Modern Casting articles from June 2007

Modern Casting archives from June 2007

Question of the month.(moderncasting.com)
June 1, 2007... The April website question asked, "Against what do you benchmark the success of your business?" Other 58.8% Metalcasting Facilities None of the 29.4% Provided Answers Other 11.8% Manufacturing...

Diecasting firm helps give fighter pilots oxygen.(Product Innovations)
June 1, 2007... Diecasting Firm Helps Give Fighter Pilots Oxygen--Gentex Respiratory Products, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., designs, develops and manufactures aviation oxygen masks and positive pressure breathing systems that help fighter pilots maintain...

Bulk sand storage saves Alpha Foundry time, labor, floor space.(Product Innovations)
June 1, 2007... Bulk Sand Storage Saves Alpha Foundry Time, Labor, Floor Space--Alpha Foundry Co., Wright City, Mo., was seeing demand for its castings grow. Originally the metalcaster stored its sand in 2,000-lb. bulk bags inside its facility, but as more...

Worth repeating.
June 1, 2007... "Conversions from fabrications to castings is one area that will drive growth in the industry."--2007 Casting Competition Judge

In this case, be a follower.(EDITORIAL)
June 1, 2007... This issue contains the results of our 2007 Casting Competition. With this year's results, we found ourselves in the unique situation of having a Casting of the Year that, at first appearance, doesn't have a "wow" factor. This competition...

GM to invest more than $120 million in casting operations at Saginaw, defiance facilities.(North America)
June 1, 2007... General Motors (GM) will invest $63 million in its Saginaw, Mich., casting plant for a new semi-permanent mold process and $61 million in precision sand casting technology at its Defiance, Ohio, plant. The investment in Saginaw, which will...

Keeping with policy to end in-house metalcasting, ford to stop casting production in Cleveland.(North America)
June 1, 2007... Ford Motor Co. announced it intends to idle its Cleveland Casting Plant indefinitely in 2009. Company officials say that the actions are "in line with Ford's commitment to match its manufacturing capacity with actual customer demand." The...

U.S. Pipe to build first new ductile plant in more than 55 years.(North America)
June 1, 2007... U.S. Pipe, Birmingham, Ala., announced it will invest more than $40 million to build a ductile iron pipe plant adjacent to its existing facility in Bessemer, Ala. The new plant will create as many as 100 jobs. U.S. Pipe officials expect to...

Bahr Bros. Manufacturing buys green sand metalcaster.(North America)
June 1, 2007... Bahr Bros. Mfg. Inc., Marion, Ind., purchased Specialty Castings, Springport, Mich., on April 30. Specialty Castings is a low to medium mn green sand metalcaster producing gray, ductile and austempered ductile iron castings from ounces to...

Alcoa expands, will explore value of castings business in corporate shakeup.(North America)
June 1, 2007... Alcoa, Pittsburgh, Pa., announced it will explore strategic alternatives involving its automotive castings and electronics businesses, while filing an unsolicited offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Alcan Inc., Montreal. The...

Nemak buys nearby competitor Castech, continuing expansion.(North America)(Company overview)
June 1, 2007... Nemak, Monterrey, Mexico, a producer of high-tech aluminum auto components, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Castech, Saltillo, Mexico, a company in the same field of business. Castech was purchased from Grupo Industrial...

Thresher Industries looks for new Midwestern plant site, opens office for Asian operations.(North America)
June 1, 2007... Thresher Industries, Hanford, Calif., said it is considering site locations in Michigan for casting capacity that would complement its existing 28,000-sq.ft. California metalcasting and alloy -making facility. Earlier this month, Thresher...

Intermet sells European group.(North America)
June 1, 2007... Internet Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, sold its European operations to Sakthi Auto Components Ltd., Coimbatore, India, effective April 27. The company said the move was an attempt to focus its efforts on U.S. customers. "The sale of our...

Wescast wins new European business in the production of cast exhaust manifolds.(North America)
June 1, 2007... Wescast Industries Inc., Brantford, Ontario, Canada, announced that its European business unit, Wescast Hungary Zrt., Oroszlany, has been awarded several new programs from automakers in the region. Beginning in 2007, Wescast will provide...

Central Castings Corp., Anniston, Ala., part of Tyco Fire and Building Products, reports that in April it surpassed one million man hours and 684 working days.(Newscast)
June 1, 2007... Central Castings Corp., Anniston, Ala., part of Tyco Fire and Building Products, reports that in April it surpassed one million man hours and 684 working days without a lost time accident.

