Modern Casting articles from January 2008

Modern Casting archives from January 2008

Question of the month.(moderncasting.com)
January 1, 2008... The October website question asked, "When purchasing equipment and/or raw materials for your operation, what factors are most critical?" Quality 69.2% Price 21.2% Sales/Customer Service...

Worth repeating.(HOTLINE)
January 1, 2008... "We must focus on the future. If we don't make the financial and technological investment, our facility will become obsolete."--Florindo Garro, Fonderie del Montello

The facts of manufacturing.(EDITORIAL)
January 1, 2008... With this issues's focus on delivering management information to improve your firm's bottom line, here are two benchmarking statistics for you to chew on: * China manufactures 8% of the value of the world's manufactured goods, while the...

Ladish to build investment casting plant in Mexico.(North America)
January 1, 2008... Ladish Co. Inc., Cudahy, Wis., announced plans today to invest $16 million to $20 million to build a greenfield investment casting facility in Mexico from the ground up, a move that comes on the heels of an expansion announcement at the...

U.S. pipe takes step in new plant, maintains timeline.(North America)(Chronology)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The first ductile iron pipe plant to be built in the U.S. in more than half a century is beginning to take shape. U.S. Pipe, Bessemer, Ala., announced plans for the plant seven months ago, but planning still had...

Metaldyne awards contract to Citation Corp. for truck and SUV chassis components.(North America)
January 1, 2008... Metaldyne, Plymouth, Mich., has awarded a $100 million contract to Citation Corp., Birmingham, Ala., for the production of cast chassis components to be used in track and sport-utility-vehicle platforms by several global automakers. ...

Teksid wins new contract to build iron engine cylinder blocks for Volvo.(Around the World)
January 1, 2008... Ferrous metalcaster Teksid, Turin, Italy, recently expanded its existing relationship with Volvo when it signed a contract to produce two new lines of iron engine cylinder blocks. The contract to supply Volvo the new MD11 and MD13 iron...

Canadian group pours magnesium LPPM castings.(North America)
January 1, 2008... A team from Centre Integre de Fonderie et de Metallurgie (CIFM) and Technologie du Magnesium et de l'Aluminium, both of Trois Rivieres, Quebec, Canada, on Nov. 29 poured a mn of magnesium AZ91E automotive bell housings in the low pressure...

Quality certifications.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
January 1, 2008... The following metalcasting organizations have passed recent certification audits: Buck Co. Inc., Quarryville, Pa., (ISO 9001:2000); Harrison Steel Casting Co., Attica, Ind., (ISO 9001:2000); Le Claire Manufacturing Co., Bettendorf,...

British company opens new aluminum metalcasting facility in Transylvania.(Around the World)
January 1, 2008... Lomond Castings Ltd., Ayrshire, Scotland, will open its new Romanian manufacturing facility in April 2007, according to a company press release. The plant, based in Brasov, Transylvania, will produce aluminum castings and complement the...

Defense metalcasting facility built in U.K.(Around the World)(Reprint)
January 1, 2008... Grainger and Worrall, Shropshire, U.K., a supplier of automotive prototype and niche-volume castings, has opened a new facility supplying specialist aluminum and cast iron components to the defense industry. Located at the company's U.K....

Gartland Foundry.(Newscast)
January 1, 2008... Gartland Foundry, Terre Haute, Ind., was honored by the Indiana Department of Safety with inclusion in the Indiana Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program, according to several local news reports.

Applied Precision Inc.(Newscast)
January 1, 2008... Applied Precision Inc., Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, announced a change in ownership and management and said it is planning additional hires in the near future. Robert Bell, one of the founders of the private optical 3-D digitizing firm, has...

Can-Eng Furnaces International Ltd.(Newscast)
January 1, 2008... Can-Eng Furnaces International Ltd., Niagara Falls, N.Y., recently installed and commissioned a high volume basketless heat treatment system for an automobile manufacturer in the southeastern U.S.

ESI Group.(Newscast)
January 1, 2008... ESI Group, Paris, a supplier of simulation software for prototyping and manufacturing processes, has been accepted into the online community PLM MarketPlace after completing the technical and business requirements.

Tecumseh Products Company, Tecumseh, Mich., announced it has sold its Automotive & Specialty business operations for $10 million.(Newscast)
January 1, 2008... Tecumseh Products Company, Tecumseh, Mich., announced it has sold its Automotive & Specialty business operations for $10 million. The previously announced sale was completed when an affiliate of private investment firm Sun Capital Partners...

Aleris International Inc., Beachwood, Ohio, has agreed to sell its zinc business.(Newscast)
January 1, 2008... Aleris International Inc., Beachwood, Ohio, has agreed to sell its zinc business, which operates under the name U.S. Zinc, to affiliates of Votorantim Metals Ltda., Sao Paulo, Brazil, for approximately $295 million.

Advanced Heat Treat Corp.(Newscast)
January 1, 2008... Advanced Heat Treat Corp., Waterloo, Iowa, opened it's fourth service center and manufacturing facility in Cullman County, Ala.

