Preparing the Master Caster for Automation

[chloe123]

Using the phone to connect...my return spring is mounted to the handle . There's probably about 2x the tension compared to the that W Winn detailed in his write up.

the original design connects the mold carrier to the rear of the frame, I believe.

I deviated just for the sake of it. Many times just the return spring if the cylinder is sufficient but there is some insurance with a heavier dpring

Anyway, the mold carrier arms were stuck in the full open position with the spring connected . It just happened on a cycle.

at night I took the mold arms off the main assembly and inspected them as well as the 2 partitions that flank them . The arms had some scratches but there wasn't an
obvious detent on anything

i added some light oil to both part, cycled manually a couple times, and it made a world of a diffrence. It retracted.

I didn't exaggerate. Once stuck, no lubrication, no return of the mold carrier--very strange

[jmorris]

I might have missed it; however, why not use the cylinder double acting?

[Tazza]

Jmorris - i believe he only has a single acting cylinder. We started talking about a double acting one after he already ordered parts

I found that oil on thses parts helped me too, even on the guides the sprue cutter hits helped some.

[HATCH]

The original Wyman design used spring return. We just recently mentioned about using a DA cylinder. I have purchased one but stopped the conversion since I am going with touch screen mods also

[Tazza]

I may get a little time on Saturday to see how i can mount a tapper to mine. My idea was to strike the underside of the mold halves so they rock back and forth on the pivot point. I feel there is just enough space for the cylinder to reach under there, but time will tell if that is indeed true or not....

Still waiting on my flow restrictors to tame the beast a bit more. The ram does have inbuilt buffers, but they only work at the end of the stroke.

Hatch - have your parts been made for your tapper cylinder yet?

[HATCH]

I got the parts just finding time to assemble. Also I am building a new control panel that will incorporate all the features I have thought up.

[Tazza]

Glad the parts are done. I'm lucky enough to have all the gear on hand to do pretty well everything i need to. Nothing worse than being at someone elses mercy to get a job done.

What changes are going into the new control box? just adding a touch screen, changing the lead pour timer setup and tapper control?

I wonder how many more cool features you will think of down the track that can be incorporated into the setup

I wonder how a proximity sensor would work with sensing that a projectile has not fallen from the mold to activate the tappers. I just don't know how sensitive they are to be able to sense something like that. Then again, how far do we go on a setup like this?

[HATCH]

Don't want to spoil the surprise.
I can tell you that any bell or whistle that I can think of is being incorporated.
No I will not be doing sensors to measure mold temp or tell if a boolit has gotten stuck.

[jmorris]

I wonder how a proximity sensor would work with sensing that a projectile has not fallen from the mold to activate the tappers.

I thought of a weighted "flapper" that would be adjustable for the amount of weight that allowed it to open. Would work similar to the holy water dispencer that Hero of Alexandria built.

The first vending machine was also one of his constructions, when a coin was introduced via a slot on the top of the machine, a set amount of holy water was dispensed. This was included in his list of inventions in his book, "Mechanics and Optics". When the coin was deposited, it fell upon a pan attached to a lever. The lever opened up a valve which let some water flow out. The pan continued to tilt with the weight of the coin until it fell off, at which point a counter-weight would snap the lever back up and turn off the valve.^[9]

Except it would just take the weight of the two bullets (and sprue if you mix them in your operation) to open the door enough for it to trigger a switch and roll the bullets off.

[jmorris]

Another way to do it would be insulated probes that are spring loaded and would contact the base of the bullet if it remained in the mold at the bottom. That would make it a closed circut back to the machine, if the mold is empty the probe would be in air and you would have an open circut.

[Tazza]

hehehe it's like Christmas, waiting to see what the surprise is

Mold temperature would be handy to control speed automatically, but it makes it more complex and really not needed. These machines are not made for production speed.

Jmorris - i like that idea, simple yet effective. you sure think outside the box with these things, a direction i would never have considered.

[Tazza]

I was considering probes, but i know how it would go for me, they would find a way to be bent into something that doesn't resemble a probe anymore.

[HATCH]

Spent a hour chasing a ghost.

