Schnorkle®: The Safest Metal Transferring Equipment on the Market

No spilling, turbulence-free high-level pouring

Schnorkle

Key Benefits

Minimal heat loss (less than 10-12 K/hr)

Minimal air exposure for improved melt quality

Constant flow for optimal dosing furnace filling

Easy to integrate, operate and maintain

Key Features

  • Hermetically sealed and refractory insulated
  • Pneumatic control
  • Riser tube for spill free, title free melt transfer 
  • Impeller access for in-situ degassing
  • Multiple sizes available

Applications

  • High Pressure Die-Casting
  • High Pressure Die-Casting, Structural Parts
  • Sand and Gravity Casting
  • Green Sand Casting

Safer transfer, better metal…it’s simple

Moving and tilting open ladle systems to transfer molten aluminium is a foundry process prone to spillage and melt exposure. At best this means costly metal loss. As worst, potential injury or even risk to life. There has to be a better way.
With Schnorkle, there is. This hermetically sealed closed transfer system keeps liquid metal covered, turbulence free and maintained at a constant temperature from melting furnace to holding/dosing furnace or die casting system. No spills. No atmospheric exposure. Just safer workers and better metal. What’s not to like?

A direct approach: eliminating risk to people, equipment and foundry efficiency

A cover on the Schnorkle is opened and the melt is introduced, either from the tapping valve of a fixed shaft melting furnace or by hydraulic tilting of a tilting furnace. From here, things get very direct.

Metal treatment

Once the liquid aluminium has been received, Schnorkle’s insulated cover is designed to allow access for a degassing impeller for direct metal treatment within the unit. This eliminates the need for additional metal handling, saving both time and the potential metal loss that accompanies each extra process.

Direct transfer

After the optional treatment of the melt and the closing of the cover, the Schnorkle is transported to the die-casting system using a forklift (with no risk of spilling along the way!). Here, melt is pneumatically fed at a constant flow rate directly to the dosing/holding furnace via an insulated riser tube. This eliminates the need for tilting, high-level lifting and pouring, avoiding any risk of spillage while also minimizing contact of the molten aluminium with the atmosphere. The result? Optimal safety and improved melt quality.

Cutting energy consumption

One of the biggest risks to any foundry’s overall efficiency, and ultimately productivity, is excessive energy consumption. Open ladle systems are typically overheated initially to compensate for heat loss during transfer. As well as negatively impacting melt quality, this results in unnecessary cost. Not with Schnorkle. Because it is a completely closed system, with a burner fixed to the main cover when heating up, melt is maintained at constant temperature throughout (heat loss limited to less than 10-12 K/hr) so no overheating is necessary. Less waste, less worry. 

Safer metal transfer made easy

On top of all these benefits we’ve made Schnorkle incredibly easy to operate. Available in a range of sizes to match production volumes, it can be used with any normal melting and dosing systems, moved by any standard forklift, and can be integrated easily into existing processes. Also, because Schnorkle operates pneumatically it has almost no mechanical parts or electrical components which means extremely low maintenance requirements. 

 

Technical Details

Sizes Weights (filled) Filling heights
Schnorkle 500 2070 kg 822 mm
Schnorkle 700 2400 kg 967 mm
Schnorkle 1300 3580 kg 1012 mm

 

Options

  • Automatic cover: lid opening linked to forklift truck hydraulics
  • Preheating station: for preheating Schnorkle
  • Docking station: for compressed air and electric supply

Closed Transport System

Melt treatment - central positioning of the impeller possible
Easy handling - Schnorkle is also available with automatic lid