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.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 the winner of the Casting of the Year honor, showed those benefits with respect to some other manufacturing process. "Conversion to castings Is one area that will drive growth in the industry," said a casting contest judge. An austempered ductile iron Ductile iron, also called ductile cast iron or nodular cast iron, is a type of cast iron invented in 1943 by Keith Millis[1]. While most varieties of cast iron are brittle, ductile iron is much more ductile, as the name implies. conversion from fabrication fabrication (fab´rikā´sh  n),n the construction or making of a restoration. took top honors, with aluminum, magnesium and steel parts also earning awards. Agriculture, automotive, military, electronics, and pump and valve customers reaped the benefits, which were as wide ranging as the processes that produced the components. Casting of the Year Rangeland Planter Boot Casting Smith Foundry Co., Minneapolis, Minnesota “Minneapolis” redirects here. For other uses, see Minneapolis (disambiguation). Minneapolis (pronounced IPA: /ˌmɪniˈæpəlɪs/) is the largest city in the U.S. Metal: Austempered ductile iron. Process: Horizontally-parted green sand casting Casting is the process of production of objects by pouring molten material into a cavity called a mold which is the negative, or mirror image of the object, and allowing it to cool and solidify. . Weight: 20 lbs. Dimensions: 3 x 8 x 19 in. Application: Distributes seeds during re-vegetation of arid sites. Converted from: Steel weldment weld·ment n. A unit composed of an assemblage of pieces welded together. Noun 1. weldment - an assembly of parts welded together assembly - a group of machine parts that fit together to form a self-contained unit . * The austempered ductile iron seed boot measures 3 x 8X ~9 in and has wall thicknesses of 0.25 in. * The casting achieved a 15% weight reduction over the steel weldment. Most of that weight reduction resulted from reduced wall thicknesses in the casting. * By converting to a casting, the customer achieved a 50% lead time reduction and 65% cost reduction. Smith Gives Fab the Boot For more than six years, Jim Truax, Truax Co., Minneapolis, commissioned steel weldments for one of his most demanding seed boots. The boots, used on agricultural planters to precisely place seeds into the ground, had to be tough enough to withstand wear on the most rugged terrain. The steel component was good for about 500 acres before wearing through while traveling over rocky or fire damaged land with little to no surface cover (save invasive grasses and sagebrush sagebrush, name for several species of Artemisia, deciduous shrubs of the family Asteraceae (aster family), particularly abundant in arid regions of W North America. The common sagebrush (A. ). But the laser-cut metal didn't allow the seeds, which are uniquely adapted to survive in forbidding climates, to smoothly transition between the box holding the seed and the soil. "The line of travel wasn't straight enough, and the fluffy seed would come down in too sharp of a radius and catch," Truax said. Truax knew that a cast boot with a smooth curve would meet the challenge of seed delivery, so he contacted Smith Foundry Co., Minneapolis, to carry it out. The result was an austempered ductile iron (ADD metal casting Metal casting A metal-forming process whereby molten metal is poured into a cavity or mold and, when cooled, solidifies and takes on the characteristic shape of the mold. , a component that won 2007 AFS/ECS Casting of the Year honors. Design of the Year The award winning ADI seed boot measures 3 x 8 x 19 in. (7.6 x 20.3 x 48.3 cm) and has wall thicknesses of 0.25 in. (6.35 mm). The casting is a conversion from a multiple piece steel weldment and features smooth angles and surfaces. Working as a team, Truax, Smith and Craft Pattern, Maple Plain Maple Plain can refer to:
"It was a classic conversion of a weldment to a casting," said one of the casting contest judges, whose name is withheld for anonymity. "Cosmetically, it was 1,000% better than the weldment." The casting achieved a 15% weight reduction over the steel weldment, ending up at 20 lbs. (9.1 kg). Most of that weight reduction resulted from reduced wall thicknesses in the casting. The weldment's thinnest sections were about 0.3 in. (7.62 mm), and the thickest sections, where several layers of steel were overlain o·ver·lain v. Past participle of overlie. to obtain the smoothest angles possible, reached 0.375 in. (9.53 mm). Lead times also were cut in half; the steel weldment took up to six weeks to be ready for use, whereas the casting could be fixed to a planter in as little as three. And while Jim Pint, sales manager sales manager n → gerente m/f de ventas sales manager n → directeur commercial sales manager sale n → at Smith, cites a 65% cost reduction, Truax believes the casting may save him even more than first anticipated, as it has eliminated the pricey processes of laser cutting and welding. Truax expects that the casting also will surpass the steel component's wear resistance. Since the castings went into field use in the fall of 2006, initial results show improved wear characteristics over steel. "We'll know [how long they last] after this fall," Truax said. "But since we austempered them, they should be almost indestructible in·de·struc·ti·ble adj. Impossible to destroy: indestructible furniture; indestructible faith. [Late Latin ind ." Contest judges agreed that the iron alloy in the seed boot casting was perfectly