Modern Casting articles from March 2002

Modern Casting archives from March 2002

What does your foundry stand for? (Editorial).(Brief Article)(Editorial)
March 1, 2002... Nausea. This, I think, summarizes most Americans' response to the Enron fiasco. At a time when most of us were trying to relieve an already sick feeling from our guts, Enron's collapse and the continuing saga of confidence games only swirl the...

OSHA to increase enforcement efforts. (Washington Alert).(US Occupational Safety and Health Adminstration)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... OSHA recently announced that it will increase its enforcement efforts during fiscal year 2002 with more inspections targeting workplaces where injury and illness rates are the highest. For FY '02, OSHA plans to conduct 36,400 inspections, up...

NAFTA partners agree to speed up tariff elimination on $25 billion of goods. (Washington Alert).(North American Free Trade Agreement)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners--Canada, Mexico and the U.S.--have agreed to eliminate tariffs on $25 billion in trade. Under the tariff elimination package, Mexico and the U.S. are eliminating tariffs on an...

Bush proposes $300 million in EPA cuts for fiscal year 2003 budget. (Washington Alert).(US Environmental Protection Agency)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... EPA presented a $7.6 billion FY '03 budget proposal in February that is $300 million less than what Congress signed off on during the FY '02 appropriations cycle. EPA's budget cuts are spread across a range of issues. The largest cuts are...

Agencies failing to assist small business in regulation compliance. (Washington Alert).
March 1, 2002... A recent report issued by the General Accounting. Office (GAO) states that federal agencies responsible for developing the greatest volume of new regulations during the past administration failed to produce Congressionally-mandated guides to...

Howmet secures F-22 titanium casting contracts from Boeing. (North America).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Howmet Castings (Alcoa, Inc.), Darien, Connecticut, has secured new contracts from Boeing Aircraft and Missiles for large titanium castings for the F-22. The $8-million contracts cover LOT 2 procurements for existing side of body and aileron...

George Fischer Automotive secures $60 million order from Visteon. (North America).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... George Fischer Automotive Products, Inc., Northville, Michigan, has signed a letter of intent with Visteon Corp., Dearborn, Michigan, to develop and manufacture a light truck component over a period of at least five years. The total amount of...

Superior Industries awarded new business from Saturn. (North America).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... As part of its long-term supply agreement with General Motors Corp., Detroit, Superior Industries International, Inc., Van Nuys, California, has been awarded several new and replacement programs. The first of these programs is for the Saturn...

Dynacast adds Chinese facility. (North America).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Dynacast, a diecaster headquartered in Yorktown Heights, New York, has opened a new 5000-sq-m production facility in Shanghai province, China, for the production of zinc and aluminum components. Employing 46 people, the facility began...

Meridian Rail born from ABC-NACO assets. (North America).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The private equity firms Three Cities Research, Inc. (TCR), New York, and Cerebus have purchased all the former U. S., European and Chinese operating assets of ABC-NACO, Lombard, Illinois, and formed a new company, Meridian Rail Corp., Lombard....

Winsert, Inc. (Newscast).(recognized by Ford Motor Co.'s Lima, Ohio-based Lima Engine Plant)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Winsert, Inc., Marinette, Wisconsin, was recently recognized by Ford Motor Co.'s Lima, Ohio-based Lima Engine Plant for supplying two years of defect-free valve seat inserts.

RMG Foundry. (Newscast).(Salute to Business Award by the St. Joseph County, Indiana Chamber of Commerce)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... RMG Foundry, South Bend, Indiana, was presented the Salute to Business Award by the St. Joseph County, Indiana Chamber of Commerce in recognition of the foundry's $3.2 million investment in its business.

Pacific States Cast Iron Pipe Co. (Newscast).(modernization contract with Kiittner-Modern)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Pacific States Cast Iron Pipe Co., Provo, Utah, has awarded Kiittner-Modern, Port Washington, Wisconsin, with a contract to modernize its melt system, including a below charge take-off, a new cupola charger, a hot blast recuperator, a carbon...

