Activity

CMF manufactures ductile iron fittings, valves, hydrants and other pipeline components for water and wastewater pipelines in Australia, NZ, Pacific Islands, and SE Asia.  The manufacturing facility is located at Currumbin, Queensland.

 

Product Range

DN100 - DN750 Ductile Iron Fittings and Flanged Pipe to AS/NZS2280 -1999

DN80 - DN900 Gate Valves to AS/NZS2638 - 2002

DN80 & DN100 Spring Hydrants to AS3952 - 2002

 

Trade Names

TYTON, TYTON-LOK, MULTIGIB, MULTITAP, READYTAP, SLIPTYT, SWASH, EZIGIB

 

History

Tyco Water (formally Tubemakers Water) first began manufacture of pipeline components in 1976 when Amcast Foundry in Ballarat, Victoria was purchased.

 

Seven years later our first Customer Centre was opened in Melbourne.

 

In 1984 expansion and diversification was achieved through the purchase of Coastline Foundry in Currumbin, Queensland.  Major capital works, totalling approximately $6.6 million, were undertaken at the Currumbin site in 1992, to establish a world class manufacturing facility for water fittings and valves.  Amcast Foundry was closed in 1992.

 

Additional Customer Centres were created over the years to establish a national network of service-oriented sales and distribution outlets to provide pipeline packages to installation contractors and water utilities in Australasia.

 

Today, after 26 years, emerging from humble beginnings, the business has grown into the market leader in the Australasian water industry.

 

 

 

Manufacturing of Ductile Iron Pipeline Components

 

The Tyco Waters' Currumbin Manufacturing Facility utilises modern automatic moulding and core making equipment together with induction melting facilities in the production of ductile iron fittings and valves. Quality control is assisted by means of spectrometer analysis for metal specification and NATA laboratories for final mechanical property verification.

 

The manufacturing facility is predominantly a green sand moulding operation with some chemical sand. The quality control for maintaining the sand system, like that for molten metal production, is of paramount importance in ensuring final casting properties, dimensions and appearance.

 

Melting

Raw materials similar to those used for ductile iron pipe manufacture are charged into the induction furnace in controlled quantities and melted. The molten metal is analysed, the composition and temperature being adjusted to specification.

 

Ductile iron is produced when a measured volume of this base iron is tapped into a treatment ladle which has been precharged with a weighed amount of magnesium-bearing ferro alloy. Whilst transferring the nodularised iron into the pouring ladle the final inoculation occurs.

 

Moulding and Coremaking

Moulds to form the outside profile of the desired fitting are produced in two halves by placing a moulding box (flask) over a master pattern on a moulding machine. The flask is filled with moulding sand and the sand compressed around the pattern by jolting and squeezing.

Cores which form the internal profile of the fitting are produced in a variety of chemically or resin bonded sands.

 

After removal from the moulding machine the bottom half mould is placed on a transfer conveyor, the core is positioned and the top half mould is located to form the completed mould.

 

Finishing

After the moulds have been poured and controlled cooling has taken place, the castings are removed from the mould, shotblasted and then sent for dressing where any runner bars and metal flash are removed.

 

The fettled castings are checked for dimensional accuracy and quality before proceeding to machining, hydrostatic testing, cement lining, final inspection, painting and dispatch. 

 

 

Quality Assurance 

In 1989, the Currumbin manufacturing facility was registered to AS 1822 ‘Suppliers Quality Systems’.