MARCH 2021 foundrymag.

com

Maximizing
CUPOLA
PERFORMANCE
Examining the melting cycle
to determine exactly how
oxidation losses occur, and
IN THIS ISSUE
how they can be overcome.
Fluid Power or
Electrical Actuation for
Mold Handling

3DP Ceramics for

Better IC Cores

6 Challenges to
Implementing Artificial
Intelligence

Time to Reevaluate
Manufacturing
Culture?
Digital Edition Copyright Notice

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Can Magnesium Treatment Be
Reproducible, Transparent and Traceable?
Producing ductile and gray iron alloys often means balancing quality standards
and costs. The cored wire process is an effective approach.
Q: There are several production methods in which an
iron alloy can be produced. However, only a few of
them meet the requirements of tomorrow. Why and how
does a foundry choose the cored wire process?
A: The requirements of foundry customers are becoming
highly customized and individuality has also found
its way into the series production. Legal and environmental
standards encourage foundrymen to question the exist-
ing manufacturing process even more. Are you wondering
whether your existing iron treatment process can withstand
these requirements?
The most widespread ductile
iron treatment methods are tundish-
cover and the sandwich method.
While each has its advantages and
disadvantages, when thinking about
reproducibility and traceability,
these treatment methods must be
challenged by more sophisticated
process. In both cases, alloys are
added to empty ladles and prior to
The cored wire process makes the production of iron alloys
tapping. Irreducible error in form of highly reproducible, while considering the environment, This promotes a more efficient work-
fluctuations in iron temperature, iron the foundryman’s wallet and his safety.
chemistry, tapping rate, and treat-
ment size will heavily depend on the skill of the operators
and will further displace from its mean from shift to shift.
On the contrary, the cored wire process’ unparalleled re-
producibility is achieved because treatment parameters are
calculated only after the ladle has been filled and all relevant
iron characteristics properly measured, which deems it in-
dependent from the operator’s proficiency.
Another consideration is the protection of employees
from emissions generated during magnesium treatment.
For several reasons, the exhaust system is habitually in-
stalled further away from the treatment ladle. This results
in substantial release of effluents into the production hall or
demands a very high capacity purification system capable
of handling enormous air flow. With wire treatment, pollut-
ants are confined to and readily captured right where they
occur. A much higher level of efficiency and effectiveness
is thus achieved.
Above all, iron treatment with cored wire offers the pos-
sibility of precise analysis guidance, cost control, and docu-
mentation. The knowledge of the treatment ladle content
characteristics allows for precise calculations to be made.
F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | M A R C H 2 0 2 1
ADVERTORIAL
As a result, desired target values are achieved in a consistent
manner, thus compensating for the fluctuations in the base
melt and tightening the production range. When wire injec-
tors are integrated to the existing equipment database (cool-
ing curve analysis, thermal probes, scales…), this calculation
occurs automatically on the fly at a mere push of a button.
From the wire perspective, particularly relevant param-
eters are the composition of the filling powder and the wire
diameter. Which brings us to another benefit of cored wire.
The cored wire composition is completely flexible and often
is fully tailored to s particular cus-
tomer’s process needs. Multi-feed
setup is available too, whether that
be multiple lines of the same wire
for large treatments of 50 metric
tons, or each line carrying a different
type of wire, as in the SinterCast™
process in the production of com-
pacted graphite iron (three wires:
magnesium treatment, magnesium
correction, and post inoculation.)
flow.
Documentation and traceability
are ensured via the wire injectors’ software database. In a
similar fashion, any manual intervention that may be neces-
sary, e.g., by post-treatment, also is logged automatically
and accounted for in subsequent treatments.
Another important consideration for the foundry, apart
from technical feasibility, is the question of the economic
viability. The team of professionals at ASK Chemicals has
been advising customers on cored wire implementation
across the globe for more than two decades. ASK Chemi-
cals together with the customer can prepare, if desired, a
theoretical cost analysis comparing the existing process
with the cored wire method. Furthermore, mobile wire in-
jectors are available as loaners for initial qualification, to
demonstrate practical benefits. This means that after the
validation stage has been carried out, an actual data-driven
basis for decision-making is readily available.
Seek metalcasting solutions … discuss ideas
and new technologies with ASK Chemicals
Join the Conversation …
Sumbit your questions
at www.foundrymag.com
 CASTING TECHNOLOGY
BEYOND TOMORROW

Are you
READY
for tailor-made
services?

Ideally positioned thanks to perfectly tailored

technical services
In the future, anyone who wants to be more than just well positioned requires reliable partners and tailor-
made services. We are always there for you, offering a comprehensive range of technical services that look
at your entire production process. This opens up a whole world of new possibilities – from cost savings to
increased productivity.

ASK Chemicals experts look forward to hearing from you:

Phone: +1 800-848-7485
E-mail: info@ask-chemicals.com
www.ask-chemicals.com/beyondtomorrow
^ CONTENTS
Volume 149 Number 3

16 MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY

TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT 2 SUMMIT PARK DRIVE, SUITE 300
13 Fluid Power or Electrical Actuation CLEVELAND, OH 44131
for Mold Handling? PH 234/466-0200
WWW.FOUNDRYMAG.COM
Energy costs are not the only consideration. Reliability
and maintainability, along with a system’s carbon EDITORIAL STAFF
footprint, influence the choice for foundries.
EDITOR ROBERT BROOKS
rbrooks@endeavorb2b.com
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
16 The 6 Challenges of GRAPHICS EDITOR BILL SZILAGYI
Implementing AI in Manufacturing bszilagyi@endeavorb2b.com
Empowering manufacturers to do more with less using
Artificial Intelligence automation is the way to accelerate
digital transformation, helping to reduce costs, improve
efficiency and solve new problems.
18
COREMAKING
18 Ceramic Cores Raise Design Standards
for Investment Casting
Turbine blades are increasingly complex structures,
in line with performance standards, and SLA additive
manufacturing is making it possible for foundries to keep up
with the changes.

MELTING
20 Maximizing Cupola Performance
The challenge of metal oxidation is magnified in cupola
furnaces because iron oxides are produced in greater
volumes. The melting cycle needs to be examined to pinpoint ON THE COVER: Design by Bill
exactly how oxidation losses occur, and how they can be Szilagyi, graphics editor.
24 overcome. (Hrishchenko Oleksandr |
Dreamstime)
MESSAGE RECIEVED
24 Are You Attracting Your Ideal Customer?
Random acts of marketing do not support an integrated
communication strategy – and make it harder to know who
you should target and what they want from you.

MANAGEMENT
32 It’s Time to Re-Evaluate Manufacturing Culture
Deeply ingrained ways of doing things that have worked
in the past can be one of the biggest hurdles to staying
competitive.

26
Editor’s Note...................................................4
Metalcasting News ................................. 6 Visit the Foundry Management & Technology
Newsmakers .................................................12 website www.foundrymag.com for the online
New Products ...................................... 26 suppliers directory.
Business Staff...............................................29
Advertiser Index ..........................................29
Product Express ...........................................30
Closing Comment ........................................32

