Contact us today:
(847) 934-4500
tdaro@bernardandcompany.com
Contact us today:
(847) 934-4500
tdaro@bernardandcompany.com
Schaumburg, Illinois (Chicago) – With MAGMA5 5.2, MAGMA Foundry Technologies has recently released the latest version of its leading casting process simulation software with significant new and improved functionality. More than 160 improvements were implemented for the user in this new release of version 5.2. The main focus of the development efforts was on increasing the efficiency in evaluating simulation results.
MAGMA5 5.2 now allows the direct comparison of up to four different project versions in the result perspective. Filling, solidification and stress results can be animated in a synchronized mode. A special highlight is the option to display the geometry and all MAGMA5 results in 3D stereo, using shutter or red/cyan 3D glasses and to store them as 3D images or movies. Various new tools facilitate a standardized result evaluation. 
New result criteria allow for a more effective evaluation of metal cooling and critical metal speeds during filling. The progress of feeding and porosity formation can be monitored and displayed continuously during the entire solidification process. A new criterion to predict cold cracks allows the user to find stress-related casting quality problems more quickly.
The implementation of user results further offers a powerful tool to compile user-specific criteria based on any MAGMA5 results. User results can easily be defined and created automatically during a simulation or subsequently in the result perspective.
Die casting users will appreciate an improved visualization of the process time line and extended consideration of the heat transfer conditions between die casting and die as a function of the local feeding conditions. Additionally, the MAGMAhpdc module now supports the assessment of the real casting temperature as a function of the current shot sleeve conditions.
All users will benefit from the new “resume point” capability, which allows flexibility in re-starting the simulation with modified die casting process conditions, based on the previous or next-to-last casting cycle. Sand casting processes can be resumed with different conditions at the end of any process stage. The automatic enmeshment of complex geometries is now further simplified by new enmeshment criteria and procedures.
Stress simulation results can be prepared for faster post-processing. For the quantitative assessment of casting distortion in the measurement perspective, it is now possible to compare the virtual measurement with the real part geometry.
Finally, with MAGMA5 5.2, a new database of riser sleeves, which was generated by ASK Chemicals, is now available.
About MAGMA
MAGMA offers comprehensive solutions to the metal casting industry, casting buyers and casting designers worldwide. MAGMA’s product and service portfolio includes the powerful, modular simulation software MAGMASOFT®,with the newest release MAGMA5 as well as engineering services for casting design and optimization.
Today, MAGMASOFT® is used throughout the global metal casting industry, especially for the optimization of cast components in automotive and heavy industry applications.
MAGMA Giessereitechnologie GmbH was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Aachen, Germany. A global presence and support are guaranteed by offices and subsidiaries in the USA, Singapore, Brazil, Korea, Turkey, India and China. Additionally, more than 30 qualified partners represent MAGMA around the world.
For more information on this release, please contact:
Christof Heisser
President
MAGMA Foundry Technologies, Inc.
10 N. Martingale Road, Suite 425
Schaumburg, IL 60173
Phone 847-969-1001 ext. 225
Email cheisser@magmasoft.com
Continue readingMinnesota foundry includes multiple layers from their organization to decide on the right casting process simulation tool
Wide view of Dotson Iron Castings in action
Dotson Iron Castings in Mankato, Minnesota is an iron foundry that melts and pours 100+ tons of ductile iron castings daily, using 20X24 horizontal, high pressure, green sand molding machines. Products include over 3,000 different castings for over 300 customers in a wide range of applications including medical, transportation, agriculture, construction and recreation equipment. The raw casting weights here range from 2 to 50 pounds with typical production quantities ranging from 25 pieces to several thousand.
Dotson prides itself on engineering excellence, providing customers a higher total value with castings designed and produced in a highly automated, quick response foundry and machining facility.
Operating as a foundry for over 130 years, Dotson credits its success to satisfying customer needs by not only managing, but exceeding, their expectations. The goal is to provide customers with quality products in a fast, flexible, cost effective manner.
As a company best practice, Dotson includes its employees in making all important decisions that will impact not only the job of each of the individuals, but the foundry as a whole. Dotson has a program called, “The $10,000 Project.” As the name implies, any purchase made by the foundry of $10,000 or more is done through a detailed process involving the employees who will be most affected by the purchase of the product or equipment being considered.
Any product or project that costs over $10,000 must have a cross-functional group examine all viable options. Members of the group choose what they consider the best product or piece of equipment to help them accomplish their goals. They then make onsite visits, make comparisons and do cost justifications. With the information they have gathered, they then make multiple presentations to the group explaining the “what” and the “why” of the product, equipment or service they have chosen for consideration.
John Jaycox, Bradley Wiyninger, Jim Headington and E. Jay Zins discuss MAGMASOFT® at Dotson
When Dotson’s owner Denny Dotson and President /CEO Jean Bye wanted to expand their capabilities in terms of serving customers with solidification solutions, MAGMASOFT®, provided by MAGMA Foundry Technologies (Schaumburg, IL) was one of the many software packages considered. “We certainly are a foundry that differentiates ourselves on our engineering services and to do that you must have the right tools,” Jean Bye said. “We researched and explored our options for a few years before making the decision to purchase simulation software for the foundry,” Denny Dotson adds.
