Modern Casting articles from December 2006

Modern Casting archives from December 2006

OSHA data indicates injuries to metalcasters are declining.(Industry News)
December 1, 2006... The metalcasting industry recorded a decrease in recordable injury and illness cases in 2005 after experiencing a rise in 2004, according to the results of an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) study. The administration...

South African light metals project yields first results.(Industry News)
December 1, 2006... The Council for Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa has succeeded in casting a lightweight aluminum engine-mounting bracket in an industrial trial using a proprietary, newly-patented semi-solid casting technology. A CSIR...

Question of the month.(Industry News)
December 1, 2006... The October web site question asked, "What is the most valuable skill when attempting to win new customers?" Good Customer Service 40% Good Lead Time/On Time Delivery 25.7% Value Added Services 25.7%...

Tonkawa lowers raw material costs with charge calculator.(Product Innovations)
December 1, 2006... Metalcasters can make several adjustments to their operations to reduce their costs. Tonkawa Foundry Inc., Tonkawa, Okla., found a way to save on heating using the Least Cost Charge Calculation program from MWK Software.

Laser scanning means speedy delivery for Ferrari Racer.(Product Innovations)
December 1, 2006... The Austin Group, Quincy, Ill., was contracted to reconstruct a transmission case made of A356 T6 aluminum for a rare 1967 330P4 Ferrari Racer. CAD geometry did not exist for the transmission case, so the Austin Group opted to use a new reverse...

A rebirth of spirit.(EDITORIAL)
December 1, 2006... While I write editorials for both of our magazines--MODERN CASTING and Engineered Casting Solutions--rarely does the same message apply to both audiences. MODERN CASTING focuses on helping metalcasters improve their operations while Engineered...

OSHA data indicates injuries to metalcasters are once again declining after a spike in 2005.(North America)
December 1, 2006... The metalcasting industry recorded a decrease in recordable injury and illness cases in 2005 after experiencing a rise in 2004, according to the results of an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) study. The administration...

Americast Technologies sells to private equity firm.(Around the World)
December 1, 2006... AmeriCast Technologies Inc., Atchison, Kan., announced that funds managed by Castle Harlan Inc., New York, a private equity firm, have purchased a controlling interest in the steel and iron casting company. Members of the AmeriCast...

South African light metals project yields first results.(Around the World)
December 1, 2006... The Council for Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa has succeeded in casting a lightweight aluminum engine-mounting bracket in an industrial trial using a proprietary, newly-patented semi-solid casting technology. CSIR...

Alcoa Howmet, precision castings of Tennessee, Uni-Cast take ICI casting contest top honors.(North America)
December 1, 2006... Alcoa Howmet, Cleveland, Precision Castings of Tennessee Inc., Gallitin, Tenn., and Uni-Cast, Londonderry, N.H., won the top prizes in the Investment Casting Institute's (ICI) casting competition. The award winners were selected based on...

School of Art & Design dedicates new casting center with increased melt capacity.(North America)
December 1, 2006... Alfred Univ.'s School of Art & Design, Alfred, N.Y., has a new metalcasting facility capable of melting and pouring large quantities of metal and glass. The school, part of the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred Univ., has had a...

Editor's note.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
December 1, 2006... The photo on p. 23 of the October issue, as well as the lower photo on p. 24 (in the article, "Change Is in the Air"), should be attributed to the Univ. of Minnesota Sculpture Foundry, Minneapolis. The article, which attempted to clarify...

Neenah Foundry Co.(Newscast)
December 1, 2006... Neenah Foundry Co., Neenah, Wis., awarded Simpson Technologies Corp., Aurora, Ill., a contract to provide the sand preparation technology for a new molding line, which is scheduled to begin full production in early 2008.

ThyssenKrupp Waupaca Inc.(Newscast)
December 1, 2006... ThyssenKrupp Wanpaca Inc., Waupaca, Wis., selected Conveyor Dynamics Corporation, St. Peters, Mo., to supply three 20,000-lb.-charge conveyors as part of the upgrade/modernization project at one of its plants.

Nissin Brake.(Newscast)(contracts)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Nissin Brake, Findlay, Ohio, has contracted with Consolidated Engineering Company (CEC), Kennesaw, Ga., to install a third continuous roller hearth solution heat treatment and age (T-6) system, doubling its processing capacity from 80 to 160...

A joint team from Centre Integre de Fonderie et de Metallurgie and Technologie du Magnesium et de l'Aluminium.(Newscast)
December 1, 2006... A joint team from Centre Integre de Fonderie et de Metallurgie and Technologie du Magnesium et de l'Aluminium, Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada, successfully poured its first magnesium castings on a recently acquired low pressure permanent mold...