FOUNDRY MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY (ISSN 0360-8999) is published monthly by Endeavor Business Media, 1233 Janesville Ave, Fort Atkinson, WI, 53538. Periodicals
Postage Paid at Fort Atkinson, WI. and at additional mailing offices. Printed in the U.S.A. Copyright 2021 by Endeavor Business Media. Canadian GST# R126431964. Sub-
scriptions: Solicited at no charge from qualified persons in the North American foundry and diecasting industries. All others pay $92 — one year; $10 — single copy. Canada:
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2 F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | M A R C H 2 0 2 1
 ^ EDITOR’S NOTE
That New Car Feeling
C
onsidering that this year marks the 20th anniver-
sary of the U.S. debut of the Toyota Prius, I should
have more confidence about the surfeit of alterna-
tive-fuel vehicles coming our way – mainly electric and
plug-in hybrid cars and trucks. For five years or so we
have reported on the various efforts of metalcasters to
prepare themselves for the changing design and com-
ponent requirements that EVs will inaugurate. Those
preparations – including developing new lightweight
alloys and casting protocols and investing in the capital
equipment necessary to execute those in production
scale – are interesting and salutary in their own right.
And the metalcasters are not the only automotive suppli-
ers adjusting themselves for what is coming.
So, to say I lack confidence in this process is not to
indicate I doubt the capability of these suppliers, nor
do I doubt that the EVs will be built. The automakers
can barely hide their enthusiasm about their transfor-
mation plans.
General Motors boasts it has “an all-electric future”
and has committed to have 30 new EVs available by
2025. It has $4.5-billion in upgrades and expansions
going on now at multiple sites, preparing for the new
vehicles’ production and assembly, and recently it said
will increase spending on electric-vehicle program de-
velopment by 35%, to over $27 billion. It plans to make
EVs 40% of its U.S. product line.
The world’s other automakers – BMW, Ford, Honda,
Mercedes, Toyota, VW, etc. – are similarly determined
to make their commitments well known and admired.
Who are they working to impress?
If it is the ordinary new-car buyer, they have more
work to do. According to a McKinsey & Co. report, in
2019 EVs reached a peak sales volume with more than
2 million units sold worldwide, or 2.5% of the global
light-vehicle (LV) market. But EV sales of cratered in
2020, down -19% from the previous year. The global
pandemic surely had a part in the decline, but there is
still no sign of a trend in consumer demand that will
drive EV sales over that 2.5% peak — and justify auto-
makers’ big plans.
McKinsey maintains that global “consumer de-
mand for EVs has remained relatively stable during
the (Covid-19) crisis when compared with demand for
other vehicles,” but allowed that in the U.S. consumer
demand for EVs has dropped, and that all demand fore-
4 F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | M A R C H 2 0 2 1
Robert Brooks
Editor
casts must be reconsidered.
Consumers are fickle and American consumers can
be moved by marketing efforts and fashion trends, so
new products could begin to shape their tastes in the
model years ahead. It is surely possible that a market
will emerge to justify the new products on the way. But
the car-buying public has had 20 years to shape their
own tastes, and only big-ticket luxury EV models have
made much a lasting impression.
In any case, my lack of confidence is not focused
particularly on the consumers’ level of interest in elec-
tric vehicles, but on their readiness for the changes that
will follow an unasked-for overhaul of the automo-
tive-based economy. Are the estimated 168,000 service
stations in the U.S. prepared to have their core offering
sidelined? Do they have a plan for adjusting to the
change? How many of their wage-earning employees
will be affected? And will those workers be able to af-
ford their own EV in those new circumstances?
The same series of questions may be asked about
auto service shops and their employees.
How will insurance companies assess the overall
risk in vehicle profiles and the driving populace with
such a change? How will any actuarial changes affect
drivers of internal-combustion engine (ICE) vehicles?
The most consequential unexamined question in this
matter is the availability and provision of electricity to
power the new EVs. Will drivers be able to charge their
EVs at home? Are electric utilities prepared for this
shift in residential requirements? Are insurance compa-
nies prepared to cover the risk of high-voltage charging
stations in homes? Are drivers aware of any of these
unresolved details?
The role and sentiments of consumers in our
free-market economy has been minimized in recent
decades, relegated to researchers’ analytics and market-
ers’ assurances. And consumers are generally willing
to adjust themselves to new circumstances – providing
they are left with some choices, some autonomy about
their circumstances. As the past 12 months of shut-
downs and curfews have proven, expecting individuals
to accept decisions without consultation makes them
something less than customers or even consumers. And
they’re not buying it.
^
METALCASTING NEWS
…READ MORE detailed reporting on foundry operations and technology at foundrymag.com/news

Victaulic Buys Former

Waupaca Foundry Plant

V ictaulic, a producer of ductile iron

castings for its own brand of me-
chanical pipe and flow-control products,
has purchased Waupaca Foundry’s Law-
renceville, PA, foundry for an unreported
price. The 22,000-sq.ft. plant will increase
Victaulic’s U.S. casting capacity by 70%,
it added, anticipating future demand for
its finished products.
Wisconsin-based Waupaca Foundry
acquired the plant in 2016 as part of
a consolidation program by its parent

With a capacity of 2,000 lbs., the new induction furnace is larger than the combined melting
capacity of the three furnaces in operation since the plant start-up 2018.

New Furnace Boosts Melting

for Kimura Foundry The Lawrenceville, PA, foundry will increase
Victaulic’s U.S. casting capacity by 70%, and

K imura Foundry America Inc., Shelbyville, IN, has installed a fourth

induction melting furnace to enhance its speed and flexibility in pro-
ducing quality castings. At 2,000-lbs. capacity, the new furnace is larger
provide the means to produce larger-scale
castings. (Gobalink | Dreamstime)

than the combined melting capacity of the three (300 lbs., 300 lbs., and 500 company, Hitachi Metals Ltd. The
lbs. by volume) induction furnaces in operation there since the plant started plant had produced automotive suspen-
operation in November 2018. sion parts, including steering knuckles,
The larger furnace allows Kimura Foundry to produce heavier castings, control arms, and brackets.
for example parts required for construction projects, agricultural machin- In June 2020 Waupaca Foundry an-
ery, power generation, oil-and-gas drilling and processing, pumps, and nounced plans to close the Lawrencev-
compressors. With the four furnaces available, the foundry can produce ille operation, citing “capacity that
individual castings up to 1700 lbs. exceeds demand in the (automotive)
In addition, the new furnace is seen improving pouring efficiency, with supply chain.” That move reportedly
higher volumes of metal being cast for multiple parts at once. eliminated positions for about 200 sala-
The new furnace is melting gray and ductile iron, but also is available for ried and hourly workers,
melting steel, stainless steel, heat-resistant steel, and compact graphite iron. Victaulic noted the foundry’s two
Each of the four furnaces is connected to a furnace monitoring system for molding lines will allow it to produce
safety and stabilized operation. larger castings than it presently does at
Kimura Group, a Japanese manufacturer, initiated the U.S. plant as its ductile-iron foundry in Easton, PA,
a start-up in 2017. The Indiana plant relies entirely on 3D-printed sand where the group is headquartered.
patterns and molds to produce rapid prototypes and small-lot castings, for “The addition of Waupaca’s Law-
automakers and their suppliers; manufacturers of engines, industrial pumps, renceville foundry will provide the
and machine tools; suppliers of agricultural, mining, and off-road equip- scale and capacity necessary to con-
ment; and oil-and-gas and renewable energy projects. … READ MORE tinue our growth plans and most impor-

6 F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | M A R C H 2 0 2 1
 ®

Control Your (Foundry Process) Future

ICS, PLC, SCADA, DCS - FS&D understands the acronyms

that control the future of the foundry. FS&D provides
the devices and programming for the supervisory control
and data acquisition of the metal casting process.
Tracking the movements and flows in real time, while
optimizing the process to improve productivity and
quality for the most important acronym - ROI .

