Die Casting Manufacturer

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Like many employees of companies in the processing and manufacturing aluminium industry we too had to witness the loss of time and money due to the difficulty of finding qualified personnel or suppliers who possessed the know- how to quickly provide accurate answers to concrete questions. This fact led to the idea of a branch specific know-how management system which could enable the exchange of experience, knowledge and ideas. The realization of such an exchange directed us toward a type of cyclopedia in which, next to basic knowledge, also technical papers and specific topics would be featured. Besides technical literature, sources for this information would be branch companies and their employees. Companies and personnel which present themselves and their competences would be recognized on the market as useful suppliers. Therefore it made sense to offer next to the cyclopedia a comprehensive directory of manufacturers and suppliers, in which branch companies can present themselves. The internet is the best medium for this challenge. Online we can provide a service which is comfortable and efficient for our users at the same time. Right in the beginning it became clear to us that our quality requirments would lead to very complex structures, but users would need useful replies within a short period of time, especially concerning possible deadlines. With the founding of the company Alu M.®AG in Münchenstein, close to Basel, in June of 2002, we also created the website CNM TECH- our product and realization of our elucidated vision. Its attractive content and beneficial service make CNM TECH the leading online information platform, communication center and market place for all players in the broad and diverse aluminium industry.
Yours truly
Lorenzo P. Giulini and Alfred G. Frauchiger

CNM TECH – a product of Alu-M.® AG

Alu-M.® AG is the innovative service provider for the aluminium industry, for its suppliers and as well as for the purchasers of its products.
Alu-M.® AG offers compiled information in an intelligent way for everyone interested in aluminium, for companies and organisations. United competence and branch expertise guarantee a high level of usefulness.
Alu-M.® AG was founded in 2002 in the Swiss town of Münchenstein, close to Basel. Together with an investor, two former employees of a medium and a larger company of the aluminium industry form the core of the company. The distribution company Alu-M.® GmbH, Weil am Rhein, acted as “godmother” of the founding.

Objectives

The aluminium industry, its suppliers and its purchasers and clients in Europe and all over the world face the challenge of mastering a growth in volume, varity and complexity. This situation developed because of new application possibilites, new products and demands for aluminium which are generated in shorter time intervals. Due to the high number of available alternatives in product development and realisation making the right decisions becomes crucial.
Alu-M.® AG wants to assist the companies of and surrounding the aluminium industry in increasing their productivity and in mastering their complexity. Therefore the branch specific internet platform CNM TECH brings together information, contacts and company data of the entire value creation chain for aluminium.
CNM TECH is the online base for the aluminium industry, its clients and contractors. CNM TECH’s goal is to become the leading trading and communication platform as well as an indispensable information pool for the aluminium branch by providing adequate and attractive contents combined with offers and services.
CNM TECH provides transperancy for the market and serves as your neutral information source surrounding aluminium. In doing so CNM TECH connects suppliers of the industry with potential clients and vice versa. CNM TECH gives you the possibility to present yourself, your company and your service capabilities as a competent partner directly to your target audience. Alu-M.® AG chose the internet as the medium for CNM TECH because of the possiblities it offers for interactive trading.

Metal Die Casting and Metal Foundries

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Is Metal Casting the “Most Fundamental” Industry?

On the North American Die Casting Association’s website, the association says that metal die casting is America’s most fundamental industry. Is this true? Should you take a metalworking association’s word for that kind of statement? I think it’s impossible to evaluate one sector of the economy as “most fundamental,” but they’re certainly right that metal casting is an extremely important industry.

What I’ve found in the time that I’ve been writing about industry is that different disciplines and industrial sectors are inseparable from one another. The computer industry and the casting industry, for example, are codependent. The computer industry needs casting companies to make heat sinks and other vital computer components, and the casting industry needs the computer industry to manufacture hardware that can manage its CNC manufacturing processes. Think of any example of a sector in industry and I guarantee that you’ll find at least one other sector that it is codependent with.

Die casting companies are no exception to this rule. The low hanging example fruit, when it comes to die casting, is, again, the computer industry. Many computers involve at least one die cast part, and die casting operations are often managed by CNC hardware and software, which the computer industry produces. But there are many other examples as well. Die cast parts are involved in the equipment that is used to extract raw metal, and that raw metal can then be used to make more die castings. There are many other examples.metal die casting

Die casting is an excellent example of the codependence and interdependence of industrial sectors. Even though the NADCA insists that metal casting is the most fundamental industry, bear in mind that no industrial sector could exist without depending on other sectors. This is the reality of a developed, industrial economy.

Metal Foundries: A Look Inside

A metal foundry is a place where metal is transformed from its base material into useable ingots that can be transformed into usable metal pieces. Some foundries shape their own metal pieces, while others ship the finished metal off to other factories for further processing.

There are a variety of different metals that can be used to create metal casting and shapes. Usually, aluminum and iron are used, but other metals, like bronze, steel, copper, tin, magnesium, and zinc are also processed in a factory and shaped into parts using metal casting. Most metal foundries use a special kind of metal casting to create ingots or other metal shapes for further processing. A metal foundry typically uses a multi-step process to finish the metal pieces.

First the metal is melted in a large container and any impurities are removed. If the metal will be a combination of metals, they are added at this point and mixed together. Most foundries use a furnace to melt the metal. After melting, some metals require degassing. Degassing is the process of removing hydrogen in the metal. Too much hydrogen produces a porous metal that has little use. Degassing is done by bubbling nitrogen or argon into the metal while it is still in liquid form.

After melting and degassing, the metal is poured into a mold. Different foundries will have different molds available, such as ceramic molds, sand molds, investment casting, die casting, billet casting, or lost-foam casting. Usually the metal is poured into the molds using robotic pouring systems.

The metal is allowed to cool, then removed from the mold. The metal piece then goes through a degating or deburring process, which removes unwanted pieces from the mold. The metal piece then may be heat treated to give it extra strength, or simply cleaned and polished for final use.