Pyrotek's plant in Ohio, USA, conducts water-modeling tests of pumps for customers worldwide.
Pyrotek’s facility in Aurora, Ohio, USA, designs and manufactures centrifugal pumps for molten metal applications to ensure foundries, recyclers, and producers of aluminium, zinc, and lead acquire the right equipment for their individual processes.
Jon Tipton, Engineering Manager at the Aurora facility, says they have 840 square metres (9000 square feet) of dedicated floor space that features a 30,000-litre (8000-gallon) water tank for running water models of pumps and Pyrotek’s LOTUSS vortex technology.
“We can model pretty much any scenario for a custom application to see if our products are compatible for that application,” Tipton says.
Pyrotek’s technical team travels to customer plants to learn their processes so they can determine the best pump for each situation. Along with regular testing for foundries, they also complete testing for primary aluminium, zinc, and lead producers.
“If it’s outside of our normal specification range for pumps we can design one to specifically fit a customer’s application, and then test it in our facility before we send it out into the field,” Tipton says.
Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, Pyrotek can test a product’s design before water modelling.
“We have two methods of experimentation to verify the designs,” Tipton says.
Pyrotek has done a variety of testing at the facility the past three years, including:
- LOTUSS vortex design
- Flow characteristics through pumps
- Velocity and particle tracking in furnaces
“All of this is done before it hits molten metal and reaches the customer, which is a big advantage,” Tipton says.
The vortex testing benefits large recycling operations and foundries wanting to recycle scrap and chips. Pyrotek’s LOTUSS system efficiently submerges scrap to reduce oxidization and dross.
Pyrotek has a team of six design engineers at the facility who work with each customer’s specifications.
“There is a dedicated customer service team that can help customers all the way from sales inquiry to the final installation of the product,” Tipton says
Posted in Article, Feature, Insight Newsletter, Location News, Research and Development.
Tags: Aluminium, Engineering Services, Foundry, North America, Pumps, Zinc, Pyrotek LOTUSS.