6 MIN. READ
In recent weeks, searches for suppliers of industrial castings have risen on the industrial marketplace IndustryNet.
Critical to a wide range of industries, including the automotive, aerospace, construction, oil and gas sectirs and more, the global metal casting market size was worth USD 128.3 billion in 2019 and is anticipated to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.3% from 2020 to 2025.
In this post, we will explore some of the factors that are driving the demand for industrial castings, as well as some of the challenges and opportunities that the industry faces in the current scenario.
About Industrial Castings
Casting is the process of pouring liquefied metal into a mold to form a particular part. The complexity can range from simple shapes to complex 3-D components. The mold is then removed or broken away from the part.
As one might predict, this method of manufacturing parts is extremely useful for applications that undergo severe stress in terms of force and temperature. Aggregate, construction and transportation are some of the biggest customer industries.
Casting is not just for heavy-duty applications though. Since 1991, 90% of all products made contain at least some cast parts. The American Foundry Society puts this ubiquitous use into an easy-to-remember quote: “You are almost never more than 10 feet from a metal casting.”
Thus, opportunities are literally everywhere, ranging from small parts for automobiles to massive stand-alone architectural forms. Partnering with the right casting supplier means understanding the extensive demand that exists for their services and knowing what features to look for.
What's New?
Despite being around since at least 3000 B.C., there is a lot of modern science and technology involved in casting that businesses need to understand in order to communicate effectively with suppliers. A lot of the new technology going into industrial casting processes is based on reducing energy use.
Melting metal takes an immense amount of energy, up to 55% of total process energy costs. Methods of improving this process will not only save energy but also reduce emissions and other pollutants from being released into the environment.
Other areas of innovation include automating process control through IoT sensors, increasing the amount of recycled material used in each batch and utilizing databases to improve non-destructive chemical property testing of ingots.
Characteristics of a Great Castings Partner
A casting supplier has to provide several distinct capabilities for their customers. Any partner should have pattern, metallurgy, foundry and machine capabilities in house. This speeds up the process for the buyer, who gets to avoid going to multiple suppliers for a single project.
Metallurgy is where the properties of the alloy are fine-tuned for the specific application. In some cases, proprietary combinations can be created for a buyer. Knowing the different types of alloys and their uses can put businesses ahead of the competition when it comes to partnering with a casting supplier.
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Machining is necessary to finish the product once it is broken out of the mold. Suppliers equipped with modern CNC machines can rapidly complete a product with exacting tolerances.
A supplier that invests in these aspects of their company will be able to provide their customers with the best possible service, like these four suppliers below.
The Right Supplier for the Right Customer
When looking for a casting supplier, it is important to find the right fit. Some casting companies will do one-off designs for startups and small businesses, while others only work with OEMs in large production runs.
Industrial casting is one of the most widely used manufacturing processes. It involves creating a mold in the negative form of a desired shape or part and filling it with molten metal. After the metal cools and solidifies, the mold is removed. This makes casting an optimal method of producing high-strength components that can withstand extreme and prolonged abuse.
But casting is more than just creating a mold and pouring in liquefied metal. It requires a lot of preparation in a supplier's pattern shop. The actual melting, pouring and breaking take place in the foundry, while finishings are completed in the machine shop. Ideally, finding a supplier that has all of these facilities on-site can save time and money in the casting process.
Additionally, because castings can range in size from a few ounces to hundreds of pounds, understanding the dimensional and material properties of the finished product are critical to selecting the right supplier. There are several methods of casting, including aluminum sand, bronze sand and brass sand. Each type has specific qualities related to tensile and yield strength, chemical resistance, and ductility. Knowing the final use case of the part will help in selecting a supplier too. They will be able to create a mold of the correct size and with the proper material to ensure the part will last.
Here are some suppliers to pay attention to when it comes to industrial casting.
Wear-Tek
OEM-only is one of the primary philosophies that drive Wear-Tek's success. By establishing a niche as a direct-to-OEM supplier for the aggregates processing, power and agricultural industries, they have been able to streamline and optimize their production practices. As far back as 2005, Wear-Tek began introducing aspects of lean manufacturing into their operations. Minimal waste, short turnarounds and excellent value to the customer are the results of their years of fine-tuning their total supply chain.
Wear-Tek works with the customer throughout the entire production run from initial concept to finished product. Their in-house pattern shop uses computer-aided design software to manufacture CNC cut shell core boxes and patterns. Additionally, their molding facility features PLC controlled green sand production and automated shakeout. Melting is accomplished by one of two 3,000-pound/hour induction furnaces while final heat treatment can be applied through multiple processes including tempering, air quenching and normalizing.
