More than five football fields would be needed to house all our plants and equipment: four melting furnaces, one automatic degassing system, five manual shell mould casting systems, three low pressure robotic systems, four die casting work cells with presses from 380 to 750 tonnes, and an entire area dedicated to finishes during the post-casting stages, that is, cutting, blanking, deburring, vibratory finishing, and shot blasting.
For Elfit, optimising product quality is the most important objective. In the case of critical components, quality checks are carried out using a radioscopic system in order to identify any casting defects (for example blowholes, hot cracks, cold shuts...). The capacity of short wavelength magnetic radiation to penetrate various materials underlies one of the most advanced non-destructive control systems. The latest generation X-ray radioscopic system is equipped with a processor for the elaboration and programming of the control cycles.
The foundry department employs about 100,000 kg per month of low copper content primary aluminium alloy ingots with high corrosion resistance. Elfit’s four melting furnaces allow the simultaneous processing of different types of alloys. In compliance with the ISO 9001 2015 and ISO 45001 2018 system certifications, planned checks are regularly carried out to monitor all stages of the process, starting from an acceptance check of the light aluminium alloys.
The aluminium is melted in various forms and cast into special moulds.
An automatic degassing system eliminates the gases absorbed by the aluminium in the foundry furnaces. Once molten, the aluminium alloys are in fact easily saturated with gases, in particular hydrogen. The elimination of said gases makes it possible to guarantee the structural integrity and conformity of the chemical composition of the single alloys used, making it possible to obtain, by way of their homogenisation, better results in terms of the specific weight of the alloys.
Hence degassing the aluminium reduces the classic problem of alloy porosity due to the presence of hydrogen gas bubbles in the molten metal. Furthermore, a collateral benefit is the elimination of part of the non-metallic inclusions in suspension.
The Elfit foundry is one of the few in Italy to have three different technologies available for the transformation of aluminium:
Transfer for mechanical machining of complex, small-sized pieces equipped with sophisticated numerical controls.
On the low pressure work cell, a robot picks the cast piece for cooling and subsequent machining.
Machinery with advanced CNC and robotic technology make the laser cut in the stainless steel sheets.
Once cut, the stainless steel sheets are bent and then welded by automated robots to create boxes. The quality of welding, precision, and repeatability is guaranteed by a reliable automated system.
Robotic TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding system.
The machine shop is where all castings are mechanically machined, with an average of 1,000 pieces per day, thanks to completely automated work cells supported by the most modern technology: CNC lathes, lathes with robotic machine tending, transfers for mechanical machining, all operate under the constant supervision of highly qualified personnel.
Horizontal lathe with two X/Y axes with motorised tools and sub-spindle. The castings, such as reducers and cable glands in brass, aluminium, stainless steel 316, and ferrous pipe material are machined with extreme precision and an excellent surface finish, under the supervision of a specialised operator with 20 years’ experience.
Installation accessories such as cable glands are marked with robotic laser marking machines. The laser marking of metals allows extremely rapid and high precision machining that guarantees improved visibility and constant traceability of products over time, thanks to long-lasting treatments resistant to acids and chemical agents. The marked products undergo all the necessary testing: ageing cycles aimed at verifying the permanence of the marking and resistance to ambient temperature variations from -60°C to +150°C, testing in wet saline environments, chemical and petrochemical seal tests in the presence of hydrocarbons.
An automatic system welds the explosion-proof flexible hoses used to connect any misaligned or vibrating equipment. The fittings are welded in an inert atmosphere with tungsten electrode using a patented system unique to Europe.
The welding of each single pipe is checked by means of overpressure tests carried out in accordance with legislation in force.
The production cycle ends in the packaging and shipping department where the products arestored to meet customers’ needs around the world at any time.
Elfit electrical fittings products are available in stock and ready to be shipped.
The packaging, shipping andlogistics department ensures a high level of customer service thanks to a First in - First outmanaging of the materials and a new software system of integrated logistics which allows aincreased operational efficiency and a flexible organization, reducing process times.
The products are moved to the order preparation area where the consolidation of loads, packaging and finally shipment takes place.
For Elfit, optimising product quality is the most important objective. In the case of critical components, quality checks are carried out using a radioscopic system in order to identify any casting defects (for example blowholes, hot cracks, cold shuts...). The capacity of short wavelength magnetic radiation to penetrate various materials underlies one of the most advanced non-destructive control systems. The latest generation X-ray radioscopic system is equipped with a processor for the elaboration and programming of the control cycles
Quality checks are also carried out using an automated gantry coordinate measuring machine to check that the requested size tolerances, form, position, and orientation are satisfied both on the casting blank, and after mechanical machining.