At Outokumpu in Tornio/Finland, VELCO has put into operation a fully automatic gunning installation for standing ladles.
The gunning manipulator is located in a specially erected hall.
The ladles are transported via rail carriage into the gunning hall. At customer’s plant two different ladle sizes (40t and 70t) are in use.
In total four gunning positions and different programs for automatic gunning of bottom, side wall and spout are available. The programs can be started individually or sequentially without interrupting the gunning process. Two different gunning materials are used: a material for the repair of the permanent lining and a light material for the wearing layer. The operator selects the gunning position, the gunning program and the type of material, then the gunning process is carried out automatically. When changing the gunning material, it is not necessary to exchange the gunning equipment. Furthermore, the operator has the possibility to take over the manual gunning control via joystick and to gun individually at selected spots.
This installation reduces considerably the working strain and dust exposure for the operator. The necessary gunning time could be reduced, as the gunning robot works with higher gunning capacity and hence it enables to change faster between the two different materials.
