Castool Community

Castool Mgmt Meeting

1)   A crisis is a terrible thing to waste. Take a close look at what we have accomplished in the past 6 months and expect to accomplish in the next 6 months.

2)   Review Projects (subject and responsibility)

3)   The market has been reset. We have been slow for 8 months. Business is starting to pick up, do not lag behind. Neither the market nor Castool has any tolerance for not being ready.

4)   Knock it up a notch (or 2). What was OK eight months ago is not enough going forward.

5)   Blame up, support or terminate down.

6)   Value-add: if you participate in anything (conversation, email, exchange of information), you are expected to add value OR opt not to participate.

7)   Take immediate action; do not wait for more and more options.

8)   Address problems head on, and then move on.

9)   Rules and processes are meant to expedite business, not ritualize it.

10)  Hire people smarter than yourself.

11)  Stick to deadlines and honour commitments.

12)  Make meaning, not money. Money will follow.

13)  Listen to feedback. Tolerate criticism and do not alienate followers.

After a crazy travel week I’m looking forward to hooking up my ZX225 Skeeter and hitting the Lake. This weekend I will be heading to Lake Ontario and hopefully if the wind stays down I will be fishing 22 miles off shore in an area called the Main Ducks.

These are a series of small islands located very close to deep water and is a magnet for baitfish this time of year. With the mainlake water tempertature hovering around 69F thats about 15 F  lower than normal keeping the giant smallmouth shallow and easily caught on jerkbaits and spinnerbaits.  If the wind stays calm they can be caught sight fishing. Out in the main basin of Lake Ontario the visability is incredible and you can see 19 feet, this is a great way to catch huge smallmouth in Ontario right now.

Its not uncommon to have 25-30 fish days having a 3.5lb average. If the wind blows I will head to some of the shallower bays and target pencil reeds looking for cruzing Largemouth Bass. As mentioned before the cooler lake temperatures have kept the bait fish shallow and they are cruzing the sand filled pencil reeds in search on an easy meal. Swimming a light coloured flipping jig/trailer through the cover works best although spinner baits can get the job done but don’t have as good as a hook up ratio as a jig does.

All in all I hope to have a great weekend chasing my second passion, huge open water Great Lake Smallmouth/Largemouth Bass.

Peace Out

Dan

This week was filled with some interesting highlights.  A few of the extruders I visited this week have taken the slow-down to look at themselves internally and have created small audit teams to gather data. Data that they will later review and look for their opportunities for improvement. Like I say regading data, ” it is what it is”. For example, by gathering information on specific temperatures  (die ovens, containers, billet, profile exit), it highlights what needs attention and where upgrades are required.

The idea clearly is to use this time wisely and prepare for a reset market, and once the orders start to role back in, to be the best extruder possible.

One of the most interesting things that I observed was that there were managers on the floor sharing their knowledge and experience. This is great to see and truly a much needed change. Time will tell if it stays the course once the back logs increase and the stress/opportunity of a new emerging extrusion market begins, but the upfront work has begun.

Peace Out

Dan Dunn

First of all, I must apologize for not posting my blog for the past couple of days. My mother has had a severe stroke and is not expected to live past the end of this week.

I read an interesting article last week, “Forget by Design”. For most of human history, almost everything people did was forgotten. It was just too hard to record and retrieve. The benefit was that we could “forget and move on”. Digital tools have make it near impossible to forget.

We live with a nagging fear that something that we do or say on-line will come back and haunt us years later. Google caches copies of our blog postings, Facebook thrives by archiving our daily entries…..etc.

They need to stop creating tools that automatically  remember everything, and design them to forget. Several pieces of new software allow you to put an expiration date on files when downloading.

Social software should be designed  to ask when we want our posts and uploads to be deleted.

If we decide that a sunset or a conversation is going to live only in our mind instead of on a hard drive, we should have the choice.

Many of you who are here today have heard me speak before.

If you have, you’ll know that no matter what the title of my presentation is, I always talk about the same thing.   BETTER EXTRUSION!

Better extrusion is the slogan of my company, Castool.

Better extrusion is my personal preoccupation.

And as I’ve repeated many times, better extrusion is not accomplished simply by better equipment, it’s done by better extruders, often assisted by constantly evolving upgraded production equipment.

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Anything that can be measured can be improved.

