Simple Solutions That Work! Issue 7

Contact: WILL SHAMBLEY wbs@themetalfish.com EXAMPLES A foundry was facing increasing pressure from a pernicious environmental and safety inspector. The foundry owner had no desire to move the business, but needed to address some potential future problems from the community as well. (see figure 1.) Studying the problems, the foundry decided to invest in converting from silica to a ceramic sand. The ceramic enabled lower resin content. Identifying new “green” resin chemistry, opportunities for further air pollution reduction, and some modern acoustic engineering to reduce grinding room noise are some other solutions that they can implement over time. Each of these investments will eliminate distractions and potential regulatory issues – and probably make the foundry a better place to work. As a final example: a foundry had a steady traditional business, but was losing new jobs to other foundries due to the cost and lead time associated with tooling. They wanted to get better at quick turn parts to serve more of their local pump, mining, and heavy equipment customers. (see figure 2.) These investigations lead them into research on 3D Printing, 3D Scanning, Reverse Engineering, Sand Milling, and other quick turnsolutions. In order to better understand what systems to buy, when, and what the interdependencies are, the leadership needed to sit down and lay out the options. Mapping this out on a couple of napkins can work out just fine. (see figure 3.) As a result of the analysis, it became clear that having one or more new hires that were capable of learning and using the new technology was a high priority. From there, it was a toss-up for which technology to add, and in what order. Everything seemed useful. (The author advises the following order of adoption: CAD, 3D simulation of mold filling/solidification modeling, 3D Scanning, and then getting the 3D Printing/Sand Milling process that fits your parts & production volumes.) Carefully researching the details behind your current issues is tedious, but it pays off with good data for making the highest ROI investments. For many GMs / Business owners, the critical data is being reviewed regularly, and the back of a napkin may be all you need to organize your path forward. Until next time... CURRENT STATE EHS inspections distracting from running business Time & cash being spent defending operation Increasing residential & retail development forebode that these problems will get worse CURRENT STATE Losing jobs due to tooling cost & lead time Not staying competitive in the skills sets required for their core market TECHNOLOGY 3D Simulation 3D Plastic Printing 3D Sand Printing 3D Sand Milling 3D Scanning FUTURE STATE Streamline business, less regulatory fees Keep business in the same place FUTURE STATE Keep / improve margin on core business Attract new customers looking for technical competency in a foundry for “one stop shopping” BENEFITS Quick cheap design verification Prediction, solution of mold defects Quick cheap tooling & fixtures Cheaper system than CNC Helps solve problem training wooden patternmakers No patterns to make or store Very fast, regardless of complexity Enables hiring new “tech talent” Good for big molds 48-100 inches across No tooling required Cheaper capital outlay than very large format 3D printers Enables new profits from reverse engineering Adds rapid inspection of molds, cores, castings, and tooling for QC REQUIREMENTS/CAPABILITY Needs tech savvy employee Provides good information for mold design with traditional techniques, as well as new additive technology Needs tech savvy employee Inserts nicely into existing molding equipment & work flow Handle short & medium run production volumes Tech savvy employee required Very high synergy with simulation tools Not so good for highly detailed / complex cores Requires tech savvy employee Requires tech savvy employee Highly compatible / synergistic with 3d printing and modelling Can be used on traditional process work as well. Figure 1. Figure 2. Figure 3. 5