Casting Class: Recent Episodes
Batesville Products
An engineer's guide to manufacturing aluminum castings, hosted by Batesville Products, Inc.
BPI has over 75 years of experience engineering, tooling, casting, machining, inspecting, and polishing aluminum and zinc products for 70 industries nationwide.
Check out more content like videos, written guides, and case studies on our website: batesvilleproducts.com
Why might we machine castings? Tolerance, material, design, and process differences when casting from ingot vs. machining from billet. With Rachel Weber, Stephanie Randolph and Tim Williams.
Do I really need heat treat? What is it? What are the pros & cons?
Rachel Weber and Mary Jutzi give a beginner's guide to the heat treatment process.
A glimpse into the foundry industry: aluminum market, labor market, supply chain concerns, onshoring, offshoring, and new technology in manufacturing.
10 types of defects, what went wrong, and what you and your supplier can do to fix it together.
Chapters:
- Gas hole porosity
- Hydrogen gas porosity
- Inclusions
- Part design related defects
- Mold design related defects
- Mold maintenance related defects
- Supplier related defects
Defects include: porosity, hydrogen gas porosity, inclusions, shrink, bent, misrun, crack, rough surface finish, flash, and parting line shift.
Engineer’s guide to designing for permanent mold aluminum casting. Get a printable guide here: https://batesvilleproducts.com/resource/2024-design-guide/
Pros, cons, and key differences between each casting process.
When should I use investment casting (also known as lost-wax casting or precision casting) or permanent mold casting?
How do I get from design to finished product? Tim and Rachel review the manufacturing process step by step, so you know what to expect. There are 11 steps from concept to creation: design, choosing a supplier, tooling, and more!
The pros, cons, and when to use each manufacturing method.
Learn which one is best for your custom design with Rachel Weber and Mary Jutzi.
We met with metal casting engineer Monty Fullerton to learn about 3 design opportunities for complex aluminum permanent mold castings: steel inserts, sand cores, and pulls/slides.
Johnathan and Rachel becomes Myth Busters! There are 8 huge misconceptions in the manufacturing industry:
- Is manufacturing in decline?
- Are all manufacturing jobs outsourced to other countries?
- Are onshored products lower quality or more expensive?
- Is manufacturing low-tech with limited innovation?
- Is automation eliminating manufacturing jobs?
- Are manufacturing jobs low-paying and undesirable?
- Is manufacturing just an assembly line, conveyor belt process?
- Is manufacturing dirty and bad for the environment?
Questions you NEED to ask when choosing a new supplier! Your shortcut to determining the experience and quality of a potential manufacturer.
With our hosts Tim Williams, Johnathan Johnson, and Rachel Weber.
What impacts casting cost?
9 factors affect the price of a casting:
- Material
- Design for Manufacturing
- Quantity
- Complexity
- Machining
- Heat Treat
- Inspection
- Surface Finish
- Packaging
Learn how casting quotes are calculated so you can optimize your next project!
Tim Weber, with 40+ years of casting experience, looks at the state of foundries today. Changes in market, operation, technology, and more!
How hydrogen, flux, and other additives affect aluminum castings.
With Tim Weber and Mary Jutzi.
Topics
- What's Clean Metal (0:39)
- Dross, Slag, and Oxides (3:27)
- Hydrogen Gas (5:24)
- Atmospheric Pressure (6:34)
- Using Nitrogen (8:03)
- Adding Hydrogen to Aluminum (8:42)
- Measuring Gas Level of Melt (11:13)
- Temperature's Effect (12:33)
- Final Tips for Engineers (13:35)
Which casting material is best for my project?
In this episode, we'll explain the pros and cons of casting each metal, as well as the cost difference.
Thank you to our hosts Tim Weber and Mary Jutzi.
There are 3 permanent mold casting pouring methods:
- Static Pour
- Tilt Pour
- Reverse Tilt Pour
Learn how each pouring method works and its effect on casting porosity!
We're doing our part to get the local community interested in manufacturing! By working with local schools, we're introducing the next generation to the manufacturing industry with field trip tours, guest speaker visits, and free classroom education materials.
CHAPTERS
00:00 - 00:39 Intro
00:39 - 1:05 Today's Topic
1:05 - 1:44 Welcome Panelists
1:44 - 5:32 Field Trips
5:32 - 12:17 MFG Books, Stickers, Activities
12:17 - 13:42 Our Advice
13:42 - 14:14 Outro
Batesville Products: https://batesvilleproducts.com/
A more informed customer is a better customer! That's why we educate our customers about the manufacturing process with guides, videos, and of course podcasts.
But a company is only as strong as it's employees! Here's why our new employee training program works: our employees actually WANT to participate in it! Our Pay4Skill program incentivized and rewards learning.
Thank you to our Batesville Products panelists:
- Kim Haines, Human Resources Manger
- Tim Williams, National Sales Manager
- Johnathan Johnson, Regional Sales Manager
- Rachel Weber, Regional Sales Manager
- Tim Weber, VP of Marketing
- Mary Jutzi, Digital Marketing Associate
CHAPTERS
- 00:00 - 00:39 Intro
- 00:39 - 1:51 Welcome Panelists
- 1:51 - 3:57 Engineering Resources
- 3:57 - 4:57 FREE Design Guide
- 4:47 - 6:44 Employee Training Programs
- 6:44 - 10:35 Pay4Skill Employee Training
- 10:35 - 11:17 Outro
No one wants defective metal castings. Learn how to identify and prevent 6 common porosity defects!
