Case: ALUAR

New design for the anode holding vises in ALUAR

An obsolete design of vise sets put friction in aluminum production. Together with the ALUAR technical office, we worked on the development of a new, more efficient and durable design.

ALUAR is a company with national capital dedicated to the manufacture of aluminum, managed according to the most demanding international parameters of the industry and in permanent evolution. Today it completely supplies the local market with approximately 30% of its produced volume, and exports the remaining 70% to countries such as the United States, Brazil, Japan and Germany, among many others.

Its Puerto Madryn plant has a primary aluminum production capacity of 460,000 tons per year. Plates, ingots, bars, wire rod and aluminum alloys are produced there to supply different sectors, including construction, automotive, packaging, and energy, among others.
A new design for anode clamping vise assemblies

In August 2011 we received an order from the company to repair the anode clamping vise assemblies. The vise sets are used to fix the anodes located inside the vats with liquid aluminum, and in this way maintain the electrolysis process essential in the production of the material.

Excessive use of the part due to emergencies and high demand generated great wear and tear on the assemblies, resulting in a very short useful life and permanent binding of screws and nuts. Additionally, the design of the part was obsolete and caused high repair batches for each breakage (around 1,500 per year).

Our solution

At Daniele, we work together with the ALUAR technical office in the development of a new design with a screw with a single diameter, left and right thread, threaded and welded head.

With this design, the performance and useful life of the part was significantly increased, reducing the repair batch to approximately 300 units per year, and achieving great customer satisfaction.

Federico Galán, then a member of the Maintenance Engineering team at ALUAR, commented on the experience:

“For this project, Daniele worked closely with our technical office. It was a great team effort. I value above all the ability of its people to accommodate our requirements, and also their valuable contribution to finding an efficient and lasting solution. I also highlight that, after the in-plant test of the prototype gave positive results, the solution was applied permanently throughout the park”.

New design for the anode holding vises in ALUAR

Our solution

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