Quantron Inc.(Newscast)
December 1, 2006... Optical emmission spectroscopy supplier Quantron Inc. announced that, following its acquisition by Bruker AXS, Madison, Wis., its Fitchburg, Mass., headquarters moved to Billerica, Mass.

Alcan Inc.(Newscast)
December 1, 2006... Alcan Inc., Montreal, Canada, has been awarded the World Environment Center's (WEC) Gold Medal for International Corporate Achievement in Sustainable Development for the company's integration of sustainability into its business decision making...

KB Alloys Inc.(Newscast)
December 1, 2006... KB Alloys Inc., Robesonia, Pa. has announced a 3% price increase for all of its master alloys, including grain refining rod, ingot hardeners and all specialty products, effective for all new orders on or after Nov. 13 and all shipments on or...

CMI-Schneible Group.(Newscast)
December 1, 2006... The CMI-Schneible Group, Holly, Mich., recently received four resonant test systems at their Saginaw and Grand Blanc, Mich., facilities.

Gradmatic Equipment Inc.(Newscast)
December 1, 2006... Gradmatic Equipment Inc., Bala, Ontario, Canada, has delivered refractory installation and vibration systems to General Motors, Defiance, Ohio, and M&H Valve, Anniston, Ala. Steadfast Engineers, Faridabad, India, is manufacturing their first...

Swiss Steel International North America.(Newscast)
December 1, 2006... Swiss Steel International North America, Carol Stream, Ill., will become Schmolz Bickenbach USA Inc. and Schmolz Bickenbach Canada Inc., effective Jan. 1, 2007.

Metalcaster's own couch trip offers lessons learned during 62 years in the business.(Letterbox)
December 1, 2006... The October editorial ("My Couch Is Available") got me thinking about some of my past experiences. I am 82 and have been involved in the metalcasting business since I was 19. Many of our problems have been self inflicted, but I believe we...

Grede Foundries Inc.(Personals)
December 1, 2006... Elton Cooper has been promoted to vice president of operations at the Greenwood, S.C., location by Grede Foundries Inc., Milwaukee.

Xenia Foundry and Machine Co.(Personals)
December 1, 2006... Chris Hale has been named safety manager at Xenia Foundry and Machine Co., Xenia, Ohio.

Intermet Corp.(Personals)
December 1, 2006... Jeff Mihalic, formerly working as interim president of Intermet Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, has been installed officially as president and CEO.

Foseco Metallurgical Inc.(Personals)
December 1, 2006... Nanda Gopal has been made product manager of ferrous metal treatment by Foseco Metallurgical Inc., Cleveland.

G & S Metals.(Personals)
December 1, 2006... G & S Metals, Wabash, Ind., has selected Paul Goyette to assume the position of president.

KB Alloys Inc.(Personals)
December 1, 2006... KB Alloys Inc., Robesonia, Pa., has made Tim Donnelly director of sales and marketing.

Obituaries.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Obituary)
December 1, 2006... Norman J. Stickney, Cleveland, died Nov. 11, 2006. He was 83. One of the first Foundry Education Foundation scholars, Stickney worked for Sand Products Corp., Cleveland, for more than 50 years. He was a member of several AFS sand committees and...

Calendar of events.(Brief article)(Calendar)
December 1, 2006... February February 2-4--55th Indian Foundry Congress and Indian Castings Bazaar, Agra, India. February 8-9--AFS Wisconsin Regional, The Pfister Hotel, Milwaukee. February 25-March 1--The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS),...

Changes to hazard communication standard on the horizon.(WASHINGTON ALERT: AFS Government Affairs Representative--Waterman & Assoc., Washington, D.C.)
December 1, 2006... The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed significant changes to its Hazard Communication Standard to make it consistent with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS),...

EPA stiffens particulate matter standards.(WASHINGTON ALERT: AFS Government Affairs Representative--Waterman & Assoc., Washington, D.C.)
December 1, 2006... The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced changes to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) that address fine and coarse particulate matter (PM) limits for designating whether a state or regional entity is in...

Democrats take control of congress in the mid-term elections.(WASHINGTON ALERT: AFS Government Affairs Representative--Waterman & Assoc., Washington, D.C.)
December 1, 2006... For the first time in 12 years, the Democratic Party took control of the House of Representatives by easily capturing more than the 15 seals needed to overtake the majority in the 2006 mid-term elections. The party stands poised to take over...

