Foundry Management & Technology articles from December 2003

Foundry Management & Technology archives from December 2003

Tariffic mistake.(Editorial; steel tariffs)
December 1, 2003... I am a proponent of free markets and free trade, so words like 'protectionism' and 'tariff' always induce in me a shudder of resistance. By the same token, I am practical enough to realize there are times when political or economic experience...

Accident idles Hayes Indiana plant temporarily; one killed.(Metalcasting News; Hayes Lemmerz Intl.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Hayes Lemmerz Intl. temporarily closed its Huntington, IN, casting operation for several days following a series of explosions on October 29. The aluminum-wheel plant resumed operations on November 2. The incident left one person dead and...

Atchison agrees to asset sale.(Metalcasting News; Atchison Casting Corp.)
December 1, 2003... Atchison Casting Corp., the bankrupt foundry holding company, reports it has a definitive agreement to sell what it calls its "remaining operating assets" to KPS Special Situations Fund II L.P. The agreement, which must be cleared by a federal...

Aluminum block-casting plant project underway.(Metalcasting News; Bodine Aluminum Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Bodine Aluminum Inc., a Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America subsidiary, broke ground on November 3 for its new engine-block casting plant in Jackson, TN. The $124-million project will take about two years to complete, with production...

Intermet to start second PCPC plant.(Metalcasting News; Pressure-Counter-Pressure Casting )
December 1, 2003... Internet Corp. is planning to open a second plant dedicated to its proprietary PCPC process next June, in Jackson, TN. PCPC is the name given to the Pressure-Counter-Pressure Casting technology that Intermet unveiled two years ago at a plant in...

Intat Precicion's new molding line to start up next year.(Metalcasting News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Intat Precision Inc. has tapped Kodiak Group and Maumee Valley Fabricators to carry out their current expansion program. The Rushville, IN, foundry supplies automotive manufacturers, like the Toyota and Nissan North American organizations,...

Kingsport Foundry shutting down.(Metalcasting News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The Kingsport Foundry in Kingsport, TN, is closing after 76 years. The facility began a staged shut-down process in early November and expected to continue the process through to December. Melting and pouring ended first, while machining...

L A Aluminum plans new milling, tilt-pouring machines.(Metalcasting News; L A Aluminum Casting Co)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... L A Aluminum Casting Co., Hayden, ID, reports it is planning a $300,000 expansion that will include two new machines and increase the range of its capabilities. CEO and president Robert Oswald indicated the expansion will be completed next...

Superior supplying new wheels to Toyota.(Metalcasting News; Superior Industries International Inc)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Superior Industries International Inc. reports it has begun shipping a new 17-in. cast aluminum wheel to Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky for the 2004 model year Solara coupe. Superior is one of the largest manufacturers of cast aluminum...

builds up Turkish holding.(Metalcasting News; Inci Holding A.S.; Hayes Lemmerz International Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Hayes Lemmerz bought an additional 35% of its joint-venture plant in Manisa, Turkey, and now owns 60% of that aluminum-wheel. The remaining 40% is owned by Inci Holding A.S. and members of the Cevdet Inci family. Terms of the purchase were not...

Clarification: Badger Iron Works is alive and well.(Metalcasting News)(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)(Correction Notice)
December 1, 2003... The following letter makes its point as well as any statement of ours': In the November 2003 issue of Foundry Management & Technology there is a small, yet significant, error on page 6. In the first sentence of 'Giddings & Lewis Plans...

Cummins Inc.(Foundry News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Cummins Inc. reports its exclusive agreement to supply diesel engines for Dodge Ram heavy-duty pickup trucks has been extended with Chrysler Group. Neither Chrysler nor Cummins detailed the terms, but Cummins said it includes "consideration" of...

Acme Diecasting.(Foundry News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Fire broke out in a kiln at Acme Diecasting, Northbrook, IL, November 13. Firefighters allowed the blaze to burn itself out, according to The Northbrook Star. No damage nor injuries were reported.... Apparently, a crack in the kiln allowed...

Two Fort Worth foundries will participate in an environmental-compliance program offered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.(Foundry News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Two Fort Worth foundries will participate in an environmental-compliance program offered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The Compliance Commitment Partnership Program is an incentive to small business and local governments...

