Discrete-event modeling for the design of a sand recovery flexible pilot plant in the casting process

The current research developed the design of a flexible pilot plant in order to recover and reuse the sand from the molds and cores of the casting process of aluminum parts for the automotive industry. The reuse of the sand is a common practice for the casting process. However, this research work is finding for new and more efficiency methods for the reuse of the sand in order to generate significant economic savings to the company. Modeling tools were employed in order to evaluate different scenarios to predict and compare the behavior of the sand recovery of a casting process for a proposed pilot plant, saving time and cost and reducing the risk of failure in the real scenario. Digital models were developed by means of the Plant Simulation® software under two different scenarios: without losses, with losses, and with losses. Findings suggested differences between a scenario with losses and the one without losses for about 100% in the amount of some solutions required for the sand recovery plant to properly work.