tailored to the application. Boot Camp Software from Apple that enables an Intel x86-based Macintosh to host the Windows XP operating system. Boot Camp is used to divide the hard disk into Windows and Mac partitions, to install the necessary drivers and to create a dual boot environment. Smith Foundry has produced castings for Truax for more than 20 years, but they had never poured a product quite like this. The closest casting was a smaller seed boot for Truax that the metalcaster began making almost 15 years ago. The older boot is cast in traditional ductile iron and used to plant in prepared seed beds. The austempered seed boot casting is made to fit on the Truax Rangeland drill, a planter that Truax said has little competition. The drill is a pull-behind seeding implement that can be hauled by a wheeled or crawler Also known as a "Web crawler," "spider," "ant," "robot" (bot) and "intelligent agent," a crawler is a program that searches for information on the Web. Crawlers are widely used by Web search engines to index all the pages on a site by following the links from page to page. type tractor. The castings that deliver the seeds to the ground must be capable of withstanding rock-riddled land, slanted pitches with little to no surface cover and areas overgrown overgrown said of a part that has not been kept trimmed. overgrown hoof overgrown hooves put unusual stresses on bones and tendons and allow for distortion of the wall and sole. with tough vegetation. "The casting had to be designed to go over 2-ft. diameter rocks," Pint said. The Rangeland drill, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Truax, taps into a market segment that has until now been little explored. The machine is used in the reclamation and re-vegetation of arid lands and forests. "What we're trying to do is take the ability to achieve standard seed planting to wide rangeland seeding on rough sites that are not adapted to agricultural equipment," Truax said. "We have to take the finesse of seed planting and use it on rough, rocky sites." Universities and government researchers have long been exploring ways to effectively seed forbidding terrain. Along with a proprietary mounting system that accounts for changes in ground elevation, the austempered seed boot casting helps solve that seeding problem. "It's a wear application, and ADI excels in wear applications," said the contest judge. "When you hit ADI with a rock, it gets stronger. If you hit it with a rock again, it gets stronger again. Metallurgically, it was a perfect choice." Producing the Casting Truax brought its requirements and a preliminary concept design to Smith Foundry, and with only a few modifications, the low-volume ferrous metalcaster mounted it on its horizontally parted automatic molding machine (Woodworking) A planing machine for making moldings (Founding) A machine to assist in making molds for castings. See also: Molding Molding . To create the hollow through which seeds would eventually roll, the casting required only one core, which Smith produced in the shell core process to meet the critical internal surface finish requirements. "To make [the component] castable, there weren't any real challenges," Pint said. "The biggest challenge was to get the seed placement and the depth of the seed correct, so the casting was changed to improve the seed placement." Pint said that Smith has the capacity to produce extended runs of the seed boot casting, but Truax Co.'s current needs are approximately 1,000 per year. "There is much larger need, but I'm taking it one step at a time," Truax said. "There are huge areas of the western U.S. to replant re·plant v. To reattach an organ, limb, or other body part surgically to the original site. n. An organ, limb, or body part that has been replanted. because it's been subjected to fire. [The need for this casting] could double, triple or go up many multiples, but I'm not predicting the future." Truax may shy away from Verb 1. shy away from - avoid having to deal with some unpleasant task; "I shy away from this task" avoid - stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something; "Her former friends now avoid her" predicting the bulls and bears of the marketplace, but he is confident in the 2007 Casting of the Year. "We anticipate no problems with the casting," he said. "It has given us flexibility and a cost savings that we could never achieve with a steel weldment." Best-In-Class Snowmobile Chassis Suspension Support Grenville Castings Ltd., Perth, Ontario Metal: A356 aluminum with T61 heat treatment. Process: Low pressure permanent mold casting. Weight: 2.9 lbs. Dimensions: 6 x 12 x 18 in. Application: Backbone of integral network of casting nodes. Converted from: Multiple stamped and riveted pieces. * The lightweight, visually appealing casting features 0.16-in. (4-mm) walls and 29 windows. * The mold is four cavity with eight pulls for cost savings. * The aluminum casting is machined to 2.5 lbs. from 2.9 as-cast, helping the snowmobile achieve faster speeds while using less gas. BMW X A small five-cylinder radial engine for sport and training aircraft. Although this engine, the BMW X, proved successful at several large-scale events in 1930, including that year's round-Europe flight, only a few were built. A successor model, the BMW Xa, was introduced in 1931. 