Hayes Lemmerz.(Foundry News Briefs; Hayes Lemmerz International Inc.; Hendrickson Traiter Suspension Systems)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Hayes Lemmerz has a new, long-term agreement with Hendrickson Traiter Suspension Systems to supply it with ductile-iron hubs and Centru-Cast brake drums for HN and HP trailers, The agreement covers future development of wheel-end components for...

Kenwalt Die Casting.(Foundry News Briefs; ISO 9001:2000 certification )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Kenwalt Die Casting achieved ISO 9001:2000 Certification through DNV Certification Inc. for its production of aluminum and zinc diecastings.

Alcoa.(Foundry News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Alcoa will centralize its automotive market design, engineering, sales, and marketing specialists next spring at a new, 86,000-[ft.sup.2] center (with room for expansion) in the Detroit area. This will include the Automotive Castings, Cast and...

Spuncast Inc.(Foundry News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Spuncast Inc., Watertown, WI, has been certified to the ISO 9001-2000 standard.

Trialco Inc.(Foundry News Briefs; ISO certification)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Trialco Inc., Chicago Heights, IL, has passed an ANSI/ISO/ASQC ISO9002:1994 surveillance audit; it continues its certification to the ISO9002:1994 quality standard.

J.L French Automotive Castings.(Foundry News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... According to its 3Q 2003 earnings statement, J.L French Automotive Castings is writing off the assets of its Saltillo, Mexico, foundry.

Precision Castparts Corp.(Foundry News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Precision Castparts Corp. shareholders are due to vote early this month on the company's proposed takeover of SPS Technologies.

Metal Technologies Woodstock.(Foundry News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Metal Technologies Woodstock, an Ontario gray iron foundry, goes idle this month for a multi-million-dollar refurbishment, but will cut its workforce almost in half when production resumes in April.

Ohio plant adding high-pressure diecasting.(Metalcasting News; Celina Aluminum Precision Technology)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Celina Aluminum Precision Technology, Celina, OH, said earlier this month it will be adding 48,000 [ft.sup.2] of manufacturing space in preparation for a new product line, according to The Lima News. The $18-million project will result in a new...

Tariffs ruled on Chinese malleable-iron pipe fittings.(Metalcasting News; anti-dumping measures)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The U.S. International Trade Commission voted 6-0 in November that U.S. manufacturers of malleable-iron pipe fittings are threatened with material injury by imports that have been ruled dumped by the the U.S. Commerce Dept. The decision means...

Engine builder cleared for new emission regulations.(Metalcasting News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... IMPCO Technologies Inc. has gained emission approval for its General Motors 1.6-1iter engine (for off-highway mobile use), beginning in 2004. IMPCO, Cerritos, CA, supplies alternative-fuel systems technology and components for internal...

Pennsylvania would ease foundry-sand restrictions.(Metalcasting News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) is proposing expanded use of foundry sand from ferrous and steel foundries as an inducement to new business development. DEP secretary Kathleen A. McGinty said, "Iron and steel...

Casting Industry Suppliers Assn.(Supplier News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The Casting Industry Suppliers Assn. reports it has added three new members. They are: * Scott Sales, Huntington Park, CA; * Kloster Corp., Minneapolis; and * Alb. Klein Technology Group, Worthington, OH. CISA is comprised of...

Gemco Cast Metal Technology.(Supplier News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Gemco Cast Metal Technology is building a new engine-cylinder liner plant for Grupo Condumex and its subsidiary Camisa S.A., on a turnkey basis, in Saltillo, Mexico. Gemeo performed the conceptual engineering work on the project last year....

CMI Novacast.(Supplier News Briefs; Lingotes Especiales contract)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... CMI Novacast this month will deliver a mold-filling system for a vertically parted mold line to Spain's Lingotes Especiales. One casting station consists of a PG-450 electromagnetic pump and a 60-mm (I.D.) horizontal launder system that...