316 Maxwell Rd, Suite 500, Alpharetta, GA 30009, USA Phone: 770.667.4545
Fax: 770.667.4544 e-mail: engineering@foundrysd.com, www.foundrysd.com
^ METALCASTING
tantly service our valued North American
customers,” stated Victaulic chairman
John F. Malloy. “Additionally, Victaulic
is doing its part to add vital manufactur-
ing jobs within Pennsylvania. A major as-
pect of our business strategy has always
been to manufacture products in close
proximity to our customers.”
Victaulic signaled it would add
new employees for the Lawrenceville
foundry soon, but it did not indicate a
schedule for that plan or the number of
workers to be hired.
Victaulic has 13 manufacturing
plants worldwide. In 2018 it launched
an expansion to Easton the complex, to
add automated inspection and assem-
bly for mechanical piping joining sys-
tems for HVAC, plumbing, fire protec-
tion, water and wastewater, and various
industrial applications ranging from
oil-and-gas to power plants, etc.
… READ MORE
WORK FASTER. AND SMARTER.
NOT HARDER.
8 F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | M A R C H 2 0 2 1
NEWS
METALCASTING BRIEFS
Viking Analytics and pour-tech AB, an automatic-
pouring systems specialist, announced a partnership
to offer AI packages to iron foundries. The EASYpour
solution uses data analytics and machine learning
algorithms developed by Viking Analytics to
automatically adjust the pouring process, improving
product quality, speeding production, and reducing
costs.
General Kinematics acquired CYRUS Schwingtechnik, Recklinghausen, Germany, a pro-
vider of modular vibratory machines for conveying and screening. The CYRUS business will
operate as a separate brand under General Kinematics Europe.
Norican Group, parent company to DISA, Wheelabrator, StrikoWestofen, and Italpresse
Gauss, plans to build a new headquarters for its Americas subsidiary, to be completed in 2022
near its current LaGrange, GA, location. Last year Norican consolidated all manufacturing and
operations for the four brands at the LaGrange (GA) Technology hub.
The Non-Ferrous Founders’ Society and THORS eLearning Solutions, a designer of online
manufacturing courses, launched the NFFS Academy, an online e-learning portal developed
to provide cutting edge technical training programs to foundry industry employers and their
workforce. It will provides immediate access to more than 120+ technical courses that were
created by THORS on manufacturing topics such as Materials, Engineering Drawings, Quality,
Industrial Safety, Industry 4.0, Sales, Manufacturing Processes, and Manufactured Products.
Find out how B&L can
help you make better
decisions … faster.
Odyssey ERP for Foundries
4707 Rambo Rd.
Bridgman, MI 49106-9723
269.465.6207 | BLInfo.com
C.A. Lawton Adds
Penn-Mar Castings
O akland Standard Co. has acquired
another iron foundry to expand the
“business platform” it began assembling
last year with Wisconsin-based C.A. Law-
ton Co. as the central location and name-
plate for what now are five operations.
The new addition is Penn-Mar Castings
in Hanover, PA, a producer of multi-cored
gray- and ductile-iron castings from 150 to
150,000 lbs.
No price was reported for the purchase.
Oakland Standard is a private-equity
firm. Its other holdings include distribu-
tor Motor City Industrial and automation
designer/integrator Oakland Automation.
Alex Lawton, CEO of C.A. Lawton
Co., said “the addition of Penn-Mar Cast-
ings to our platform and especially the
Iron Group creates a truly next-level offer-
ing. The combination with The C.A. Law-
M A R C H 2 0 2 1 | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y 9
ton Co. and its De Pere, WI and Minster,
OH operations provides a combination
of scope and reliability that will be valued
by many.”
The C.A. Lawton Co., De Pere,
WI, foundry produces gray and duc-
tile-iron castings (500-20,000 lbs.) and
machined components. In December
2019 Oakland Standard added Temper-
form, a Novi, MI, foundry producing
smaller (10 to 6,000 lbs.) steel and stain-
less-steel castings used in corrosive,
high-temperature applications.
In April, it added to the portfolio, Da-
mascus Steel Casting, New Brighton,
PA, a producer of high-performance
steel castings.
In July 2020, Oakland Standard pur-
chased Midwest Manufacturing & Lo-
gistics, Minster, OH, from Nidec Min-
ster Corp., a metal forming and machine
tool builder that had operated the plant
as an in-house iron foundry. Like the
Wisconsin plant, it also casts gray and
ductile iron for large-dimension castings
up to 45,000 lbs., for HVAC, munici-
pal pump and valve, mining, and power
generation industries.
Penn-Mar Castings uses an air-set, no-
bake molding process for castings sup-
plied to refrigeration/air conditioning,
pump/compressor, and motor/generator
manufacturers. … READ MORE
$100M Expansion
for GM Automatic
Transmissions
G eneral Motors Corp. put forth a new
capital-investment program worth
$100 million to expand production of
10-speed automatic transmissions, for
its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra
light-duty, full-size pickups. The bulk
of the investment will take place at the
Romulus, Mich., plant, where GM is
^ METALCASTING
The automaker is adding aluminum diecasting
and machining capacity for 10-speed
transmissions at two locations, for light-duty
full-size pickups.
committing $93 million to add machin-
ing capability.
The Romulus plant Romulus Power-
train produces V6 engines and 10-speed
transmissions for various Chevrolet,
Buick, GMC, and Cadillac vehicles,
and GM notes it has invested more than
$900 million at that location in the past
decade to expand capacity and update
manufacturing capabilities. Last Octo-
ber, the automaker pledged $17 million
to improve automation and expand ca-
1 0 F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | M A R C H 2 0 2 1
NEWS
pacity for the 10-speed transmission
products there.
The remaining $7 million will be in-
vested at the Bedford, Ind., metalcasting
operation to expand aluminum diecast-
ing capacity. The foundry casts alumi-
num transmission casings, converter
housings, cylinder heads, small gas-en-
gine blocks, and some chassis parts.
The Bedford metalcasting operations
have been the object of about $235 mil-
lion in capital investments during the
past decade.
Both expansion projects will begin
immediately, according to GM.
“Demand for our Chevrolet Silver-
ado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups
continues to be very strong and we are
taking action to increase the availability
of our trucks for our dealers and custom-
ers,” stated Phil Kienle, GM vice presi-
dent, North America Manufacturing and
Labor Relations. … READ MORE
R&D Center Expands
Simulation Capabilities
T he Fraunhofer Institute for Man-
ufacturing Technology and Ad-
vanced Materials (IFAM) reported it
has expanded its simulation capabili-
ties for investigating fluid and energy
processes in materials. The new capa-
bilities also will IFAM researchers to
investigate systems and networks and
predict phase-change materials (PCM)
and their behavior and effects in com-
ponents.
IFAM, in Dresden, Germany, is one
of several dozen commercial research
centers in the Fraunhofer network; it is
specifically dedicated to investigating
manufacturing engineering and applied
materials.
One new resource is OpenFOAM
software for flow simulations, giving
scientists there significantly more pos-
sibilities for model development and
implementation.
Also new is COMSOL Multiphys-
ics software for structural mechanical IFAM has added a series of
software tools for investigating
calculations by determining the stress fluid and energy processes
distribution in solids under a defined in materials, including
phase-change materials, and
mechanical load. COMSOL Multiph- their behavior and effects in
ysics also can be used to design thermal components.
systems with phase-change materials
(e.g., heat storage systems) which com-
plements IFAM research into coupled
flow and energy transport processes.
In addition, researchers have available
the OpenModelica open-source program
to calculate systems from spatially zero
and one-dimensional components.
And, the COMSOL Application
Builder extension, customer-specific
programs that are used directly by the
client can now also be developed.
Using these new software resources,
data from imaging processes (micro-
structure tomography) can be converted
into computable 3D models, both vox-
el-based and smoothed, and exported as
STL files. Thus, flow and energy trans-
port processes in microstructures can be
calculated in more detail than before.
The new tools added to IFAM’s exist-
ing software portfolio, the new programs
make it possible to calculate velocity and
pressure distribution in-flows (computa-
tional fluid dynamics, CFD), stationary
and unsteady temperature fields of sol-
ids (heat transfer), and the consideration
of non-isothermal flows (conjugate heat
transfer, CHT.)
The modeling, numerical calculation,
and simulation of fluidic and energy-re-
lated processes in components and sys-
tems is used by IFAM’s Energy and Ther-
mal Management department to address
detailed questions in flow and energy
systems, such as recalculation and analy-
sis as well as prediction and estimation of
parameters. Customer-specific test rigs
also can be developed and designed. In
addition, the scientists conduct research
on the thermal and geometric optimiza-
tion of components and perform strength
analyses of thermally and mechanically
stressed components. … READ MORE

M A R C H 2 0 2 1 | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y 1 1
^ NEWS MAKERS