Allied Mineral Products Co. Ltd.(Newscast)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Allied Mineral Products Co. Ltd. opened an expanded manufacturing space on Oct. 19. The nearly 90,000-sq.ft. (8,362-sq.-m) expansion was added to the current 172,220-sq.-ft (16,000 sq.-m) manufacturing area. The addition provides space for a...

Liquidmetal Technologies Inc., Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., contracted Buhler Die Casting, Uzwil, Switzerland, to manufacture the next generation of diecasting equipment for its metalcasting alloys.(Newscast)
January 1, 2008... Liquidmetal Technologies Inc., Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., contracted Buhler Die Casting, Uzwil, Switzerland, to manufacture the next generation of diecasting equipment for its metalcasting alloys. Under the terms of the agreement, Buhler's...

Calendar of events.(Conference news)(Calendar)
January 1, 2008... February February 7-8--AFS Wisconsin Regional, The Pfister Hotel, Milwaukee. February 7-10--68th World Foundry Congress, Chennai, India. February 10-13--AFS 6th International Conference on Permanent Mold Casting of Aluminum and...

Accuride Corp.(Personals)
January 1, 2008... Accuride Corp., Evansville, Ind., announced that Edward Gulda will join the company as senior vice president of the its Brillion Iron Works and Gunite Corp. metalcasting units. The company also made Leigh Wright senior vice president of...

Asahi Tec Corp.(Personals)
January 1, 2008... Timothy Leuliette has retired from the positions of director, co-chairman of the board and co-CEO at Asahi Tec Corp., Kikugawa City, Shizuoka, Japan, which last year acquired metalcaster Metaldyne. Thomas Stallkamp has succeeded him as director...

R.S. Owens.(Personals)
January 1, 2008... R.S. Owens, Chicago, has made three new hires Christopher Severn as global accounts manager, Zach Koenig as product designer, and Anita Brenan as regional sales manager for the southeastern U.S.

Powerit Holdings.(Personals)
January 1, 2008... Todd Greenwalt was hired as vice president of engineering by Powerit Holdings, Seattle.

Denman and Davis.(Personals)
January 1, 2008... Denman and Davis, Clifton, N.J., added Raymond Swift to its sales force.

Aluminum Federation of South Africa.(Personals)
January 1, 2008... Mark Krieg has been selected as the newest executive director for the Aluminum Federation of South Africa.

Obituaries.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Obituary)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Richard Ernest Granquist, Greenwood, S.C., died Aug. 24, 2007. He was 52. Granquist spent the majority of his career with Grede Foundries, working with the company for 30 years. He held several positions with the company, moving up the ranks to...

Keeping your employees protected: OSHA released a final rule on employer requirements for paying for personal safety equipment.(WASHINGTON ALERT: AFS Government Affairs Representative--Waterman & Assoc., Washington, D.C.)
January 1, 2008... The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued its long-awaited standard requiring employers to pay for personal protective equipment (PPE). Under the new rule, employers are required to pay for...

OSHA revises enhanced enforcement program.(On the Hill)
January 1, 2008... The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is revising its enhanced enforcement program (EEP) to focus more closely on "recalcitrant" employers. The revised enforcement program took effect Jan. 1. According to an OSHA...

DHS now enforcing new I-9 form requirements.(On the Hill)
January 1, 2008... On Dec. 26, 2007, the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security began enforcing the new 1-9 form requirements for acceptable forms of identification to prove identity and work eligibility. On the new form, employers are told they may NOT accept the...

Industrial production to spur casting demand: short- and long-term gains are forecast for ductile iron and aluminum, but steel and gray iron shipments are expected to decline.(Cover story)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Shipments of metal castings are forecast to increase 3.7% to 14 million tons in 2008 and maintain production at that level in 2009. Metal casting sales are expected to rise 5.4% annually to $34 billion in 2009. This...

Research pays your taxes: research investments can deliver a return more quickly than most metalcasters expect.(Cover story)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Didion Foundry, St. Peters, Mo., found a way to make its research dollars pay off immediately. Instead of going the traditional route--first searching for a more cost effective way of doing things, then implementing...

Comparing operational costs.(Cover story)
January 1, 2008... The average profit of all metalcasting facilities participating in a study of operational costs was 5.72%. The 2007 Operational Cost Survey, commissioned by the American Foundry Society and the North American Die Casting Association, is the...

GM's iron finishing automation: GM's Defiance casting plant saw what aluminum casting facilities were doing in their automatic finishing departments and applied it to iron.
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Finishing departments in metalcasting facilities often are the most labor-heavy portions of an operation. It was no different at General Motors (GM) Powertrain Defiance Castings, Defiance, Ohio, where the finishing...

Cleaning up: job shop automation success: two European metalcasters have used automation in cleaning and finishing as a means of improving their productivity and reducing dependence on labor.
January 1, 2008... When investing in a facility, the word that invariably is mentioned is automation. How can metalcasters utilize automation in various areas of the casting operation to reduce manpower, improve consistency of operations and enhance productivity?...