Intermet Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, reached a significant safety milestone when its Jackson Die Cast Plant, Jackson, Tenn., completed more than 365 consecutive days.(Newscast)
June 1, 2007... Intermet Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, reached a significant safety milestone when its Jackson Die Cast Plant, Jackson, Tenn., completed more than 365 consecutive days without a lost time injury.

Pacific Cast Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Ladish Company Inc., plans to build a new VAR casting furnace.(Newscast)
June 1, 2007... Pacific Cast Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Ladish Company Inc., plans to build a new VAR casting furnace at its Albany, Ore., plant.

Buhler Industries Inc., Winnipeg, Ontario, Canada, sold subsidiary BMW MachineWorks Ltd. to a company controlled by Canadian Tool & Die Ltd., for an undisclosed amount.(Newscast)
June 1, 2007... Buhler Industries Inc., Winnipeg, Ontario, Canada, sold subsidiary BMW MachineWorks Ltd. to a company controlled by Canadian Tool & Die Ltd., for an undisclosed amount. According to a company press release, the move will focus Buhler's assets...

Capital Refractories, Derbyshire, England, announced the acquisition of Wax Injection Ceramics and Ancillaries Ltd.(Newscast)
June 1, 2007... Capital Refractories, Derbyshire, England, announced the acquisition of Wax Injection Ceramics and Ancillaries Ltd., a company providing ceramic cores for the investment casting industry, and renamed the company Capital Injection Ceramics Ltd.

Rimrock Corp.(Newscast)
June 1, 2007... Rimrock Corp., Columbus, Ohio, is celebrating 50 years of providing the diecasting and metalcasting industries with automation solutions.

Vulcan Engineering Co.(Newscast)
June 1, 2007... Vulcan Engineering Co., Helena, Ala., was selected as one of the recipients of the 2007 Governor's Trade Excellence Award. The award was presented to Bruce McMellon, president, and Bryan Baker, vice president, by Governor Bob Riley during the...

MODERN CASTING drawing winner announced.(Newscast)
June 1, 2007... Victor Valenzuela, core supervisor, Gregg Industries, El Monte, Calif., won $500 in the MODERN CASTING subscription drawing. Metalcasters became eligible for the drawing by submitting a requalification form to subscribe to the magazine.

Quality certifications.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
June 1, 2007... The following metalcasting organizations have passed recent surveillance audits: Premier Aluminum LLC, Racine and Allenton, Wis., (ISO 9001:2000); J. Walter Miller Co., Lancaster, Pa., (ISO 9001:2000); Temperform Corp., Novi,...

Ashland Sudchemie-Kernfest GmbH.(Personals)
June 1, 2007... Thomas Oehmichen took over as managing director of Ashland Sudchemie-Kernfest GmbH, Hilden, Germany, one of five companies that make up Ashland's Europe-based metalcasting chemicals group.

Foseco Metallurgical Inc.(Personals)
June 1, 2007... Foseco Metallurgical Inc., Cleveland, has named Annie Karim to the position of marketing communications coordinator.

3Point Machine Inc.(Personals)
June 1, 2007... 3Point Machine Inc., Southfield, Mich., announced two recent promotions and one hiring. Matt Roberts ascended to the position of vice president of sales, and Brandon Schnettler moved up to acting director of product engineering. Dennis...

Thomas E. Prucha has joined the American Foundry Society.(Personals)
June 1, 2007... Thomas E. Prucha has joined the American Foundry Society, Schaumburg, Ill., as its vice president of technical services.

Obituaries.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Obituary)
June 1, 2007... Rich Nawrocki, Novi, Mich., died April 20, 2007. He was 58. Nawrocki was chief financial officer and later president of CMI International, prior to its sale to Hayes Lemmerz, Northville, Mich. Following the sale, Nawrocki continued to manage...

Calendar of events.(Calendar)
June 1, 2007... June June 12-16--GIFA, Newcast, Metec and Thermprocess, Dusseldorf, Germany. July July 22-24--Casting Industry Suppliers Association Summer Meeting, La Fonda, Santa Fe, N.M. August August 9-10--AFS Chapter Officers...

Strategizing energy consumption: EPA outlines viable energy strategies for the metalcasting industry in a new report.(WASHINGTON ALERT)
June 1, 2007... A new report on energy trends in selected manufacturing sectors lists strategies that metalcasters can implement to reduce their energy consumption but also reveals barriers the industry faces in fully achieving energy efficiency. The...

