Modern Casting articles from May 2008

Modern Casting archives from May 2008

Dolphin installing titanium vacuum capabilities.(Industry News)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Golf club maker Ping's Dolphin Precision Investment Castings, Phoenix, Ariz., currently is installing two titanium vacuum casting lines it estimates will be in production by Fall 2008. The units, which the company...

Citation Corp.'s Butler, Ind., metalcasting facility to close.(Industry News)
May 1, 2008... Citation Corp., Novi, Mich., sold the assets and equipment from its Butler, Ind., metalcasting facility to Diversified Machine Inc. (DMI) and by the end of July 2008 plans to idle the plant, of which it has retained ownership. DMI will take on...

Changing the view results in more than meets the eye.(Product Innovations)
May 1, 2008... Changing the View Results in More Than Meets the Eye--when Nemak Canada Corp.'s Windsor Aluminum Plant, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, decided to replace its outdated four-camera 2-D inspection system, Vista Solutions Inc., Windsor, Ontario, Canada,...

Cleaning house with dry ice.(Product Innovations)
May 1, 2008... Cleaning House With Dry Ice--Protecting casting molds is a must, but problems can arise when they need cleaning. Ramsden Industries Ltd., London, Ontario, Canada, found a solution in dry ice blasting systems from Cold Jet, Loveland, Ohio.

New Web content: where it's at.(moderncasting.com)
May 1, 2008... Access expanded editorial content at www. moderncasting.com wherever you find the cast metal Where It's At sign (above) in this issue. Find it in the following locations: * Table of Contents: Web-Only article on the role of residual...

Modern casting blog.(moderncasting.com)
May 1, 2008... MODERN CASTING staff members blog about unlikely innovation centers, the automotive casting market, government purchases, a spark of good publicity, climate change legislation and the "f" word.

Question of the month.(moderncasting.com)
May 1, 2008... The February website question asked: In addition to profitable jobs, do you maintain jobs that lose money to ensure full mold capacity? No 55.6% Yes 44.4% This month's question is available at www.moderncasting.com.

Worth repeating.(HOTLINE)
May 1, 2008... "When [Harley-Davidson] first asked us to take a look [at the Rocker oil tank], it was almost like a challenge was thrown out."--Randy Oehrlein, Carley Foundry Inc.

Wake up and pay attention.(EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
May 1, 2008... How do you slap an industry? The last few months I have had the opportunity to speak to hundreds of casting buyers at a variety of seminars and trade shows. While the typical conversation revolved around helping them find a source for a...

Dolphin installing titanium vacuum capabilities.(North America)
May 1, 2008... Golf club maker Ping's Dolphin Precision Investment Castings, Phoenix, Ariz., currently is installing two titanium vacuum casting lines it estimates will be in production by Fall 2008. The units, which the company expects to use for some...

Automotive supplier Contech buys three bankrupt diecasters.(North America)
May 1, 2008... Marathon Asset Management LLC, New York, announced it has purchased three diecasting companies on behalf of its automotive diecasting portfolio company Contech LLC, Portage, Mich. The acquisition was for certain business lines and assets of...

AmeriCast buys Ontario steel caster.(North America)
May 1, 2008... Steel casting conglomerate AmeriCast Technologies Inc., Atchison, Kan., in early April purchased A.G. Anderson Ltd., London, Ontario, Canada, a metalcaster producing ferrous products primarily for the energy industry. AmeriCast has shifted...

Citation Corp.'s Butler, Ind., metalcasting facility to close.(North America)
May 1, 2008... Citation Corp., Novi, Mich., sold the assets and equipment from its Butler, Ind., metalcasting facility to Diversified Machine Inc. (DMI) and by the end of July 2008 plans to idle the plant, of which it has retained ownership. DMI will...

Tupy to increase casting capacity by 110,000 tons.(Around the World)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Metalcaster Tupy recently announced it will invest $234.2 million in its Brazilian operations over the next three years to increase its capacity by 110,000 tons. The company has earmarked $91.2 million to replace...

Indian Group buys U.S. steel caster Matrix Metals.(North America)
May 1, 2008... The Sanmar Group, Chennai, India, acquired steel metalcaster Matrix Metals LLC, Richmond, Texas, on March 31. Matrix, a portfolio company of Jefferies Capital Partners, New York, supplies steel castings for flow control, locomotive, mining,...