Castings are closer than they appear: while some of the major U.S. and Asian automakers head to low-cost countries for castings, others are keeping it domestic.(Company overview)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ford Motor Co. hasn't pulled any punches when describing its latest metal casting sourcing strategy. The original member of the Big Three intends to get out of the business of making its own castings. "The...

Winning with Welch.(NOVEL SOLUTIONS)
January 1, 2008... There is much to admire about the latest book written by Jack Welch with help from his wife Suzy. Let's start with the title, Winning. It cuts right to the chase, signaling the context for all that follows: we are in a competition, with winners...

Die coatings critical in permanent molding.(CASTING FACTS)
January 1, 2008... The aluminum permanent mold process repeatedly uses metal molds (also called dies), making it unique among metalcasting methods. Molds are used until a casting design lot is completed or changed or the mold deteriorates enough to affect casting...

AFS launches Metalcasting Career Center, redesigns classifieds.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
January 1, 2008... Addressing the critical talent shortage experienced by all manufacturing industries and the difficulty for potential employees to learn about opportunities in the metalcasting industry, the American Foundry Society (AFS) recently launched its...

CMI seeks participation in internet course survey.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
January 1, 2008... The American Foundry Society (AFS) and its Cast Metals Institute (CMI) are developing short format internet courses. In order to determine the subjects that are to be included, a short survey has been made available at www.castmetals.com. Take...

Chapter meetings.(AFS/CMI NEWS)(Calendar)
January 1, 2008... BRITISH COLUMBIA Jan.16-18--CMI Presents: "Analysis of Casting Defects," Sheraton Guildford, Surrey, B.C. Jan. 17--Apprenticeship Night, Guest Speaker Mark Nagel, CMI, Sheraton Guildford, Surrey, B.C. CANTON Feb. 7--Joint Meeting with N.E....

IJMC includes study on nanocomposites, website updated.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
January 1, 2008... The second issue of the International Journal of Metalcasting (IJMC) will be released in January 2008. This issue will feature six papers, including "Recent Developments on Ultrasonic Cavitation Based Solidification Processing of Bulk Magnesium...

Campbell included in global technology series.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
January 1, 2008... In November, Prof. John Campbell, Univ. of Birmingham, U.K., the originator of the Cosworth Casting Process, held a Minimizing Casting Defects workshop at the American Foundry Society (AFS) headquarters, Schaumburg, Ill. This was the first...

Northeastern Ohio students receive introduction to metalcasting.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
January 1, 2008... Two students from St. Ignatius High School, Cleveland, presented an overview of their summer trip to Western Michigan Univ. (WMU) at Northeastern Ohio's December chapter meeting, at Anthe's Restaurant, Akron, Ohio. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

Enter the 2008 AFS/ECS casting competition.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
January 1, 2008... Engineered Casting Solutions and the AFS Marketing Div. now are accepting submissions for the 2008 Casting Competition. Each year, dozens of castings are sent in with the hope of becoming the next Casting of the Year. Find out if your...

CMI course schedule.(AFS/CMI NEWS)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... CMI Course Schedule Jan. 16-18 Analysis & Reduction of Vancouver, B.C. Casting Defects (37-08) Jan. 21-22 Statistical Process Ft. Wayne, Ind. Control...

Sand caster cuts metal loss from Dross.(PRODUCT INNOVATIONS)
January 1, 2008... Like many metalcasters, Hollaender Manufacturing, Cincinnati, was carting away thousands of pounds of aluminum dross per week at a return of a few dimes per pound. The metal loss was chalked up to standard operational cost until the company...

Case history: find the best casting design using one simulation setup.(PRODUCT INNOVATIONS)
January 1, 2008... Computer processing speed has changed dramatically in the last 10 years. A casting process simulation that took more than two days on a $150,000 work station in 1995 now can be performed on a basic PC in less than an hour. This has resulted in...

Tomography system.(METALCASTING SUPPLIES)
January 1, 2008... Carl Zeiss launched Metrotom, a computer tomography system for industrial applications. The system uses x-rays to quantify characteristics inside parts. Metrotom also can be used to inspect porosity, wall thickness and external features. ...

Cost Estimating module.(METALCASTING SUPPLIES)
January 1, 2008... B&L Information Systems announced the release of their newest module, the Cost Estimating Wizard. It features user-defined formulas, screens and templates. User-defined formulas include yields, tooling costs and overhead allocations. The Wizard...

Filtration unit.(METALCASTING SUPPLIES)(AER Control Systems )(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... AER Control Systems has introduced its new portable cartridge-based filtration unit. The unit complies with Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards and provides a solution for filtration and collection needs in welding shops,...

Cast aluminum: the special ingredient.(SHAKEOUT: In case you didn't know ...)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... According to David Dalquist, president and CEO of Nordic Ware, Mineapolis, 60 million of his firm's cake pans are in kitchens throughout America. They have even been TV cooking show guests. Originally called the Bund pan (it means "gathering"...