65th AFS Wisconsin Regional Conference focuses on improving casting process productivity. (Industry News).Wisconsin-area foundry men and women celebrated Valentine's Day Valentine's Day: see Saint Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day Lovers' holiday celebrated on February 14, the feast day of St. Valentine, one of two 3rd-century Roman martyrs of the same name. St. at the Pfister Hotel, Milwaukee, as they gathered for the 65th Annual Wisconsin Regional Foundry Conference and Mini-Exposition February 14-15. Over two days, 35 speakers gave 30 presentations under the theme of "It's Not Only What You Know, It's Who You Know." Presentation topics ranged from the effects of various charge materials and melt quality to emission regulations foundries must follow and were supplemented by two keynote lunch speakers, AFS A distributed file system for large, widely dispersed Unix and Windows networks from Transarc Corporation, now part of IBM. It is noted for its ease of administration and expandability and stems from Carnegie-Mellon's Andrew File System. AFS - Andrew File System President Don Huizenga and Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl Bruce Pearl is an American college basketball coach who currently serves as the head coach of the University of Tennessee men's basketball team. A native of Boston, Pearl attended Sharon High School in Sharon, Massachusetts and is a 1982 graduate of Boston College. . In his presentation "Throughput and automation Techniques," Ray Sabin Sa·bin , Albert Bruce 1906-1993. American microbiologist and physician who developed a live-virus vaccine against polio (1957), replacing the killed-virus vaccine invented by Jonas Salk. , Grede Foundries, Inc., explained how batch processing (1) Performing a particular operation automatically on a group of files all at once rather than manually opening, editing and saving one file at a time. For example, graphics software that converts a selection of images from one format to another would be a batch processing utility. and grinding automation techniques installed at Grede have aided productivity. The foundry has employed a batch processing system where all like parts are processed completely. "If there's a problem with a casting. We hold the batch and every-thing stops until it's resolved, which gives us full control," said Sabin. The system requies dedication to discipline and follow-up and has resulted in greater attention to detail, he added. Advantages of using the system include more accurate processing times and delivery of castings. "Castings aren't lost because the whole batch always stays together," Sabin said. "It has resulted in a 70% increase in complete orders and on-time delivery and increased efficiency from 80% to 145%." Grede also implemented a robotic grinder Grinder A slang term for a person who works in the investment industry and makes small amounts of money at a time on small investments, over and over again. Notes: to cut gates and risers and grind the casting completely. The robot has increased productivity and reliability while reducing handling and rework because it eliminates time-consuming steps and the human factor. "We're currently running two castings on the robot," Sabin said. "It's not efficient for low-volume or very small castings, so we have to be careful what we choose to run on it." |
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