2012-13 Metalcaster ProsPectus AC Foundry Engineered Aluminum Castings
AC Foundry is a 48,000 sq.ft. foundry located in Battle Creek, MI. AC Foundry is differentiated from the competition in that it is both a permanent/semi-permanent mold and green sand foundry, which focuses on low- to medium-volume with the ability to produce complex castings. ACF has combined traditional foundry knowledge with modern technology and engineering practices to provide a high quality, engineered casting.
Metals Aluminum
Processes
Green Sand, Permanent Mold, Semi-permanent Mold
ENGINEERING DRIVEN DESIGN & QUALITY Employing simulation software contributes to ACF’s ability to effectively cast products with greater core complexity, thinner walls, isolated heavy sections and tighter dimensional toler- ances. Simulations provide valuable insight into casting design, gating system design, tool design, and the processing parameters necessary to produce the casting. ACF’s ability to effectively set-up, interpret, and analyze simulations is crucial to maximize the benefit of the software into the castability of the product. Through train- ing, experience and verification studies, ACF’s engineering team has improved its understanding on how to fully utilize the software’s capabilities, which play a crucial role in ACF’s ability to cast complex, heavily cored, thin walled castings in both sand and permanent mold. There are particular methods specific to each of AC Foundry’s casting processes that can be utilized to ensure a quality end product if the casting design and/or gating system cannot fully overcome unforeseen is- sues. If the casting design cannot be modified to incorporate feed paths to isolated heavy sections and/or thin walls are a necessity to achieve optimal part form/function ACF can
accommodate for these deficiencies and produce sound castings through the use of a combination of the technologies such as alloy modification, insulated risers, chill utilization, and gating design. ACF also possesses exten- sive experience and has built a foundation of understanding to better manage core gas generation on heavily cored castings. Considerable time, effort and resources
are dedicated to the development of the processes necessary to cast the complex parts that ACF produces. ACF has employed a variety of development techniques such as 8D exercises, statistical data analysis, test simulations, experimentation design, and random sampling to arrive at the current level of understanding of the prior mentioned technologies and how to best employ them. In addition to highly trained process en- gineers ACF is looking at every operation in the foundry for process flow and ergonomics. ACF is currently working to apply Lean Six Sigma principles to each step in the produc- tion, finishing, and logistics departments to ensure a quality casting is produced cost effectively with minimal material handling and shipped on time.
INDUSTRIES SERVED: • Industrial Equipment • Marine Engine • Automotive (Aftermarket, OE, High Performance)
• Heavy Equipment • Medical • Agriculture • Firearms • Recreational Vehicles
AC Foundry, Inc.
1146 North Raymond Rd.,. Battle Creek, MI 49014 Tel: 269-963-8539 Fax: 269-963-4113
www.acfoundry.com 26 METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING / 2012-13 Metalcaster Prospectus
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