and machining costs while improving the casting design. Te developments also improved dimensional accuracy and cut the component’s weight 8%.


Seeking Out Suppliers Trough past experience and edu-


cation, Christie’s engineering depart- ment includes experts with casting experience to help identify potential candidates for the manufacturing method. Once a part is identified as a potential casting (or a redesigned cast- ing), Christie’s purchasing department tries to identify metalcasting facilities from its current qualified supplier list. If one cannot be found, Christie then begins its search with existing indus- try knowledge, internal and external research and trade publications. When pursuing a new supplier,


Christie takes a number of steps in identifying and selecting potential metalcasting facilities, including: • Researching firms via available public data, Dun & Bradstreet reports and internal supplier questionnaires.


• Visiting and auditing vendors’ capabilities, financial health, industries served and business systems and practices.


• Entering into a non-disclosure agreement and proceeding with an RFQ on a limited number of parts.


• Selecting a supplier based on audit, business, capabilities and cost performance.


With Christie manufacturing loca-


tions in both Canada and China, geo- graphic limitations rarely present prob- lems. Parts are sourced from a number of manufacturers across the globe. Also, considering the limited size of many castings, shipping costs are a consider- ation but rarely the determining factor. (In such cases, larger parts typically will be sourced more locally.) To maintain standards with its suppliers (casting and otherwise), Christie has a proprietary auditing program with extensive questioning and scoring mechanisms for evaluat- ing and rating suppliers. “Suppliers are audited through ques-


tions for current and historical perfor- mance in commercial stature, financial


Jan/Feb 2015 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | 41


Some applications require smaller, more intricate castings that are usually diecast.


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