MACHINING: TOP VALUE-ADDED SERVICE


Aluminum remains the dominant material, with 814 facilities (48% of respondents) pouring some type of aluminum alloy.


48%


fering finish machining capabilities and 883 offering rough machining (52.3%; 74.4%). Heat treatment, patternmaking, and engineering and design all totaled more than 700 responses. T e vast majority of facilities of-


fering value-added services reported multiple methods, with 1,144 of 1,688 (67.8%) off ering at least two. Sixty metalcasters reported off ering all 10 of the survey’s value-added services. Prototyping (314) and coating (246) were the least popular services, though both increased in availability by more than 10% com- pared to 2014.


Coremaking Methods


Leader: Shell Last Place: Cast-in Inserts A little more than half the par- ticipating facilities (889) reported using some method of coremaking. Shell and air-set/nobake coremak- ing were the top two responses, with 601 and 565 facilities reportedly using the methods, respectively. T e least popular methods were hotbox/ warmbox (99 facilities) and cast-in inserts (28). Nearly 73% of responding facilities


use more than one method for core- making, with 241 locations using just a single method. T e combination of shell and air-set/nobake was the most common tandem, with 426 facilities reportedly using both methods, while 316 responses included both shell and green sand methods. ■


Total Number of U.S. Plants Prototyping (24) and coating (29) saw the biggest increases in facilities in the past year.


SHELL COREMAKING: TOP PROCESS


Total Number of U.S. Plants


Ceramic coremaking, up just one facility, is the only process to gain in comparison to the 2014 survey.


30 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | Jan/Feb 2016


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60