Modern Casting

Browse past and current articles from this publication.

Cerion LLC purchases assets of Intermet, two diecasters.(Industry News)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] According to a public relations representative, Cerion LLC, Plymouth, Mich., and parent company Revstone Industries, Paris, Ky., won an auction for the business assets of In . . .

Grede files for bankruptcy, looks for new owner.(Industry News)
Ferrous metalcasting giant Grede Foundries Inc., Milwaukee, announced it has filed a petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and is seeking a long-term owner for the . . .

Graphite mold picture perfect for camera housing.(Product Innovations)
In the spring of 2007, hardware engineering manager Tom Driscoll was introduced to Graphicast, Jaffrey, N.H., a CNC machining facility and metalcaster that uses graphite molds to cast parts from ZA- . . .

Nonoceramic coatings improve aluminum permanent molding.(Product Innovations)
Recently developed nanoceramic coatings can multiply the service life of conventional die coatings by up to seven, according to ItN Nanovation AG, Saarbruecken, Germany, producer of Nanocomp MetCast . . .

Where its at.(moderncasting.com)
Wherever you find the cast metal Where It's At sign (right) in this issue, access additional content on the web at www. moderncasting.com or the otherwise indicated website: * Table of Contents: W . . .

Question of the month.(moderncasting.com)
The June web poll asked: Which of the following actions has your company taken to combat the slowing economy? Laid Off Employees 54.1% Reduced Employee Hours 21.2% Wage/Hiring Freeze . . .

Different, but the same.(EDITORIAL)
The two facilities named Metalcasters of the Year--Blackhawk de Mexico and Intermet Stevensville--appear to be as dissimilar as possible. Sure, they both produce castings. But Blackhawk is an iron g . . .

Cerion LLC, parent purchase assets of Intermet, two other struggling diecasters.(North America)
According to a public relations representative, Cerion LLC, Plymouth, Mich., and parent company Revstone Industries, Paris, Ky., won an auction on June 24 for the business assets of Intermet Corp., . . .

Grede files for bankruptcy, looks for new owner.(North America)
Ferrous metalcasting giant Grede Foundries Inc., Milwaukee, announced it has filed a petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and is seeking a long-term owner for the . . .

Bradken's Chehalis facility adds welding, gains certifications.(North America)
Diversified manufacturer Bradken's Chehalis, Wash., metalcasting facility has added the ability to perform welding repairs and ship finished products directly to customers to its current capacity to . . .

Federal funds reach Missouri metalcasters.(North America)
The state of Missouri has received $22.9 million to increase its energy efficiency, and it will focus a portion of the funds on its five most energy-intensive manufacturing categories, one of which . . .

J.L. French headed back into bankruptcy.(North America)
Aluminum automotive diecaster J.L. French Automotive Castings Inc., Sheboygan, Wis., announced last month it plans to file for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, after an attem . . .

NADCA announces winners of 2009 Design Competition.(Around the World)
The North American Die Casting Association (NADCA) has announced eight winners and two honorable mentions in its annual International Die Casting Design Competition, intended to showcase outstanding . . .

AE Group closes U.S. location.(Around the World)
AE Light Metal Castings Georgia Inc., LaGrange, Ga., has closed, and its equipment was sold in an online auction on July 21. According to a press release issued by online auction house Hilco Indus . . .

To advance the cause of manufacturing, elect the right people.(Letterbox)
The interview of Rep. Brett Guthrie CA Metalcaster Goes to the Hill," July, p. 28) is an excellent piece of journalism. Guthrie is right on target with excellent business acumen. Unfortunately, legi . . .

An artist takes up residence with an industrial process.(Letterbox)
I was in the right place at the right time to end up an artist in residence at a commercial metalcasting facility. I have been a person who has access to not only Smith Foundry, Minneapolis, but m . . .

Correction.(Letterbox)(Correction notice)
The Univ. of Northern Iowa is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, not Cedar Rapids, as reported in the caption on p. 24 of the July issue. . . .

Quality certifications.(Letterbox)
The following metalcasters and metalcasting suppliers have passed recent certification or surveillance audits: Multi-Cast Corp., Wauseon, Ohio (ISO 9001:2008); Waltek Inc., Ramsey, Minn. (ISO 90 . . .

Norca Engineered Products LLC.(Personals)
Norca Engineered Products LLC, Raleigh, N.C., has added two new executives. Tom Jones has been made vice president of sales, and Phil Belisto was named vice president of supply chain. . . .

Flow Science Inc.(Personals)
Flow Science Inc., Santa Fe, N.M., elected David Souders as vice president of sales and marketing and Ron Harper as vice president of programming. . . .

Equipment Merchants International Inc.(Personals)
Equipment Merchants International Inc., Cleveland, announced the rehiring of Dennis Gorup to its sales team. He will be responsible for customers in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee . . .

Wall Colmonoy Corp.(Personals)
Wall Colmonoy Corp., Madison Heights, Mich., announced the hiring of Daniel Eichorn as corporate controller and June Mason as quality assurance manager for the Alloy Products Group. [ILLUSTRATION . . .

Obituaries.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Obituary)
Robert Dale Meyer, Sheboygan, Wis., died June 14. He was 84. Meyer worked for more than 35 years as a metalcaster for the Vollrath Co., Sheboygan, Wis. Paul Kostuch Jr., Neenah, Wis., died on June . . .

Calendar of events.(Conference news)(Calendar)
August August 16--AFS Ergonomics in the Metalcasting Facility Seminar, Indianapolis Marriott East, Indianapolis. August 16-19--AFS 21st Environmental Health and Safety Conference, Indianapolis M . . .

Immigration crackdown focuses on employers: ICE is reviewing the employees at more than 600 companies.(WASHINGTON ALERT)
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced in July that it was issuing Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9) inspection notices to 652 companies in an effort to crack down . . .

Social Security no-match replaced with E-Verify.(On the Hill)
Starting Sept. 8, federal contracts only will be awarded to employers who use E-Verify to check employee work authorization. The decision comes on the heels of the U.S. Department of Homeland Securi . . .

Legislation to bolster R&D tax credit.(On the Hill)
Bipartisan legislation has been introduced to streamline and make permanent the soon-to-expire research and development (R&D) tax credit. The bill would increase the Alternative Simplified Credit (A . . .

Metalcasters of the year.(Cover story)(Company overview)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Blackhawk de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. Santa Catarina, Nuevo Leon, Mexico "Guided by a clear product strategy, Blackhawk de Mexico utilizes effective t . . .

Estimating & costing: from start to finish: to develop accurate financial models, dirty your hands for more valid and reliable d
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It is said that ancient philosophers often argued about how many teeth a horse had. The simple solution to this debate is to stop arguing, go out to the barn and physically . . .

15 Tips for reducing nonferrous melting costs: to reduce your costs, look at your alloys, pouring procedures and equipment.
In today's economic climate, many metalcasters are looking for ways to reduce their costs. One of the most energy and cost intensive areas of the metalcasting facility is the melt department, making . . .

Slim the slag in your iron: three causes of slag-related defects in ductile iron castings are well documented, A third more crit
For safety reasons, certain casting applications demand ductile iron castings with no surface defects resulting from slag in the melt. The treated iron and the role of magnesium and process temperat . . .

What business are you in?(MARKETING MATTERS)
Ask yourself what business you are in. At first glance, it seems like a slam-dunk answer. "I cast metal; therefore I am a metalcaster." However, there's more to the story. Sure, making and selling m . . .

Cold-starting coreless induction melting furnaces.(CAST TIP--Technical Information and Practice)
AFS Division 8C Coreless Melting Committee, Schaumburg, Illinois Induction melting furnaces are intended for continuous and consistent use. The retained heat from continued use improves the meltin . . .

IJMC receives Thomson Reuters Accreditation, dedicates issue to Loper Symposium Papers.(AFS/CMI NEWS)(Company overview)
The quarterly technical journal of the American Foundry Society (AFS), the International Journal of Metalcasting (IJMC), has been accredited by Thomson Reuters, a world renowned information source. . . .

AFS announces HR Solutions Casting Care Program.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
AFS Announces FIR Solutions Casting Care Program In an effort to help its corporate members control healthcare costs, AFS and its endorsed insurance and risk management broker, Willis HRH, have anno . . .

Compilation on Magnesium Casting technology released.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
AFS recently released a new publication titled Casting Magnesium. This special compilation CD contains papers that were previously published from 2001-2009 in the Transactions of the American Foundr . . .

CMI course schedule.(AFS/CMI NEWS)
CMI Course Schedule Sept. 8-Oct. 19 Interactive Six Sigma Green Belt Certification (08-10) Sept. 15-17 Analysis & Reduction of Investment Castin . . .

Graphite mold picture perfect for camera housing.(Case Study)
In the spring of 2007, hardware engineering manager Tom Driscoll was in charge of designing a new machine-vision camera used in quality control applications to verify products have been assembled, l . . .

Nonoceramic coatings improve aluminum permanent molding.(New Product)
Recently developed nanoceramic coatings can multiply the service life of conventional die coatings by a factor of up to seven, according to ItN Nanovation AG, Saarbmecken, Germany. And the company's . . .

Heavy-duty robot.(METALCASTING SUPPLIES)
Fanuc Robotics America Inc. has introduced the M-2000iA/1200 super heavy-duty robot, able to lift parts weighing up to 3,000 lbs. (1,350 kg). The robot is the second in Fanuc Robotics' line of heavy . . .

Mold release.(METALCASTING SUPPLIES)
Frekote Rel-Eaze is a new mold release agent developed by Henkel Corp. for releasing sand cores used in metalcasting operations. This unique product produces 15 releases per application, providing t . . .

Rotatable drive belt conveyors.(METALCASTING SUPPLIES)
Qc Industries' new Automation Series low profile belt conveyors offer pivot rotatable drives that can be quickly and easily rotated to almost any position as application requirements change. Pivot d . . .

Lewis and Clark finally standing still.(SHAKEOUT: In case you didn't know ...)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The explorers that wouldn't stay put have been immortalized in place by the Crucible Foundry and Gallery, Norman, Okla. Pictured above as cast bronze sculptures are five p . . .

Where it's at.(moderncasting.com)
Wherever you find the cast metal Where It's At sign (right) in this issue, access additional content on the web at www. moderncasting.com or the otherwise indicated website: * Table of Contents: W . . .

Metalcasting blog.(moderncasting.com)
MODERN CASTING staff pontificates on a metalcasting customer on television, a rapid prototyper jumping headlong into social networking and Dr. Sam Ramrattan, metalcaster and poet. . . .

Question of the Month.(moderncasting.com)
The April web poll asked: How do you feel President Obama's first 100 days in office have affected the metalcasting industry? Negatively 61.5% positively 20.9% No Effect 17.6% This month's . . .

Worth repeating.(HOTLINE)
"A lot of people are coming to Washington today. It doesn't take money and lobbying power [to make a difference]. It takes making the effort."--Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) . . .

Treat your people as your greatest asset.(EDITORIAL)(metal casting workers education and training)(Editorial)
Everyone loves the idea of education and training. If you polled the leaders of our industry, you would be ham pressed to find anyone who wasn't on education and training bandwagon. So then, let m . . .

GM, moving bankruptcy forward, announces casting winners and losers.(North America)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] General Motors Corp. (GM), Detroit, has reached agreements with the U.S. Treasury and the governments of Canada and Ontario to create a "new GM," a company that will close M . . .

Rapid prototyping firm quickparts adds metalcasting.(North America)
Quickparts, Atlanta, a provider of custom designed rapid prototypes and production parts, announced it will begin offering metal castings through the plaster molding process, in addition to its othe . . .