This old maxim is as true for the process of light metal extrusion as it is for any other process.  In fact, the mere act of regularly and accurately measuring, recording, and displaying the results can be almost guaranteed to ensure some improvement in productivity, because close attention is being focused on the critical factors that affect the measured results, and the extent of their affect is being quantified

Few extruders really know with much accuracy how their performance compares with that of others.  Here are a few estimated figures which reflect information gained from a large number of extruders in several countries over a number of years.

Originally I compared an average extruder with a good extruder, and then with the few  large Superextruders.  Today, however, last year’s average extruder is quite likely no longer with us, or has by necessity become a good extruder, and so we’re left with just two approximate levels of productivity for comparison.

Assuming a 20 cm billet, and 6063 alloy, a good extruder will produce about  2040 kg of net product per manned hour, and a Superextruder about  2404 kg.  This is an increase of about 18% in productivity, but actually a very considerable increase in profitability.  Because all overheads are already covered, the increase in total selling price less only the increase in cost of material used becomes additional net profit.

Ram speed will be increased from 66 to 74 cm/min Contact Efficiency when the ram is actually pushing billet is increased from 62 to 65%,. and Net Recovery 81.5 to 83%.

In considering the real worth of any component of the production process, it is important to estimate its affect on ram speed, contact efficiency, and net recovery.  If the extruder doesn’t clearly measure results in this way, it is virtually impossible for the press operator to improve productivity.

The Market

Just now, auto makers throughout the world are preparing to produce smaller, lighter cars in order to reduce fuel consumption.  For all components that could possibly be extruded, they are evaluating the comparative strength-to-weight ratio of steel, plastic and aluminum.  As a result, a vastly increased market is anticipated for aluminum extrusion in the automotive sector. In the past, relatively few Superextruders participated in the automotive market, because its demands are so exacting and the price level so low.  In North America, however, the recent financial meltdown has reset our market in such a way that the product quality, service and prices of the past will be inadequate in the future.  This is not a temporary situation.  This reset is undoubtedly permanent.  For many extruders, improving productivity is no longer simply a means of increasing profit; it has already become necessary for survival.  Yesterday’s automotive standard is today’s norm.

The Moment of Extrusion

The moment of extrusion is in fact the essence of the entire production process.

Extruding aluminum alloy appears deceptively simple.  A billet is heated until it becomes soft, and then is pushed through a die which determines the resulting profile.  In this very brief moment of extrusion, as the alloy passes through the die, hardens, and the shape is set, most of the added value on which the extruder depends is generated.  The die is, of course, the heart of the extrusion process.  Over the years, however, too much emphasis has perhaps been placed on the die as the prime source of improving productivity.  It is fairly recently that breakthroughs in the technology of accurately measuring temperatures and speeds have revealed the real importance of the effective interaction of all components in the production system.

Three Essential Conditions

If the die is well designed and well made, the shape that leaves it should meet all required dimensional tolerances, have a good surface finish, and be moving at a profitable speed from the first billet to the last. This can only happen, however, if three specific conditions are met:

First, the alloy must enter the die uniformly at or near its optimum operating temperature.

Second, the die itself must be completely and uniformly at the optimum operating temperature of the alloy being used.

Third, the temperature of the die and the exit temperature of the extrusion should remain virtually unchanged from the beginning to the end of each cycle.

To satisfy these conditions, all parts of the extrusion production process must act and interact together as a system, and the temperature of the die must be effectively controlled from start to finish.

Assumption

It can be assumed that every extrusion production system can be improved.

There are no exceptions.

For example, maximum ram speed is actually limited only by the mechanical properties of the alloy being extruded.  It is assumed, however, that the extruder will discuss the function of the profile with the customer to ensure that the alloy used will run at the fastest ram speed, while providing a profile of sufficient strength and adequate  finish.

Better extrusion is done by better extruders, not just better equipment. They are constrained, however, by the number of constantly changing variables in the extrusion production system.

Because light metal extrusion is a process in which components interact closely, and temperatures and speed continually changes.  The number of combinations and permutations that can occur at any point in time is virtually infinite.

If, however, the press operator can know the temperatures at several critical areas during the extrusion cycle, plus the ram speed, he can positively control the process while the press is running.  He will then have a much better opportunity to operate closer to optimum productivity.  This is now possible.

The Visual Optimizer

Recent advances in the technology of ultra-accurate remote temperature measurement, the ability to heat dies uniformly and accurately with single cell die ovens, plus the introduction of computer-controlled smart containers, has made possible the development of a visual optimizer, the best tool yet devised to assist the extruder in improving his productivity.