Advanced metals increases capacity at Ross aluminum facility.(North America)
May 1, 2008... Ross Aluminum Castings LLC, Sidney, Ohio, has increased its aluminum permanent mold casting capacity by about 50%, according to a company press release. Advanced Metals Group LLC, which counts Ross as a member company, last month announced...

Georg Fischer accepts aluminum foam prototype from Cymat.(North America)(Georg Fischer AG and Cymat Corp.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Georg Fischer, Schaffhausen, Switzerland, recently accepted a prototype from Cymat, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, for a part commissioned on Sept. 18, 2007. that contains aluminum foam in its hollows. The prototype, which is destined for a...

Intermet improves New River and Columbus facilities.(North America)
May 1, 2008... Intermet Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, recently installed digital radiography and a robotic press cell with vision system at its New River Foundry, Radford, Va., and a new laser scanning capability at its Columbus Foundry in Columbus, Ga. The...

CISA looks to the environment.(North America)(Conference notes)
May 1, 2008... The Casting Industry Suppliers Association (CISA) focused on the theme of "Environmental Challenges in the Metalcasting Industry" during its 90th Spring Conference, March 16-18. The conference, held at the Hilton El Conquistador, Tucson,...

HighTemp Furnaces Ltd., Bangalore, India, recently purchased a license to proprietary austempering technology from Applied Process Inc., Livonia, Mich.(Newscast)
May 1, 2008... HighTemp Furnaces Ltd., Bangalore, India, recently purchased a license to proprietary austempering technology from Applied Process Inc., Livonia, Mich. HighTemp Furnaces Commercial Heat Treatment Division operates plants in Bangalore, Pune,...

Carpenter Brothers Inc., Milwaukee, founded in 1917, hosted a gala on Feb. 7 to celebrate the completion of 90 years serving the metalcasting and other industries.(Newscast)
May 1, 2008... Carpenter Brothers Inc., Milwaukee, founded in 1917, hosted a gala on Feb. 7 to celebrate the completion of 90 years serving the metalcasting and other industries. The event was attended by business friends, customers and suppliers. Allied...

Fairmount Minerals Ltd.(Newscast)
May 1, 2008... Fairmount Minerals Ltd. in Chardon, Ohio, is supplying financial support, materials and technical assistance to manufacture and deliver 1,000 sand filters to Kenya, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru this year that will prevent water-borne diseases...

The first machine produced from the new alliance between Maus SpA, Padua, Italy, and Tal Manufacturing Solutions Ltd., Pune, India, was introduced last month.(Newscast)
May 1, 2008... The first machine produced from the new alliance between Maus SpA, Padua, Italy, and Tal Manufacturing Solutions Ltd., Pune, India, was introduced last month. The machine is a fully featured CNC vertical turning center

Roberts Sinto Corp., Lansing, Mich., has acquired the assets of the Matchblomatic automatic molding machine line from Simpson Technologies.(Newscast)
May 1, 2008... Roberts Sinto Corp., Lansing, Mich., has acquired the assets of the Matchblomatic automatic molding machine line from Simpson Technologies, Aurora, Ill.

Tube City IMS LLC.(Newscast)
May 1, 2008... Tube City IMS LLC, Glassport, Pa., a supplier to metalcasting facilities and steel mills, announced it received 35 different Safety and Industry Best Practices awards from the National Slag Association (NSA) for 2007.

Quintiq.(Newscast)
May 1, 2008... Quintiq, Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, a provider of advanced planning and scheduling and supply chain solutions has opened a new office in Wayne, Pa.

Quality certifications.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
May 1, 2008... The following metalcasting organizations have passed recent certification audits: Line Precision Inc., Farmington Hills, Mich., (ISO 9001:2000); Sloan Valve Co., Augusta, Ark., (ISO 9001:2000); OhioValley Precision Inc.,...

Calendar of events.(Brief article)(Calendar)
May 1, 2008... May May 17-20--CastExpo'08, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta. May 30--Canadian Foundry Association Annual Meeting, Le Royal Meridien King Edward, Toronto. July July 31-August 1--AFS Marketing and Selling of Castings...

