Vulcan Engineering Co., an established Manufacturer and Integrator of Foundry Equipment and Systems including Foundry Processing Equipment, Robotics, and Grinding equipment for the Foundry Industry located in Northern Shelby County is seeking an Estimator to interact with Sales, Project Management and Design Engineers to develop cost estimates. The correct individual must have a desire to understand how things work mechanically and control-wise and use this knowledge during the development of estimates. Good communication skills are a must as the successful individual will be interacting with Sales Engineers, Project Managers, Design Engineers, Vendors and Company Management.
This position requires a minimum of 2 years of estimating experience in a design, manufacture and installation environment and also a minimum of a 2-year technical degree. Must have a good working knowledge of Microsoft Office with an emphasis on Excel along with basic knowledge of AutoCAD with the ability to read, interpret and prepare takeoffs of both concept and historical mechanical drawings.
Please provide a brief summary about yourself (or cover letter) along with your resume, salary history, and salary requirements via email to employment@vulcangroup.com or fax to (205) 663-1493. Please be sure to title the subject field as “Cost Estimator”
Vulcan Engineering Co., an established manufacturer and integrator of Foundry Equipment and Systems including Foundry Processing Equipment, Robotics, and Grinding equipment for the Foundry Industry is seeking a Sales Engineer to interact with our North American customers.
Benton Foundry in Benton, Pennsylvania USA, is a state-of-the-art ductile and gray iron, green sand foundry. Their six automatic molding centers produce industrial castings which can be very intricate with up to 50 chaplets in a four-core assembly. The Foundry has been in production for more than 160 years and the Hall family has been in the foundry industry for nearly 100 years.
In 2010, Benton installed a second Foxall® system. This particular unit was the first unit that Vulcan equipped with Force Control. This technology monitors the force on the spindle, allowing the robot to be programmed to run faster than units without this feature. Also, the use of Force Control helps to protect the robot from mechanical abuse that could lead to costly repairs.
Donovan™ Mold Handling equipment is designed to handle, roll over and close cope, drag or complete molds or flasks. This equipment can hold different molds level regardless of center of gravity. Vulcan Engineering has built capable hydraulic systems that can run continuously without overheating. Self-contained hydraulics ensure low maintenance, trouble-free operation.
The Fox® Air Float Cut-Off machine is ideal for gate and riser removal on small to medium size castings, or castings on runner bars or trees. It is well suited for processing castings that are too heavy for operators to handle, as the air float feature makes moving large weights almost effortless. Compressed air is used to “lift” the gondola to allow the operator to “float” it around the table, and use the laser guide to align the casting into the proper cutting position. Once in position, a vacuum is used to securely hold it in place during cutting. The saw uses hydraulic down pressure for fast efficient removal of risers and gating.
“In 2009 we looked at five year projections showing sales would exceed current production capacity by 2015. That is when preliminary discussions started about our expansion,” Lodge stated. With this realization, Lodge had to consider current needs as well as future goals. In addition to a significant increase in capacity there would need to be ongoing considerations to maintain employee safety, increase the effective use of labor, enhance operational efficiency and provide for continuous product quality improvements overall while still allowing for future growth.
Phase I began with the addition of new melting capacity by expansion and additions to the foundry building in such a way as to not only avoid disruption of existing operations, but also improve melting efficiency and material flow through the process. The new melting systems and metal delivery equipment began production earlier this year. The initial phase will complete later this year with the startup of additional high volume fully automated sand, molding, pouring and casting handling systems.
“With Phase I of the project nearly finished, Lodge is on track to continue with this plan of updating and expansion over the years to come. This will also make work easier on our employees in terms of environment and safety. The layout leaves plenty of room to work.” In closing, Henry Lodge stated, “The biggest plus is being able to meet customer demand. Customers, it’s all about the customers! We can be comfortable growing the business and accept new customers when we are confident we can meet the increased demand while also having the utility to grow even more. While it is all about the customer, it is our hard working and dedicated employees who have built the Lodge brand through quality workmanship. We are not doing this just for now, we are thinking about 10-20-30 years ahead.”
Using leading edge robotic/manipulator technology paired with Vulcan’s specialized hand control system, this telemanipulator allows the operator to manually control the robot’s movements. That means the operator moves the robot simultaneously with his hand movements for a true “hands on” experience. Some might compare this to jogging with a teach pendant, but Vulcan’s hand control system is very different.
, To clarify, the VTS™ is intended to be a manual machine a manipulator. BUT, with a few add-ons of equipment, it can be utilized as a fully automatic (unattended) robot. This might be useful if you have a need for manual processes some of the time and automatic processes at other times.
Fox® grinders and cut-off equipment have proven reliability, and offer the most productive casting finishing equipment available for the rugged, dirty foundry environment. Designed for maximum up time with the highest quality components, Fox® equipment has innovative designs that are assembled and arranged for easy service.
Along with fast positioning of parts, the Air Float System incorporates a vacuum hold-down feature on the casting gondola. A foot operated electric control pedal activates floatation, keeping hands free for gondola movement. Once the foot pedal is released, the vacuum system secures the gondola to the table during cutting. An alignment laser is used to provide quick, precise alignment of the cut path. The gondola can be repositioned after each cut or left in position with the vacuum system holding it in place for processing higher quantities of the same part number.