PRIMAFOND CELEBRATES ITS 20th ANNIVERSARY

The history
- Since its establishment in 1990, Primafond has been sustained by the long experience in design and construction of foundry and core-shop equipment, designed by our founder Claudio Cavedon, who from the early 70s worked in the foundry industry as technical director of the prestigious company “Imafond”.
The company motto was and still is “From long experience, comes the best quality.”
- For 20 years our team have continuously researched modern, safe and functional equipment solutions offered by new and ever evolving technologies.
- The combination of experience and research guarantees the reliability of Primafond machines.
Thanks to the faith of numerous International and domestic customers, Primafond has so far manufactured:
115 Sand preparation and distribution systems for the production of foundry cores
153 Core-shooter machines for Cold Box process
105 Core-shooter machines for Shell Moulding process
310 Automatic gas generators for various cold cure processes
- Primafond has also paid particular attention to feeder removal of ductile iron castings, making over 300 wedge feeder breakers and pneumatic canon impact breakers.
- The ability to remanufacture and modernise used machines, of any model brand and origin, has always been appreciated by Primafond customers.
We also manufacture a wide range of accessories such as sand batch mixers, sand crushing units for sand recovery, pneumatic conveyors, dipping tanks for coating cores and core deflashing machines which complements the company’s equipment portfolio.

Our values:
- The manufacturing programme is completely focussed on advancing our designs as well as making bespoke machines according to the customer’s requirements.
- From the initial design, up to the after-sales service, Primafond is respected as a reliable partner who has studied the most suitable solutions to optimise the client’s production needs.
- Our machines are built with passion and constant attention to user friendliness and operator safety is a major consideration. In this way, we combine high build quality levels while at the same time maintaining realistic pricing structures.

The future
- Our anniversary follows a year of deep economical crisis, but despite all of this, Primafond has continued manufacturing. An important order for a core shop in Russia is a good auspice for a more prosperous 2010.
- We would very much like to express our gratitude to all of our past and current customers who have helped us to reach this important milestone, and hope that we will continue to attract new and returning clients who appreciate our dedication to their requirements.

Published on Gifa, June 2003
PRIMAFOND IS ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY
A new generation of gassing systems to reduce amine consumption and production costs.

The production of cores in Cold Box using amines as catalyst is a rather well-known process.
Amine gassing systems of the first generation required the use of an inert gas (f. ex. nitrogen) as vaporizer and transport vehicle during the gassing phase and it was not possible to exceed a temperature of 30°C. Amines of the last generation, instead, must be vaporized at 100/120°C. Primafond has been continuously upgrading its gassing systems according to the requirements of modern amines (which, among other things, smell less than the first ones). With the application of efficient heaters (which can quickly reach a temperature of 100/120°C), we obtain a remarkable heating mass and, therefore, a lasting thermal flywheel effect.
The amine is proportioned by a precision pump, such as magnet drive gear pumps, therefore no dripping will occur.
In addition, nitrogen is not necessary, neither as vaporizer, nor as transport vehicle: only air is used.
In optimum conditions, as far as the sand mixture and the core box are concerned, the consumption of amine is reduced of up to 1 cc/kg of sand (sometimes the consumption is even lower). A lower amine consumption means:
Amine saving less frequent supply orders reduced smell giving off to the environment's advantage a lower consumption of acids to eliminate the smell from the cleaner and therefore: a less frequent disposal of cleaner's exhausts. Finally, the higher temperature, both in gassing and in washing, reduces core production time. The over 200 gassing systems already manufactured confirm our choice of producing this new system.

Published on Gifa, June 2003
DEAR, OLD SHELL MOULDING

Primafond designs and manufactures a wide range of core shooter machines for every core-making process, in particular Cold Box, Hot Box and Shell Moulding. Even if the Shell Moulding is one of the eldest core-making processes and almost everybody knows it, it is still topical and important. A few years ago it seemed as if the Shell Moulding was disappearing, because of the Cold Box introduction: of course, its use has decreased, but it still keeps its market share, especially for high-quality big runs of cores, which allow paying off the high cost of a cast iron or steel core box. The widespread knowledge and the easy use of this process could be deceptive: actually, for every type of core the sand and the core-shooter machine must be carefully selected, to obtain the necessary characteristics according to the casting to produce. The quality of the sand is very important: its flowability helps the result of a full or empty core; the resin bonded to the sand must be correctly chosen and parted; different core widths need sand suitable to different cooking times. The core-shooter machines are as much important as the sand to make perfect cores: each type of core-shooter machine is suitable for a particular production. That's why Primafond machines are provided with various devices, according to the type of cores to realize:
1. Machines with overturning, with blowing during the overturning or from the top, which after the blowing go back to the initial position for the emptying of the core, with tilting. These machines make empty cores.
2. Machines with blowing only from the top, to obtain full cores
3. Machines with lateral blowing for impellers production
4. Machines with blowing from the bottom, for full cores or empty cores production.
The blowing from the bottom can be made with:
- siphon shooting system, to obtain easily full cores
- direct shooting system, very efficient and suitable for particularly complex cores.
5. Machines with blowing from the bottom with horizontal parted core box, to make impellers and shells.
Primafond also designs and manufactures special machines on request, to produce tailor-made machines that meet with the customer's requirements. The quality of cores has a very important part to play in making a beautiful casting: it is essential to think carefully at the characteristics of the core to obtain while choosing a core-shooter machine.

Published on Gifa, June 2003
PRIMAFOND PRESENTS A NEW RANGE OF WEDGE FEEDER BREAKERS

Primafond for many years has produced and researched devices for the safe removal of feeders from ductile iron and manganese steel castings, using hydraulic wedge breakers of various types and dimensions. Primafond, is continually researching the most simple and efficient solutions to satisfy each customer's requirements, by improving the quality and performance of its products.
They have recently increased their range of wedge feeder breakers, so that in addition to the well known "SMAT" range, working with two pumps, a new range of "SMAT" units is now available operating with only one pump.
The concept and production of "SMAT" began more than ten years ago. At that time the objective was to achieve a powerful breaking force with a low power consumption, according to the customers' requirements. We achieved a force of 350 (max 400), with an installed power of 3, 4 or 5 kW, depending on the size of the tool. This system uses two pumps, the first being geared, giving a big oil delivery at low pressure (80 to100 bar). The second is a piston pump, with a small oil delivery and a higher pressure (350 to 400 bar). This high breaking force however does not allow for a fast breaking movement, which is considered to be rather slow especially at the second pump pressure stage. This has not however limited the success of the two element pump solution, as is testified by the sale of over 200 SMAT units to date. Today, with the installation by many foundries of more productive moulding plants including continuous shot blasting machines which discharge onto apron or vibratory sorting conveyors, the requirement for a faster and more productive wedge breaking device has been identified.
The new range of Primafond range of wedge feeder breakers utilises a single element pump, which reaches a pressure of 300 bar (max 400) almost instantly with a motor of 9.2 to 11 kW, depending on the size of the tool. A continuous wedge feed speed of about 100 mm per second is achieved. Various sizes of SMAT units are available. The models SMAT 50, 63, 80 and 100 have a turning tool head, that allows easy entry of the wedge, with an easy two-hands operation. These units are suitable for breaking the feeders from small, medium or large castings. The model SMAT 50-MINI has a fixed tool head, and can be used with one hand. It is light-weight, easy to handle, and especially useful for high volume small castings with difficult tool access.
The wedge feeder breakers made by Primafond give tangible reduction in operating costs due to their speed. Combined with low capital investment, they also contribute to a better working environment and operator safety compared to other removal processes.