T
he factors that enter into cast component pricing extend beyond the design of the casting. While part engineering often has the greatest impact on price, production costs can vary greatly from one metalcasting facility to another. Knowing about the processes involved in casting produc- tion as well as how a metalcaster’s operations are managed
before placing a job can help ensure the best performance at the right price.
Casting Choices For every job, there is a “sweet spot” where all of the production factors fall into place
so the casting can be produced most efficiently at the right level of quality. It will be different from one shop to the next, and even within each casting facility, opportunities exist to decide between variables such as the level of automation used, finishing require- ments, etc. At the 2014 Metal Casting Supply Chain Summit, hosted by the American Foundry Society in Chicago this February, two metalcasting executives—from a ferrous and a nonferrous facility—lent their views on casting cost considerations. “Choices a foundry has made over decades define who they are and what their
cost structure is,” said Jean Bye, president and CEO, Dotson Iron Castings, Mankato, Minn. Dotson is a green sand, nonautomotive jobbing shop pouring 1 to 50-lb. ductile iron castings. “Our typical casting-only job is done in about four hours. We work on timing, lean and flow. Our key metrics are on-time delivery, PPM [parts per million, a measure of quality] and a 12 calendar day lead time.” Bye offered the following points to evaluate when choosing the right casting supplier for a particular job:
Strategy: Does the metalcaster focus on short-run or long-run jobs, short lead times, value-added
services or automation? Bottlenecks: Are there potential shortcomings in metal or sand, in employees or employee training, in
engineering or in capital? Quantity: How many castings will it take to achieve a cost reduction?
Equipment: Costs vary based on the level of automation from the beginning of the casting produc- tion process through grinding and finishing. For a short-run job, manual molding might offer a cost savings in comparison to running it through an automated line. Te opposite situation arises when you have a high number of castings or when there are numerous cores going into the mold. “[In Dotson’s] cost breakdown (see
Fig. 1), our biggest single item is labor at 34% followed by metals and alloys
A casting designed like this iron track pad produced at Dotson, which requires only one ingate, needs minimal excess metal to feed into it, reduces post-processing and can result in a high percentage of yield per casting run.
Mar/Apr 2014 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | 19
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