For 20 years, OTTO JUNKER GmbH has been maintaining a Technology Center in Lammersdorf for carrying out R&D projects in the fields of melting, holding and pouring equipment.
----- Continuation of issue 29/2018 -----
----- Continuation of issue 29/2018 -----
Development for and with our customers
As announced in the previous issue in which we took a close look at our Melting Technology Center, we also maintain a comprehensive Technology Center dedicated to equipment for the heat treatment of non-ferrous metals.
In addition to a series of test rigs-ups, several of which were built to customer order with a view to investigating special application issues, a hot dip tinning line and a strip flotation furnace with cooling section deserve special mention.
These last two units serve primarily for systematic development and improvement. In this regard the use of simulation techniques has proven its worth: Firstly, they make it possible to select a number of particularly suitable test variants beforehand. Secondly, empirical data obtained through experiments permit continuous improvements to the simulation models.
The established HiPreQ® mist quench system (see illustration) and our own air knife system for hot-dip tinning lines exemplify our approach of combining simulation and measurements to develop all-new equipment components bringing vast benefits to the customer – whether in terms of strip flatness (due to the use of cooling rates that do not exceed metallurgical needs) or hitherto unequalled visual and dimensional uniformity of the tin-coated strip. As a useful side effect, numerous parameter variations in the empirically proven simulations also permit complex interactions to be coordinated such that the mathematical models used in the thermoprocessing equipment offer sufficient accuracy and real-time capability. All these possibilities are also benefits for our customers to the extent that heating or cooling processes can be verified and, where necessary, optimized already during the planning stage.
This not only ensures that the potential investment into new equipment will ultimately yield products with the required metallurgical properties. The findings also contribute to achieving maximum economic efficiency as expressed by productivity and energy efficiency.
And if a given task cannot be resolved by „forced convection“, e.g., because the application calls for particularly short heat-up times or locally restricted
heating, we can still draw on synergies with the Melting Technology Center and rely on our induction heating process expertise.
In addition to a series of test rigs-ups, several of which were built to customer order with a view to investigating special application issues, a hot dip tinning line and a strip flotation furnace with cooling section deserve special mention.
These last two units serve primarily for systematic development and improvement. In this regard the use of simulation techniques has proven its worth: Firstly, they make it possible to select a number of particularly suitable test variants beforehand. Secondly, empirical data obtained through experiments permit continuous improvements to the simulation models.
The established HiPreQ® mist quench system (see illustration) and our own air knife system for hot-dip tinning lines exemplify our approach of combining simulation and measurements to develop all-new equipment components bringing vast benefits to the customer – whether in terms of strip flatness (due to the use of cooling rates that do not exceed metallurgical needs) or hitherto unequalled visual and dimensional uniformity of the tin-coated strip. As a useful side effect, numerous parameter variations in the empirically proven simulations also permit complex interactions to be coordinated such that the mathematical models used in the thermoprocessing equipment offer sufficient accuracy and real-time capability. All these possibilities are also benefits for our customers to the extent that heating or cooling processes can be verified and, where necessary, optimized already during the planning stage.
This not only ensures that the potential investment into new equipment will ultimately yield products with the required metallurgical properties. The findings also contribute to achieving maximum economic efficiency as expressed by productivity and energy efficiency.
And if a given task cannot be resolved by „forced convection“, e.g., because the application calls for particularly short heat-up times or locally restricted
heating, we can still draw on synergies with the Melting Technology Center and rely on our induction heating process expertise.