General manager Mike Summers notes that Wear-Tek is “...a flat organization, so decisions come fast. There’s little red tape to go through. It’s ‘We have a need, what’s the solution?’” This mindset is why Wear-Tek regularly has discussions with customers and raw material providers to eke out every bit of efficiency while empowering its employees to look for unusual solutions to challenges.
As an example, mechanical reclamation systems were installed in order to recover as much ceramic sand as possible, saving significantly on raw material acquisition. To deal with poor inventory control of remelt alloys, engineers and metallurgists devised a method of organizing their stocks. Size-specific bins were built that allow compact stacking, yet still permit the remelt to slide into the furnace when tilted.
Quality Electric Steel Castings
Founded by Lloyd O. Sturkie in a booming post-war period, QESC has grown from a modest 35-ton-per-month capacity to over 1,000 tons per month.
Their sprawling plant in Houston covers 26 acres of land and encloses 250,000 square feet of indoor working space. Their ability to grow consistently is supported by their philosophy of maintaining low debt and significant reinvestment in the company.
Those reinvestments manifest in the forms of advanced equipment and processes. Patterns are cut from hardwood using a new CNC router, while a metallurgy laboratory provides customers with detailed information about the molecular and physical properties of their selected alloys. Blenders and sand reclamation systems can create molds of all sizes up to 13’x13’ while modern high-voltage induction melting furnaces liquefy up to four tons of metal per hour.
QESC works with many of the common metals including stainless steel, carbon steel, alloy steel and nickel-based alloy. All of these can be hardened and heat-treated depending on the use application.
Ultimate Casting & Machine
First opening their doors in 1977, Ultimate Casting and Machine has become a Detroit staple in the casting industry. Currently located in nearby West Branch, Michigan, they provide their services both regionally and nationally. Their foundry, pattern shop and machine shop are all co-located, making it easy for them to work with customers throughout an entire project. Their pattern shop can create high-quality core boxes made from a variety of materials including wood, metal and foam. The foundry can produce castings ranging in size from 1oz to 300lbs. The non-ferrous facility has the capability to cast copper, bronze, aluminum and ductile iron sand.
These capabilities have made the company popular with customers from various industries. Alongside expected uses in automotive, metal forming and power generation, their castings are also used in antique restoration, yard decor, and food and beverage preparation/delivery.
Morel Industries
Arlington, Washington is home to this fourth-generation family business with an interesting story. The Morel family has been in the foundry and casting business since the late 1800s when their grandfather, Leon Morel Sr., was an indentured servant at the Rudier Foundry in Paris, France. Later, he immigrated to the United States, bringing his knowledge of casting along. First working for two foundries in Seattle, he quickly moved up the ranks and ended up purchasing both companies. They were renamed Morel Foundries.
By 1960, the company had been passed to Leon Morel Jr. and was a prime casting source for many well-known Seattle companies including Boeing, Peterbilt, FMC/United Defense, John Deere Engine Works and Garrett/AirResearch. Sales grew steadily until Leon Jr. gave the company to his sons, Stephen and Mark, in 1989.
Unfortunately, in 1993 the Port of Seattle exercised eminent domain and forced the relocation of Morel Foundries. The Morel brothers used this situation to expand their capabilities and facility size, resulting in annual sales of $15 million. The brothers eventually moved on to work for other companies in the industry but could not stay away from the family business forever. In 2000, they purchased Ballard Brass & Aluminum, and over the next eight years, they quadrupled the size of the facility, added numerous modern casting machines and changed the name to Morel Industries.
Donsco, Inc.
In continuous operation for over a century, Donsco is the United States' leading provider of machined iron castings. Located on the banks of the Susquehanna River in Wrightsville, PA, this facility specializes in hard-to-manufacture hydraulic components. Where some companies require multiple calls and contacts, Donsco prides itself on a one-call, one-source-of-responsibility approach to business. Equally adept at both high- and low-volume runs, they offer turnkey casting solutions that often feature lead times of just two weeks.
Advanced Cast Products, Inc.
Everything is in-house when it comes to Advanced Cast Products. Rather than outsourcing various stages of the casting process, this is one of the industrial casting suppliers that does everything on-site so customers can get their parts faster and at a better price than would otherwise be possible. They also feature the only austempering line (salt-to-salt) in North America. Their programmed austempered ductile iron heat-treating technology is an economical yet strong alternative to standard iron castings, with at least double their strength. Examples include pump housings, tow hitches, shift yokes and pinions.
Find More Information
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1. https://www.afsinc.org/importance-metalcasting-0
2. http://www.industrialmetalcastings.com/history.html
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casting_(metalworking)
4. https://www.moderncasting.com/articles/2020/01/07/wear-teks-engineered-results
5. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy01osti/29343.pdf
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted in January of 2021. It has been updated to reflect new statistics and trends.
