2005 foundry of the Year Hayes Lemmerz Montague. By increasing automation and improving efficiencies and quality, this plant has grown with its unique VRC/PRC casting process to be a leader in safety-critical automotive casting supply.MODERN CASTING knew Hayes Lemmerz' Montague, Mich. permanent mold casting facility was on the rise. When we profiled the plant with a cover story back in February 2004, robotics and automation had been integrated throughout its newer casting cells. The facility was securing sales to increase its capacity utilization Capacity Utilization measures the rate at which a firm makes use of their capital productive capacities, such as factories and machinery. Capacity Utilization generally rises when the economy is healthy and falls when demand softens. beyond 50%. And, customers were beginning to fully understand the property and cost results achievable with the firm's unique vacuum/pressure permanent mold casting process. Fast-forward 18 months, and the metalcasting industry joins in singing this facility's praises as Hayes Lemmerz' Montague operation has been named the 2005 MODERN CASTING Foundry of the Year. Following in the footsteps of other heavyweights such as John Deere Foundry, Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 68,747. It belongs to the Cedar Falls-Waterloo Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the larger of the two cities, by population. , Mercury Castings, Fond du Lac Fond du Lac (fŏn` də lăk', –jə–), city (1990 pop. 37,757), seat of Fond du Lac co., E central Wis., in a resort region at the south end of Lake Winnebago; inc. 1852. , Wis., and American Cast Iron Pipe Co., Birmingham, Ala., Hayes Montague receives this recognition for its vacuum riserless casting/pressure riserless casting (VRC/ PRC) process for the production of automotive suspension components (crossmembers, control arms and steering knuckles). Developed in the late '90s, the VRC/ PRC process has given Hayes Lemmerz an additional leg up on the competition. But the plant's success has been its ability to take that casting technology, automate the various systems connected to it, and create as labor-less a production system as possible that focuses on one-piece flow. To compete in the automotive realm in which this plant resides, every second counts in terms of production costs and delivery. With quality a given in the automotive sector, the only things that separate Hayes Montague from its competition is the efficiency of production. In this article, MODERN CASTING provides some of the details from the original Hayes Montague cover story that ran in February 2004 while also providing an update on how the plant has advanced further in the last 18 months. VRC/PRC Casting Similar to low-pressure permanent mold casting but with the incorporation of vacuum to further control mold fill, VRC/PRC is able to achieve mechanical properties similar to squeeze casting but at costs close or equal to traditional permanent mold (see sidebar, "Inside the VRC/PRC Process" for more details). Hayes Montague only casts components with this process, utilizing its HL 2 and HL 3 systems. "This process is our unique advantage," said Bruce Graff, plant manager. "We continue to automate the facility around this process, driving efficiencies and quality." The HL casting systems are built by Hayes Lemmerz Equipment & Engineering, Au Gres Au Gres may refer to:
Furnace used for smelting, refining, or melting in which the fuel is not in direct contact with the contents but heats it by a flame blown over it from another chamber. that feed a covered launder Launder To move illegally acquired cash through financial systems so that it appears to be legally acquired. system that runs the length of the various permanent mold casting systems, feeding each individual casting system's 1,500-lb. reverberatory re·ver·ber·a·to·ry adj. 1. Produced or operating by reverberation; deflected or diverted, as flame or heat, onto material being treated. 2. Of, relating to, or being a reverberatory furnace. n. pl. holding furnace. All shell and coldbox cores for crossmembers and control arms are purchased from an outside firm. "Our future growth and success is tied to the plant's ability to further improve and refine our abilities with the VRC/PRC process," said Graff. "We must improve production speeds, production rates, consistency and efficiencies to squeeze the highest output possible." For Hayes Montague, one area of development is with the fill, gating and directional solidification Directional solidification is a series of measures applied to control the feeding of castings. As most metals and alloys solidify, changing from the liquid state to the solid state they will undergo an appreciable volume contraction. of control arms and steering knuckles. The goal is to increase the production rate by producing these components eight-on per metal shot. Hayes Montague is trying to determine how to keep the metal from freezing