Ferrous Casting Expert with the Steel Founders’ Society of the board and two new directors were
Joins Reno Refractories America, American Petroleum Insti- installed.
eno Refractories, Morris, AL, has tute, and Assn. for Iron & Steel Tech- Re-elected to the board of directors
R added Jim Frost as its new director
of ferrous foundry markets. Frost is a
nology on strategic initiatives.
For Reno Refractories, which manu-
are David Klaumunzer, Volkswagen
AG; Fernando Franca, Rima Industrial;
30-year veteran of metalcasting, with factures high-temperature ceramic ma- Jan Guy, Amacor; and Michael Just,
a master ’s degree terials, precast shapes, and monolithic GF Casting Solutions AG.
in metallurgy and refractories, Frost will work with tech- New directors elected to three-year
experience in cast- nical, manufacturing, and commercial terms on the board are Jon Weiler, Me-
ing gray and ductile teams to provide bottom-line solutions ridian Lightweight Technologies; and
irons, HSLA steels, and value-added opportunities for ex- Prof. Fusheng Pan, Chongqing Univer-
and specialty alloys. isting and new customers. sity, China.
His experience cov- The 2021 IMA Executive Commit-
Frost
ers various static and New IMA Leadership tee elected by the board includes Mc-
centrifugal casting Elected Queary; vice president Jan Guy, AMA-
processes and numerous melting and COR; secretary/treasurer Nic Andrews,
molten-metal handling systems. ick McQueary, chief operating of- Magontec GmbH; and at-large direc-
Frost also has expertise in qual-
ity management techniques. He has
R ficer of extruder Mag Specialties
Inc., was elected president of the In-
tors Hartmut Fischer, Andreas-Stihl
AG & Co. KG Magnesium Druckguss.
been an active member of American ternational Magnesium Assn. for the Todd Olson of Twin Cities Diecast-
Foundry Society and Foundry Edu- 2021-2022 term. At the same time, ings is an ex-officio board member and
cational Foundation, and participates four IMA directors were reelected to past president of the IMA.

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1 2 F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | M A R C H 2 0 2 1
^ TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT
Fluid Power or Electrical Actuation for Mold Handling?
Energy costs are not the only consideration. Reliability and maintainability, along with a
system’s carbon footprint, influence the choice for foundries.
old-handling line speed and load determine the forces needed
M to control molding lines. As the speed and mass of a mold-han-
dling lines increase, so do the forces needed to control the molding
line acceleration and deceleration. Pushing devices are needed to
accelerate the molding lines, and damping devices are needed to
decelerate to molding lines. These push-
ing and dampening devices typically
have been a fluid-power cylinder or
motor-driven rack and pinion. Electric
servo cylinders are becoming a more
popular solution for pushers and damp-
eners and offer several advantages over
both pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders.
A simple two line, pouring
Energy consumption. In general, for and cooling, molding system
one watt consumed by a servo cylinder, showing pushers and
dampening cylinders.
a hydraulic cylinder and system would
consume approximately two watts, and a
pneumatic cylinder and system would consume approximately 12 W.
This reduced energy consumption would have a significant impact
on annual energy savings. Sintokogio Ltd. studies show that with
molding lines using 44 servo cylinders, annual savings of up to 3.4
million Japanese yen (approximately $32,000) per year are possible,
compared to similarly sized hydraulic cylinders.
Further savings may be achieved with reduced maintenance costs.
Yearly mechanical overhead would remain the same for servo cylin-
ders and hydraulic cylinders. Yearly overall cost of hydraulic pumps,
filters, fluid, and other consumables may reduce yearly maintenance
costs by 60%.
Cleaner environment. A reduction of energy also results in a reduc-
tion in CO2 and noise. Using the previous example, a hydraulically
driven molding line with 44 cylinders would consume approximately
0.5M kWh yearly, resulting in nearly 12,300 kg (27,120 lbs.) of CO2
emissions yearly. The same example using electric servo cylinders
would annually consume approximately 0.27MkWh, resulting in
nearly 6,700kg (14,770 pounds) of CO2 emissions yearly.
It is understood that nearly 63% of U.S. electricity is produced by
fossil fuel power plants. The resulting reduction in CO2 emissions
using servo cylinders ranges between 3,500 kg (7,720 lbs.) and 5,600
kg (12,350 lbs.) of CO2 yearly.
Within the working environment, OSHA’s 90 dBA permissible
exposure limit for workers may require hydraulic power units with
noise producing pumps to be housed in their own room or a different
floor due to noise generation. Servo drive packages and variable-fre-
quency drives are housed within enclosures, greatly reducing the
noise generated by a molding system.
Electric actuators eliminate the possibility of hydraulic oil leaks,
improving system maintainability.
M A R C H 2 0 2 1 | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y 1 3
Stability in operation. Colder temperatures and morning start-
ups can lead to a higher hydraulic fluid viscosity. Mold handling
with simple hydraulic systems using basic directional valves to
control the mold-handling motions will move slower than a sys-
tem that is up to temperature.
Mold-handling systems with more
complex hydraulic systems with pro-
portional valves and position feedback
can compensate for colder temperatures
somewhat through complex program-
ming algorithms. Fluid heating circuits
could be added to the hydraulic system. A
simple pressure relief valve set to a very
low pressure is sometimes used to raise
temperature of hydraulic fluids to oper-
ating temperature, increasing the energy
consumed without producing castings.
Electrical servo cylinders and rack-and-pinion are not affected by
the fluctuations in temperature as hydraulics can be. Similar to the
more complex hydraulic molding line, any adjustment needed can be
made by trained technicians using the mold-handling lines operator
interface panels.
Space savings. Hydraulic systems with power units consisting of
pumps, fluid reservoirs, filtration systems and cooling circuits can
be quite sizable. Including with that the hydraulic manifolds, circuits
and fluid conductors (piping) to control the size, the footprint of a
complete hydraulic system is quite sizable.
Similarly, pneumatically driven systems require a large compres-
sor and similar manifolds, circuits and piping to control a pneumati-
cally driven system. An electrically driven system has a much smaller
footprint. Typically, a motor drive and controller are housed within an
enclosure close to the actuator they control. The total of components
needed for pneumatic and hydraulic systems is much greater than the
components needed for a servo cylinder application.
Rigid piping of fluid power systems give way to cable treys and
lay-in-plug-in cables, making set-up, tear-down, and installation less
time consuming.
Compared to a fluid-powered system, an electric-powered mold-
ing line will consume less energy, producing less CO2, and produce
less noise, making it cleaner for the environment both externally
and internally. Mold-handling line operation is stable regardless of
temperature conditions, which affects hydraulic fluids. The overall
footprint of an electric servo cylinder system is less than both hydrau-
lic and pneumatic, freeing up valuable floor space.
Mike Fredbloom is the Director of Sales, Sys-T-Mation with Roberts Sinto
Corp. The full text of his report is published at www.foundrymag.com.
Contact him at Mike.Fredbloom@sintoamerica.com.
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Information Technology
The 6 Challenges of Implementing
AI in Manufacturing
Empowering manufacturers to do more with less using Artificial Intelligence automation is the way to
accelerate digital transformation, helping to reduce costs, improve efficiency and solve new problems.
Ryohei Fujimaki, Ph.D.
M
anufacturers are leading the way
in applying Artificial Intelligence
technology, applying AI-pow-
ered analytics to data to improve efficiency,
product quality, and employees’ safety. But
they also face challenges with shorter time-
to-market deadlines, increasingly complex
products, and strict quality regulations and
standards. However, the vast majority of
manufacturing companies have to overcome
other barriers impeding digital transforma-
tion and AI initiatives:
1. Shortage of AI talent. Experienced data
scientists and AI professionals are scarce. AI
projects require an interdisciplinary team of
data scientists, ML engineers, software archi-
tects, and BI analysts and SMEs. This need is
particularly evident in manufacturing, a sector
that many young data scientists consider to be
monotonous, repetitive, and unstimulating.
Compounding this issue, manufacturing is
expected to face a severe workforce shortage
over the next 10 years as Baby Boomers retire.
AI Automation and AutoML 2.0 are critical
technologies that can address this Skills Gap
and accelerate digital transformation in man-
ufacturing.
2. Technology infrastructure and in-
teroperability. Manufacturing sites of-
ten have a variety of machines, tools, and
production systems that use different and
sometimes competing technologies, some
of which may be running on outdated soft-
ware that is not compatible with the rest of
their system. In the absence of standards and
common frameworks, plant engineers must
determine the best way to connect their ma-
chines and systems, and which sensors or
convertors to install.
3. Data quality. Access to clean, meaningful,
high-quality data is critical for the success
of AI initiatives, but can be a challenge in
manufacturing. Manufacturing data often is
biased, outdated, and full of errors, which can
1 6 F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | M A R C H 2 0 2 1
be caused by multiple factors. One example is
sensor data collected on the production floor
in extreme, harsh operating conditions, where
extreme temperature, noise and vibration vari-
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ables can produce inaccurate data. Plants have
historically been built using many proprietary
systems, which do not talk to one another,
where operational data also may be spread
across multiple databases in multiple formats
not suitable for analytics, requiring extensive
preprocessing.
4. Real-time decision-making. This is
becoming increasingly important in manu-
facturing applications, such as monitoring
quality, meeting customer delivery dates, and
more. Often, decisions need to be acted upon
immediately — within seconds — to iden-
tify a problem before it results in unplanned
outages, defects, or safety issues. Rapid de-
cision-making requires streaming analytics
and real-time prediction services that enable
manufacturers to act immediately and prevent
undesirable consequences.
5. Edge deployments. There are many
potential use cases of edge computing in
manufacturing, to allow manufacturers to
process data locally, filter data, and reduce
the amount of data sent to a central server,
either on site or in a cloud. Additionally, a
key goal in modern manufacturing is to be
able to use data from multiple machines,
processes and systems to adapt the manu-
facturing process in real-time. This precision
monitoring and control of manufacturing as-
sets and processes uses large amounts of data
and needs machine learning to determine the
best action as a result of the insight from the
data, and also requires edge-based comput-
ing. The ability to deploy predictive models
on the edge devices, such as machines, local
gateway, or server ,is critical to enable smart
manufacturing applications.
6. Trust and transparency. A significant
barrier to broad AI adoption is the complexity
of the technology and manufacturers’ lack
of trust in its capabilities. People without a
data science background struggle to under-
stand how data science and predictive mod-
eling works, and do not have confidence in
the abstract algorithms behind AI technology.
Greater transparency would provide infor-
mation about the AI process — the input data
used, what algorithms were selected, and how
the model made its predictions.
While most AI traditionally uses ‘black
box’ models, new approaches to data science
provide more transparency into the full AI
pipeline. This includes insight into the de-
tailed process to transform the raw data into
the inputs of machine learning (a.k.a. feature
engineering) and how the ML model produces
predictions by combining hundreds of (or
even more) features. By giving insight about
how the prediction models work and the rea-
soning behind predictions, manufacturing or-
ganizations can build greater trust in the mod-
els and resulting business insights produced.
While challenges to AI adoption still exist,
empowering manufacturers to do more with
less using AI automation is the right way to
accelerate digital transformation. AI automa-
tion is helping manufacturing companies re-
duce costs, improve efficiency and solve new
problems.
Ryohei Fujimaki is the founder and CEO of
dotData, the first company focused on deliv-
ering full-cycle data science automation for
the enterprise.
Coremaking

