Weighbelt feeder accurately meters bentonite binder
An engine parts manufacturer installs two weighbelt feeders to accurately meter bentonite binder for its sand-casting molds.
Since its establishment in 1902, International Truck and Engine Corp., Chicago, [formerly International Harvester, then Navistar] has produced more than 8 million diesel engines for semitrailer trucks, school buses, and other vehicles. A company subsidiary, Indianapolis Casting Corp. [ICC], Indianapolis, manufactures truck engine blocks and heads. To make the engine parts, the company pours molten metals into a sand-casting mold, which is formed with bentonite, a very fine powder, to bind the mold's sand together. To produce a high-quality part, the bentonite has to be accurately metered. But ICC found that metering the bentonite wasn't easy.