Notice on clean air act-NSPS subpart UUU.(WASHINGTON ALERT: AFS Government Affairs Representative--Waterman & Assoc., Washington, D.C.)
December 1, 2006... Earlier this year, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality began contacting metalcasting facilities in the state concerning the New Source Performance Standard for New Stationary Sources: Calciners and Dryers in Mineral Industries, 40...

Building New York: twenty-four tons of steel from the fallen World Center was used to cast a piece of the USS New York, the fifth in a new class of U.S. Navy warships.
December 1, 2006... When Neil Sweet moved from Omaha Neb. (pop. 390,000), to Amite, La. (pop. 4,000), in 2003, he was bracing himself for a transition to the quieter life of a small town. But, just months after he took over as president of AmeriCast Technologies'...

40th Census of World Casting Production--2005: twenty-one out of 30 reporting nations indicated that 2005 casting shipments were up from previous years.
December 1, 2006... Worldwide casting shipments continued to increase in 2005, despite a slight drop in the total number of metalcasting facilities, according to the 36 nations participating in MODERN CASTING's 40th Annual Census of World Casting Production. Total...

AFW's automation alteration: for this largely manual green sand shop, installing a faster automatic molding system required automating the rest of the plant.
December 1, 2006... Brian Gerstmeier, operations manager of AFW Foundry Inc. in Lannon, Wis., was not yet 30 when he started thinking about conducting a major overhaul of the facility's only automatic molding line. The family-run, 95-employee shop, which had been...

Avoiding gas defects through mold and core package design: results from a study on the gas evolution of certain mold and binder formulations can aid metalcasters in predicting the potential for gas defects during the pouring of aluminum castings.
December 1, 2006... Voids associated with gas from cores, molds, binders and additives tan be difficult to detect and often are not found until the castings are cleaned, machined and inspected. Computer programs have been developed to minimize turbulence by...

Filling the void in lost foam patterns: eliminating the steam flow entirely in thin sections (less than 7 mm) of polystyrene patterns stops void formation and reduces the scrap produced by lost foam metalcasting.
December 1, 2006... Defects in expandable polystyrene (EPS) patterns used in the lost foam casting process not only can cause pattern scrap but also casting scrap. Many of these scrap-causing defects, such as pattern voids, are formed during the pattern molding...

Crunching the numbers of void formation.
December 1, 2006... An analytical model, built upon three criteria, has been developed to describe the formation of voids in foam patterns. The first criteria establish the requirements for initial void formation. In order for a void to form, the initial...

Boosting white collar productivity.(ceo journal)
December 1, 2006... In the course of my turnaround management work, I am routinely surprised at just how unproductive and down-right obstructionist the "administrative staff" can be. Boosting the productivity of this white collar work force is a central...

Metalcasters learn energy cost reduction strategies at AFS.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
December 1, 2006... The AFS Technical Div. held a seminar Oct. 25-26 on energy savings in metalcasting. The two-day event, was the first AFS-sponsored, comprehensive look at energy saving for both ferrous and nonferrous metalcasting facilities. More than 30...

CMI Adds Six Sigma certification and Green Sand Control to catalog.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
December 1, 2006... The Cast Metals Institute will be rolling out four new internet classes in 2007. Six Sigma Green Belt Certification, beginning Feb. 21, is an internet course that focuses on effective data collection and the appropriate use of basic Six...

Murray, Gaertner honored at foundry executive conference; Div. 10 awards presented in Nashville.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
December 1, 2006... On Sept. 12, AFS honored Donald E. Gaertner, retired president of Metalcasting Equipment Inc., Clover, S.C., and Russ Murray, executive director of the Ohio Cast Metals Assn., Columbus, Ohio, at the Foundry Executive Conference in Napa, Calif.,...

Casting buyers, sellers united at AFS marketing conference.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
December 1, 2006... At this year's Marketing and Selling of Castings Conference, held Oct. 17-18 in Des Plaines, Ill.,. casting buyers and sellers were brought under one roof to discuss the issues of casting sourcing and marketing. Many industry leaders were...

AFS teaches design to military engineers, hosts Tours for DLA.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
December 1, 2006... Working in conjunction with the American Metalcasting Consortium (AMC), Alfred Spada, AFS director of marketing, communications & public relations, helped teach a day-long class on casting design for 20 designers working at Watervliet...

Stateline--in September, John Roth, Prairie Industrial Products LLC, presents the speaker's award to Kyle Metzloff, Univ. of Wisconsin, following his presentation about college intern and co-op programs.(AFS CHAPTER NEWS)
December 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: STATELINE--In September, above, John Roth (second from r), Prairie Industrial Products LLC, presents the speaker's award to Kyle Metzloff (second from l), Univ. of Wisconsin, following his presentation about...