Ceramic Cores Raise Design

Standards for Investment Casting
Turbine blades are increasingly complex structures, in line with
ducer, with lower fixed costs, no tooling
performance standards, and SLA additive manufacturing is maintenance requirements, and lower stor-
making it possible for foundries to keep up with the changes. age costs.
The choice of the ceramic used to pro-

I
nvestment casting is a complex, multi- (3DP) technology. duce foundry cores depends on the type of
stage procedure, but the role that core- SLA is a process involving layer-by- alloy to be cast, but the following criteria
making plays in effective investment layer deposition of a photopolymerizable are offered: no chemical reaction between
casting is somewhat overlooked. In partic- ceramic suspension in a pattern drawn from the core and the metal during the casting
ular for high-profile, high-value investment the CAD version of the finished core; fol- phase; heat and mechanical resistance to the
cast parts like turbine blades, reliable cast metal; good leachability after the
and precision cores are critical to metal cooling; and low coefficient of
quality finished products. thermal expansion (CTE.)
Turbine blades draw a lot of at- To supply this market 3DCeram
tention for their part in engine per- developed a silicabased composition
formance, efficiency, and safety. All Silicore. Silica-based compositions
these factors raise the significance are extensively used in investment
of the cores. To perform as expected, casting of Ni-based turbine blades,
turbine blades have to dissipate heat and fused silica ceramic cores have
effectively, which allows a turbine to good thermal stability due to a low
operate at higher temperatures safely, CTE (about 0.6×l0-6 K-1), as well as
with increased power and efficiency. excellent thermal shock resistance
To that end, the blades are designed and high leachability. Silica cores also
with integral cooling channels – are easily removed in solutions of
which is the reason that investment soda or potash, not harmful to alloys.
casting is the production process of Finally, the sintering of a silica
choice. The ceramic core used in the core leads to the formation of cris-
process is responsible for shaping tobalite by a devitrification process,
those cooling channels, which im- which ensures temperature resis-
prove the blades’ heat tolerance and tance of the core.
thus the engine’s reliability. (Top) A wax pattern containing the 3D-printed Silicore ceramic In 2019, 3DCeram began a de-
Newer, more complex core de- core. (Below) Examples of nickel-alloy investment cast molds for velopment project with a Ukrainian
turbine blades.
signs are difficult to produce using research body, Zaporozhye Ma-
ceramic injection molding, the usual pro- lowed by selective curing of the ceramic chine-Building Design Bureau Progress
cess, because that requires forming the core material using a computer-controlled, UV State Enterprise, to validate the ceramic
in several pieces to be assembled manually, laser beam, until the layers form a 3D ver- formulation. Cores were printed using a
a complex and time-consuming effort that sion of the CAD image. Ceramaker 900 SLA system, and according
also can result in high rates of wasted prod- According to 3DCeram, SLA technol- to 3DCeram, the high precision of the SLA
ucts. A further factor is the lead-time in- ogy saves time and increases productivity technology resulted in ceramic cores that
volved in developing and testing the blades, compared to ceramic injection molding, were used to obtain the wax forms needed
which means design changes are difficult to but it also offers greater flexibility for prod- for the first stage of single-crystal invest-
apply and test. uct design, meaning greater complexity for ment-cast turbine blades.
3DCeram – a French firm that devel- ceramic cores. In addition, it allows faster X-ray control applied to all the wax
ops and provides 3D printing processes design and redesign of parts – including no molds produced showed no cracks in the
and materials for technical ceramics – ad- need to design and create injection molds. ceramic cores, 3DCeram reports. The Sil-
dressed this issue with a process for print- More than these, 3DCeram maintains that icore material has now been qualified as
ing ceramic cores using laser stereolithog- the process achieves better responsiveness compliant for industrial use for producing
raphy (SLA), an additive manufacturing and increased profitability for the core pro- foundry cores.

1 8 F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | M A R C H 2 0 2 1
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Melting

Maximizing
Cupola
Performance
I
ron melting operations face the same challenge with
The challenge of metal oxidation is electric furnaces and cupola furnaces — molten metal
oxidation. Oxidation is caused by molten iron’s contact
magnified in cupola furnaces because with the atmosphere. Last year in these pages we ad-
iron oxides are produced in greater dressed in detail the factors that contributed to oxidation in
EF melting, and the technology to counter it. Cupola melting
volumes. The melting cycle needs to faces a greater challenge: a much higher volume of iron ox-
ide produced during the melting cycle.
be examined to pinpoint exactly how In cupola melting, blast air contacts the descending mol-
ten metal droplets, instantly forming iron oxide coatings on
oxidation losses occur, and how they the droplets’ surfaces. Molten metal’s exposure to atmo-
spheric contact is much greater in cupola melting; it cannot
can be overcome. be avoided, which makes cupola oxidation losses magni-
tudes more severe as compared to EF melting.
Ron Beyerstedt Over the years, proponents have touted EF melting for
better iron chemistry control. Lesser oxidation losses in EF

