Casting Solutions Blog

Have you noticed a supply side issue for iron castings in North America? With many companies rethinking their global casting strategy, more emphasis has been put on domestic output. Add to that a general increase in demand and the elimination of many foundries during the lean years, and you are faced with a supply side concern.

We at CSI have been fortunate to team up with Castwell Foundry in Chicago who has a wide-range of capability in the iron alloys and open capacity. Let us know how we can help you out!

Casting Solutions will be exhibiting at the Medical Design and Manufacturing Show in Minneapolis this year. CSI staff has been busy working on various casting applications for Fortune 500 medical device manufacturers. With an ever-increasing demand for our services, the decision was made to once again go where the users are and spread the good word about how castings can streamline cost and make product more robust. Stop by booth 458 and see us November 2-3!

Premier Aluminum is in the process of installing the largest LPPM in North America. We will now be able to produce 200 pound plus pressure tight, leak-proof aluminum castings here in Racine, Wisconsin.

Just another example of how CSI brings you the latest in casting technology.

Casting Solutions has been developing different ways for you to save money on tooling for development/prototype work right through to low volume EAU jobs. The tool shown was used to make 50+ parts (still running) put through the traditional investment cast process (15 ton press) at a cost of $500 for the tooling.

Tool source: In house at Casting Solutions, Inc.
Tool time: 12 hours

We can help you keep costs down. Contact us today!

Jason Lythjohan, Senior Foundry Engineer at Premier Aluminum, Racine, Wisconsin, has just passed the level 3 certification with MAGMA Foundry Technologies and is the ONLY certified operator in North America. One of Premier’s most effective engineering tools is MAGMASOFT®, provided by MAGMA Foundry Technologies, which is a software used to assist engineers, designers, and buyers in the metalcasting industry. Premier’s engineering group uses MAGMASOFT® to optimize the casting design as well as to refine the casting process from the outset. MAGMASOFT® blends science, technology, and experience from diverse areas of the casting process to create a package that uses the complex physics of casting to simulate the results prior to creating the mold. This technology-based strategy, combined with years of experience serving the global foundry market, allows Premier to optimize its designs for castability, quality, and overall lowest cost.

Casting Solutions is honored to be a part of the Premier Aluminum team and we congratulate Jason Lythjohan on this remarkable accomplishment!

MagmaPremier Final 06152011
Early collaboration on a project can make all the difference. Premier Aluminum is offering a new Technology Center to customers. The attached article has more details.

We have a bit of a perfect storm brewing in the world of castings. During the recession, many of the nation’s foundries went out of business. The industry right-sized to what the market would bear (supply/demand). Over the last year there has been a consistent uptick in business levels along with a desire to source product domestically since it is not cost effective any longer to buy off shore. Those two key ingredients have left the casting industry with critical supply shortages in certain materials. Long term the market will adjust, but for the short term make sure you are aligned with foundries that not only value your business but see it as core competent to their capabilities.

Made in America: Manufacturing Jobs are Coming Home

Do you have applications where high wear and corrosion resistance are paramount to a successful product? If so, we may have an answer for you.

www.castwell.com

Many times when discussing various foundries with our customers we will hear the comment, “I like the people, but the facility is really old.” An “old” facility can be a good sign, if you dig a bit deeper. Many times you will find these facilities to have zero debt with a sound understanding of what they do well and more importantly what they don’t do well. This is invaluable to you as a customer when considering a potential supplier. Check out the following article from Modern Casting to learn more.

http://content.yudu.com/A1qux1/ModernCastingFeb2011/resources/52.htm

AgencySales
At Casting Solutions we constantly work on developmental casting programs. In so doing, we get the reward of educating customers so they know what casting options are available for their programs. One of the biggest challenges our customers face is defining the merits of a cast approach we bring that may not necessarily be the main stream approach. It may be very well received at the engineering level and looked at as “best in class”, but when upper management, who is adverse to taking risks and removed from the day-to-day operations, sees the proposal, they may not understand or appreciate our solution and thus it is discarded without a fair review.

That is why it is so important for you to have a “Qualified Internal Champion” early on to take ideas and turn them into reality. Please read the attached article from Agency Sales for an overview of this extremely important topic.