The operator is given the press, the profile, the die and the type of alloy.  From this information, plus his experience and talent, he can prepare an initial production formula… This will contain all necessary temperatures, ram speed, dead cycle time and so on, that he can instantly and positively control, and that will safely produce saleable product. 

At the operators post, above the press, a large back-lit monitor screen shows the actual temperature or speed at each point being monitored, plus the target from a previously prepared formula. If the actual is equal or greater than the target, it will appear in green.  If not, it will be shown in red.  The operator will then be able to tell at a glance how close he is to target at each point being monitored, and take whatever action is required to bring the system back on track.

The visual optimizer will be customized to fit each user’s needs and budget, but it will typically include ram speed, dead cycle time, billet temperature, container liner temperature top and bottom at both entrance and exit, die temperature, profile exit temperature, quench rate, and also graphically, the temperature status of the die in each single cell die oven, i.e. time to temperature, and time at temperature.

Whenever the combination of temperatures and speeds that is being used produces a new level of productivity for the die being run, a freeze-frame automatically records all the information being monitored at that precise instant. This then becomes the new formula for the next repeat run.

Once the die has been optimized, leaner alloys can be tried.  This can dramatically increase both ram speed, and productivity.  The world’s best extruders today consistently use extremely lean alloys, i.e. minimal magnesium and silicon.

Eventually every die will be accompanied by a current formula. The goal of the extruder using a visual optimizer is to knowledgeably eliminate any barriers to improved productivity.

Closed Loop

The reason that a visual optimizer is preferable to a plc or computer driven closed loop system at the present time is that the die has still not been optimized for a process that is completely thermally controlled.  If the loop is closed with a die that is designed for an imperfect production process, ram speed can’t be optimized.

Only by manually controlling temperatures and speeds, while using a visual optimizer, then updating both the die and the formula for its use, can the operator continually improve productivity.  When the loop is closed, the door is closed on better productivity which could result from ongoing improvement in technology.

Single Cell Die Oven

A properly designed and manufactured single cell die oven will heat each die safely, accurately and quickly to the required operating temperature thus allowing increased ram speeds, increased recovery and reduced dead time. This eliminates the need to use at least the first billet in nearly every run to bring the die uniformly to operating temperature, and reduces breakthrough pressures allowing more productive dies to be used.

Single cell die ovens very quickly increase productivity. Most extruders understand the technology of the single cell die oven, but their use is not yet universal. In today’s ultra-competitive market, any extruder not using single cell ovens is unlikely to survive.

The RDX Die Scheduling and Heating System

To complement the Visual Optimizer, and to ensure that best use is made of the single cell die oven, Castool has developed a robotic die expediting system.  The Robotic Die Expediter helps the operator to schedule runs with a minimum of downtime. The RDX has a relatively small foot-print, compliments existing press practices, and makes die handling safe.

Although the die will be heated and moved according to a prepared formula, the press operator will continue to have complete control, and make any necessary decisions during every step in the process.  As with the Visual Optimizer, the RDX system is a new and useful tool, designed to assist the operator in improving productivity.  Here’s how it works.

The die man brings the die and places it in an empty cradle.  The die will remain in its cradle until it is placed in the die slide.

Using the key punch, the operator enters the die number.  If there is an existing production formula from the Visual Optimizing System, it will be activated.  If not, the operator will prepare an initial formula and activate it.

The die is automatically moved into the scheduling area by a gantry robot.

The operator chooses which die is to be placed in an empty die oven.  The robot places the die in the oven where it is heated to the temperature required by the formula.

When the operator requests the next die to be run, the robot moves the die from the oven to a heated holding area close to the press.

A common problem occurs when a die sits for a prolonged period of time, prior to being run. Unless controlled, a heated die in ambient temperature will lose 50ºC every 10 minutes.  In addition, for every 5ºC reduction in temperature, rate of flow is reduced by 1%, and breakthrough pressure is increased by 1%.

After the die leaves the heated holding area, the operator moves the die from its cradle to the die slide using eye bolt/crane as always.  The RDX system requires no change to existing die handling method, the operator is always in control of the process.

The Castool Quick Response Container

A properly designed and operated quick response container will keep the die at a uniform temperature during the complete extrusion process. The flow of alloy through the die is therefore as planned by the die designer.

The concept of a container managing die temperature is relatively new and may require some explanation.

The thermal mass of the container is much greater than that of the die.  Accordingly, as soon as the die is firmly sealed to the end of the liner, heat transfer begins by conduction, and continues so rapidly that a thermal equilibrium is soon  reached between the container liner and the die..

