purchasing points P
Added Benefi ts of Your Metalcaster Bob Mueller Jr., Joy Global Surface Mining, Milwaukee
O
utside of the normal day-to-day procure- ment relationship you have with your metalcasters, what
other benefi ts are available to you and your company? On a recent planned visit to my
largest casting supplier, I took the opportunity to invite several others in the company to join me. T is group included members of our engineering design team, procurement personnel and a member of our planning group. I used this visit as a chance to expose the group to the metalcasting operation and the complete process from pattern prep to shipment. T e post visit feed-
a chance to lower your costs and lead times. Other options to lower the costs of the poured material might include off ering a lower alloyed material that gains the needed strengths through heat treatment. T ere are many ways out there that
may help you reduce costs and improve overall lead times. Facilitating meetings between your design team and the metal- lurgical group at your metalcaster will help spur these discussions. In a recent example of this, I was able
to reduce the costs on a cast part by nearly 15% and overall lead time by two weeks utilizing a material my metalcaster poured daily and a modifi ed heat treatment
back from my group was outstanding. T e group had not only gained knowledge of the casting operation, but it gave them a new appreciation for the casting process in whole. T ey were exposed to new technology and process improvements created through lean concepts. T e educational adventures served to rid my team of the dirty, fi ery stereotype of metalcasters held by those who are not familiar with the process. T ey now view the metalcasting process as the sophisticated, leading-edge operation it is. Take advantage of these opportunities to expose and educate your company in metalcasting. Your casting suppliers will be more than happy to provide the op- portunity to showcase their operation and help to positively change the image of the metalcasting art.
Additional Benefi ts Metal casting pricing is fi rst and
foremost driven by material costs. T ese materials are in most cases dictated by the OEM design engineers, and little or no thought is given to exploring material options the metalcaster has to off er. In many cases, it regularly pours materials that may meet your needs and off er you
“
costs. Understanding your parts’ uses and the processes used at the met- alcaster are the basis for beginning cost or lead time reduction eff orts.
Designing Relationships T is same concept applies to your
The educational adventures served to rid my team of the dirty, fi ery stereotype of metalcasters held by those who are not
process. T e new cast material actually exceeded the specifi ed mechanical proper- ties of the previous material. T is change not only had immediate benefi ts for my costs, but it now removed an odd material from the metalcaster that presented melt heat balancing challenges. Your casting suppliers always will provide you with the material you specify, but it may be well worth your time to explore other material options that can also meet—or exceed— your expectations. Visits to your metal casting supplier
such as the one described above can serve as an opportunity to look into the processing used to produce your cast part. In some cases, you might fi nd an operation that adds no value to your part based on its end use. For example, your metalcaster might be performing heavy grinding on a surface you will end up machining later, or processing a riser contact fl ush on a machined surface. T ese are opportunities to help reduce
46 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | May/Jun 2014 familiar with the process.”
metal casting designs. Your engineering group will work to design a component that meets the design needs, but is it a good casting design that takes “castabil- ity” into consideration? I have written many articles and conducted many talks on the importance of collaborative designs between you and your metal caster. T ese collaborative eff orts will serve to lower costs, reduce lead times and dramatically improve the fi rst pass yield of your fi rst article parts. It is now a regular pro- cess within my company to hold design reviews with our metal casters well in advance of any formal release of product. T e metal casting supplier who is best suited to produce the part (fi lling their niche) is brought in to review it in the concept
stage. T e supplier is made aware of the fi t, form and function of the part to properly assess machined surfaces and those faces that will have subsequent welding. T en, the metalcaster can help address isolated heavy sections through either geometry changes or the addi- tion of feed pads. T is process will help produce a part that is both cost eff ective and castable without the need for post- release revisions and deviations. All these eff orts further emphasize the
importance for those involved with casting design and use to better understand the metalcasting process and overall foundry operations. T ere are tremendous oppor- tunities out there for you to save money, lower lead times and improve your metal casting designs. All you need to do is devote the time to understand them.
Bob Mueller Jr. is senior supplier quality engineer, cast product and casting supplier development, for Joy Global Surface Mining, Milwaukee. He has more than 30 years of casting experience.
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