2 0 F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | M A R C H 2 0 2 1
melting accounted for this claim. ide is the primary melting ingredient in
Cupola melting was favored for blast furnaces.
higher production volumes, but metal In cupolas, iron oxide is not intended
quality suffered at times. The metal to be part of the metallic charge but oc-
quality issue revolves around iron ox- curs only as a contaminant. The fact
ide that forms during melting -- but the that iron oxide is distributed through-
process by which that happens is un- out the upper cupola during normal
known to most cupola operations. melting must be addressed.
The cupola melting cycle needs to be Iron oxide has been identified as the
examined to pinpoint exactly how the root cause of EF melting problems. It is
oxidation losses occur and how they also true in cupola melting. Iron-oxide
can be overcome. formation cannot be stopped in cupola
melting, which means some method
must be formulated to neutralize its
Cupola Process Detailed presence.
Blast air enters the cupola through Iron oxide production in the tuyere
tuyeres extending into the melting zone. raceways and ultimately its contami-
The oxygen-laden air contacts incan- nation of the entire cupola cannot be
descent coke, causing stopped. But, the iron
combustion and liberat- To be successful, oxide contamination in
ing heat. In the process, cupola operators the upper cupola can be
the oxygen-laden air must realize countered by regulat-
contacts the descending that iron oxide is ing the coke rate. Coke
molten metal droplets. rates exceeding 12%
Iron oxide formation on always produced produce enough carbon
the droplets’ surfaces during normal monoxide to chemically
cannot be avoided. If melting cycles reduce the vapor-depos-
the blast air contains ox- and iron oxide ited iron oxide in the
ygen molecules, which upper melt zone. Coke
are needed for combus- contamination of rates less than the 12%
tion, iron oxide always the upper melt allow some iron oxide to
will be formed. zone always occurs. remain, which leads to
Oxygen-laden blast silicon oxidation during
air is only available in a shallow-limited the initial iron melting stages occurring
zone at tuyere level. In the remainder of in the upper melt zone.
the cupola, no oxygen molecules exist Key to success. To be successful, cu-
to form iron oxide. In this area, called pola operators must realize that iron
tuyere raceways, temperatures reach oxide is always produced during nor-
5,000° F, which causes partial vaporiza- mal melting cycles and iron oxide con-
tion of whatever is present. Molten iron, tamination of the upper melt zone al-
iron oxide, and SiO2 coke ash all are ways occurs. Silicon-oxidation losses
vaporized, ascend the cupola as a gas, can exceed fifty percent, in the worst-
and condense back to a liquid above the case scenarios.
melt zone. This process, which is iden- In addition to silicon loss in the up-
tical to what occurs in blast furnaces, per melt zone, significant carbon oxida-
distributes liquid iron-oxide throughout tion occurs in the tuyere raceway area,
the upper cupola. All the cupola charge the high-temperature zone of the cu-
ingredients are coated with iron oxide. pola. This carbon loss can exceed one
Thus, all cupola furnaces become con- percent carbon present in the molten
taminated with iron oxide during nor- iron, which is very significant in view
mal operation. of overall carbon levels near 3.50% C.
In blast furnaces, coke combustion Over one-third of carbon contained in
is controlled to favor large amounts of the molten iron can be lost to oxidation.
carbon monoxide production, which Important operational point. Carbon
chemically reduces iron oxide. Iron ox- loss at the tuyere raceway level has not

M A R C H 2 0 2 1 | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y 2 1
 Melting
been recognized in most cupola operations. Molten iron
chemistries at tap-out reflect metal chemistries before iron
oxide contamination has spread throughout the cupola. Car-
bon and silicon levels present at this point represent near-true
chemistry without oxidation losses. Oxidation losses mount
rapidly as melting continues, with losses reaching steady-
state 1.0-1.5 hours after melting starts.
Attention Cupola Operators
Compare tap-out chemistry to the cupola run chemistry
after one hour. See for yourself the level of oxidation losses
that are costing your foundry bottom-line losses far exceed-
ing anything you have previously realized. Coke rates can
approach 6%-7% with de-oxidation of the cupola melt pro-
cess. Normal cupola coke rates are 10%-14%.
DeOX tuyere injection instantly reduces iron oxide formed
in the tuyere raceways. DeOX cannot stop iron oxide formation,
but it instantly reduces the oxide volume after it forms. Iron
oxide is reduced to inert by-products, which no longer supply
oxygen atoms to the molten iron. It is the only material that
accomplishes this. Cupolas need to be de-oxidized and DeOX
metal treatment is the only technique to accomplish that.
Important new technology. Carbon oxidation losses, al-
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2 2 F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | M A R C H 2 0 2 1
ways occurring in cupola tuyere raceways, are stopped by
de-oxidation, as is the vaporization of iron oxide and its
spread throughout the cupola.
Cupola melting produces straight-line chemistry results
when iron oxide is neutralized. Iron oxide is, by far, the great-
est detrimental influence in cupola operation, and in the past
its presence has gone unchecked due to the inability to coun-
teract it. DeOX metal treatment removes that limitation, and
now cupola melting can be free of iron oxide contamination.
Cupola coke rates. Today, coke rates are adjusted upward
to increase carbon levels in the melted iron. Generally, the
carbon increases are minimal when compared to the carbon
losses occurring in tuyere raceways.
Carbon losses in the raceways exceed one-percent, and coke
rate increases to elevate carbon levels by 0.10%-0.15%C are
commonly sought. The carbon oxidation losses occurring in the
raceways end up being huge sources of carbon level increases.
Cupolas effectively melt iron at 6%-7.5% coke rates, which
continues now in U.S. metalcasting operations. But, soon as
the melting constraint of requiring carbon level increases from
coke is applied, coke rates are elevated upward. Eliminating
carbon oxidation loss favors reduced coke rates of 6%-7%.
Controlling oxidation. Heat is produced in cupola melt-
ing through the combustion of coke, which is an oxidation
process. The successful cupola operation allows the coke
combustion to continue unhindered but draws the line at iron
oxidation. Iron oxide formation must be countered; it cannot
be stopped.
Molten iron contacting oxygen-laden blast air produces
iron oxide on the molten iron’s surface. DeOX de-oxidation
removes that oxide coating without hindering the coke com-
bustion process.
Free-oxygen atom technology. Iron oxide, when present in
surface slag, adds free oxygen atoms to the iron bath. These
oxygen atoms spread throughout the bath, quickly forming
“oxides” once the enter the iron bath. Cutting off the oxygen
atom supply – ridding the surface-slag contacting the iron bath
of iron oxide – becomes the key to de-oxidation.
Key technology. Iron oxide is the only significant source of
free-oxygen atoms in molten iron. Silicon, which oxidizes
to SiO2, adds some free oxygen atoms, but iron oxide is by
far more influential. As detailed in the previous series exam-
ining EF melting practices, iron oxide control is paramount
to successful cupola melting. Cupola de-oxidation is easily
accomplished by chemically reducing iron oxide as it forms
in the cupola raceways. DeOX metal treatment is the only
technology that accomplished that goal.
This is the first in a series of reports that will examine
cupola design, cupola melting practice, and cupola tech-
nology solutions.
Ron Beyerstedt is the president of Mastermelt LLC. Contact
him at ron@mastermelt.com
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^ MESSAGE RECEIVED
Are You Attracting Your Ideal Customer?
Random acts of marketing do not support an integrated communication strategy – and make it harder to
know who you should target and what they want from you.
Alexandria Trusov
ometimes, a sales transaction just doesn’t work out.
S Being in sales is tough enough, but when you feel as
if you have done everything possible to make the sale
work -- adjusted services, changed prices, jumped through
hoops, etc. -- accepting the failure can be incredibly diffi-
cult. Why didn’t it work? They couldn’t meet your prod-
uct price. They wanted a
service that isn’t in your
capabilities. They wanted
your company to operate
in a way that met their
needs at the expense of
your other customers.
Quite often the underly-
ing reason a sale does not
work out is that the wrong
type of prospect was en-
gaged in your selling pro-
cess. That is why it is crit-
ical to maintain a clear understanding of what you offer for
a product or what you do as a service. It is also why buyer
personas are needed to help marketing (aka communicating
about) to the right audience. (A “buyer persona” is fancy mar-
keting talk for a deep understanding of who are your ideal cli-
ents, which is used as to guide what the brand says and where
it is said.) And, it is why random acts of marketing aren’t
the same as an integrated marketing strategy when reaching
those identified ideal customers.
What is a random act of marketing? It’s the occasional
social media post. It’s the press release to your website which
doesn’t answer the customers’ question: “What’s in it for
me?” It’s a new brochure with shiny pictures that don’t align
with what you do/are. It’s putting a sign out front without
considering how the signage would appeal (or not) to po-
tential customers. Basically, random acts of marketing build
your brand generically without the guideposts of knowing
your ideal customers. Potentially, these efforts attract the
wrong prospects to your sales offering.
Marketers do not do random acts of marketing because
marketers have a brand strategy for the company that is
anything but generic. Marketers take the time to know their
target audience; that is, who is most likely to buy what the
company produces or sells. Marketers discover and culti-
vate the right audience, as well as have qualifying criteria
for prospects, to ensure your ideal customers are who the
2 4 F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | M A R C H 2 0 2 1
marketing message reaches.
But even if your company does not have a dedicated mar-
keter on staff, marketing and communication plans can be
made to support your sales efforts. You can still focus your
communications to target prospects using buyer personas.
How do you create buyer personas? A marketing agency
is a helpful support with this
type of activity and they of-
ten have detailed processes
for creating robust profiles
of potential prospects (i.e.,
buyer personals). If that is
outside your budget, you can
start off more simply.
Jakub Jirsák | Dreamstime
Knowing your buyer
personas begins as easily
as knowing who you serve.
What do you know about
them? Do you serve a spe-
cific industry? Within the industry, who buys your product or
service? Purchasing buyers and CEOs hang out in different
parts of the internet and require different information for
decision making. Do they tend to fall in a certain age range?
This could influence the formality of the language you use.
Do they tend to be technical specialists within the industry or
laypeople? Again, this would influence the technicality of the
language used as well as where you might place ads.
What is the target buyer’s motivation to buy? This would
influence the emotional content of your communications.
What kind of questions would they have during the buying
process? This would impact the materials you prepare to
educate them on your offering. While this approach is not as
nuanced as a marketing agency might provide, applying even
a simple persona can improve the communications coming
from your marketing efforts and the way the sales team ap-
proaches prospects.
The B2B sales process can be complex. Committing ran-
dom acts of marketing doesn’t support an integrated sales
communication campaign and makes finding your ideal
customers more difficult. Make sales easier by knowing your
ideal customers.
Alexandria Trusov is the Global Marketing Manager at Alpha Re-
sources and a B2B marketing consultant to manufacturers and
other B2B companies. Contact her at atrusov@truinsightsconsult-
ing.com or visit www.truinsightsconsulting.com.
^ NEW PRODUCTS
Visit foundrymag.com is your tip to visit FoundryMag.com/new-products for up-to-date, extensive, informative reporting on new metalcasting technology,

