Application project of 100t casting bridge crane in the casting workshop of Andritz large water pump manufacturing base

1、 Project Overview

ANDRITZ is a leading global supplier of solutions for hydropower, large pump valves, and fluid equipment. Its large water pump manufacturing factory focuses on producing core equipment such as large axial flow pumps, mixed flow pumps, energy storage pumps, and flood control large water pumps. The core components such as water pump impeller, pump casing, and pump body base are mostly made of stainless steel and high-strength cast steel through integrated casting. The casting volume is large and the weight of each piece is high, which puts strict requirements on the lifting and transportation system of the casting process.

This project is located in the specialized casting workshop for water pumps in the factory. The workshop is responsible for the entire process of large-scale water pump casting, including molding, melting and pouring, sand removal, high-temperature casting transportation, heat treatment loading and unloading, and mold transportation. The original lifting equipment had insufficient tonnage and low speed regulation accuracy, which could not meet the production needs of large pump casings and impeller castings at the hundred ton level.
To match the production capacity planning of new products, the project customizes a 100 ton main hook casting special double beam bridge crane (100/32t) as the core lifting equipment of the casting workshop, covering the entire process from steel ladle transfer and pouring, large sand mold handling, high-temperature casting lifting, and tooling and mold turnover.

2、 Analysis of Difficulties in Project Working Conditions

The production scenario of large water pump castings in Andritz is different from ordinary machining workshop cranes, and there are multiple working condition challenges:

1. * Large load span and complex operation types**
   The maximum finished pump casing casting weighs nearly 95 tons and requires a main hook with a rated load of 100 tons to complete lifting; Small and medium-sized castings, sandboxes, and auxiliary fixtures are operated using a 32t auxiliary hook; In production, it is necessary to lift molten metal ladle to complete pouring, and at the same time transport red hot castings at hundreds of degrees Celsius.
2. The stability requirements for homework are extremely high**
   The impeller and casing of the water pump are precision fluid components, and significant shaking is not allowed during the pouring process and casting transportation. Shaking can easily cause slag inclusion, size deviation, and sand collapse in the casting, directly leading to the scrapping of the casting.
3. * * Adverse casting environment**
   There are high temperature thermal radiation, sand dust, and water vapor in the workshop; The crane needs to be close to the melting furnace and pouring station for a long time, and the electrical and transmission components need to be heat-resistant and dust-proof.
4. * * High requirements for production continuity**
   The melting and pouring processes are irreversible, and once the lifting equipment malfunctions, the entire furnace of molten steel will be rendered useless, causing huge economic losses. Therefore, the lifting system is required to have multiple redundant safety protections.
5. Multi process collaborative operation**
   The crane needs to be connected in series: sand mold placement → steel transfer and pouring → casting static cooling → sand dropping and transportation → loading and unloading of the heat treatment furnace, requiring precise control of micro speed and jog.

Project Summary

The 100 ton casting bridge crane project in the casting workshop of Andritz large water pump manufacturing factory is not a simple procurement of general lifting equipment, but a customized heavy-duty lifting solution around the casting process of large water pump castings. The equipment is fully adapted to high temperature, heavy load, and high-precision pouring and transportation conditions, breaking through the bottleneck of material transportation throughout the entire process of large water pump core castings from molding, pouring to heat treatment.

After the 100 ton casting bridge crane is put into operation, it will become a key infrastructure for the large-scale hydraulic pump casting production line in the factory, helping Andritz to continuously develop and manufacture ultra large high-performance water pump products, consolidating its competitive advantage in the global fluid machinery and water conservancy equipment fields, and providing a mature reference model for heavy-duty lifting system planning for similar heavy industry casting and hydropower equipment manufacturing enterprises.