![]() The first thing is recognizing the opportunities for their company to convert weldments to castings at a cost benefit, good ROI, and product quality improvement. It’s not going to be something that will just come by reading a book. ![]() Then, get out and tour foundries and talk with them. They can also reach out to AFS––they have some fantastic classes I’ve been to many of them. The entire weight, the stress, all the forces that the backhoe takes, go right into that casting, so it has got to be rock solid.īut it’s going to be difficult for somebody that doesn’t have good foundry knowledge to judge these things.ĬS: That’s a good point––what would you suggest for a casting buyer who’s never stepped foot in a foundry? How can they get up to speed so they can discern which foundries can best serve their needs?ĭorn: Some foundries offer a “Foundry 101” seminar where they walk customers through all the processes for making a casting. Another example was the backhoe swing frame––this is what the backhoe hangs from off of the tractor. We’re not bringing just bumper-stop blocks. So, it’s a matter of answering, how can they support what we’re looking for? Because we’re not bringing ‘suitcase’ weights to the foundries. If they didn’t have the capability to do flow analysis on that mold, I don’t think we would have had the success that we’ve had. ![]() It’s a unique design, and the bucket is something that’s never been done before in cast ductile iron, and there’s a reason for that. With one of our last castings, which was a backhoe bucket, we were running into some challenges with shrinkage and iron feeding, so the foundry ran many solidification reviews. Every casting has shrinkage it’s just a matter of moving it to a place that’s not critical in the form, fit, and function of the part.ĬS: Is there some specific technology you want to see in place at the foundry?ĭorn: Solid modeling software is important. But coming back to the front end, when we’re working with the design engineers, we’re looking at how the casting is going to be fed, and where the shrinkage is going to be. Tim Dorn: We look at the process quality––quality of the casting is one thing but is the process in place repeatable? The nice thing is, with my foundry experience, I’m able to wade through that fairly quickly. Casting Source recently spoke with him to learn what it takes to get to true foundry partnership-and why it’s worth it.Ĭasting Source Magazine: Casting specifications are of utmost importance––what are the key criteria and attributes you’re looking for when evaluating a foundry supplier? As a former foundry floor and technical manager, he has acquired deep respect for the scientific and process-related knowledge foundry engineers bring to new casting designs and casting conversions alike. ![]() While not all had volumes that warranted the switch then, Amerequip has since multiplied parts volumes many times over to the point where Dorn and his team have embarked on a mission to identify those with greatest ROI potential as castings.Īfter many years on both sides of the foundry-customer relationship, Dorn believes in the value of collaboration. In his early days at Amerequip, Dorn remembers walking through the plant and being struck by the magnitude of improvement and saving opportunities available to his company by converting many weldment parts to castings. Into the “mold” of his metalcasting past, much experience has been poured-today, his casting expertise helps guide strategic decisions about weldment conversions. ![]() He started his career at Neenah Foundry and worked at two other foundries as well as a heat treat/austempering company before arriving at his present position 13 years ago. The vice president of sales and engineering at Amerequip, which makes backhoes and other wheeled power equipment for its OEM partners, Dorn has a degree in materials engineering with an emphasis on iron metallurgy. As a senior-level castings decision-maker, Tim Dorn has an “unfair” advantage. ![]()
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