Q Would it help to add oxygen to my cupola? If so, how should it be added?(Ask the expert)
May 1, 2008... A Adding oxygen to your hot or cold blast cupolas can provide many benefits, including increased production rates, reduced coke usage, alloy solids injection into the melt zone, coke replacement with natural gas and reduced afterburner loads....

Astech Inc.(Personals)
May 1, 2008... Astech Inc., Vassar, Mich., hired Tom McTaggart as product engineer to support product design and development in its blast component market. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Wescast Industries Inc.(Personals)
May 1, 2008... Wescast Industries Inc., Brantford, Ontario, Canada, appointed Kent Harris to chief financial officer.

H. Kramer & Co.(Personals)
May 1, 2008... H. Kramer & Co., Chicago, named Adam Kramer Chapman and Kailash Purohit vice presidents.

Investment Casting Institute.(Personals)
May 1, 2008... The Investment Casting Institute appointed Russel Rosmait, professor of engineering technology at Pittsburg State Univ., Pittsburg, Kan., and director of the Investment Casting Training Center, its academic adviser.

Obituaries.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Hans-Joachim Laempe was the managing director of Laempe & Mossner GmbH)(Robert R. Weber member of the American Foundry Society)(John Joseph Brander employee of Carpenter Brothers Inc.)(Obituary)
May 1, 2008... Hans-Joachim Laempe, Schopfheim, Germany, died April 15, 2008. He was 59. Laempe was the managing director of Laempe & Mossner, GmbH, Schopfheim, Germany. An avid private pilot, Laempe was killed when he reportedly flew into a storm. ...

Capping greenhouse gas emissions: the U.S. Senate plans to consider climate change legislation on greenhouse gas emissions this summer.(WASHINGTON ALERT)
May 1, 2008... The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) announced that the Senate plans to take up a climate change bill, America's Climate Security Act of 2007 (S. 2191), after the Memorial Day recess. The bill would...

OSHA increases focus on combustible dust.(On the Hill)(occupational safety and health administration)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently reissued its Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (NEP) Instruction in order to increase enforcement activities and focus on specific industry groups that have...

OSHA notifies workplaces with high injury and illness rates.(On the Hill)
May 1, 2008... The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has notified 14,000 employers nationwide that their injury and illness rates are considerably higher than the national average. In a letter sent in March to those employers, OSHA...

2008 AFS/ECS casting competition: Carley Foundry's shiny blue oil tank took home this year's prize for Casting of the Year, but not just because it was pretty.(Casting of the Year)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Castings aren't always aesthetically pleasing, but when they are, it's worth taking a closer look. The 2008 Casting of the Year (pictured) is one of the beautiful ones. But the other eight prize winners in the 2008...

Supplying perspective: two consumables suppliers discuss their view on how globalization will affect U.S. metalcasters' competitiveness.(Company overview)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When production quality tons afoul at a casting facility, metalcasters often call on their suppliers for a solution. The industry's suppliers know that by improving their customers' operations they are improving...

Metalcasting's carbon footprint: lawmakers are talking seriously about reducing greenhouse gases, but what does that mean for metalcasters?
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For metalcasters to better understand the impact of pending climate change legislation on their individual facilities, they should first understand the greenhouse gases that are emitted by the U.S. metalcasting...

American Castings pours again: American Cast Iron Pipe Co. purchased an undercapitalized facility in 2003 and is quickly turning it into a world-class iron metalcaster.
May 1, 2008... David Nieto started working for American Castings, Pryor, Okla., in the least enviable position in a metalcasting facility. He was a manual grinder, spending his days in the noisiest part of the plant passing castings under a relentlessly...

Casting titanium in permanent mold: titanium alloys could be used in several automotive applications, but the current manufacturing processes are costly. Permanent mold casting could change that.
May 1, 2008... Increasingly stringent regulations on the fuel-efficiency and environmental impact of vehicles to achieve lower greenhouse gas emissions have focused interest on weight reduction and improved automobile performance. While the use of aluminum...

Selling value.(NOVEL SOLUTIONS)(business book )(Book review)
May 1, 2008... The business book, a category that barely trickled a few decades ago, today overflows. Value Merchants, by James C. Anderson, Nirmalya Kumar and James A. Narus in particular is one business book that offers great value to its readers. It asks...