The $10,000 Project is a lengthy process with the participants sometimes making three or four presentations to support their argument. Deciding on the simulation software that best supported the needs of this foundry took a long time, due to the importance of doing numerous comparisons. When comparing the benefits of all the products being considered, “…it came down to weighing out the factors and deciding which ones would have the greatest impact on the overall foundry operation,” Bye stated.
When the $10,000 Project is complete and a decision has been made, nobody can say they weren’t onboard. “They might not have gotten their way,” Bye notes, “but they certainly understand all the reasons why the decision was made, because it was well thought out by the entire group.”
Dotson saw the addition of simulation software as more then just an engineering tool; rather it represented a smart business tool specifically designed to improve yield as well as positively impact sales. There was a lot to consider in the justification process beyond the product’s capabilities. Ease of use, speed of use, accuracy of results, presentation of these results, reputation of the provider’s company, customer care, quick response time from company representatives when there was a question or assistance was needed, as well as which company Dotson felt was more technologically advanced with new innovations. In addition, a significant benefit Dotson saw with simulation was the ability to identify jobs that would require some type of stress relief before actually making the tool or gating system. “It’s much more difficult to go back to the customer after the fact and tell them this is your cost, than it is before you cut the tool. There are always options before anything is created,” Engineering Process Manager Jim Headington points out.
“Moving from opinion or educated guess to a factual report supporting changes has made it quicker and easier to communicate the need for making changes with our customers,” adds Jay Zins, Control Manager at Dotson.
Live shot of Dotson in action
When discussing the impact simulating the process has on time to first quality part, Headington explains, “Time isn’t always the most important issue at hand. Cost and the integrity of the tool by the time you’re done with it are the real keys. When you find yourself adding material to a production tool, it’s never a good thing. Once you scab on that material, no matter how you put it on, you’ve really jeopardized the integrity of the tool. This is all now done virtually, instead of through trial and error.”
On one recent customer project, Dotson ran approximately 30 virtual iterations on a particular part. Not only did having the ability to simulate the entire molding process save a significant amount of time, being able to run a large number of iterations also helped them be sure that the quality of the part was not compromised. “Once in a while, on projects like this, we do 30 simulated iterations, simply because we now can,” Josh Jaycox, Quality Assurance Engineer adds.
While all new jobs at Dotson are run through MAGMASOFT®, retro jobs, especially the high yield jobs, are also now simulated. A significant part of the justification process was improving yield. When considering yield improvements, Dotson recognizes that the improvement in the first year will normally be significant, as they hadn’t run simulation before, whereas moving forward, improving yield would be less significant, as all new jobs are now run through the simulation and, as a result, are more efficient from the very beginning. “Running the software on a casting will also help us see that it may be possible to make a riser smaller, this will help in de-gating and reduce grinding time.” Jaycox said.
Sales and Marketing Manager Matt Schindle adds, “The benefit to the customer is that they know we are not going to build a tool, we are not going to spend a dollar of their money, until we have done the solidification on it. It gives us more credibility and it gives the customer reassurance.”
“It’s almost like having a third party in the room giving our observations credibility,” Bye adds.
Furnace at Dotson Iron Castings
Seeing the importance of being sure their foundry and their engineers have the tools to be the best they can be, Dotson found the addition of MAGMASOFT® to be a natural next step. When considering the in-depth justification process and the criteria involved in bringing a new product or tool into the foundry, they learned their decision regarding process simulation to be a great benefit to the company overall. Dotson realizes customers now expect and rely on the fact that their parts are run through this virtual process with the end result being the highest quality castings possible.
Choosing MAGMASOFT®, Dotson believes all their performance and value criteria were met and, in many cases, even exceeded. MAGMA’s reputation in the world foundry market and their customer care program, as well as the added benefits of their training programs and annual user group meetings, help Dotson feel more confident in their partnership with MAGMA, according to Jaycox and Headington.
For more information on this story, please contact:
Christof Heisser
President
MAGMA Foundry Technologies, Inc.
10 N. Martingale Road, Suite 425
Schaumburg, IL 60173
Phone 847-969-1001 ext. 225
Email cheisser@magmasoft.com
Web www.magmasoft.com
Premier Aluminum and Hodge Foundry techs receive the highest level of simulation software competency designations from foundry market leader
Premier – Jason Lythjohan of Premier Aluminum in Racine, Wisconsin receives his MAGMA certification.
Schaumburg, IL – MAGMA Foundry Technologies Inc. has been a provider of proprietary casting process simulation software, MAGMASOFT®, for over 20 years. More than simply providing software, MAGMA also shares its engineering expertise through its contract service group and comprehensive training programs. This extensive training program comprises several intensive course levels, where the users gain knowledge to better utilize the software from a functional standpoint, plus insights on practical approaches to applying the technology to their metalcasting process.
Currently, the highest achievable training level is the Certified MAGMASOFT® User. There is a set of specific criteria the user must meet to be eligible to participate in the program and a list of objectives that must be met to receive the certification from Magma.
