Sapa Profiles in the UK is a four-press operation on two sites with an installed capacity of over 50,000 tonnes per year. As well as offering a large number of standard profiles, the company can help customers design the perfect extrusion for their particular application, stocking over 25,000 different dies. Standard alloys extruded include: 6060, 6063, 6063A, 6463, 6005A and 6082. The company’s commitment to the environment is also well established and its inhouse remelt facilities at Tibshelf recycle scrap consume only 5% of the energy used to produce the raw material.
Pyrotek has installed a SNIF unit at Sapa, Tibshelf and also supplies a range of consumables including: Various spares for the SNIF unit; Titan thimbles; N-17 transition plates; Insural 140 table refractories used on the two sizes of casting tables operated at SAPA, and also Coveral flux.
The SNIF SHEER unit installed at Sapa’s in-house remelt facility at Tibshelf is a model P-60U. The technology from SNIF Pyrotek comprises an in-line aluminium refining system. SNIF®stands for Spinning Nozzle Inert Flotation. SNIF®Systems are deep vessel units, employing one to three nozzles, depending on the user’s metal flow rate and hydrogen reduction requirements.
The P-60U model SNIF SHEER® is a double-nozzle system providing a nominal continuous refining rate of 60,000 lb (27,000 kg) per hour. The equipment consists of a 30- kW-rated refining furnace, four removable electric immersion heating elements encased in silicon carbide immersion sheaths, process controls and furnace heating controls. The most significant design feature of the P-60U is its quickly and easily replaceable pre-fired refractory furnace- lining cartridge.
Amongst the consumables supplied to Sapa Profiles by Pyrotek, the Titan™ Thimbles act as a transition piece to transfer molten aluminum from the hot top refractory troughs to the billet mould. The precise casting of the attachment ring groove ensures tolerances for a compatible and uniform mating with the cross feeder trough and the transition plate. The smooth inner surface reduces build up of aluminium oxides, minimising maintenance.
Pyrotek N-17 is a graphite-fibre-reinforced, highpurity, calcium-silicate board developed exclusively for the non-ferrous casting industry. The patented formulation of Pyrotek N-17 makes ensures optimum strength, low shrinkage and resistance to thermal shock. Pyrotek machine shops are equipped with CNC tooling equipment to produce complex components to customer specifications.
Article printed in Aluminium Times Jan/Feb 2009 : MMC Publications
Pyrotek website: www.pyrotek.info
