Practical Application Scenarios：
1.In the ferroalloy industry, tapping operations currently rely on mechanical equipment with manual oxygen blowing assistance. Tapping workers stand on platforms in front of furnaces, resulting in dense personnel at the operation zone. Although mechanical equipment eases labor intensity for workers, it fails to realize staff reduction and efficiency improvement. Besides, such equipment only performs limited single movements with low working efficiency.
2.Multiple staff gathering at the tapping site creates prominent safety risks during ferroalloy tapping. There is no intrinsic safety protection for the whole tapping process. The wide operation area exposes workers to splashing molten metal that easily causes scald injuries. Numerous safety management links and hazard points greatly increase safety management difficulty and overall operational risks.
3.Conventional tapping machinery features limited functions and low automation. It only supports manual tap-hole plugging with low tapping efficiency. When furnace conditions fluctuate, the equipment cannot finish full tapping procedures, requiring several auxiliary workers. This further raises safety hazards and drastically cuts production efficiency.
Practical Problems Solved by the System：
1.Deployment of the ferroalloy tapping robot system greatly saves labor resources. Under a three-shift two-team operation mode with only 2 workers per shift, each furnace can cut staffing by more than 12 people, helping Xintai Ferroalloy optimize labor productivity indicators.
2.The robot system occupies a small floor area and drastically cuts on-site operators, which significantly reduces hazard sources, safety management links and overall safety risks.
3.The system boasts a high level of automation. Operators remotely control the robot visually via a human-machine interface in the central control room to realize full functions: furnace hole tapping, automatic tool pick-up & placement, automatic rodding, tap-hole plugging, tap-hole trimming and furnace lip cleaning. The robot frees workers from harsh furnace-front conditions characterized by high temperature, heavy labor and severe safety hazards. It fully meets production demands of submerged arc furnace front operations and greatly elevates working efficiency.
After adopting the tapping robot system, only one operator controls the terminal in the remote control room to complete the full sequence of submerged arc furnace front tapping operations. One auxiliary worker remains on site, and all auxiliary tasks are completed outside the main tapping cycle of the ferrochrome furnace. The total staffing of a single tapping station is reduced to 2 people, realizing safe production while achieving staff reduction and efficiency growth.
Core Expected Project Targets：
- 1.Cut labor intensity and boost labor productivity (raise tapping efficiency, extend smelting duration and reduce power consumption).
- 2.Reduce furnace-front operators and eliminate work-related injuries and fatalities.
- 3.Lower comprehensive costs including power consumption, mechanical spare parts and material consumption per ton of finished product.
- 4.Extend the service life of furnace lining.
1. After project implementation, labor productivity is improved and workers’ labor intensity is reduced. The promotion of this project effectively lowers the technical threshold for intelligent production in the ferroalloy industry, driving the transformation from traditional tapping processes to intelligent manufacturing. It accelerates the popularization of intelligent tapping technology across the industry and comprehensively improves overall production efficiency of the ferroalloy sector.
2. The project facilitates the cultivation of innovative talents and improves the comprehensive quality and professional skills of on-site personnel. It integrates and optimizes social resources and maximizes resource utilization efficiency.
3. The on-site operating environment and surrounding conditions are significantly improved, complying with national requirements for clean, civilized production and sustainable development. The project delivers important value for environmental protection and long-term sustainable industrial development.
4. Reduces safety risks in submerged arc furnace production
The automatic tapping system replaces traditional manual and mechanical tapping operations, revolutionizing the conventional production mode of the submerged arc furnace industry. It eliminates on-site manual participation and keeps operators away from high-risk tapping areas, effectively preventing scald injuries caused by molten material splashing. The system frees workers from high-temperature, high-dust and high-intensity operating conditions and avoids potential safety accidents.
5. Realizes high-level automation in the ferroalloy industry
The automatic tapping system completes the entire on-site tapping process autonomously, promoting the industry’s transition from traditional mechanical operation to intelligent equipment control. High-efficiency automatic control and remote monitoring greatly improve the safety factor and production efficiency of the tapping process, driving the intelligent and automated upgrading of submerged arc furnace production technology. The solution subverts the traditional manual and mechanical tapping methods used in ferroalloy and calcium carbide industries, creates a new technological revolution in ferroalloy production, and accelerates industrial optimization and upgrading. Meanwhile, the application of the system promotes the iterative improvement of tapping processes and the structural optimization of submerged arc furnaces to achieve higher production capacity and operating efficiency.
6. Improves efficiency, reduces costs, and realizes staff reduction and efficiency enhancement
By replacing manual on-site operations with automatic tapping systems, the submerged arc furnace tapping process becomes more stable, and overall tapping efficiency is significantly improved. The system helps enterprises reduce on-site staffing, lower comprehensive operating costs, and achieve standardized, efficient and intelligent production.