In developing an improved container, therefore, the goal was to control the temperature of the liner as effectively and efficiently as possible, so that the die would remain at optimum temperature, and taper heated billets could optimize exit speed.  This would require almost absolute temperature control at all times.  The Quick Response Container approaches this ideal.

The viscosity or flow stress of the alloy being extruded is extremely temperature-sensitive.  The die designer must therefore be able to assume that the die will remain completely and uniformly at optimum operating temperature at all times during extrusion.

Primarily, the QR container differs from other smart temperature controlling containers in that its function is not to control the temperature of the container mantle, but the liner. The real purpose of the QR Container therefore is to manage the temperature of the die during extrusion.  The logic of this is irrefutable.  Here’s a good example. . .

Unless closely controlled, heat lost from the bottom of the container mantle rises inside the housing, and considerably increases the temperature at the top.  With conventional containers, the vertical temperature difference at the liner exit is typically 50-100°C.

Thermal measurements have proven that during extrusion the difference in temperature between the top and bottom of the die is approximately the same as between the top and bottom of the liner exit.  Experience has also shown that for every   5ºC of vertical temperature variance, the runout length from the top apertures of a multi-hole die will exceed that of the bottom openings by approximately 1%.  This presents a serious problem for both pullers, and cutting to length.  It also makes it difficult to maintain required tolerances on a profile.

The problem of the vertical temperature difference which, if uncontrolled, will occur at the die end of the container liner, is further compounded by another vertical temperature difference in the die itself.

The die slide in which the die sits has enough mass to act as a heat sink and leech heat from the lower half of the die.  Equalizing the temperature at the top and bottom of the end of the liner will therefore not completely eliminate unequal runouts.  The liner temperature must therefore be made slightly hotter at the bottom than the top to completely eliminate any vertical temperature difference in the die.

Properly designed temperature controlled containers solve the problem of vertical temperature variance in the liner, and thus in the die, by having vertical as well as horizontal temperature control zones. The velocity of the product leaving the top or bottom of the die will therefore be the same.

The Total Control Quench

The quench is an important operation that must be carried out to precise limits if optimum results are to be obtained.  The objective of the quench is to ensure that the dissolved constituents in the alloy remain in solution down to room temperature.  The quench must therefore safely and precisely cool the profile within a fixed period of time, without limiting ram speed in any way, and without causing any shape, dimension, or surface problems in the profile.

The Total Control Quench has several cooling zones, depending on the work -load, and the ability of each to extract the heat at a sufficient rate to achieve the required results from the most convoluted profile.

It features atomized water mist as one of its 3 coolants, and rings of manifolds delivering coolant from every side.

Atomization refers to the process of breaking up bulk liquids into minute droplets. The TC quench uses Air as its means of atomizing water.

The rate of water flow is regulated independently of the air pressure in the manifold. The water leaves each atomizing nozzle at a comparatively low speed, and is surrounded by a high-speed stream of air. Friction between the air and the water accelerates and disperses the fluid stream. This causes atomization of the water.

The TC Quench controls and balances the rate of flow of the water and the air pressure, producing a unique coolant that effectively penetrates the invisible thermal barrier of superheated air which cloaks the profile after it leaves the die.

Each ring of atomizing nozzles consists of 4 manifolds, top, bottom, left and right.  Each manifold has 3 rows of nozzles each controlled by a solenoid. Each bank of manifolds therefore has 12 rows of nozzles that can be individually controlled, depending on the shape being cooled.  In most cases, there will be 2 to 4 rings of atomizing manifolds.

When flooding is required, separate rings of flooding manifolds will be positioned after the atomization manifolds.   Each flooding manifold will be controlled by a solenoid.

The workload is determined by shape of the profile, weight per foot, surface area, type of alloy, extrusion speed, and product function.

The extruder can control the air pressure and the water flow, and thus the precise rate of cooling that will maximize the strength of the section.  If the extruder uses a Visual Optimizing System, the recipe or formula for each die will contain the quench details.

The Castool Total Control Quench cools from up to 12 individually controllable sources surrounding the profile to ensure that optimum results are obtained from the particular alloy being used for a specific profile.

Each cooling zone uses the latest technology in nozzles, allowing air, mist, and flooding, from top, bottom or each side, depending on the requirements of the profile.  This includes shape, weight per foot, surface area, type of alloy, speed, and function. of the product.   The function will determine the mechanical properties required.

The extruder will be able to control the air pressure and water flow going to each manifold.  He can therefore control the precise rate of cooling.

