Integrated optimization of the melting processes at Joinville plant

Tupy is a Brazilian multinational dedicated to the development and manufacturing of cast iron structural components such as engine blocks and headstock. The company owns industrial parks in Joinville and Mauá, in Brazil, and Saltillo and Ramos Arizpe, in Mexico.

At the Joinville plant, the different alloys of cast iron can be produced both in the cupola and induction furnaces. The company was looking for an optimization model that would assist in the decision of allocating their production on the numerous possible routes and the best raw material blends. The objective was to minimize costs and consider the peculiarities of each piece of equipment, the cost of electricity against coke as alternative sources of energy, and the various raw materials available.

Cassotis has developed a nonlinear model that integrates the processes of cupola and induction furnaces. The model is able to determine which routes the cast iron alloys should be produced, as well as the raw material blend that should be used and the settings of some important process factors.

During the development of the model, a great consolidation of the internal knowledge about the processes was observed. In addition, since the beginning of the model’s implementation, Tupy has been able to observe several cost reduction opportunities, starting the change of some materials used in the blends as well as the use of different production routes.