too early in a permanent mold tool that large. If it succeeds, production rates will increase at least 20%. For Hayes Montague, consistency relates to the further introduction of robotics into its casting production cells. From the plant's development, both VRC/PRC cells for crossmember production have been automated. In the automated process for this component, the shell cores are brought to the casting cell and placed in the mold robotically. After mold closing and casting, robots remove the ejected castings from the mold and bring them to a conveyor system that transports the castings to an automated finishing cell and then to automated x-ray and penetrant pen·e·trant adj. Penetrating; piercing: a penetrant wind from the north. n. Something that penetrates or is capable of penetrating. inspection stations. Until last year, Hayes Montague had automated only one of its steering knuckle knuckle /knuck·le/ (nuk´'l) the dorsal aspect of any phalangeal joint, or any similarly bent structure. knuck·le n. 1. cells to any great degree as robotics performed trim press, cutoff, quenching quenching Rapid cooling, as by immersion in oil or water, of a metal object from the high temperature at which it is shaped. Quenching is usually done to maintain mechanical properties that would be lost with slow cooling. and inspection (three HL 2 machines feeding one finishing cell). However, in the last year, to accommodate new steering knuckle business for the Ford Explorer
The Ford Explorer is a mid-size sport utility vehicle sold in North America and built by the Ford Motor Company since 1990. (1.2 million knuckles per year), Hayes Montague incorporated a robotic finishing cell to complement two-full time and one half-time HL 2 casting systems. Once the knuckles are cast, they are fed into the cell where a robot saws off the gating, performs trim operations, initiates a quenching and performs x-ray inspection. This complete cell will be the template for new cells as well as the existing cells as they are further automated. Beyond casting and robotics, Hayes Montague took a simple step to improve melt efficiency and added a circulating pump See under Pump. (Steam Engine) a pump for driving the condensing water through the casing, or tubes, of a surface condenser. See also: Circulate Pump to its main reverberatory melting furnace to ensure equilibrium of temperature. The result has been an overall energy savings for the plant as the furnace is able to output up to 15% more molten metal per hour than it could two years ago. From a tooling perspective, Hayes Montague utilized its Six Sigma Not to be confused with Sigma 6. Six Sigma is a set of practices originally developed by Motorola to systematically improve processes by eliminating defects.[1] A defect is defined as nonconformity of a product or service to its specifications. philosophy to implement a new changeover (programming) changeover - The time when a new system has been tested successfully and replaces the old system. procedure for permanent mold tooling. Through the development of a new fixture that assists in the preparation of tooling for the casting systems and the installation of the tooling for production, engineers at Hayes Montague were able to decrease tooling changeover time from an average of 8 hr. to 50 min. The true results from the increased automation and improved efficiencies are shown in increased quality levels of the castings. Hayes Montague's parts-per-million (ppm) defects has dropped from 45 in 2003 to 6.9 in 2004. The plant's goal is to achieve less than one ppm in the next few years. 18 Months of Difference Originally built as a machining facility, Hayes Montague was converted to a casting and machining operation beginning in 2000. The key reasons for redeveloping this machining facility were its proximity to the customer base and the land available for an additional 170,000-sq.-ft. casting facility. The result was a facility that works toward one-stop shopping for automotive components with its various value-added services A value-added service (VAS) is a telecommunications industry term for non-core services or, in short, all services beyond standard voice calls and fax transmissions. , such as x-ray and fluorescent penetrant inspection, straightening procedures, painting and assembly and a machining operation equal to any in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. "You can't compete in the automotive market without the value-added," said Graff. "Everything is cost-conscious. The more value-added we provide, the more service enters the equation when jobs are being awarded. When our quality and efficiencies reach their peak, these value-added services will be critical." Graff's quote begins to summarize the difference between Hayes Montague today and the plant profiled 18 months ago. The difference is continuous improvement. Hayes Montague is focused on further automation throughout the plant, improving product rates while increasing