The Future

Now we finally can have the die on the press completely and uniformly at the right temperature, a container that maintains the temperature of the die for the duration of the run, an effective visual optimizer, and a PLC-driven cooling quench, what’s next in the evolution of light metal extrusion?

The next logical step is to automatically control an accurately calculated tapered billet temperature within +/- 5ºC at all times, from when it enters the container until it exits the die, because varying ram speed is no longer an option.  The longtime goal of isothermal extrusion can only be achieved with a constant ram speed.  As soon as the die exit speed varies, the dimensional integrity of the section profile is compromised.

Then optimize die design, and use leaner alloys which allow increased extrusion speeds.  Most extruders have no idea of the immediate and dramatic increase in productivity that usually occurs when operating temperatures are controlled closely enough to permit leaner alloys to be used.

When this has been done, light metal extrusion will enter new markets with a superior, repeatable, and cheaper product that can be produced quickly and sold profitably.  Light metal extrusion will then have been reset to prosper in a permanently reset market.

Let me make one brief statement before concluding, “No new innovative product, should ever replace an experienced and talented press operator. Any good operator should always have complete control of his production system”.

In the global market, better extrusion is now being done than has ever been done before.  As extrusion improves, the available market expands.  New applications for light metal extruded product continue to grow.  Competition for market share is becoming intense, but the opportunity for better extruders is increasing every day, and new and innovative production components continue to speed the evolution of the extrusion industry.

Narcissist: Self centered leaders who are intolerant of criticism and alienate followers – except for those that latch on to them. The Toadies (people who latch on) act as a buffer against people who might challenge the manager. These manager usually charm boards, shareholders, customers and the press. They may achieve great business results, but usually leave little behind in the way of enduring leadership. They usually preside over toxic of corrosive cultures.

Ditherers: They suffer from acute analysis-paralysis. They commission studies and use advisors, leaning one way and then another. Plans are announced but without the necessary resources, substance and detail. These leaders frustrate their followers. A culture of indecisiveness is created that saps innovation and performance.

Avoiders: They do not make decisions at all. They may not even recognize when a decision is needed, and they back away from tough calls. They are full of optimism, which is good in healthy doses, but dangerous when it overtakes reality. Their organizations fail to recognize changing envirronments and are too slow to adjust to new realities.

Panderers: They have no problem making decisions, but try to please everyone. They often make contradictory commitments and end up undermining their own credibility. They usually fail to deliver on their promises, and lack the necessary leadership skills.

Faddists: They have no problem making decisions, but they adopt whatever management fad is in, and switch with an alarming rate. They confuse everyone. Every successive vision is received not with excitement, but with a murmur of “here we go again”. They exhaust their followers and squander resources.

Tunnellers: They focus on a single goal and miss the big picture and fail to respond to change. They threaten the  agility of an organization, and discourage creativity.  Very often they do the wrong things brilliantly.

Fantasizers: They lack perspective. Their strategic dreams overreach reality and they fail to see the impossibility of their strategies. They lead their followers into strategies that disappointment. They become visionaries with no deliverables.

My mother, Audrey Robbins passed away on Monday September 7th.

I have attached a copy of my Eulogy:

“I’m Paul Robbins, and I’d like to thank all of you for being here with us today”.

My earliest impression of my Mother was that of a large lady.  This is not an uncommon perception of most adults by young, and therefore smaller children.  But this mental image stuck with me until I eventually realized that my mother was really quite a small person, but always a large presence.

For most of her life, my mother’s presence was felt in almost any gathering she attended.  She never blended into a crowd.  She was impossible to ignore, and she loved it.  She liked to be the centre of attention.

In 1952, my mother and father were co-founders of the Extrusion Machine Company in Toronto.  They were truly business partners.  Originally, Dad cut dies and Mom filed them, in their basement.

The company they founded subsequently became Exco Technologies, with more than a thousand employees, and plants in four countries.  After my father’s death, Mom served as a director of Exco for many years.

My mother was a perfectionist.  There was a right and a wrong way to do anything.

She never praised anyone.  Her theory was that praise wouldn’t motivate you to improve and excel.  She didn’t attend my graduation from university, as she felt that anything less than a postgraduate degree was hardly worth acknowledging.  This, naturally, left me no choice but to get one, which, of course, may have been part of some long-term plan known only to Mom.

My mother did have a sense of humour, but much of the time kept it well hidden.  Typically she might make a rather abrupt or cynical remark to someone just to see their reaction, then chuckle about it later with a friend.

