Casting Capacity in US

[JakeAdkins]

My company started having a lot of problems with one our primary casting suppliers. It turns out that there have been some significant changes and this company will no longer be an option in the future.

The company supplies sand castings ranging between 50 and about 800 pounds. It isn't my job to find a new supplier, I am on the design end. The guy responsible for finding a replacement told me that through his research there is very limited capacity for castings of these sizes in the US, he can't find a small group of foundries that can support us. So he is looking at foundries in Canada, Mexico and Brazil.

So I have 2 questions.

1. Is this really true? Is capacity in US foundries really that limited? I can't speak to exact volumes but prior to the internal issues one foundry was able to support us.

2. I have been burned by investment castings out of China before. Canada doesn't cause any concern but I don't know anything about the technical capabilities of foundries in Mexico or Brazil. Does anyone have any experience with castings out of these countries?

 

[TVP]

You didn't mention an alloy, but a quick check of casting suppliers in the USA that can cast 800 lbs using the green sand (horizontally parted) process yielded 54 AFS members and 180 nonmembers:

http://www.metalcastingvirtuallibrary.com/foundry/foundry.aspx

Some of them are captive foundries (John Deere), some only cast aluminum alloys, etc., but obviously there are a number of options.

 

[btrueblood]

You also don't specify a process, but mentioned investment castings. We have some 100-lb + s.s. parts investment cast in the midwestern US, and have switched suppliers at least once or twice. Google, Thomas Register online search, and GlobalSpec, are some fairly quick ways to locate US suppliers. Some foundries have become quite cost competitive to foreign imports over the past few years.

 

[bhollands]

I think I read in modern casting that casting suppliers are at either 80 or 90% capacity. I don't have the magazine in front of me so I could be wrong. That does not mean that domestic suppliers will not take your business but it does mean that you will be paying more as suppliers are only looking to add customers with high margins.

Bob

 

[GRoberts]

Sand castings between 50 & 800 lb are within the capability of many, many foundries in the US, depending on the material being cast. Cast iron, steel, stainless steel, bronze, etc? I do not think it would be hard to find a domestic foundry that could make these. As mentioned though, if they are at or near capacity already, that could be your only issue.

 

[arunmrao]

I hear conflicting stories. Some claim,that the US foundries are booked and have no capacities,(this is probably due to closure of many units over the years),whilst others claim that they have capacities available as they are unable to match costs from castings bought overseas (low cost manufacturing countries) .

I was contacted yesterday by US company to discuss on a project for getting high quality steel castings from India.

I would suggest you contact local AFS Chapter for any assistance.

_____________________________________
"It's better to die standing than live your whole life on the knees" by Peter Mayle in his book A Good Year

 

[JakeAdkins]

Thanks for the reply's.

A few details: these are sand castings and we are not using any exotic alloys or grades of steel.

My question/point about US foundry capacity was that it doesn't pass the smell test. We have one foundry supporting our needs (we are about 25% of their business) and I can't find a small group of US foundries to take over? Just doesn't seem right.

Does anyone have any options on the technical capabilities of Mexico or Brazil?

I have had things I designed go to "low cost" sources (mainly China, but India once) that have broken and after close examination of the failure (and 3rd party testing) the parts were not what was specified on the drawing. I have seen significant problems with porosity, poor heat treat, wrong alloy, or large inclusions. We have pulled the parts out of the "low cost" sources because while the cost of the parts was low our incoming inspection cost went through the roof. We had to do 100% inspection and our rejection rates were 25% or 30%.

 

[monkeydog]

When I go to

http://www.thomasnet.com

enter sand casting, I get a lot of hits.

 

[bcd]

Overall manufacturing is increasing rapidly from the economic crash a short while ago. Factory capacities are ramping up to match demand. Foundries, like any other business during the last recession reduced capacity to match demand, and are slowly adding capacity back as the demand grows. There is capacity out there as production volumes are still not back to where there were before the last recession.

It really does not matter where the foundry is located regarding quality. Any foundry is only as good as you make it. You can get excellent quality from any geographic region if you make it so. Our best foundries are actually in China. The worst are in the US. The only difference is that we were so concerend over Chinese quality that we spent a lot fo time with the foundries ensuring we got good quality. We spent no time at the US foundries and the result is we get garbage from them.

 

[looslib]

How complex are the castings?
Check this place in Utah I worked at while in college:

http://www.backmanfoundry.com/

"Wildfires are dangerous, hard to control, and economically catastrophic."

Ben Loosli

 

[tbuelna]

JakeAdkins,

The main reason US foundries are increasingly reluctant to pursue contracts like yours is that it is very low margin business for them. Due to high taxes, regulatory burdens, and high energy and labor costs in the US, it's hard for domestic foundries to make a profit competing against foreign companies. The domestic foundries are not getting out of the business, they're just going after contracts that have a greater potential profit margin.

I design sand cast aluminum housings for aircraft gearboxes. These castings are very complex and must be of extremely high quality. The number of US foundries that are qualified for this kind of work is very limited. It is currently somewhat difficult to find one willing to take on my development projects due to the amount of existing production work they have. The first question they always ask is, "How many castings will you need?" When I say, "Four", they say "No thanks".

There's no reason you cannot get good quality castings from foreign suppliers in Mexico, China, Brazil, or elsewhere. You just need to be willing to put in the upfront time, manpower and cost to get the supplier qualified to your process. Getting uniform quality castings and low scrap rates is all about controlling the foundry process. If you are not willing to actively and continually monitor your casting supplier's process you will only have yourself to blame for supply problems, whether the foundry is foreign or domestic.

Good luck to you.
Terry

 

[GRoberts]

I'd suggest contacting the SFSA (Steel Founders Society of America). They can suggest some member foundries that match your needs.