“
When we partner with someone, we are very open as far as numbers we are going to need.” —SEAN O’BRIEN, PURCHASING MANAGER,BAF
press it into what they hope is your shape. T e material wants to spring back. T e sheet of metal has to be formed in stages and a lot depends on how the metal reacts. With casting, you can make more complex parts but it is a simpler process.” As BAF has developed new prod-
ucts, the use of diecasting also has grown, particularly with the launch of a line of fans for which BAF designed and assembled the motor two years ago. Coinciding with the design of the motor was a push to redevelop several components as die castings at the same time. “It was the first time we assem- bled our own motor,” Oleson said. “We designed the detail, structural
requirement, precise location of the holes, and how the blades would rotate about the center of the motor. Casting allowed us to design all the shapes we wanted to shed weight and allow a path for the internal electronics to get to the motor.” T is motor—for the Essence line— is not the company’s fi rst foray into diecasting, but it was the fi rst time it made a concerted eff ort to utilize the process upfront when it could be most advantageous. Because the company moves so fast in product development, a few past components that might have been perfect for diecasting ended up as extrusions or fabrications because of the long tooling time associated with diecasting. Some of these have
been converted to diecasting, but the Essence was the opportunity to get the parts as die castings from the start. One of BAF’s directives to product
development is to make fans that are as effi cient, unobtrusive and quiet as they can. To achieve this, the various components of the fans must work seamlessly together in balance. De- sign details like concentricity of holes, dimensional tolerances and feature locations all are critical. “Diecasting has better process
control [than other metalforming methods] and gives us the number of parts we need,” Oleson said. During the design phase of the
electronics enclosure for the Essence motor, BAF worked closely with its die casting supplier, Production Cast- ings, Fenton, Missouri, to optimize de- signs and meet production deadlines. “[Production Castings] has a rela-
tionship with other casting suppliers who do diecasting with a diff erent spin—low volume rapid prototyping
BAF assembles its fans in Lexington, Ky., and sources a large majority of its components in North America. Facilities in other parts of the world also use this locally-sourced approach.
Jan/Feb 2016 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | 21
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