that require heavy design. During a re- cent tour, he pointed out an aluminum part the company was producing with cast-in steel inserts (Fig. 3). “We like value-added and complex
parts, such as military parts, which have tight tolerances, or the high-end aerospace market because it is low-vol- ume with tight tolerances,” Stroh said. Olson said Twin City Die Castings
has found that its customers have cut back so much on the engineering side that any help the diecaster can give on part design is valued. “We try to get involved in the
design up front with the customer,” he said. “Rather than take costs out of our margin, we show them how we can take the cost out of making the part.” One recent example is a heat sink
Diecasters have brought in automation, such as this automatic trim press, in order to make their production more effi cient.
for a rugged tabled computer, which Twin City Die Castings converted from an aluminum hogout (Fig. 4). Using simulation software, the diecaster found a way to produce the part in magnesium to reduce weight while utilizing a cast-in aluminum insert to dissipate heat in the necessary areas.
Gray Skies Clearing Up The tide may be turning for the
North American diecasters that have weathered the downsizing of the in- dustry and recent economic freeze. Many military programs matured to the point of production in January, according to Merritt, and orders from other markets look lucrative, as well. According to Stratecasts the di-
ecasting industry, including alumi- num, magnesium and zinc produc- tion, is forecast to grow by 58% from 2009 to 2013, although it won’t quite return to pre-recession produc- tion volumes. “Since the fi rst of the year, I have
seen three of the four largest programs I have ever seen in my life in terms of quantities per line item,” Merritt said. “The interesting thing is that none of the three came from Fortune 500 com- panies. It can be a skewed statistic, but the point is, there are jobs out there. I fi nd that part exciting.”
METAL Online Resource
“Rapid Tooling Opens New Diecasting Doors,” North American Die Casting
Association, Metalcasting Design & Purchasing,
September/October 2009, p. 38. 42 METAL CASTING DESIGN AND PURCHASING SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2010
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