Inside EICF
James Byrne and VA Technology: A Legacy with More Than 400 Shell Manufacturing Systems Installed Worldwide An Interview with James Byrne by Carlos Olabe, Executive Director, EICF
Last 6 of March 2020, just before the pandemic lockdown, James Byrne was making an important decision in his professional life, stepping down as Chairman/Director of VA Technology Ltd and entering a new challenging phase of his life. Being conscious of
the relevant
and significant impact of Jim Byrne’s legacy to the investment casting industry, the EICF requested Jim to hold a conversation to review this legacy.
Q A
What do you think when you look back and realize the enormous impact to this industry with the solutions provided by you and your company?
It’s been a great journey, and I feel privileged to have worked with
so many excellent people within the industry. Together, we have achieved many things and perhaps the greatest has been our contribution towards bringing the process from an art-form to a controllable, technology-based industry.
In the case of the shellroom, the
expectation of shell quality perfection has been transformed from unique to normal, bringing stability to the process.
Q A
When did you first become aware of the possibilities of automation and in particular, robotics in the manufacturing industry?
I started my professional career with Chrysler UK, designing large
scale truck manufacturing facilities for Dodge, and then joined Black & Decker Irl in a senior role to set up an Advanced Manufacturing Factory with leading edge technology and automated processes in every aspect of
12 ❘ February 2021 ®
production. So the challenge has always been
about building efficient manufacturing solutions.
This role was also my
working introduction to aluminium die casting, with robotic automation of the process and I was hooked!
Unimation
I returned to UK, and joined Eur
Ltd. of as Operations
and Engineering Director, heading up engineering development and manufacture
the Unimate Puma
Electric Robots. This machine was the definitive industrial robot of the ‘80s, operating VAL and carried me into the expanding and dynamic world of automation.
Q A
How did you become involved with the investment casting
industry? What where your first initial ideas when looking to the possibilities of automation and robotics?
The company was acquired by Westinghouse Inc. and operations
were moved to USA in the late ‘80s. I decided to remain in Europe and became Managing Director of Prab Robots International Ltd, which acquired the ownership rights to the Unimate heavy duty robots. Within a couple of years I took
ownership of the company and shortly thereafter, Versatile Automation Technology Ltd was formed... shortened to VA Tech Ltd. The business scope was spread across welding, forging and die casting, with investment casting applications at the embryonic stage. From the very beginning, I enjoyed
the investment casting industry the most. It was full of dedicated people, knowledgeable in their own fields,
and the attraction of working with all things metallurgical and allied to the aerospace industry was too much for me to put down! We also had the robotic automation technology and skills that the industry desired.
Q A
What were the initial challenges that investment casting presented
in your aim of implementing automation to reduce process variability?
In the beginning, and for some time, the investment casting process
was considered an art-form, especially within the shellroom. Huge credit was endowed upon the skill of the operator in
manually manipulating the wax
patterns to ensure slurry coverage of the shells.
Skill levels differed greatly
between individuals, and it was this very fact of skill dependency and therefore process variability that drove the opportunity for process automation. Simultaneously, the move away from ethyl silicate to water-based binders for environmental reasons added further pressure
to solve the for process repetition.
requirement Variability
Avoidance became the key attribute required of the shell manufacturing process, and robotic technology had the solution. Initially, the backup process automation was industry accepted, then the final dry process, and finally the
prime coating process was
accepted. Each stage required the development of enabling technologies both in the consumable materials, and
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