Started hooking up the new panel.
Its 100% new except for the stop switch.
Fan worked fine.
Had to reprogram the pid for SSR output.
Once that got figured out it wouldn't get hot.
Checked all voltages. All was good.

Couldn't figure it out.
I ran the old panel one last time before disconnecting it.

Turns out the a connector failed that connected the heating elements.

Cut the two bad connectors off and twisted the wires and everything worked.
Just got to get a high temp crimp connector tomorrow

[Tazza]

Gotta love the tail chasing..... Glad you found the issue and it was nothing major.

How is the SSR output different? i have seen different outputs available on ebay, i never understood why you couldn't just use the relay outputs to control it. Or does it provide the low trigger voltage to turn it on and off? That may be be thinking that i have power available, so i could just use that through a relay output from the PID to turn it on and off.

I assume the SSR is not a latching device, so you need an on and off pulse?

[HATCH]

The pid was set up for relay output. The SSR (12v) wasn't activated.
Relay out put requires you to loop power thru the contacts to the SSR. The relay normally doesn't have a life expectancy the SSR outputs have.
Most SSR use 4-32 vdc for control.
Most are also just on/off devices.
You can get some that are modulating.
Example its set for 0-10 vdc. 5 vdc is 50% output 10vdc is 100%


One advantage that I have is that because the range that the SSR can activate you could send a 24vdc signal a long way before it drops below the 4vdc activation lower limit of the SSR

[Tazza]

That makes sense. Mine just uses a relay but they cost the same as an ssr these days and an ssr will pretty well live forever. Never thought about the voltage drop. Handy that they can be used like that for long runs if needed

[chloe123]

You'll find a short video link below of the additional Master Caster I just set up in series

...running with the extended cooling time Hatch designed(there's a benefit of avoiding mold overheating when you're not running fans).

Please note, it's slow. A normal cycle (by selecting respective button on the Hatch panel)would run about 50% faster. Also, as mentioned, though I can slow the mold carrier cylinder with the restrictor , it will not push smoothly like the Tazza, or others set, up. I don't view this as a problem, at least at this time. Though, I still think increased cylinder bore size may play a role in a smoother action when a restrictor is added.

http://youtu.be/t0SpiuIOS4o

[Tazza]

That is awesome to watch as they both do it at the same time, it's a thing of beauty

[chloe123]

Thanks. Though, there are issues that could arise. Hatch was generous including a 2nd limit switch; however, I didn't know how to consider the voltage needs as he didn't design it for 2 MCs. For that reason, I kept it off. It being off means one could run normally while the 2nd machine has a stuck mold carrier while lead continues to pour. Also, I simply split the air lines to accommodate 2nd cylinders. Though it was kinda shoddy, ill prioritize the important changes, and figure out a game plan, in the future.

There was a post in the broader 'Casting Equipment' re. adding a vent hood. That's one feature that I'd like to add. Freshen the air up a bit. Oh yeah, the 2nd air cylinder is a dual acting. Just learned there's no reason it can't operate in just one direction. Found it as a N.O.S. easier, and cheaper, than the single acting equivalent


Adden.: The 2 extra solenoids I have don't have wires attached and I've consulted Mettle Air for a diagram. Though the system isn't set up to send different signals, I'd like to consider how they can be used for independent movement. As I can't figure out how to even connect wires to them, that's gonna take a while.



The limit switch I view as a necessity though. So, I'll consider that first. Tazza, I'll review your post again to get a better handle on your suggestions--thanks

I ran the MC in the proper small boolit size mold for a minute below. Apart from tightening the sprue plate on one machine, there haven't been anything resulting in a fail

http://youtu.be/cFVbaRNOyfM

[Tazza]

I am unsure on the power requirements for the solenoids Hatch is using. The ones i am using draw about 100ma each, so they really use next to nothing.

For your setup, if you keep it hooked up that way, i would like to see separate solenoids for each MC and possibly tie an extra limit switch in so that lead will not drop if there is no mold under it, run the power to the lead pour solenoid through the switch so no power will flow if it is not in position.

Ideally they both should be run by the PLC but i don't think there are enough i/o lines to be able to do this.