INDUSTRY FACES
Chicago White Metal Dreams Up Diecasting App When Max Gondek and
Will Ewing at Chicago White Metal Casting Inc. (CWM), Bensenville, Ill., were work- ing on the development of “DC_Calc,” a free app for Apple users developed as a tool for OEM engineers working on die casting designs, the two got help from a suprising, though not entirely unexpected, source. When it comes to new technol- ogy, even for Gondek, an engi- neering project manager with CWM, and Ewing, a systems technician, leave it to the kids to show you how to use it.
“Once we agreed we wanted to [create the
app], we watched a lot of YouTube videos of 8-year-olds programming these apps,” Gondek said. “And we learned a bit from that.” Te app helps convert measurements into
tolerances based on feature size, tool design and alloy. It began as a spreadsheet that Gondek, developed and used on a regular basis. Ten an off-hand remark led him to Ewing and brain- storming the possibilities. “It started when one of our sales guys joked that I should make an app out of it,” Gondek
PERSONALS Clinkenbeard, Rockford, Ill., pro- Karen Spencer
moted Trent Janssen to manager-tooling design and mock-ups. Karen Spencer has joined Clinkenbeard as a quality manager. Ron “Reg” Gustafson Jr., vice president of business development at Clinkenbeard, has joined the Editorial Advisory Board of Product Design & Development maga- zine
B&L Information
Systems, Bridgman, Mich., announced Joe Harmon has been promoted to vice president, technology & support. In addi- tion, Kristine Craft has been promoted to professional services manager.
Joe Harmon Steve Sauer, the corporate metallurgist for Carpenter
Brothers Inc., Mequon, Wis., for the past 28 years, an- nounced his retirement. Te firm has announced the hire of Mike Kamin to replace Sauer.
said. “I guess Will and I took him literally, so we did some research to see what we could do.” Te two coworkers had some
experience writing code, but the requirements of the app were a challenge that was overcome with a little trial and error and a lot of self- taught lessons. “We had never done this before
Gondek (left) and Ewing taught themselves the coding that built the diecasting app (below).
and had no real background in this, so we’d find references online and spent hours learning the basics,” Ewing said. After a year in development,
with Ewing and Gondek putting in a few hours of work per week, the DC_Calc app was released on April 6, 2013. Designed as a technical aid for engineers who are designing die castings and looking for reasonable toler- ance for dimensions, the app also has proven to be an interesting resource for customers visiting CWM.
Te app has been downloaded at least a few
hundred times across the world. Conversions are done in both English and metric units. Te cal- culator provides tolerances for linear dimensions, parting lines, moving die components, angularity, concentricity, parting line shift and flatness.
OBITUARIES Ronnie Minor, Spiro, Okla., died Nov. 16, 2013. He
was 61. An employee of EJ, East Jordan, Mich., since 2004, Minor most recently was the night shift superintendent at the company’s facility in Ardmore, Okla.
Tom Heider died Dec. 22, 2013. He was 64. A vice Trent Janssen
president at Twin Cities Die Casting, Minneapolis, for nine years, Heider had been with the company for more than 40 years. He had memberships in the North American Die Castings Association, International Magnesium Association, American Society of Quality, and Society of Manufacturing Engineers.
Bob Neuman died Dec. 26, 2013. He was 72. Joining Foseco in 1968, Neuman worked in marketing, gaining international acclaim as an expert in ferrous metal treatment. He developed inoculants for gray and ductile iron and fluxes for the general iron industry and roll casting industry. Neuman served on various American Foundry Society com- mittees and contributed a number of technical papers on inoculation, cupola, fluxes, nodular treatment and slags.
Bob Neuman February 2014 MODERN CASTING | 19
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