SECO/Warwick Corp.(Supplier News Briefs; ISO 9001:2000 certification)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... TUV America Inc. awarded ISO 9001:2000 certification to SECO/Warwick Corp., Meadville, PA. The certification covers design/manufacturing of heat-treatment systems for various standard and specialty metals, including: vacuum furnaces; atmosphere...

Metalico Recycling Inc.(Supplier News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Metalico Recycling Inc. has started up an aluminum recycling furnace and deoxidizing casting machine in Lackawanna, NY. A second furnace is planned to be started next year. The company produces secondary aluminum for automotive diecasters, as...

General Kinematics.(Supplier News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... General Kinematics has relocated to its new world headquarters in Crystal Lake, IL.

B&L Information Systems.(Supplier News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... B&L Information Systems--one of the leading suppliers of ERP software for metalcasting operations--recently held a user conference. Over 30 seminars and panel discussions were held at the event in Kansas City.

International Surface Preparation Corp.(Supplier News Briefs; ISO 9001:2000 certification)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... International Surface Preparation Corp.'s Impact Finishers operation in Fortville, IN, has achieved ISO 9001:2000 certification.

Hoeganaes Corp. has bought Ductile Iron Powder.(Supplier News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Hoeganaes Corp. has bought Ductil Iron Powder, a manufacturer of ferrous metal powders in Buzau, Romania. Hoeganaes says it expects to triple the operation's 10,000-metric tons/year manufacturing capacity in the near term.

Winsert Inc.(Supplier News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Winsert Inc., Marinette, WI, is publishing a newsletter for customers, prospects, and others interested in its cast and machined valve-seat inserts. "This has been a busy and exciting year for us," president Stephen A. Dickinson said. "We...

REMET Corp.(Suppliers News Briefs; Cleveland Tool & Machine contract)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... REMET Corp., Utica, NY, has an agreement in place with Cleveland Tool & Machine to sell and market new wax and ceramic injection equipment to the precision investment casters in North and South America and Europe.

Acipco names melting superintendent.(Who's News; American Cast Iron Pipe Co)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... American Cast Iron Pipe Co., Birmingham, AL, recently named Ronald Kern superintendent of the melting department. Kern has been with Acipco more then 33 years, most recently as assistant superintendent of melting. Acipco is a diversified...

ArvinMeritor names VP-quality.(Who's News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ArvinMeritor Inc., a diversified automotive components manufacturer, has named Deborah Henderson to be its new vice president of quality for its Light Vehicle Systems (LVS) business group. The company stated her responsibilities call for her to...

Inductotherm appoints president.(Who's News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Satyen Prabhu has been appointed as president of Inductotherm, Rancocas, NJ. Prabhu joined Inductotherm as a researcher in the group's R&D division in 1987. He was named chief mechanical engineer and manager of R&D in 1991. In 1998 he was...

Ashland names new sales, marketing leaders.(Who's News; Ashland Casting Solutions )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Ashland Casting Solutions named Dana Cooper to be its new global marketing manager for Sleeves and Filters, and David Gilson as its global marketing manager for Cold Box Systems. Cooper will oversee the Exact-Cast riser sleeves business and...

New R&D head for Ashland Casting Solutions.(Who's News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Ashland Casting Solutions promoted Dr. Jorg Kroker to the post of global technology director. Kroker will be responsible for research and development for all Ashland Casting Solutions' product lines worldwide, including sand binders, refractory...

Pressure Diecasting focus of March expo.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... EuroGuss 2004 is the International Trade Fair for Pressure Die Casting, planned for March 2-4 at Germany's Exhibitions Centre Nuremberg. The promoters are expecting more than 220 exhibitors of products and services, a 10% increase over the...

Calendar.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
December 1, 2003... Feb. 7-8--Non-Ferrous Founders' Society Winter Board/Committee Meetings, Marco Island (FL) Hilton Beach Resort. Contact: NFFS, Tel. 847-299-0950, Fax 847-299-3598; or e-mail staff@nffs.org Mar. 2-4--EuroGuss 2004,, Nuremberg, Germany....

The foundry: reminiscences from FOUNDRY Management & Technology's pages past.(Foundry's Page Past)
December 1, 2003... MARCH 1903... 100 years ago There are as yet many foundries operating exclusively by the power generated by common laborers at so much per day, and the strange part of it is that a large percentage of these are connected with...

