Implementation of Metal Casting Best Practices - EERE - U.S. ...

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application can offer tangible benefits. Finally, ITP should also consider documenting cases that illustrate the benefits of implementing Metal Casting R&D projects results. 6.4 Increasing Outreach on BestPractices Tools and Services Throughout the course of this project, the assessment team found little awareness among the metal casters interviewed of the free tools and services offered by ITP. Thus, the analysts concluded that more outreach is needed to publicize these services. To begin to address the lack of awareness, BCS, Incorporated and DOE published articles on these free tools and services in the April 2006 editions of both Modern Casting and Die Casting LINKS. Those articles were a first step in making the industry aware of these free tools and services, yet more effort is needed. Training needs to be provided on the suite of BestPractices tools. The small-business nature of the metal casting industry means that it often lacks the financial resources to send staff to distant locations to attend BestPractices training. Instead, since they are more likely to send their employees to attend industry-specific events such as the Metalcasting Congress or local society chapter meetings, ITP should make an effort to offer training in conjunction with the major industry conferences. Some of the larger facilities (e.g., Lost Foam Facility-1 and Iron Foundry- 2) were familiar with the tools and employees received training on their use. However, the size of these facilities and the financial resources available to them are not common throughout the industry. 6.5 Evaluating the Business Case for Implementation A common observation throughout this project was that the technical staff at the facilities often had a good understanding of the Metal Casting R&D projects. Many of the technical personnel that met the assessment team participate extensively in the sponsoring society technical committees and in the annual technical conferences. These staff members have also worked closely with the primary investigators during the research projects’ plant trials. Therefore, they clearly understand the science, although they have difficulty articulating the business advantage gained from implementing researched tools and practices. A plausible solution for bridging this gap is for the technical societies or management of the foundries to develop a computerized template for building a business case to support a project implementation proposal. This template should be easy to follow, should not require an advanced degree in business or accounting to complete, and should be detailed enough so it does not overlook specific cost savings. It should also equate the savings with the amount of sales that would have to be achieved to realize the same financial benefit. By conducting this analysis, technical staff will be able to provide their management with the information needed to determine whether a project should proceed, and whether the project will positively affect the metal caster’s bottom line. For example, a template can be created for a paper analysis to determine whether the acquisition of process modeling software makes financial sense. The template would be designed to capture all pertinent variables, such as: 26
• Cost of: o The software package or license o The computer to run the application o Training on how to use the modeling application o The hourly rate or salary of the user • Benefits deriving from reduced: o Lead-time due to the avoidance of a costly trail-and-error process o Man hours associated with the trail-and-error process o Metal cost associated with improved casting yield o Scrap rate Developing quantitative estimates of costs and the dollar value of benefits will enable management to evaluate the potential financial return to the corporation of investments made in proposed energy efficiency improvement initiatives. 27
Page 2 and 3: Implementation of Metal Casting Bes
Page 4 and 5: Executive Summary Since 1995 the U.
Page 6 and 7: summarized comments regarding the t
Page 8 and 9: • Metal casters must investigate
Page 10 and 11: F. Iron Foundry-2..................
Page 12 and 13: As part of this project, an assessm
Page 14 and 15: 1.3 Report Organization This report
Page 16 and 17: energy needs, primarily to the larg
Page 18 and 19: As a result of this strategy, ITP h
Page 20 and 21: All of the facilities that particip
Page 22 and 23: A number of the facilities visited
Page 24 and 25: Steel Foundry Aluminum Foundry Alum
Page 26 and 27: 4. Methodology for Assessing Indust
Page 28 and 29: 5. Overall Assessment Observations
Page 30 and 31: samples and measurements from vario
Page 32 and 33: the Metalcasting Congress and other
Page 34 and 35: single in-line memory module (SIMM)
Page 38 and 39: 7. Common Energy-Saving Solutions T
Page 40 and 41: 7.4 Installing Radiant Panels in Cr
Page 42 and 43: 7.8 Installing Energy-Efficient Lig
Page 44 and 45: 8. Conclusion The ITP Metal Casting
Page 46 and 47: Appendix A: Plant Assessment Case S
Page 48 and 49: Scrap Rate The scrap rate at the pl
Page 50 and 51: Dross Management Metal dealers and
Page 52 and 53: B. Die Casting Plant-2 Plant Profil
Page 54 and 55: Quality Control The assessment team
Page 56 and 57: C. Steel Foundry-1 Plant Profile St
Page 58 and 59: also enables foundries to understan
Page 60 and 61: Automated Molding Line Steel Foundr
Page 62 and 63: D. Steel Foundry-2 Plant Profile St
Page 64 and 65: subsequent machining operations. Ex
Page 66 and 67: motor, with an older piece of equip
Page 68 and 69: 1. Implemented Best Practices Age S
Page 70 and 71: Treating Sand Iron Foundry-1 reclai
Page 72 and 73: F. Iron Foundry-2 Plant Profile Iro
Page 74 and 75: Working with the Utility Iron Found
Page 76 and 77: G. Lost Foam Foundry-1 Plant Profil
Page 78 and 79: work yielded a 0.85% reduction in s
Page 80 and 81: Stack Melter Like many plants melti
Page 82 and 83: tools. Like many of the other facil
Page 84 and 85: will require that the facility have
Page 86 and 87:
1. Implemented R&D and Best Practic
Page 88 and 89:
V-6 blocks, the gating system was c
Page 90 and 91:
During their site visit, the team f
Page 92 and 93:
J. Aluminum Casting Facility-2 Plan
Page 94 and 95:
promoting a product line for the fa
Page 96 and 97:
Another alternative for the facilit
Page 98 and 99:
K. Copper Foundry-1 Plant Profile C
Page 100 and 101:
The facility also stays abreast of
Page 102 and 103:
Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) - A stee
Page 104 and 105:
Sprue - Metal that fills the conica
Page 106 and 107:
23 Stratecast, Inc. AFS Metalcastin
Page 108:
99 Ibid. pg. 335. 100 http://www.go
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