Congress introduces OSHA reform legislation.(On the Hill)
June 1, 2007... Legislation that would strengthen criminal penalties for employers whose workers are killed or seriously injured on the job was introduced in Congress by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and in the House by Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) at the end...

EPA proposes small engine air emissions rule.(On the Hill)
June 1, 2007... The EPA has proposed new exhaust emission standards for marine spark-ignition engines and small, land-based, non-road engines, which aim to cut hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions by 35%. The new standards would apply only to...

2007 Casting Competition: Smith Foundry claimed the 2007 Casting of the Year prize with is austempered ductile iron seed boot, one example of the many conversion success stories in this year's contest.(Truax Co. awarded)
June 1, 2007... A great casting exhibits casting process benefits, marketability and satisfaction of the customer's needs, and the 10 castings selected as winners of the 2007 AFS/ECS Casting Competition excelled in all those areas, Many of the castings, like...

Welding ductile iron to steel: a new welding process will allow ductile iron castings to be welded to steel, making fabrications using both metals a reality.
June 1, 2007... When welded, ductile iron is liquefied in the welded area and may solidify with a carbidic structure in the fusion zone that limits the toughness of the weldment. Avoiding the formation of this carbidic zone is a difficult task. This...

Casting shipments to slow: a review of the first quarter indicates a minimal decline in 2007 following growth in 2006.(Statistical data)
June 1, 2007... The annual forecast compiled by Stratecasts Inc., Estero, Fla., and published in the January 2007 issue of MODERN CASTING predicted a minimal slowdown following a growth year in 2006. Through ongoing interviews of casting users and econometric...

Deep in the heart of Texas: the metalcasting community gathered in Houston for innovation and problem solving.(111th METALCASTING CONGRESS: May 15-18, 2007 * Houston, Texas)
June 1, 2007... A MODERN CASTING Staff Report By the Numbers: 1,813 Total number of attendees at the 111th Metalcasting Congress. North American metalcasters and their suppliers arrived in Houston en masse May 15-18 for the 111th Metacasting...

Hoyt lecture: reexamination of engineering education is due.(111th METALCASTING CONGRESS: May 15-18, 2007 * Houston, Texas)
June 1, 2007... The globalization of the economy has put the engineering profession at a crossroads, according to Diran Apelian, director of the Metal Processing Institute, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Mass., and author of this year's...

Technical sessions break through.(111th METALCASTING CONGRESS: May 15-18, 2007 * Houston, Texas)
June 1, 2007... Notable Technical Reports * Aluminum could be the prominent metal choice in future diesel cylinder heads. * Residual aluminum improves ductile iron without causing pinhole defects. * In-mold ductile iron treatment offers primarily...

Balancing sales and marketing.(MARKETING MATTERS)
June 1, 2007... Sales and marketing are tied together like the two ends of a shoelace. Properly knotted, the two ends work efficiently to hold your shoe on. But the two ends can come undone, and companies can find themselves tripping over their own feet. ...

AFS announces dates, locations of 113th and 114th Metalcasting Congresses.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
June 1, 2007... The American Foundry Society (AFS) and the North American Die Casting Association (NADCA) announced the dates and locations for the 2009 and 2010 Metalcasting Congresses. Next year's CastExpo '08, held in conjunction with the 112th...

AFS reaches design engineers, casting buyers during two trade shows.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
June 1, 2007... The American Foundry Society (AFS) marketed metalcasting at two trade shows for design engineers and casting buyers. The first was the Society of Manufacturing Engineers' WESTEC 2007, March 26-29, in Los Angeles. As the largest annual North...

AFS announces Human Resources Solutions package available exclusively to corporate members.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
June 1, 2007... The American Foundry Society (AFS), in association with Thilman Filippini, Chicago, has announced its new Human Resources (HR) Solutions program for all AFS corporate members. Studies show that employee benefits such as medical insurance...

Prucha joins AFS as vice president of technology.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
June 1, 2007... To strengthen the technical resources available to the North American metalcasting industry, the American Foundry Society (AFS) announced Thomas E. Prucha as its vice president of technical services. Prucha graduated from the Univ. of...

New AFS Corporate Members (April 2007).(Membership Memo)
June 1, 2007... New AFS Corporate Members (April 2007): Waxman Industrial Services Corp., Brantford, Ontario; Versevo Inc., Hartland, Wis.

