech Ltd
based near Cambridge and Wolverhampton has built a successful business
around the design and refurbishment of electric induction heating and
melting furnaces for the foundry industry, but the introduction of new
European regulations regarding Electromagnetic Field Emissions resulted
in a shift for the company to start designing new equipment.
“We
have a lot of expertise in furnace technology” said joint Managing
Director Neil Moore. “We wanted to use our industry skills and
experience to create enhanced performing furnaces through clever,
innovative design. Ultimately, we knew we had to change from our 2D
based Turbo CAD system as complexity and quantity of parts in the final
assembly would increase”.
Meltech looked at Rhino and TurboCAD
3D, but both systems seemed clunky and cumbersome to use. SolidWorks
from Innova Systems clearly showed how to apply the software to new
furnace designs and make a smooth transition from 2D based drawing to 3D
design. The sale of a new furnace for Estonia with tight deadlines
meant the designs had to be completed very quickly, so training and ease
of learning became critical factors in making a decision to purchase
SolidWorks.
It was clear that the improved visualisation was
immediately having an impact, enabling any potential design errors to be
trapped early in the design process. With the added pressure of time
and committed delivery dates looming, Meltech needed to avoid the cost
and time delays due associated with re-work, a common occurrence with
TurboCAD. 
A
Mag-Melt Furnace typically involves the lifting of up to 1,500 Kg of
molten metal, and so there were question marks about the new design’s
capability to carry the additional weight of the molten charge. A
hydraulic tilt mechanism pivots the furnace body during operation;
failure of the pivots would be catastrophic so SolidWorks Simulation was
used to quickly identify the ‘worst case’ pivot angle.
At this
position, the mechanism was tested in more detail to see the stress
distribution in the pivot pins. It was important to confirm that there
was no yielding. This mechanism is bolted to the furnace body, and the
loading on these bolts needed to be calculated. The Simulation Bolt
Check Plot, which clearly shows green bolts as passing and red as
failing, but also calculates all the components of load on the bolts.
Using this information, it was possible to quickly identify that shear
was the primary load condition. This helped in the specification of the
correct size bolt in each location, to withstand the high shear loading.
“With our very first project using SolidWorks, we are already
seeing the benefits” said Neil “The first major project was completed on
time within a three month period. All production drawings together with
exploded views for service manuals and parts lists were completed,
which was usually a separate operation for another member of the team.
The training delivered by Innova Systems helped me do things correctly
and already, we are seeing a return on investment.”
“We are
delighted to see that even within a very short time, Meltech are seeing
the excellent results. Sometimes, making a change from 2D can be
challenging, but SolidWorks proves time and time again that significant
benefits can be achieved very quickly. We are delighted to be a partner
of Meltech and wish them every success for the future” said Managing
Director Mark Bradford