Sandman Pro

SANDMAN is the world’s first cloud-based data analytical software for optimisation of the foundry green sand system. It runs patented mathematical algorithms which help predict sand parameters that have been affecting the casting defects the most on any given day and prescribes variable ‘Dose-by-Need’ addition of additives which helps prevent the over/under dosing of the system sand which affects casting outcomes. This as a corollary helps reduce costly casting defects and also optimize the consumption of additives such as Bentonite, Lustrous Carbon Formers and New Sand.

Art to Analytics

The integration of Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Sensors, SCADA at Line Speed or near real-time data-based analytics for process optimisation are the genesis of future SMART factories as they move towards INDUSTRY 4.0

In addition, the digitalisation of process automation has empowered industries to collect and transmit near and real-time data. Cloud-based computing power ensures data availability without geographical and physical limitations. By leveraging the power of data-based analytics and machine learning, industries have already started generating significant tangible and intangible profits. It is a matter of concern that modern foundries with all their modern machinery and technically demanding casting processes are unfamiliar with the power of analytics; and are heavily dependent largely on human experience, which is rapidly shrinking, especially in the greyest of all areas in foundry practice which is arguably, Green Sand Moulding. Almost 80% castings are being produced using the Green Sand Casting process, owing to its advantage of low operating cost, and effortless availability of low-cost raw materials.

SANDMAN is the world’s first cloud-based predictive and prescriptive data analytic software for optimisation of the foundry green sand system with a view to reduce casting defects and optimising additive consumption. Being based on the science of data analytics, this eliminates any kind of human or domain conditioning and allows the foundry to rely on process system driven decision support. Without changing man, Material or Machine.

SANDMAN is a patented (USA, Europe, China) software, which for the first time in the world, co-relates multivariate green sand properties, additive consumption to casting defects with predictive recommendations on solutions on process control of the system sand properties.

The SANDMAN Principles

Data Digitalisation & Integration

  • SANDMAN efficiently captures, co-relates, validates and integrates a Foundry’s sand data – regardless of volume and source into a structured repository.
  • Standardised, comprehensive and easy-to-use forms for data entry based on globally accepted nomenclature and foundry lexicon; thus ensuring that data entered is correct every time!
  • Digitalization allows for visualization and comparison multi-variate sand properties against casting defects over various time ranges enabling useful insights to possible causalities of rejections.
  • Our software provides for the data to be entered directly on the computer, through spreadsheets or WiFi enabled Tablets and has IoT sensors and SCADA handshake capabilities for online data capturing (SANDMAN Pro).

Experiential Legacy

  • Historically, foundrymen have relied on the ‘art’ of experience and instinct based decision-making. However, not only is there a decreasing availability of domain experienced personnel and skilled manpower to manage the Greensand System, practiced as an ‘art’; the new age sand systems which churn out huge volumes of sand, molds and cores and handle multi patterns with varying Sand:Metal ratios; rarely allow visual or ‘feel’ capabilities of the system sand. Increasing automation and line speeds have necessitated corresponding digitalisation of the entire process in order to keep up with the varying production, patterns/components, Sand & Core to Metal ratios which keep the entire sand loop highly dynamic and variable as well as difficult to predict and control by simple linear co-relations based on the human experience.
  • SANDMAN™ is designed especially for foundry green sand systems enabling the foundry to capture historical databases as well as current data as-it-happens. It also has the most unique feature to annotate daily and past experiences to build a knowledge base that accumulates a foundry’s experiential insights. This means that this valuable knowledge gets institutionalized to the foundry itself and doesn’t get lost with the movement of personnel and is available to all succeeding process owners without limitation.

Accessibility

  • This Cloud-based software makes it easy to access data anytime, anywhere without geographic or physical limitations.
  • This means there is no need for on-site installation and the state of your sand system can always be available in a few clicks!
  • This software mandates NO change in Man, Material and Machine.

Correlational capabilities

  • SANDMAN enables you to quickly make insightful correlations between sand properties, additives, and rejections. The line charts can be easily customised across variable date and time series, multiple properties, rejections types etc. with directional support to understand causes of casting defects during the set period which is infinitely variable to choose.

Data Analytics

  • The data analytics driven algorithms are the heart of this application.
  • The predictive modelling provides the optimal sand properties and optimal rejections corresponding to each metal part. The model correlates casting rejection with sand parameter and provides the most optimal sand parameters range to operate, which can result in consistently minimising the optimal rejection predicted by SANDMAN.
  • For any given data the algorithm predicts the highest influencing parameters which may impact the rejections
  • But how do we arrive at the level of the exact additive? A unique and complex model framework, for prescriptive analytics, SANDMIX Analytics prescribes Dose- by-Need additive quantity for each batch. This allows foundries to operate and sustain the process stability of their sand system in an optimum and dynamically balanced manner.

Salient Features

Data Management

SANDMAN enables comprehensive digitalization of a foundry’s green sand data. Foundrymen can effectively and efficiently record their sand data directly on the software or upload via excel sheets in standardised formats or even upload the data directly from the shop floor through Wi-Fi-enabled Tablets, which can be accessed anytime, from any wifi enabled computer using a secure Login ID and Password.

Annotations

As managers age, change and move on, their shopfloor experience is often moving out with them or is available in limited formats. To overcome this inevitability, a UNIQUE feature of ANNOTATIONS which enables record of shop floor, system-sand related experiences and events so as to assist in future situations for informed and legacy data based decision making.

SPC Reports, Dynamic graphs & Charts

  • The SPC tools will aid run-time statistical analysis of how sand parameters are performing against rejections by type, component or casting group over an unlimited time range.
  • Early-warning alerts on SMS and emails, of emergent issues enable key personnel on the manufacturing line to take appropriate action to resolve the issue and prevent the nascent problem from becoming a serious problem in the next few cycles.

Administration

SANDMAN has provisions which allows you to uniquely customise the software to suit your Foundry and preferences. A Foundry can add/remove users, configure your foundry line, sand categories and parameters as per your requirements.

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