Business trends.
December 1, 2003... FOUNDRY CONSUMABLES SALES INDEX Item Sep '03 Month Ago Year Ago Consumable Gross Sales * 79.5 81.1 81.4 * Three month rolling averages [GRAPHIC OMITTED] INDUSTRIAL...

Permanent mold casting of ductile iron--Part III: in this final of three articles, the permanent mold process to cast ductile iron is examined in terms of gating design, production of large castings, lined permanent mold casting, and emprical relationships.
December 1, 2003... Gating System Design When considering the PM gating system for ductile iron castings, a foundry must consider the specific features of DI, particularly its tendency to form dross defects--non-metallic inclusions in the form of refractory...

Survival of the fittest: as they say, we've got good news and bad news. The good news: expect some recovery in the new year. The bad news: It may be at the expense of other foundries' closings.(2004 Outlook)(Cover Story)
December 1, 2003... The results from Foundry Management & Technology's annual Business Outlook Survey paint a picture of a somewhat schizophrenic industry. That is to say that the actual data show the industry, along with the U.S. economy, to be experiencing some...

Hydraulics improve molding machine productivity: how a custom-designed hydraulic system added to the second generation design of a B&P Matchblomatic machine helped a Pennsylvania foundry produce up to 180 molds per hour.
December 1, 2003... In June 2003, a Pennsylvania foundry became the first to install a BSM2016G Series Matchblomatic, an automatic matchplate molding machine manufactured by Beardsley & Piper, LLC, which produces ready-to-pour flaskless green sand molds. The...

New, alternative cold-box catalyst.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... ASHLAND CASTING SOLUTIONS is introducing what it calls the first new catalyst for its Isocure phenolic-urethane forming cold-box binder system. IsoFast catalyst offers an alternative formulation that provides "significant productivity and...

Molding machine with automatic core setting.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... The FBO series of horizontal flastkless molding machines from ROBERTS SINTO CORP. has been enhanced with more mold sizes, additional proportional controls, and faster speeds. The 20324-in. mold offers molding rates up to 170 molds per hour....

Alumina foundry coatings.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... Morganite Melting Systems, a division of MORGANITE CRUCIBLE, now offers Morcoat 527 alumina foundry coatings, said to be less expensive then boron-nitride paints with a use limit of 2,850[degrees]F that provides greater flexibility and is...

Self-leveling compound.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... DEVCON's Deep Pour Grout is a 100% solid, filled-epoxy compound used to form mounting pads as deep as 6 in., to rebuild spalled concrete, set machine anchor bolts, or level compressors, generators, large pumps, and other machinery. Formulated...

Portable saws cut sprues, metal.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... The Steelmax 7.25-in. portable saw available through TJT SALES is said to "cut through mild steel like plywood," and eliminate deburring, grinding, and milling. Among its attributes: a built-in collector that retains chips and sparks; bevels up...

Hydraulic universal testing machines.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... INSTRON introduced the Satec series of single footprint, hydraulic universal testing systems, available in two models. They combine the frame, hydraulic power supply, electronics, and control panel into a single machine, so floor-space...

Basic-programmable servo drive.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... AC TECHNOLOGY now adds Ssi to its SimpleServo series. A Basic-language programmable servo drive capable of indexing and motion profiling, it features 4,000 lines of program memory; defines variables; performs math and logic operations, camming...

High-cap, closed-circuit cooling cells.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... New models in the induced-draft FXV line from BALTIMORE AIRCOIL CO. include larger, higher-capacity dual air-inlet models with dual coil bundles and wet-deck surfaces on a common fan system. The company calls these the highest thermal...

Laser sensors improve data flow.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... The Class II Xline series of laser sensors from LMI TECHNOLOGIES (USA) INC. includes configurations for launders and furnaces. Mounted in a heavy-duty air-cooled heat shield, they make it possible to perform multiple measurements along the line...