- Surface Porosity
- Reaction Porosity
- Gas Hole Porosity
- Oxide Inclusions
- Shrinkage Porosity
- Hydrogen Gas Porosity
Thank you to our special guests at Porosity Solutions: https://porositysolutions.com/
- Brad Hohenstein - Porosity Solutions Founder
- Ernie Coberly - Porosity Solutions Instructor
And your friends at Batesville Products: https://batesvilleproducts.com/
- Monty Fullerton - Manufacturing Engineer (guest)
- Tim Williams - National Sales Manager (host)
- Rachel Weber - Regional Sales Consultant (moderator)
- Johnathan Johnson - Regional Sales Consultant (moderator)
CHAPTERS
00:00 - 00:39 Intro
00:39 - 02:15 Welcome Guests
02:15 - 03:34 Surface Porosity
03:34 - 04:55 Reaction Porosity
04:55 - 06:52 Gas Hole Porosity
06:52 - 08:53 Oxide Inclusions
08:53 - 11:42 Shrinkage
11:42 - 16:39 Hydrogen Gas Porosity
16:39 - 17:13 Outro
Join us as we discuss 5 hot topics in the metal casting industry!
- Casting Lead Time Considerations
- Project Cost Considerations
- 3D Printing Tooling
- Transforming Weldments to Castings
- Castings Found in Everyday Life
To learn more about each Casting Source article mentioned, please visit www.castingsource.com
Thank you to our guest speaker Shannon Wetzel, Managing Editor of the American Foundry Society's Casting Source publication.
Best tip we can give Design Engineers?
Design for Manufacturing (DFM)!
Always keep the end goal in mind. Before you finalize your design, you want to consider the manufacturing method. Why? Each manufacturing process has different design standards. Here are the standards for aluminum permanent mold metal casting. By following these standards, your product will be the strongest and most efficiently produced it can be.
More questions? Ask our experienced engineers! They've been helping design & manufacture castings for over 40 years!
What does it take to make a casting cherry red? Learn everything there is to know about powder coating and painting aluminum castings in this podcast!
Topics Include:
- Prepping and cleaning the casting
- Priming and painting
- Degassing
- Powder coating
- Inspection & fixing defects
- The future of the finishing industry
Thank you, Jerry Burchett, for sharing your 40 years of experience in the paint and powder coating industry!
40+ year metal polisher shares his secret to polishing aluminum castings!
Can you mirror buff aluminum? Zinc?
Do all parts need polished? Even if they'll be powder coated? What about chrome plated?
Welcome to Metal Polishing 101.
Learn about polishing tools and what finishes you can achieve in this month's podcast episode.
Thank you, Danny Courter, 40+ year metal polishing veteran for joining us!
What technology is used to simulate the casting process? How does a simulation improve permanent mold design?
A casting process simulation ensures the client builds the best tool possible. For example, an FEA can reduce casting defects by predicting flow and solidification of metal in the mold.
Thank you Vadim Pikhovich from MAGMA for sharing your vast foundry knowledge!
Listen to the children's book Foundry Friends make a Casting!
Foundry Friends make a Casting uses fun and creative characters to tell the story of how a toy car is made. The toy goes through the metal casting manufacturing process - from engineering to polishing! This storybook is a great way for children to learn about STEM through the lens of USA manufacturing.
We wrote this book to introduce children to the magic of manufacturing. At Batesville Products, we engineer, cast, machine, inspect and polish aluminum castings for over 70 industries nationwide!
Visit our website for coloring pages, free activity books, manufacturing experiments, and more! https://batesvilleproducts.com/kids/
There are 5 things you should consider when machining aluminum castings:
- Material & Heat Treat
- Coolant & Cutters
- Fixtures
- Speeds & Feeds (and how this affects quoting!)
- Ergonomics & Recycling
Want to quote a new casting project or thinking about re-quote an existing part? Here's everything your supplier needs to know to give you the best quote possible!
The quoting process can be confusing, especially if you are shopping around at multiple foundries. Here's what you can expect. Your supplier will ask questions about...
- Background & Part End Use
- Timeline
- Machining, Polishing, Secondaries
- and more!
(and if they don't ask these questions - that's a red flag!)
How do robots impact the manufacturing industry?
Here's an engineer's guide to manufacturing automation. In this podcast, we discuss different types of manufacturing robotics, including...
- Industrial Robots
- Collaborative Robots (cobots)
- Universal Robots
- Mobile Industrial Robots
Robots empower employees, not replace them! Robotics have the potential to improve ergonomics, job satisfaction, and employee retention.
Thank you to our special guests (or should I say Jeffs) from NEFF. Check out NEFF here: https://neffautomation.com/
Let's talk supply, demand, and availability of aluminum.
Like many materials, the price of aluminum has doubled in the last year. Why?
Energy costs, labor, and government regulations all impact the cost of aluminum. With material demand outpacing supply, availability is also a hot topic. It's imperative you have a supply chain you can trust and build relationships in the market.
Did you know that 75% of aluminum ever produced is still in use today? That’s because there is no limit to how many times aluminum can be recycled!
While scrap metal recycling doesn't alleviate stress on the primary aluminum market, it is still an important market to explore.
Thank you Dave Moore for joining us! Dave is Owner/Operator of The Foundry Way: https://thefoundryway.com/
Sand casting, permanent mold casting, die casting - which process should I use? Here are the pros and cons of each metal casting method.