ing competition for an aluminum aerospace part (Fig. 2). The 2.3-lb. alu- minum enclosure had originally been machined entirely from a cast ingot. Using rapid tooling, Twin City Die Cast- ings made the cast die in a little more than eight weeks, and customers saw a return on investment for the tooling with less than 400 pieces. “In the ‘90s, [the diecasting indus-
try] didn’t have a good way to do jobs of 500 to 2,000 parts,” Merritt said. “We were looking at 10,000 or higher. If a customer wanted a die casting at the 500 to 2,000 range, we did not have an economical process. Now we do.” According to Merritt, diecasters can
Fig. 2. Twin City Die Castings used rapid tooling technologies for this aluminum enclosure. The customer saw a return on investment with 400 pieces.
equipped to go after those jobs. It’s an aspect of the market that other diecasters are fi nding success in,
as well. Twin City Die Castings recently was honored in the North American Die Casting Association’s annual cast-
produce smaller volumes economically for two reasons. First, tooling technol- ogy has advanced. A wider variety of tool steels, which can be machined more easily, now are available. Ma- chining technology also allows for faster cutting. “We can cut and build a die faster
and cheaper, although it doesn’t have the same tool life as a typical die,” Merritt said. Second, diecasters are taking a cue
from the stamping industry to achieve quicker tool changes so that a whole shift isn’t required to change a tool. The low volume orders that result
from these advances are introducing diecasters to new customers and will likely be an area of growth. “The customer base for smaller or-
ders includes customers that haven’t used a die casting before, don’t have avenues into globalization and as an alternative have been using gravity casting or a machining process,” Mer- ritt said. “They want to reduce their overall cost. So even though they may be hit with steep capital costs [with diecasting], they will be given a lower unit price.”
Competing at High Volume On the opposite end of the spec-
trum, Merritt said North American diecasters are becoming more savvy with tooling designs for high vol- ume production orders. Both Stroh Precision and Twin City Die Casting operate diecasting machines in the 400-900-ton range, which is typical of the diecasting industry, according to Stroh. This leaves them vulnerable to low-cost countries, he said, because you can ship a lot of castings in
40 METAL CASTING DESIGN AND PURCHASING SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2010
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