quality and reducing defect parts per million parts per million mg/kg or ml/l; see ppm. . The question is--where will they be 18 months from now? Inside the VRC/PRC Process For Hayes Lemmerz' Montague, Mich. Operation, production casting with VRC/PRC is similar to low-pressure permanent mold casting. At the beginning of the cycle, the permanent mold is sprayed with a release agent, coldbox cores (produced by an outside firm) are set (if necessary) and then the mold is closed. Then, a vacuum is drawn through the cope as pressure is increased on the furnace located below the mold. The combination of pressure/vacuum draws the molten metal at a controlled rate into the mold. The pressure and vacuum are held until the mold has filled and directional solidification takes place. The casting then is automatically ejected after solidification so·lid·i·fy v. so·lid·i·fied, so·lid·i·fy·ing, so·lid·i·fies v.tr. 1. To make solid, compact, or hard. 2. To make strong or united. v.intr. . In the process, multiple ingates are used to feed the casting to ensure casting quality in thin-walled sections. Yields of 95% are achieved on certain jobs because most of the excess metal from the ingate flows back into the furnace after it feeds the solidifying so·lid·i·fy v. so·lid·i·fied, so·lid·i·fy·ing, so·lid·i·fies v.tr. 1. To make solid, compact, or hard. 2. To make strong or united. v.intr. casting. To enhance directional solidification, the process utilizes water cooling Water cooling is a method of heat removal from components. As opposed to air cooling, water is used as the heat transmitter. Water cooling is commonly used for cooling internal combustion engines in automobiles and electrical generators. throughout the mold. Currently, Hayes Montague has two different casting systems--the HL 2 for steering knuckles and control arms and HL 3 for crossmembers. For the melt, the HL 2 draws the molten aluminum for control arm and steering knuckle production from an airtight air·tight adj. 1. Impermeable by air. 2. Having no weak points; sound: an airtight excuse. airtight Adjective 1. standard crucible crucible, vessel in which a substance is heated to a high temperature, as for fusing or calcining. The necessary properties of a crucible are that it maintain its mechanical strength and rigidity at high temperatures and that it not react in an undesirable way with furnace located below the mold. For crossmember production with the HL 3, the molten aluminum is drawn from an immersion-heated fabricated fab·ri·cate tr.v. fab·ri·cat·ed, fab·ri·cat·ing, fab·ri·cates 1. To make; create. 2. To construct by combining or assembling diverse, typically standardized parts: refractory-lined furnace that heats from within the melt instead of from above it, increasing energy efficiency and reducing oxides. In terms of cost, Hayes Montague estimates that castings produced using VRC/PRC are 15-20% less per component than those produced via squeeze casting and 4-5% higher than permanent mold. The plant believes, however, that within a few years, it will be able to produce its castings at the same cost levels as traditional permanent mold. "Our production strength with VRC/PRC has grown every day," said Bruce Graff, plant manager. "These efficiencies will drive our quality higher, and allow us to push the casting design envelope further." Hayes Lemmerz Montague Named Foundry of Year MODERN CASTING selects its Foundry of the Year based on the recipient of the annual American Foundry Society Plant Engineering Committee's Plant Engineering Award. This award is presented annually to a North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. metalcasting facility that has demonstrated engineering expertise to advance the capabilities of the metalcasting industry. Hayes Montague was chosen for its vacuum riserless casting/pressure riserless casting (VRC/PRC) process for the production of automotive suspension components (crossmembers, control arms and steering knuckles). Past winners of these awards have included: John Deere Foundry, Waterloo, Iowa; International Truck & Engine Corp's Waukesha Manufacturing Facility, Waukesha, Wis.; Neenah Foundry Co., Neenah, Wis.; Mercury Marine-Mercury Castings Div., Fond du Lac, Wis.; and American Cast Iron Pipe Co., Birmingham, Ala. Hayes Lemmerz Montague Operations Montague, Michigan Montague is a city in Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 2,407. The city is located within Montague Township, but is politically independent. Metal Cast: A356 aluminum. Process: Vacuum- and pressure-assisted permanent mold casting. Size: 170,000 sq. ft. for casting and 170,000 sq. ft. for machining. Market Served: Automotive suspension components (crossmembers, control arms and steering knuckles). Value-Added: Machining, heat treat, x-ray and fluorescent penetrant inspection, and assembly. Employees: 484 (casting and machining). 2004 Production: 35 million tons. |
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