Development and Testing of Operator Vision Assistance System for Foundry Applications

Slag control in small and medium-scale (SME) foundries is based on operator’s experience, as foundry operators can hardly see a visual difference between liquid metal slag at metal-making temperatures with the naked eye. With increasing requirements of high-quality castings, it imperative that SMEs employ smart, innovative, affordable technologies to assist real-time monitoring stay competitive market. In this work, an Operator Vision Assistance System (OVIAS) was developed enhance vision differentiating from provide visualization slag. A prototype OVIAS set up tested imaging bath surface 2.5 t induction furnace Österby Gjuteri AB, Sweden. Tests confirmed potential visualization. optimizing amount coagulant addition during melting stage de-slagging operation. Industrial calibration performed but must be further lab-scale tests. The serve cost-efficient, flexible alternative current expensive infrared-based systems providing improved well larger mills. This article protected by copyright. All rights reserved.