cement kiln, and annealing furnaces; bio-

mass, waste, and coal boilers; as well as
incinerators. This borescope features ad-
vanced spectral filtering and a high thermal
and spatial resolution to deliver clear live
images of the furnace, boiler, and stock,
with more than 300,000 accurate point tem-
peratures measuring in the range of 300
A before-after image, made under UV light, showing that particulates and contamination are
to 1,200°C (572 to 2,192°F) and 500 to
removed in a process-reliable manner. [acp systems AG] 1,800°C (932 to 3,272°F.)
The high-resolution image of the
CO2 Cleaning for High-Purity Parts
acp systems AG‘s manual and automated JetStation-HP booths allow high-purity
workpieces to be cleaned in a manual or semi-automated process with quattroClean
technology. The closed, sound-proofed stand-alone units are made entirely of stainless
steel and ensure that detached contaminants and carbon dioxide are removed quickly
and effectively by the integrated extraction system and that no dirt pockets can form,
preventing cleaned parts from becoming recontaminated.
For both booth models, a system for monitoring the CO2 concentration in the working
area comes standard. If the set limit value is exceeded, the carbon dioxide supply is auto-
matically switched off and an error message is displayed.
The manual JetStation-HP is loaded and unloaded via the front flap with hand ac-
cess and is suitable for both seated and standing workstations. The cleaning process,
Accurate and fully radiometric image data can be
in which the part is guided to the nozzle by the operator, can be started conveniently collected, stored, and trended over the lifetime of
via a foot pedal. a furnace, for a continuous and clear view, even
through smoke and hot atmospheres.
If higher requirements in terms of process reliability and/or part geometry must be
met, the automated JetStation-HP is used. With this model, the part to be cleaned is
advanced through a door which can be automated and placed in a receiver mounted on MWIR-B-640, combined with a 90-deg.
an x/y-axis system, rotary table, or combination of both, in the process chamber. The wide-angle field of view, allows multiple
part-specific cleaning program stored in the system control unit is started at the push of areas to be imaged and measured simulta-
a button. The process then runs fully automatically, with all parameters such as move- neously. With the wide-angle view into the
ments of the receiver, speed, force, and duration of the jet, the distance between nozzle furnace, image data can be viewed in re-
and workpiece kept constant as specified in the parts program. In addition, the automated al-time from the safety of the control room.
JetStation-HP model has a sensor system for monitoring the cleaning process, which With only a small opening in the wall, the
continuously measures the density of the snow jet. MWIR-B-640 can accurately profile the
With this standalone system made entirely from stainless steel, the part to be cleaned temperature of the entire furnace without
is placed in a receiver mounted on an x/y-axis, rotary table, or combination of both, affecting the furnace atmosphere, the stock
located in the process chamber. temperature, or energy consumption.
The ‘plug & play’ concept makes the JetStation-HP cleaning booths quick and easy Features of the MWIR-B-640 include a
to put into operation. All the technology for the snow-jet process and media preparation high-performance water-cooling system,
is integrated into the system housing, meaning that only the carbon dioxide and com- with low water flow requirements, even
pressed air supply need to be connected up. … READ MORE in the highest temperature furnaces. The
borescope has a thermocouple at its tip that
sounds an alarm when removing the instru-
Borescope Enhances ture measurement image data to be taken, ment, thus preventing damage if maximum
Furnace Temperature stored, and trended over the lifetime of a temperatures are exceeded. It also features
Monitoring furnace, providing a continuous and clear an integrated air purge to maintain a dust-
AMETEK LAND launched the new view, even through heavy smoke and hot free optical system while using minimal in-
MWIR-B-640 mid-wavelength borescope atmospheres. strument air. To protect the thermal imager
for furnace applications that enables highly It is suitable for use in hydrocarbon pro- from damage by overheating in the event of
accurate and fully radiometric tempera- cessing reformers; heat treatment; reheat, loss of water flow, air pressure, electricity

2 6 F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | M A R C H 2 0 2 1 2 0 2 1
supply or a high borescope tip temperature
alarm, the MWIR-B-640 is also available
with AMETEK Land’s innovative auto re-
traction system. … READ MORE

All-in-One End Effector

Kits for Cobots
The ATI INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION
CRX-Ready end-effector kits provide
FANUC CRX cobot users a simple and
effective way to increase the flexibility of
collaborative robotic automation. These
all-in-one packages include robust op-
tions for automatic tool changing, force
sensing, material removal, and enable
tasks such as assembly, machine tending,
part inspection, surface preparation, and
others to be implemented and executed
easily.
The kits include everything needed to
get FANUC CRX cobot applications up
and running. In addition to the end-ef-
fector, the kit features all the hardware
and software required for system connec-
tion. Within the teach pendant are simple
controls to program the equipment and
simplify complex tasks, and through just
a few programming adjustments the ATI
end-effectors can be easily repurposed
and adapted for future applications.
The CRX-Ready Kits are currently avail-
able for the following end-effectors:
• The QC-7 Robotic Tool Changer, ATI’s
newest standard robotic tool changing
and storage solution. This lightweight
yet durable tool changer offers a variety
of configuration options with ATI’s Pass-
Through Utility Modules and Tool Stand
systems.
• ATI’s MC-10 Manual Tool Changer,
which makes changing tools by hand af-
fordable and effective. • The MC-10 fea-
tures a patented locking mechanism and
an ergonomic design that includes tactile
click as well as a visual indicator of Lock/
Unlock status.

