Quality analysis of high-pressure casted washbasins
Ehrsten, Robin (2022)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202204074725
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202204074725
Tiivistelmä
Production of sanitaryware (toilets, washbasin and urinals) in ceramic has developed rapidly and the high-pressure casting used at Geberit’s factory in Ekenäs is high-tech and constantly under development. This degree thesis concerns the quality problems and defects in production of ceramic washbasins. It involves different methods to quantify, categorize and investigate the causes for different defects. A literature review and an in-depth description of the manufacturing process was done to lay a foundation as previous research on the subject is limited. A 3-month period was spent in the factory conducting experiments on the casting and drying process in the foundry to investigate impact factors. Investigations included the manufacturing process from the foundry to final inspection, excluding slip production to maintain suitable depth of analysis. Work was done in collaboration with different departments at the factory and discussions in the form of daily meetings were held. Results found that ambient conditions affect the drying rate, increasing risk of cracking. Moreover, additional external handling performed by robots in the production decreased products rejected due to dimensional deviation. Results show that priority and focus lie in solving quality issues related to cracking and dimensional deviation. Drawn conclusions show that diligent follow up of parameter changes and possible future development to the de-moulding support can improve quality.