Controlling your environmental risk.(CAPITAL GAINS)
May 1, 2008... In 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranked metalcasting as one of the 10 most polluting industries. Since then, the industry has come under increased scrutiny over operational practices and pollution legacy issues....

AFS Central Ohio Chapter helps raise funds for OSU Metalcasting Lab.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
May 1, 2008... Metalcasting students at Ohio State Univ. (OSU), Columbus, Ohio, are one step closer to their dream metalcasting laboratory. The lab renovation, spearheaded by Doru Stefanescu, OSU Foundry Educational Foundation (FEF) key professor, began...

Chapter meetings.(AFS/CMI NEWS)(Calendar)
May 1, 2008... BRITISH COLUMBIA May 24--Appreciation Night/Annual General Meeting, Shaughnessy Restaurant, VanDusen Botanical Gardens, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. CENTRAL MICHIGAN May 21--"Securing Your Future," Jay Wright, Los Tequilas,...

Lost Foam publication released, includes casting case studies.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
May 1, 2008... AFS recently released the latest publication on the lost foam casting process, Lost Foam Casting Made Simple. This is an extensive revision of Expendable Pattern Casting, with new information on the advancements and discoveries that were made...

AFS's HR Solutions program strengthened by merger.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
May 1, 2008... Need assistance creating the best employee benefit package for your company? Concerned about the annual price increases from group health insurance that are hitting your bottom line? Bewildered by the complexities involved in establishing a...

CMI course schedule.(AFS/CMI NEWS)(Brief article)(Calendar)
May 1, 2008... CMI Course Schedule May 26 June 29 Gating & Riser Design (66-08) Internet June 3-6 Practical Green Sand Platteville, Wis. Control-Ferrous (68-08) June 3-5 Metallurgy of Aluminum...

Metalcasters push for fair trade, industry-friendly policies on Capitol Hill.(AFS/CMI NEWS)(Conference notes)
May 1, 2008... More than 150 metalcasters from across the country met in Washington, D.C., April 9-11, to speak directly with their congressmen and women on policies that affect the health of U.S. metalcasting businesses, as part of the Government Affairs...

ECS launches new Metalcasting Design website.(AFS/CMI NEWS)(Website overview)
May 1, 2008... On March 19, the American Foundry Society (AFS) and Engineered Casting Solutions (ECS) launched a new website, www.MetalcastingDesign.com. Metal casting buyers and design engineers across the globe now have a complete online resource that...

Metal castings marketed across the U.S., tradeshows include WESTEC, SAE.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
May 1, 2008... Metal castings made their way around the U.S. to be marketed to numerous industries at trade shows during the past two months. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The American Foundry Society (AFS) participated in the WESTEC Exposition, Los...

AFS 2008 Transactions available this month, includes up-to-date technology and trends.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
May 1, 2008... The American Foundry Society (AFS) will release the 2008 Transactions of the American Foundry Society, Vol. 116, on May 26. This annual publication is the compilation of the latest metalcasting technical papers presented at the 112th...

AFS to sponsor North American Pavilion at NEWCAST 2009.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
May 1, 2008... For the first rime, U.S., Canadian and Mexican metalcasters will have the opportunity to exhibit within a North American Pavilion at NEWCAST 2009, 3rd International Trade Fair for Precision Castings and NEWPART Innovation Parc. The trade fair...

Cleaning house with dry ice.(New Product)(Ramsden Industries Ltd.)
May 1, 2008... Protecting casting molds is a must, but problems can arise when they need cleaning. As Ramsden Industries Ltd., London, Ontario, Canada, discovered, the marriage of coating to mold is a breeze. It's the separation of the two that is difficult....

Changing the view results in more than meets the eye.(New Product)
May 1, 2008... When Nemak Canada Corp.'s Windsor Aluminum Plant, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, decided to replace its outdated four-camera 2-D inspection system, it originally wanted to upgrade to the latest 2-D technology system available on the market. But when...

Chime after chime.(SHAKEOUT: In case you didn't know ...)(Great Bell)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Last month marked the 150th anniversary of the birth of Big Ben, officially known as the Great Bell, housed in the Great Clock of Westminster in London, England. Impressively, the bell still chimes in each hour of the day, but perhaps more...