Toledo--in September, Tom Engle, General Motors Corp., recognizes outgoing chairman Jim Gary, General Motors Corp.(AFS CHAPTER NEWS)
December 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: TOLEDO--In September, above, Tom Engle (l), General Motors Corp., recognizes outgoing chairman Jim Gary, General Motors Corp. Also in September, above right, Tom Engle (r) presents the speaker's award to...

Oregon--in October, Dave Carney Columbia Steel Casting Co. Inc., presents the Foundry Man of the Month award to Dean Murray, Vancouver Iron & Steel.(AFS CHAPTER NEWS)
December 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: OREGON--In October, Dave Carney (l), Columbia Steel Casting Co. Inc., presents the Foundry Man of the Month award to Dean Murray, Vancouver Iron & Steel.

Penn-York--in October, Markus Teepe, Vesuvius, thanks George Boyd, Pennsylvania Foundry Association (PFA), for his update on the PFA.(AFS CHAPTER NEWS)
December 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: PENN-YORK--In October, Markus Teepe (l), Vesuvius, thanks George Boyd, Pennsylvania Foundry Association (PFA), for his update on the PFA.

Northwest Pennsylvania--in October, Phil Vanesky, Urick Foundry Co., thanks speakers Charles Caryl, Michael Keim and Susan Mangel, all from RBC Dain Rauscher, following their presentation on retirement strategy.(AFS CHAPTER NEWS)
December 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA--In October, Phil Vanesky (l), Urick Foundry Co., thanks speakers (from l) Charles Caryl, Michael Keim and Susan Mangel, all from RBC Dain Rauscher, following their presentation on...

Central New York--in October, Dave Wetmore, Upstate Refractory Services Inc., thanks speaker Pat Farver, Harrison Machine Co., following his presentation on core machine applications.(AFS CHAPTER NEWS)
December 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: CENTRAL NEW YORK--In October, Dave Wetmore (l), Upstate Refractory Services Inc., thanks speaker Pat Farver, Harrison Machine Co., following his presentation on core machine applications.

Chapter meetings.(AFS CHAPTER NEWS)(Calendar)
December 1, 2006... CENTRAL NEW YORK Dec. 15--Comfort Inn, Liverpool, N.Y.; Holiday Party. Feb. 21--Pier 57, Liverpool, N.Y.; TBD. March 14--Pier 57, Liverpool, N.Y.; TBD. April 11--Pier 57, Liverpool, N.Y.; TBD. Aug. 26--Pier 57, Liverpool, N.Y.; TBD. ...

Tonkawa lowers raw material costs with charge calculator.(Product innovations)
December 1, 2006... Metalcasters can make several adjustments to their operations to reduce their costs, from making their energy use more efficient, to reducing labor costs by automating. Reducing the cost of raw materials, which amounts to a majority of casting...

Laser scanning means speedy delivery for Ferrari Racer.(Case History)
December 1, 2006... The Austin Group, Quincy, Ill., a consulting design firm for lost foam casting, was contracted to reconstruct a transmission case made of A356 T6 aluminum for a rare 1967 330P4 Ferrari Racer. The original P4 Racers are estimated to be worth $10...

Dual measuring instruments.(METALCASTING SUPPLIES)
December 1, 2006... The Surfcom 2000 and 5000 dual measuring instruments from Carl Zeiss Industrial Measuring Technology are capable of capturing surface and contour values with a single measuring run. The combination of a roughness sensor with a large deflection...

Dust collector cartridge filter.(METALCASTING SUPPLIES)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... The HemiPleat high efficiency filter from Farr Air Pollution Control offers a MERV 15 efficiency rating and up to twice the service life and half the pressure drop of standard dust collector cartridge filters. The filter uses a synthetic fine...

High alumina Sol-Gel crucibles.(METALCASTING SUPPLIES)
December 1, 2006... Magenco/Metrel Inc.'s Metpump C-190 high alumina Sol-Gel bonded crucibles have approximately twice the hot strength as traditional clay-bonded high alumina crucibles, according to a new study. The crucibles also were found to be less porous and...

Finishing equipment.(METALCASTING SUPPLIES)
December 1, 2006... A new, spiral-bottom round-bowl machine for deburring and finishing from Almco Inc. comes with a full-circle baffle that constantly keeps parts in the media mass for faster, more precise processing. The spiral design features automatic...

Transforming Industry Into recreation.(SHAKEOUT)
December 1, 2006... After 86 years of steel and iron production, the Compania Fundidora de Fierro y Acero de Monterrey (Monterrey Steel Foundry Co.), Monterrey, Mexico, closed its doors in 1986, but the contribution it made to the city continues to touch its...