Shellroom equipment for shell-making, manufactured by VA Technology

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Process Management

The control at the heart of the shell manufacturing system. Our bespoke IC-Crystal system can manage all aspects of an automated shell manufacturing process.

IC-Crystal Shell Management System

IC-Crystal has been designed by VA Technology to manage all aspects of an automated shell manufacturing process. IC-Crystal provides process management control, including robot operation, part handling, and
long-term analysis of key process data. This includes Key Process Variable (KPV) data for quality assurance.

Our unique software offers real-time monitoring and long-term analysis of process data, including environmental conditions, system performance, equipment service alerts, and out-of-tolerance alerts. IC-Crystal has become a dependable tool to ensure all shells are manufactured within predefined KPV limits.

Slurry equipment can be fitted with optional sensors for temperature, slurry level, and viscosity monitoring on IC-Crystal to control mixing and dosing. Our rainfall sanders or vertical sanders can also be integrated into
IC-Crystal. Additionally, IC-Crystal can monitor environmental conditions to maximize shell drying performance. We also offer an optional shell weighing system to provide individual shell coat weights. This data is logged on
IC-Crystal to against a shell process library to reviewpart-specific processes.

  • IC-Crystal Display
  • IC-Crystal process management software for shell-making
  • IC-Crystal process management software for shell-making
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  • Shell quality monitoring

    Robot, online, or manual shell weight measurement
    Re-dip or reject based on shell weight
    Individual shell history report generation

  • System diagnostics

    I/O check screen
    Full history logging
    System state recovery mode on out of process software restart
    Equipment service notifications

  • Operating modes

    Individual hanger processing
    Batch processing
    Manual intervention
    Priority part handling – manual or automatic
    over-dry protection
    System hold states – load, unload, transfer, manual process
    Part management barcodes or RFIDs
    Automatic load balancing across multi-cell systems

  • System overview

    Real-time view of all carrier status
    Disable carrier function

  • System types

    Single-cell to multi-cell systems: wax infeed, prime, backup, final dry
    Part recipe compatibility check on multi-cell systems

  • Shell recipe management

    Comprehensive shell recipe editor
    Assign multiple part types to recipes for speed and flexibility of set up

  • Hardware interfaces

    Fan zone control via recipe
    Fans deactivated if no parts in zone – for efficiency
    Drying system types: conveyors, producers, static racks, carousels, single/multi-level
    Conveyor control using IC-NET or digital I/O

  • User access control

    Granular access privileges configurable for individual users and groups
    Active directory integration

  • System performance data recording

    System/robot utilization
    Shell quality measuring and recording

  • System monitoring

    Key Process Variable monitoring and recording
    Alarm on process variable out of specification
    Long/short term analysis of process variables
    Recording of all system processing or user activity history

  • Off-system analysis

    Analysis report generation
    Data export using standard formats (CSV, PDF)

IC-Connect App

Monitoring and recipe management from your desktop or Smart Device

Our IC-Connect App is a web-based application for remote access to IC-Crystal shell management system; containing real-time and historical data.
IC-Connect can be accessed on desktop, smartphone and tablet, allowing users to view the current system status and real-time KPV data for each system element when away from the shellroom.

If applicable, IC-Connect can be used as the remote ‘portal’ connection into multiple IC-Crystal shell management systems installed across your site. We offer the option to upgrade IC-Connect to include a Central IC Crystal Part Library. This allows users to view each system within a central part library to ensure the continuity of recipes in all shellrooms.

Key Features

  • View process data

  • Access inventory

  • View performance

  • Review service status

  • Access part library

Shell manufacturing process management tools
Shell manufacturing process management tools