Chapter meetings.(AFS/CMI NEWS)(Calendar)
June 1, 2007... CENTRAL NEW YORK Aug. 26--Greenview Golf Course, West Monroe, N.Y.; Golf Outing. CENTRAL MICHIGAN July 18--Martell's on the Green, Coldwater, Mich.; Closing Meeting. CENTRAL OHIO July 20--Eaglesticks Golf Course, Zanesville, Ohio;...

Central Ohio--In April, Mike Swartzlander, Ashland Performance Materials, Dublin, Ohio, delivered his presentation, "Incredible India".(Chapter Newscast)
June 1, 2007... CENTRAL OHIO -- In April, Mike Swartzlander, Ashland Performance Materials, Dublin, Ohio, delivered his presentation, "Incredible India," which discusses metalcasting opportunities in India.

Northeast Ohio--In April, Chuck Fowler, Fairmount Minerals Ltd., Chardon, Ohio, was awarded.(Chapter Newscast)
June 1, 2007... NORTHEAST OHIO -- In April, Chuck Fowler, Fairmount Minerals Ltd., Chardon, Ohio, was awarded the AFS 2007 Member of the Year.

Oregon--In April, Chris Holden, Willamette Pattern Works Inc., Portland, Ore., discussed the past, present and future of patternmaking.(Chapter Newscast)
June 1, 2007... OREGON -- In April, Chris Holden, Willamette Pattern Works Inc., Portland, Ore., discussed the past, present and future of patternmaking. His presentation included a demonstration of a Romer CMM Arm and 3-D laser scanners.

Plains States--In May, outgoing chapter chairman Adrian Kostner, Farrar Corp., Norwich, Kan., was recognized for his contributions.(Chapter Newscast)
June 1, 2007... PLAINS STATES -- In May, outgoing chapter chairman Adrian Kostner, Farrar Corp., Norwich, Kan., was recognized for his contributions to the chapter during his stay in office.

CMI course schedule.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
June 1, 2007... CMI Course Schedule June 18 July 29 Six-Sigma Green Belt Certification (71-07) Internet June 19-21 Cupola Melting for Engineers (72-07) Schaumhurg,...

Case history: diecasting firm helps give fighter pilots oxygen.(PRODUCT INNOVATIONS)
June 1, 2007... Gentex Respiratory Products, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., designs, develops and manufactures aviation oxygen masks and positive pressure breathing systems that help fighter pilots maintain consciousness during high-G maneuvers. The company's...

Case history: bulk sand storage saves Alpha Foundry time, labor, floor space.(PRODUCT INNOVATIONS)
June 1, 2007... Alpha Foundry Co., Wright City, Mo., which casts aluminum and zinc components via its unique version of the shell molding process, was seeing demand for its castings grow. Originally the metalcaster stored its sand in 2,000-lb. bulk bags inside...

Planetary mixer.(METALCASTING SUPPLIES)
June 1, 2007... Mixer Systems Inc./DustMaster Enviro Systems has introduced the first planetary mixer to be designed and manufactured in the U.S. The counter-current rotating action of the mixing arms can produce a homogenous batch of refractory sand,...

Metalworking fluids.(METALCASTING SUPPLIES)
June 1, 2007... Shell Lubricants has launched its Shell Adrana D 208, one of a new group of metalworking fluids that have been formulated to address tool life, surface finish, coolant odor and dermatitis. Shell Adrana D 208 is for use in general machining on...

Gas diffusers.(METALCASTING SUPPLIES)
June 1, 2007... Capital Refractories Ltd.'s patent-pending induction furnace gas diffusers are used in conjunction with the firm's linings for reduced scrap rate, improvement in casting quality, pin-hole reduction, removal of inclusions, increased lining life,...

Cold air gun.(METALCASTING SUPPLIES)
June 1, 2007... The Vortec Cold Air Gun delivers a stream of sub-zero air for spot cooling. The frigid air can extend tool life, improve product finish and allow increased feed rates on dry machining. Using factory-compressed air, the internal vortex tube...

A godly perch.(SHAKEOUT: In case you didn't know ...)
June 1, 2007... New York City has the Statue of Liberty. St. Louis has the Arch. Birmingham, Ala., has Vulcan, the Roman god of the forge. The largest cast iron statue in the world, Birmingham's Vulcan was created in 1903 as a calling card for the city at the...