5 Instrument Panel Cross Car Beam Lunt Manufacturing Co. Inc., Schaumburg, Illinois Schaumburg is a village in Cook County and DuPage County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 75,386. As of 2005, the population slightly dropped to 72,690 according to the Census Bureau. Metal: Magnesium. Process: High-pressure diecasting. Weight: 12.5 lbs. Dimensions: 54 x 17 x 17 in. Application: Provides instrument panel support. Converted From: Stamped steel. * The main cost benefit comes from the ability to produce such a large part as a two-cavity casting. This is an industry first for a panel of this size. * Magnesium provides a 50% weight savings over a comparable steel design without sacrificing impact strength. * The design reached the customer's stiffness requirement. Transmission Main Housing Denison industries Inc., Denison, Texas Denison is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States. The population was 22,773 at the 2000 census, but had increased to an estimated population of 23,957 in July 2006. Metal: A355 aluminum. Process: Semi-permanent mold casting. Weight: 261 lbs. Dimensions: 29.5 x 24 x 21 in. Application: Transmission housing for a military vehicle. Converted From: Machined assembly. * Machined and assembled components would have required an estimated 15-20 separate parts. * The assembly would have cost an estimated 75% more than the complex, 27-core casting. * Lead time on the casting was reduced by 50% over the multi-piece assembly. Drop Tube Signicast Corp., Hartford, Wisconsin Hartford is a city in Washington and Dodge counties, in the state of Wisconsin. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 10,905. The city is growing at estimated rate of 10.66% annually, resulting in an estimated population of 13,426 by January of 2007. Metal: Carbon steel (WCB WCB Workers Compensation Board (Canada) WCB Write Combining Buffer WCB Wheelchair Bound WCB Will Call Back WCB Wisconsin Certification Board WCB Western Commerce Bank (New Mexico) ). Process: Investment casting investment casting Precision casting for forming metal shapes with minutely precise details. Casting bronze or precious metals typically involves several steps, including forming a mold around the sculptured form; detaching the mold (in two or more sections); coating its . Weight: 3.7 lbs. Dimensions: 6.5 x 8 in. Application: Connection tube for the consumer industrial industry. Converted from: Sheet metal weldment. * The casting provided a dimensionally accurate and consistent part with no secondary operations and allowed the use of self-taping hardware, reducing the overall cost. * Cast threads allow for an easy assembly of additional sensors required for the product. Honorable Mention Manifold Housing Watry Industries Inc., Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metal: A356 aluminum with T6 heat treatment. Process: Gravity permanent mold casting. Weight: 10.5 lbs. Dimensions: 5 x 9 x 9.5 in. Application: Hydraulic pump and cylinder housing for trim and tilt outboard motors. * Part of the design group's goal was to avoid any external plumbing to eliminate the chance for fluid leaks. * Design freedom allowed placing mass where needed to provide feed paths and accommodate mechanical mounting requirements. Enclosure, Processing Unit Precise Cast Prototypes & Engineering Inc., Commerce City, Colorado The City of Commerce City is a home rule municipality located in Adams County, Colorado, United States. Commerce City is a northern suburb of Denver and now the 20th most populous municipality in the State of Colorado. Metal: A356 aluminum with T51 heat treat. Process: Rubber plaster mold casting. Weight: 9.8 lbs. Dimensions: 14 x 13 x 6 in. Application: Dissipates heat to maximize interior microprocessors' performance in extreme climates. Converted From: Machined billet. * Optimizing the geometry of the heat sink A material that absorbs heat. Typically made of aluminum, heat sinks are widely used in amplifiers and other electronic devices that build up heat. Small heat sinks are the most economical method for cooling microprocessors and other chips. allowed the fin height to be minimized, accommodating the end-user's space constraints while maintaining a high rate of heat transfer. * The customer required rapid prototypes, and metalcasting produced a fully-functional component in two weeks. Offset Bracket Citation Columbiana, Columbiana, Alabama Columbiana is a city in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 3,316. The city is the county seat of Shelby CountyGR6. Geography Columbiana is located at (33. Metal: 80-55-06 ductile iron. Process: Lost foam casting. Weight: 74 lbs. Dimensions: 29 x 14 x 15 in. Application: Multi-function frame rail and suspension assembly. Converted from: Fabrication. * The design eliminates a multi-piece fabrication and multi-piece assembly using base fabrications and a casting. * Thirty nine as-cast holes reduced the weight of the casting by 20% without sacrificing strength. Evolution Size II Bottom Header Burnham Foundry LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , Zanesville, Ohio Zanesville is a city in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. The population was 25,586 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Muskingum CountyGR6. Metal: Gray iron. Process: Green sand casting. Weight: 239 lbs. Dimensions: 247.5 x 5.75 in. Application: Pressurized pres·sur·ize tr.v. pres·sur·ized, pres·sur·iz·ing, pres·sur·iz·es 1. To maintain normal air pressure in (an enclosure, as an aircraft or submarine). 2. water vessel to supply hot water radiators. Converted From: Weldment. * Because the metalcaster casts, tests and machines the part itself, the customer realized both time and cost savings over the weldment, which involved processing by several suppliers. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion