EDITORIAL Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder D


uring a presentation to a group of component purchasers and design engineers, I showed several of the award winners from our annual Cast- ing Competition in a powerpoint. For


the most part, the audience was intrigued by the components, asking questions about why one metalcasting process was chosen over another and how certain design features were incorporated while ensuring manufacturability. From a NASA crawler track shoe to a Harley-Davidson oil tank, the castings all had panache and flair. They were unique and eye-catching. Then came a slide of this year’s


Casting of the Year—the alterna- tor/air conditioning bracket for a John Deere skid loader cast by Dotson Iron Castings, Mankato, Minn. You could feel the excite- ment leave the room like the air from a balloon. One purchaser even commented, “It’s just a bracket. Why would it be an award-winning casting?” The question opened the


door to an answer that made the room perk up again: “Because it embodies everything today’s metalcaster must be doing to succeed. It provided a solution.” I will be the first to admit


Could other metalcasters in North America


have cast a part like this? Yes, and they prob- ably are doing so right now. This is important because our customers are going to need many skilled suppliers as manufacturing ramps up over the next few years. Capacity is going to be at a premium for all manufacturing, and our current and potential customers will need streamlined, efficient manufactur- ing operations. Metal castings like this bracket conversion can be a tool to help our customers achieve greater efficiencies. A friend of


“The goal is to recognize those metalcasters that most effectively utilize the unique capabilities of the casting process to contribute to the growth and expansion of the metalcasting market.”


the judges for this year’s casting competition did not make the sexy pick with our 2010 Casting of the Year. But the goal of the competition is not to promote sexy. The goal is to recognize those metalcasters that most ef- fectively utilize the unique capabilities of the casting process to contribute to the growth and expansion of the metalcasting market. When you read the story about the casting on


p. 18, think about what this bracket accomplished. The original 11-piece weldment was a dimensional nightmare that resulted in 10% scrap at the assem- bly line (about 700 parts per year). The one-piece casting eliminated this scrap, while also provid- ing a 48% cost savings per part for John Deere. The casting also provided a weight reduction (as metal is only where it needs to be), reduced machining time and improved functionality. All in all, it eliminated a headache for the customer by providing a solution.


MODERN CASTING / June 2010


mine recently reminded me that we need to stop referring to our customers as casting purchasers and casting design engineers. They are just purchas- ers and design engineers. Some purchase and design castings, and some do not. It is those that do not that we increas- ingly must target because they are the ones that would have designed the welded bracket for John Deere in the first place. They would be the ones who would most benefit from under- standing the capabilities of the metalcasting process and the


solutions it can provide. Hip, hip, hooray to Dotson Iron Castings and John


Deere for their joint achievement with the alternator/ air conditioning bracket. It may not be sexy, but it is a thing of beauty.


Alfred T. Spada, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief


If you have any comments about this editorial or any other item that appears in MODERN CASTING, email me at aspada@afsinc.org.


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