Vacuum Casting Plant for Cast Resin Dry Type Transformers

Client: Unipower Transformers Pvt. Ltd.
Application: Cast Resin Transformers
Process: Vacuum Casting
Consumption: 500 to 600 Kg./Shift

Finding the right technology for the Cast Resin Transformers was a challenge. The comparable solutions available in the market to automate material preparation and vacuum casting, offered mostly by European and Chinese companies, would have meant large initial investment outlays.

With a key export order in hand, the Client wanted an economical and flexible system, that would meet the requirement of 500 to 600 Kg/shift, but, with an option to ramp-up the production to 1,000+ Kg as more orders came in.

Our machines in transformer casting are designed and built to serve the specific needs of the midsized companies in the market. These are well poised to automate production even small volumes, assure quality and ensure advanced controls and traceability – a key requirement for exports.

Pradeep Bhalwankar
MD Twin Engineers Pvt. Ltd.

Until now, manufacturers of Vacuum Casting had two conventional options – to continue with standalone process equipment or invest in an integrated plant. While the former gave total process flexibility it posed a huge risk to process control, the later meant huge process costs and severely limited flexibility.

The innovative Vacuum Casting Plant from Twin Engineers shows a new way to provide flexibility and process control at minimal investments. Another advantage is the modular nature of the solution which makes it easy to scale.

To automate vacuum casting technology, we preferred Twin’s technology after a thorough comparison with other popular German make plants. The market feedback and our internal assessment showed that the imported plants would have been a huge investments not just to procure, but even install and run. The support and maintenance of these imported plants was also an issue. Overall, we found a perfect fit in Twin’s technology for the volume were targeting.

Mr. Pradeepan Sivan Nair
MD, Unipower Transformers

Unique Vacuum Chamber Design

The Vacuum Chamber, with a joystick controlled x-y tackle system for dispensing, and facility to cast 6 transformer cores at a time. The Vacuum Chamber was provided with IR heaters for accurate temperature control of the mould. Custom designed forklift for loading and unloading of moulds ensured further ease and faster through-put.

Material Preparation

• Silica Filling System to automatically introduce accurate quantity of fillers into resin/hardener tanks
• Load cells to weigh and measure filler quantity
• Mixing and Dispensing with Electrical heater, Continuous thin film degassing & precision gear metering
• Touch Screen HMI with programmable recipes

Vacuum Casting

• IR heaters for temperature control of each mould
• X–Y mechanism controlled by a joystick to position the static mixer
• Set and monitor the exact vacuum level in the chamber
• Custom designed forkliftor tackle for loading and unloading moulds

• Complete batchwise traceablity
• Production monitoring on mobile

Twin offered a complete solution, with value added customisation, to significantly improve the productivity of client’s process.

Winning in the export market is all about meeting stringent quality and performance norms, consistently. The manufacturing has to be to the design – a 100% match, aesthetics – neat and trace-ability to keep the processes on track. With Twin’s Vacuum Casting Plant we were able to achieve them all successfully.

Production Manager at Unipower Transformers

• Significantly improved product properties such as Partial Discharge, consistent finish
• Quick start-up time
• Up to 80% reduction in material wastage with automated material handling throughout the process
• Up to 70% lower space and piping as compared to other options in the market
• Installation and commissioning in days not in months
• Up to 80% lesser efforts, time and costs in cleaning and maintenance

With a significantly lower investment outlay for Twin Engineer’s Vacuum Casting Plant we could bring up to 50% savings in Capex and Opex in many areas. The installation and commissioning, for instance, was a fraction of the costs of imported machines. This was a huge advantage to start. But, more importantly, we got several advanced features in Twin’s Vacuum Casting Plant that would have costed us significantly higher if we were to buy an imported plant.