Our Mission:
The
International Society of
Automation, Cleveland Section, shall advance technology, and the competence
and careers of practitioners in the Northeastern Ohio area for the benefit of
industry and humanity.
Announcements
Our very own Harriet Randvansky received the Excellence in Enduring Service Award
at the ISA Honors and Awards Event on September 24th in Orlando, FL. Bill Stange of
the Dayton Section got the Division Leader of the Year Award. Gerald E. Gilman, P.E. of
the Cincinnati Section was made an ISA Fellow. See the pictures
here.
In addition, the August
Golf Outing and the October
Cedar Point pictures are now posted.
Checkout notes from our October meeting:
Cedar Point Tour: Behind the scenes
November Meeting:
--Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Timken, Faircrest Plant Tour: Behind the scenes
Visit A Highly Automated Steel Casting Operation
Our tour starts in the chemistry lab. As the furnace is melting a “heat”, a
sample is taken and sent via pneumatic tube to the lab. The sample is analyzed
and sent back to the furnace system which uses the analysis to determine the
alloy materials to bring the product to the required chemistry as specified by
the customer.
The next stop is viewing the “melt floor”, where we will
watch a bucket of scrap metal being charged into their
electric arc furnace. The roof is swung away from the top of
the furnace, a crane moves the bucket of scrap over the
furnace, opens the clamshells on the bottom of the bucket
allowing the load to fall.
The tour then moves on to the soaking pits and the
rolling mill areas. In the meantime, the “heat” (batch) at
the furnace is tapped into a ladle (this happens 16 to 20
times per day). Each ladle hold about 165 tons of molten
steel per dump. A crane moves the ladle to the refiner
position where alloy additions are finalized and dissolved
gases are removed from the steel; then moved again to the
bottom pouring area which is teeming with ingots.
After the steel solidifies in the molds, the batch is
moved to the rolling mill and placed into soaking pits. In
the rolling area we will watch an ingot’s contents being
removed from a soaking pit and the hot metal deposited into
the cradle ahead of the blooming mill using a high reversing
process to progressively roll the metal into a smaller and
smaller cross sections.
Then we view the “bloom” being scarfed to remove surface
defects before proceeding to the shear where the top and
bottom of the “bloom” are cut away. At this point the piece
may exit to be rolled to its final size at another plant or
continue on to the billet mill. Their billet mill rolls the
metal to the customer’s size and shape specifications,
usually round or square bars from 6 to 16 inches in length.
These pieces are then sawed into shorter lengths for
shipment.
After the tour there will be a presentation of
the automation and controls systems used to monitor, control
and collect data about the product and the processes used.
Directions to Timken Faircrest:
When: Wednesday, November
14, 2012
3:30pm - 5:30pm Tour
6:00pm Dinner at
Carrabba's
Where: Timken Faircrest Plant
4511 Faircrest St. SW
Canton, OH 44706
I-77 to Exit 101 Go west on Faircrest Street (about 1 1/2 miles) The plant
will be on the right Enter the plant through Gate 2.
Park anywhere in the lot. Proceed to the brick entrance on the left side
(next to flagpole). Open the door and proceed into the Administration Bldg. PPE
(personal protective equipment) will be distributed at the Administration Bldg.
Faircrest Steel Plant Tour Guidelines:
• US Citizenship required
• Dress appropriately – fully enclosed, flat-soled leather shoes, pants, and
long sleeves are required (no skirts or capris)
• At least 12 years old
• Extensive walking and stair-climbing will be required (casts and crutches
are not permitted)
• There are magnetic fields in the steel-making area (for those who have
pacemakers or other electronic medical devices)
• Many areas have fine particles of dust in the air (recent eye laser or
lasik surgeries should note this)
• Cameras and video recorders are not permitted
• Stay with your tour guide at all times
• Pulpit access is limited to the discretion of the tour guide (access is
prohibited while the LRS or P3 light is on)
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact: Jenni Gay at (330)
471-7815 or Jennifer Simmons-Choate at (330) 471-7513.
Contact: Harriet Radvansky
EMAIL:
PHONE:(440) 239-9176
Reservations Required by Nov 9th.
Please contact Harriet if you plan on attending this
meeting.
If Email reservations are made, please provide:
Name
Professional Affiliation or Employer
Phone Number
Volunteer Opportunity for Engineers:
A World in Motion:
The award-winning A World In Motion® program brings science,
technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to life right in the classroom.
Click here for details.