Simpson Technologies Corp. (Newscast).(contracts to supply a sand preparation system to Hanoi Mechanical Co.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Simpson Technologies Corp., Aurora, Illinois, has been awarded contracts to supply a sand preparation system to the Hanoi Mechanical Co. casting plant, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi City, Vietnam, and a Multi-Cooler to the Guangxi Yuchai Machinery...

General Motors Corp. (Newscast).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... General Motors Corp. (GM), Detroit, and Hormel Foods Specialty Products, Austin, Minnesota, have reached an agreement on the patent for GMBond that provides Hormel a worldwide, exclusive license without royalty payments to GM.

Castech. (Newscast).(purchases heat treatment system)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Castech, Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila, Mexico, has purchased a T4 Sand Lion solution heat treatment system from Consolidated Engineering Co., Kennesaw, Georgia, with the capacity for 72 cast aluminum V6 engine blocks/hr.

ETA Engineering, Inc. (Newscast).(contract with Union Foundry)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Union Foundry, Anniston, Alabama, has contracted with ETA Engineering, Inc., Avilla, Indiana, to design, fabricate and install a new cupola air pollution control system.

Norris Brothers Corp. (Newscast).(sales representative for Carrier Vibrating Equipment)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Norris Brothers Corp., Centreville, Alabama, has been appointed the foundry sales representative for Carrier Vibrating Equipment, Inc., Louisville, Kentucky, in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, and for Hunter Automated...

BCC Products, Inc. (Newscast).(contract with Weaver Material Service)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... BCC Products, Inc., Franklin, Indiana, has appointed Weaver Material Service, Inc., Jamestown, New York, its exclusive sales representative for the northeastern U.S.

LMI Selcom. (Newscast).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... LMI Selcom, Southfield, Michigan, through its Korean partner Koins Co., Ltd., has installed a LaserPour Automatic Control System in the HMC Junju plant in Korea.

Leco Corp. (Newscast).(partnership with eMarket Capital)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Leco Corp., St. Joseph, Michigan, has teamed with eMarket Capital, Inc., Philadelphia, to develop a web-based financial solution for customers purchasing Leco's analytical and metallographic equipment.

Indian Ridge Mineral Co. (Newscast).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Arid Sand has licensed Indian Ridge Mineral Co., Antioch, Illinois to manufacture, market and distribute it's Arid E101 and E136 and Aridry J82 and J82MX green sand binders.

SPS Technologies, Inc. (Newscast).(sells Lake Erie Design Co.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... SPS Technologies, Inc., Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, has entered into an agreement to sell all of its outstanding shares in Lake Erie Design Co., Inc., to Precision Castparts Corp., Wickliffe, Ohio.

EMI acquires rights to core, molding machine lines. (Industry News).(Equipment Merchants International)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Equipment Merchants International (EMI), Cleveland, Ohio, has acquired the exclusive worldwide rights to the Sutter core machine product line and the North American rights to the Georg Fischer Impact molding systems from Disa Industries, Inc.,...

Euralcom acquires French firms Lajous Industries, R. Brea. (Around the World).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... In November, Euralcom, a casting and forging firm headquartered in At Oss, The Netherlands, made an agreement to acquire 89.5% of the shares of Lajous Industries, a diversified machining and assembly firm headquartered in Compiegne, France, and...

Yamaha Motor unveils new aluminum casting technology. (Around the World).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Yamaha Motor Co., Tokyo, has developed a new aluminum casting technology capable of manufacturing components 30% lighter than existing ones. The firm has been renovating its No. 2 Iwata plant in central Japan for the production of motorcycle...

Certifications.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The following foundry and supplier organizations have received recent certifications: Chicago White Metal Casting, Bensenville, Illinois (ISO 9001: 2000); Brost Foundry Co.'s Mansfield Plant, Mansfield, Ohio (ISO 9002: 1994); ...

Corrections.(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
March 1, 2002... In the January 2002 issue, an error appeared in a Newscast item pertaining to Vulcan Engineering Co. The item should have read: ABB SI Vulcan Engineering, Helena, Alabama, recently completed the first U.S. sale of ABB's IRB 7600 robot....

Future of automobile detailed at AFS Detroit-Windsor management night. (Metalcasting Associations).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Caption: The Detroit-Windsor AFS Chapter's 42nd Annual Management Night drew more than 300 industry officials to Detroit on January 17. Dr. Lawrence Burns (I), vice president, GM Research and Development/Planning, gave the annual keynote...

