Feature Article
How Important Are Your Secondary Operations? Routing Sequence Operation
by Patrick McCrevan, B&L Information Systems
tolerance castings on a regular basis, there are many secondary processes employed by the industry to make sure the product is perfect for their eventual customer. In many cases, to achieve the necessary specifications or improve properties such as surface finish, geometrical accuracy, and mechanical properties, it is often necessary to post- process and finish components. These secondary operations can
W
loosely be defined as anything that happens after the metal is poured and solidified in the shell created during the earlier processes. Take for example, the product routing shown in the table. Secondary processes are indicated by green color. Your
internal routing steps may
be more or less numerous than the above. It is shown here to clarify there are many steps remaining, despite the “near tolerance” nature of the investment casting
process. In some
cases, these processes are performed internally by your staff, and in other cases performed as an outside service by a trusted supplier. These secondary steps are generally used to refine and improve upon the properties of the cast part. They are needed to bring the part into specification to meet the customer’s needs. You should notice that there is a fair amount of inspection mixed in with these processes. This is to make sure that parts meet specifications, and additionally to manage the costs associated with later steps. You don’t want to continue to spend money on a part that is not to print. It is critically important from a bottom-line view to be able to identify substandard parts and either scrap them or remedy them before moving them on to the next step. Your secondary operations are
worthy of close monitoring due to the implications on cost. They can
30 ❘ June 2022 ®
hile it will always be true that investment castings can produce near net shape, tight
Description 5
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 85
100 105 106 107 110 120
manufacturer than
10 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
100
INSPECTR 130
OS HEAT
HYD PRESS 29 INSPECTR
OUTMACHINE 190
easily be more expensive to you as the
the operations.
Being able to closely track the costs associated with your secondary operations is clearly a job for your ERP system. They are not only responsible for making sure you get correct parts to your customer, but possibly being the majority of your costs you need to
primary
Wax Tree Dip
Burnout Casting
Knockout
Shot Blast Trees Cut Off Trees Cut Off Pieces
Inspection Process Gate Grinding
Outside Heat Treat Straightening
Inspection Process Outside Machining Final Inspection
ensure you are earning a profit from your efforts. Most
ERP solutions can
assist
investment casters in accurately determining and tracking the costs of secondary processes.
should also track the location of parts through secondary processing, so they do not fall into a “black hole.” As an investment caster, you often maintain
An ERP system
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