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^
NEW PRODUCTS

• The AOV-10 Axially-Compliant Or- measures all components of force and

bital Sander, the ideal robotic solution for
surface preparation and finishing. With
built-in compliance, the AOV-10 is well-
suited for many different robotic appli-
cation types—even those that require a
light touch.
• The Compliant Deburring Blade (CDB),
a motorless deburring tool for operations
such as edge deburring, chamfering, coun-
tersinking, scraping and deflashing on vir-
tually any material. As the cutting media
removes material, the compliance allows
for consistent results despite variation in
part size, part positioning, or robot location.
• ATI’s RCV-250 Radially Compliant De-
burring Tool, designed for the removal
of flash and parting lines, as well as edge
deburring from a variety of materials. The
robust RCV-250 has integrated compli-
ance and adjustable cutting force which
simplify programming and enable a con-
sistent finish.
• The Axia90 Force/Torque Sensor, a
high-performance, low-cost sensor that
torque. The Axia90 offers the highest reso-
lution, accuracy, and stiffness available and
gives your cobot responsiveness to sense
and adapt to its environment .
… READ MORE
Spot Feeders
for Mold Filling
The FOSECO Feedex K VAK spot-feeder
concept for mold-filling is a further de-
velopment of the earlier Kompressor spot
feeder technology. Advantages of that
product, such as minimum footprint area,
smallest contact area and optimal molding
sand compaction were adopted from the
preceding Feedex K concept. Extensive
testing was conducted of the new concept
and solidification simulations were con-
ducted for verification purposes.
With the Feedex K VAK process,
a large part of the compressor core is
heated by the highly exothermic feeder
sleeve material. This significantly re-
The compressor core is heated by highly
exothermic feeder sleeve material, reducing the
contact between the compressor plate and green
sand, improving feed performance.
duces (-50%) the contact area of the com-
pressor plate to the green sand compared
to the Feedex VSK feeder. The result is an
improved feed performance.
Feedex K VAK feeders are used where
smallest footprints and minimum contact
areas are required.
The application is as simple: The
self-centring geometry eases the appli-
cation of the feeder sleeve onto the fixed
pin. The feeder residue can be knocked-
off easily with little force.
… READ MORE

executives – focusing exclusively on their

technological interests and professional
needs.

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Webb-Stiles Co.....................................................................www.webb-stiles.com ........................................................................................... 22

M A R C H 2 0 2 1 2 0 2 1 | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y 2 9
 TO ADVERTISE IN THE
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CONTACT:

JOE
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jdinardo@endeavorb2b.com

3 0 F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | M A R C H 2 0 2 1
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Summit Foundry Systems, Ft. Wayne, IN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260-749-7740 Conveyor Dynamics Corp., St. Peters, MO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 636-279-1111

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States Engineering, Ft. Wayne, IN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260-747-6195

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CO N VEY OR S, P NEUMAT I C General Kinematics, Crystal Lake, IL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 815-455-3222

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M A R C H 2 0 2 1 | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y 3 1
^ CLOSING COMMENT
It’s Time to Re-Evaluate Manufacturing Culture
Deeply ingrained ways of doing things that have worked in the past can be one of the biggest
hurdles to staying competitive.
T
ime studies, quality circles, continuous improvement, Six
Sigma, Lean and all of the other manufacturing best-prac-.
tices have always had a strong cultural component. Under-
standing the mindsets, behaviors, and ways of working – the culture
– that produce the best quality products, efficiently and reliably, is
the holy grail of manufacturing organizations.
In addition, manufacturers are at the front lines of global mac-
roeconomic trends. They are first to feel the
effects of commodity price changes, tariffs and
trade agreements, overseas competition, and the
global war for talent. They need to be flexible
and adaptive organizations, but they can easily
get stuck in old ways of doing things and mind-
sets that limit creativity and change.
“Leaders have to constantly reflect on cul-
ture,” explained Ed Magee, EVP Operations
at Fender Musical Instruments and former general manager of the
Harley-Davidson York plant. “They need to take time to step back
from the day to day and think about it. Leaders unplugging to con-
template employee development and culture, and specifically what
needs to change, is what’s missing, especially in manufacturing.”
Why is this important? While the global pandemic has required
all businesses to re-evaluate how they think about and do their
work, manufacturers face unique challenges that lead to the need to
re-evaluate their ways of thinking and working.
One of our clients, a family-owned vegetable business, has diffi-
culty recruiting the talent it needs for the packing season. Younger
seasonal workers don’t want to put in the extreme hours needed
over the summer months to pack vegetables. The pride felt by lon-
ger-tenured workers in “doing whatever it takes” is not shared by the
younger generation, who have significantly higher expectations for
work-life balance, even during the intense pack season.
The management style needed to lead manufacturing workers is
shifting. At Fender, employees are talked about as “value-adders.”
Automation is not structured to replace people, Magee explained,
but to make systems more efficient so people can focus on the work
that adds the most value. That work is their craft – in contrast to
some plants where people feel overworked and underappreciated.
If the management style and culture don’t evolve along with the
workforce’s values and expectations, manufacturing organizations
will not be able to staff their factories in the future.
In The Opposable Mind, Roger Martin espouses the benefits of
holding two opposing ideas at once, and using that tension to gen-
erate solutions superior to solving either challenge independently.
What does this “both/and” thinking mean for manufacturing?
Manufacturers increasingly face challenges that cause this kind
Carolyn Hendrickson, Ph.D. | CEO and Strategist
3 2 F O U N D RY M A N A G E M E N T & T E C H N O L O G Y | F O U N D RY M A G . C O M | M A R C H 2 0 2 1
of tension: produce more but spend less; be efficient and reliable,
but also flexible to run new product testing; think global but act
local. Operations leaders are bombarded with these seemingly con-
tradictory demands and that can cause divides between the plants
and other parts of the business, especially corporate.
These tensions, when not addressed effectively, can create an
“us vs. them” mentality. Former CEO of Delphi Technologies Rick
Dauch says, “It is important for management to
understand the workforce is not your enemy; it
Robert Kneschke | Dreamstime
is your partner.”
Plant managers and supervisors increasingly
have to build the skills needed to deal with the
paradoxical challenges inherent to the manufac-
turing system. At Fender, the CEO’s motto is:
“We need to grow and develop our people at the
same rate as the business.”
In the “old days,” a general manager’s main concern was to
ensure the plant performed at peak efficiency and profitability.
Companies used leader boards and friendly competition to motivate
higher performance across plants. Now, typically plants are part of a
larger global supply chain. Actions taken by each plant serve a larger
enterprise, not just the plant itself.
One manufacturer in the road construction industry comprises 20
smaller businesses acquired over time. Their strategy had been to
let them run independently with light support from the parent com-
pany, and they were very successful. A few years ago, they brought
together the 20 presidents for a weeklong strategy session, to share
best practices and set the future direction of the enterprise. Now, the
CEO has overturned the historic value of decentralization and is in-
tegrating the system even more, because the market and customers
are demanding it. Plant managers and employees are seeing them-
selves as part of a greater whole and making decisions accordingly.
Many companies have underestimated the impact of this cultural
shift on the workforce. Often plant employees have pride in their
plant, so asking them to do things differently for the “good of the
whole” can bring about a unique change-management challenge.
This is not about “fixing” manufacturing. This is about continu-
ing to unleash the human potential and value inherent in manufac-
turing. It starts by recognizing these challenges and having the cour-
age to look for shifts in mindsets, behaviors, and ways of working
that companies need to be successful.
Carolyn Hendrickson, Ph.D. is CEO and founding partner of
Tandem Group, specializing in strategy, organization, and
leadership. She works with senior executives and their boards
on planning, senior leadership team alignment, and cultural
transformation.