My mother was an inspiration for countless women due to her obsession with physical fitness.  This began soon after my father died, and was literally the focus of her life until its end.

Mom was always an excellent runner. She ran many 10K races, and when approaching 70, won several medals for being first in the over 50 class.  She was also an accomplished and enthusiastic tennis player until a bad fall just a few years ago made it necessary for her to put away her racquet for good.

Something she always really enjoyed was driving, and often too fast.  She had two sports cars, each with a 6-speed manual transmission.  She wouldn’t even consider an automatic..

She dressed the way she wanted to, sometimes in clothes that might have been intended for someone half her age, but with her trim and fit figure she always looked both appropriate and impeccable.

For many years, Mom spent her winters in her home in Sarasota, where she had a host of friends, her summers in Toronto, and at her Cottage on Lake Simcoe, which was the family’s favourite gathering place for more than 50 years.  She spent the last 5 Christmases with my family at our ski cabin, high in the mountains of Big Sky, Montana.  I like to think that these were perhaps some of her happiest times.

After moving to Uxbridge 2 years ago to be near her family, Mom used to drop by my office almost every day for a cappuccino and a chat.  No matter what I might be in the middle of, she was always a priority in her own mind.  She certainly had a refreshingly positive attitude toward life.

She was always up for anything.  A ride in a speed boat, hang glider, roller coaster and even a hot air balloon.  She cheerfully and enthusiastically did it all.

My mother lived a full life, a life of both tragedy and triumph.  She set a high standard, and lived up to it,

One way or another, the lives of many people have been touched by Audrey Robbins.   She will be missed.

Usually I take these 5 minutes to introduce a new product or system by Castool.  Today, I have two.

The use of computers and digitized programming has likely caused more progress in the evolution of the extrusion process in the past 10 years than in the previous 50 – -  culminating with the Castool Visual Optimizer.

But Albert Einstein once said, “The most powerful computer will never be as useful a tool as a sharp pencil in a trained hand.”

Better extrusion will always be done by better extruders.  And a good operator will always have complete control of his production system.

However . . . The fact that every extrusion die can now come with a detailed production  formula for its use, makes possible the use of the well-developed technology of robotics to expedite the scheduling, movement and heating of the die..

Just now our R&D department is working on the Castool Ardex system,  And RDX stands for Robotic Die Expediter.

Briefly, noone will touch the die from the time the die man places it in an empty cradle near the press, until the operator places it in the die slide.

When the die arrives, using a key punch, the operator enters the die number.  If there’s an existing production formula from the Visual Optimizing System, it will be activated.  If not, the operator will prepare an initial formula and activate it.

The die is automatically moved into the scheduling area by a gantry robot.

The operator chooses which die is to be placed in an empty die oven.  The robot places the die in the oven where it is heated to the temperature required by the formula.

When the operator requests the next die to be run, the robot moves the die from the oven to a heated holding area.  A bolster may also be requested if necessary.

After it leaves the heated holding area, the operator moves the die from its cradle to the die slide using eye bolt and crane as always.  The RDX system requires no change to existing handling equipment.  It simply assists the operator in every possible way.

With the RDX system, Castool is helping to bring extrusion into the 21^st century.

Now I’d like to tell you a bit about our new quench.

Most quenches in use today are basically the same as those used 25 years ago.  Fans simply blow ambient air, or a shower of water floods the extrusion, or both.  There is a better way.

The new Castool Total Control Quench for hard alloys is now in the final stage of development, and will soon be on the market.  It features Soft Flow vaporized water mist as one of its 3 coolants, and has rings of manifolds delivering carefully controlled coolant from every side.

The usual water misting machine uses a high speed water jet which is vaporized by the friction of the air through which it is passing.  In the new Castool quench, the water leaves each misting nozzle at a controlled and comparatively low velocity, and is surrounded by high speed air.  Friction between the air and the water accelerates and disperses the fluid stream.  Since the cooling mist is formed by air pressure instead of water pressure, it is less likely to distort the shape of a light profile.

Each ring of misting nozzles consists of 4 manifolds, top, bottom, left and right.

Each manifold has 3 rows of nozzles, with each row controlled by a solenoid.

Each ring of manifolds therefore has 12 rows of nozzles that can be individually controlled, depending on the shape being cooled. This makes it possible to maintain an approximately  uniform temperature throughout an asymmetrical shape.

Usually there will be 2 to 4 rings of misting manifolds.  When flooding is needed, separate rings of flooding manifolds will be positioned after the misting manifolds.  Each will be controlled by a solenoid.  This really is a better way.