High-temp epoxy repairs cast iron.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... Pyro-Putty 657 high-temperature epoxy from AREMCO PRODUCTS repairs pin holes and cracks in cast iron before coating. It's a stainless steel filled, one-to-one mix that offers continuous and intermittent temperature limits to 400[degrees]F and...

Larger flow meters.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... The port sizes have been increased for the EZ View line from HEDLAND FLOW METERS. Now offered in 1.5 and 2 in. sizes, along with the 0.5-, 0.75-, and 1-in. models, they are built of durable plastic with a large selection of connection types and...

Mold and die shelving system.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... This mold and die storage system from PROPER STORAGE SYSTEMS includes roll-out shelves that make access to stored items easy, but save floor space. The system includes an overhead crane to retrieve items from the opened shelf and transport it...

Vibration monitoring.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... The SDC002 Vibe Alarm is a DIN rail-mounted monitoring unit from THE MODAL SHOP that warns against excessive machine vibration levels. A 4-20 mA current loop output, proportional to the conditioned filtered sensor signal is provided through a...

Electrolytic cleaning process.(Free Literature)
December 1, 2003... The KOLENE Kastech electrolytic process is one of the fastest, most efficient and cost-effective methods for cleaning ferrous castings. A molten salt bath removes burned-in core sand, scale, oxide, graphite, and other nonmetallic surface...

Molten-mental level measurement, control.(Free Literature)
December 1, 2003... This new brochure from LMI TECHNOLOGIES (USA) INC. outlines its molten-metal level measurement and control equipment, and high-performance sensors and actuators for aluminum cast houses, iron casting operations, and similar facilities. They are...

Heavy-duty plate magnets.(Free Literature)
December 1, 2003... The new 8-in. Superpower plate magnets from ERIEZ MAGNETICS are available for next-day shipment. The entire program offers 11 sizes of plate magnets, and 57 magnetic, vibratory, and metal detection produce prepackaged and guaranteed for...

Complete line for aluminum melting.(Free Literature)
December 1, 2003... The THERMTRONIX aluminum melting systems are extensively described in this multi-page brochure that illustrates the various designs and summarizes technical details. Equipment include aluminum degassing and porosity testing systems; solid-state...

Custom vehicle mover.(Free Literature)
December 1, 2003... The custom vehicle mover described in this brochure from WEST BEND EQUIPMENT can move a 6,000-lb vehicle indoors or outdoors "without ever turning on the ignition key." It has a 5-in. profile and slips under any car or truck easily, locks onto...

Vibratory bulk bag unloaders.(Free Literature)
December 1, 2003... VIBRA SCREW's updated vibratory bulk bag unloaders are described in this new brochure. All designs have "inherent" dust control in the frame design, and a no-spill collection hopper for safety. Also detailed are options that include load cells...

Atomized Ni-based surfacing alloy.(Free Literature)
December 1, 2003... A two-page technical data sheet from WALL COLMONOY CORP. summarizes Colmonoy 62 SM, an atomized nickel-based alloy for spray and fuse applications using combustion spray power systems. Information includes chemical and physical properties of...

Coil inserts, tools.(Free Literature)
December 1, 2003... This 60-page catalog from KATO FASTENING SYSTEMS presents their helical coil inserts and tools, with indepth information on tangless inserts and tools, and tanged inserts and tooling. These tangless inserts are called "the new standard......

Fluke Corporation, Everett, WA, unveiled a free online program called, FlukePlus, which is designed to offer assistance and rewards to its customers.(Nothin' But 'Net)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Fluke Corporation, Everett, WA, unveiled a free online program called, FlukePlus, which is designed to offer assistance and rewards to its customers. Introduced in June, the program offers exclusive online technical information, product...

www.DeWaltServiceNet.com.(Nothin' But 'Net)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... DeWalt has introduced ServiceNet,a comprehensive service and repair website where people can find information and order genuine replacement parts directly from the company. Anyone can use ServiceNet by registering at www.DeWaltServiceNet.com....

www.amafond.com.(Nothin' But 'Net)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The website of AMAFOND, the Italian plant and equipment suppliers association, www.amafond.com offers everything in Italian or English. Visitors have access to a comprehensive list of plant, equipment and consumables that the group's 80-plus...