Euro-Industrial purchases Universal Automotive's brake system component foundry in Hungary. (Acquisitions).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Euro-Industrial, Ltd. L.L.C., has purchased Alsip, Illinois-based Universal Automotive Industries, Inc.'s interest in its Csepel, Hungary foundry operation. Universal Automotive is a manufacturer and distributor of brake rotors, drums, disc...

Ace precision buys diecaster KIOWA Corp. (Acquisitions).
March 1, 2002... Ace Precision Castings, owned by the Garret Group, Franklin, Wisconsin, has purchased the assets and business of KIOWA Corp., an aluminum and zinc diecaster located in Marshalltown, Iowa. KIOWA produces components for farm and construction...

Grede Foundries, Inc. (Personals).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Grede Foundries, Inc., Milwaukee, appointed Paul M. Ward vice president of operations of its Wichita, Kansas foundry and Jeff Friday works manager of its Liberty Foundry, Milwaukee.

Filtering basics: Who, what, where, why & how.(filters for foundries)
March 1, 2002... Fram, a national manufacturer of automotive oil filters, has relied on a slogan, "You can pay me now or pay me later," to demonstrate the importance of its oil filters. The idea is that spending money on oil filters in the present eliminates...

Calculating riser size, location via CAD models. (Technology in Progress).
March 1, 2002... A fundamental problem facing foundries is developing an adequate riser design for feeding a casting. The classical approach to riser size estimation is to calculate the volume and cooling surface area of various parts of the casting and use...

Casting advancements 'drive' golf industry: Casting technology has propelled the science of golf light-years ahead of the days when hickory shafts were common and woods were actually made of wood.
March 1, 2002... When the likes of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, David Duval and Sergio Garcia chase the storied green jacket at the Masters amidst Augusta's dogwoods and azaleas next month, few spectators or TV analysts will likely give too much thought to the...

From Western Michigan to China: The Kurdziel International story.
March 1, 2002... To better serve its customer base and offset international competition, Kurdziel Industries established strategic alliances with Chinese foundries as a means to compete in the global casting market. "Our customers told us that if we didn't...

Computer model diecasting shot sleeves to predict distortion.
March 1, 2002... Cyclic thermal and mechanical loads on shot sleeves in service can lead to a variety of failures including washout under the pour hole, longitudinal and radial deformation that cause plunger tip sticking and wear, gross cracking and heat...

Frank DeMeo: Bringing an 'outside' business acumen to foundry management. (Industry Faces).
March 1, 2002... Spend a few minutes with Frank DeMeo of General Casting (GC), and it becomes clear that he marches to a different beat, a likely byproduct of the fact that he did not "grow up" in the foundry business. While at times an industry contrarian,...

Designing castings with uniform wall thickness. (Casting Design Notebook).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... In many castings, functional requirements dictate that walls be uniform or nearly uniform in thickness. The problem is that if these castings are not properly designed, the molten metal will freeze prematurely during casting before all parts of...

Upturn forecast for second half of '02, 3% growth expected. (Casting Market Trends).(Recovery for metal casting demand in 2002)(International Pages)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Interviews with major consumers of metal castings in the U.S. reinforce earlier forecasts that call for a recovery in casting demand in 2002. An overall growth of 3.3% continues to look probable, though some metals are expected to experience...

New AFS Corporate Members. (Membership Memo).
March 1, 2002... MCP Systems, Farmington Hills, Michigan Midwesco Filter Resources, Inc., Winchester, Virginia

Aluminum Permanent Mold Handbook available. (AFS/CMI News).(Permanent mold castings specs)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Developed by members of the AFS Aluminum Div. Permanent Mold Practices Committee (2E), the Aluminum Permanent Mold Handbook was created to provide more information on the increased application of permanent mold castings. Foundry personnel,...

Phoenix Microwave Ashing System donated to CMI. (AFS/CMI News).(Sand testing laboratory)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Caption: CEM Corp., Matthews, North Carolina, recently donated a Phoenix Microwave Ashing System to CMI'S sand testing laboratory. The system can be used to run sand tests such as loss on ignition using microwave technology and can process up...

DOE publishes financing toolbook. (AFS/CMI News).(Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy )(Government Activity)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has published a toolbook designed to identify financing sources for energy efficiency and pollution prevention technologies. It discusses background, options and...

Four new AFS research reports available. (AFS/CMI News).(Metals publications)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... The following research reports, covering recently-completed AFS research projects, are available. Design Parameters for Lead-Free Copper-Base Alloys in Permanent Molds (RR-0102)--corporate members: $70, individual members: $105, list:...

Sand rammer effectiveness increased by improved consistency. (New Product).(Foundry sand testing laboratory)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... As one of the backbone pieces of equipment in any foundry sand testing laboratory, the sand rammer must operate properly to ensure quality molding sand. The key to sand rammer operation is that it must withstand the rigorous foundry environment...

Robotic cleaning, finishing provides consistency, high productivity. (New Product).(6-axis ABB Industrial Robot for metals foundries)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... To compete in an increasingly competitive market, foundries are looking for techniques that eliminate labor-intensive and inexact practices, allowing them to produce cost-efficient, high-quality castings. Secondary operations such as...

Black Light. (Metalcasting Supplies).(New tool finds cracks in castings)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... Magnaflux's ZB-100F MB Black Light can be used when magnetic particle inspection (MPI) is needed to check for cracks in castings. The portable, 100-watt black light comes with a transformer, cords, a ground fault interrupter and a plug. It is...

X-Ray Inspection System. (Metalcasting Supplies).(New real-time x-ray inspection machine for castings)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... The VJ CY900 X-Ray Inspection System from V.J. Technologies, Inc., offers real-time x-ray inspection for castings. The system includes a high-resolution black-and-white monitor and an adjustable-speed conveyor. It is enclosed completely in a...

Mold Manipulator. (Metalcasting Supplies).(New machine removes molds from staging stacks)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2002... The Nobake Mold Manipulator from Summit Foundry Systems, Inc., removes individual nobake molds from staging stacks, rotates each mold 180[degrees] and transports them to the pouring line. The manipulator can pick individual molds from varying...

Stronger than steel. (Shakeout).(Spider silk, human thigh bone)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... * In a comparison of equal weight specimens, spider silk has proven to be stronger than steel. Experts suggest that a pencil-thick strand of spider silk could stop a Boeing 747 in flight. * The human thigh bone is hollow but is the...

Foundrymen in kilts? (Shakeout).(Thomas Rawlinson on worker productivity)(International Pages)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... In the early 1700s, an English industrialist named Thomas Rawlinson was looking for a detachable garment that would make life more comfortable for his workers. Taking inspiration from the philamore--a massive piece of tartan worn with a belt...

Blackhawk Foundry. (Personals).(names Paul Ellis VP)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Blackhawk Foundry, Davenport, Iowa, named Paul Ellis vice president of sales and marketing.

Waukesha Foundry Co., Inc. (Personals).(names three new executives)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Waukesha Foundry Co., Inc., Waukesha, Wisconsin, elected Robert L. Marten president and chief executive officer and named Thomas Kerwin director of sales and marketing; Vijay Talwar vice president of engineering and business development; and...

Sturm Ruger and Co., Inc. (Personals).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Sturm Ruger and Co., Inc., Southport, Connecticut, named Norman DePeau director of sales and marketing of investment casting operations.

Ashland Specialty Chemical Co. (Personals).(Jiang Fu and Ruben Blake named managers)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Ashland Specialty Chemical Co., Dublin, Ohio, named Jiang Fu and Ruben Bake market development managers of the Foundry Products Div.

Hunter Automated Machinery Corp. (Personals).(appoints new sales representatives)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Hunter Automated Machinery Corp., Schaumburg, Illinois, appointed Brian Slack representative for North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Virginia and Ronnie Norris representative for Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi and eastern...

Fairmount Minerals. (Personals).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Fairmount Minerals, Chardon, Ohio, named Jeff Fallon chief operating officer; Joe Fodo vice president of operations; Jerry Clancey vice president of sales; Tom Graveline vice president of business development, strategic planning and quality;...