There are many benefits to completing the certification program, which aid not only the software user, but also the user’s organization and its casting customers.
Some of the key benefits include:
Hodge Foundry – Ian McNally from Hodge Foundry in Greenville, Pennsylvania receives his MAGMA certification.
In 2011, two successful users achieved the MAGMA Certification, namely, Jason Lythjohan from Premier Aluminum, LLC and Ian McNally from Hodge Foundry.
Premier Aluminum has opened a technology center for its customers and potential customers to come in and use MAGMASOFT® Simulation Software for the design and engineering of their castings.
Premier Aluminum, located in Racine, Wisconsin and part of Ligon Industries LLC, is an ISO 9001-2008 certified permanent mold aluminum casting and machining shop. Premier has a reputation for partnering with its customers to find flexible and cost-effective solutions to a variety of product problems.
Hodge Foundry, founded in 1876 and located in Greenville, Pennsylvania, is an internationally-recognized specialty engineering foundry that manufactures high quality complex gray and ductile iron castings.
For more information on this release, please contact:
Christof Heisser
President
MAGMA Foundry Technologies, Inc. 10 N. Martingale Road, Suite 425 Schaumburg, IL 60173
Phone +1 847-969-1001 ext. 225 Email: cheisser@magmasoft.com Web: www.magmasoft.com
Agency contact for MAGMA:
Wendy McCormick
Bernard & Company, Palatine, Illinois (Chicago) USA +1 847 934 4500 wendy@bernardandcompany.com
Continue readingWisconsin foundry prospering from its use of technology, including MAGMASOFT® simulation software for metalcasting
Schaumburg, IL – Premier Aluminum is an ISO 9001-2008 certified permanent mold aluminum casting and machine shop in Racine, Wisconsin with a reputation for partnering with its customers to find flexible and cost-effective solutions for a variety of products. The company serves the quantity casting market, from a few hundred castings per year to annual volumes of fifty thousand and more. Premier positions its capability in the market as a one-stop shop for finished machined, permanent mold aluminum castings.
Premier has invested in all necessary tools and facilities to enable full collaborative engineering with its customers. Its current goal is to achieve the desired casting quality by further reducing costs and decreasing time to market for its customers. This progressive approach to working with customers by utilizing advanced technical tools in an R&D facility will now be referenced as the Technology Center at Premier Aluminum.
The Technology Center will now be available to any Premier customer or potential customer who wishes to work closely with the Premier Engineering Team to quickly and accurately develop new products or re-engineer already existing ones. Its engineering team boasts 50+ years experience in metalcasting, plus the latest advancements in the aluminum foundry industry. To better serve its customers, Premier employs such advanced software as Solidworks, MAGMASOFT® and other engineering tools to enhance customer confidence in tool life, product quality and efficient manufacturing processes, through a more predictive and trackable engineering protocol.
One of the company’s most effective engineering tools is MAGMASOFT®, provided by MAGMA Foundry Technologies, which is a software used to assist engineers, designers and buyers in the metalcasting industry. Premier’s engineering group utilizes MAGMASOFT® to optimize the casting design as well as to refine the casting process from the outset. MAGMASOFT® blends science, technology and experience from diverse areas of the casting process to create a package that utilizes the complex physics of casting to simulate the results prior to creating the mold. This technology-based strategy, combined with years of experience serving the global foundry market, allows Premier to optimize its designs for castability, quality and overall lowest cost.
In today’s environment, Premier is seeking all possible ways to be competitive and work together to find solutions that ultimately benefit the entire supply chain. Supply chain efficiency reduces time to market and engineering costs, emphasizes collaboration and yields sound manufacturing processes that will increase customer competitiveness. The company is committed to this technology-driven approach and seeks the opportunity to share it with current customers and prospects alike.
Premier’s sales manager, Kevin Kelly, is currently inviting customers and prospects to send their product experts to the Technology Center for an opportunity to collaborate with the company’s engineers on any new products or existing designs. During the visit, customer or prospect teams will be able to access the Internet, collaborate face-to-face with Premier’s engineering staff, gain knowledge of the aluminum casting processes and utilize any of the technology tools, especially MAGMASOFT®, to bring their product to market faster, more efficiently and at a lower overall cost.
For more information on this announcement, please contact:
Kevin Kelly – Sales Manager PREMIER ALUMINUM 3633 S. Memorial Dr. Racine, WI 53403 Phone: 262-554-2100, Ext. 130 Email: kevin.kelly@premieraluminum.com Web: www.premieraluminum.com
OR
Steve Sikorski – Vice President of Applications & Technology MAGMA Foundry Technologies, Inc.
10 N. Martingale Road, Suite 425 Schaumburg, IL 60173 Phone 847-969-1001, ext. 223
Email: ssikorski@magmasoft.com Web:www.magmasoft.com
Agency contact: Tim Daro Bernard & Company 847-934-4500 tdaro@bernardandcompany.com
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The process orientation of MAGMA5 illustrated using die casting
During the upcoming GIFA 2011 show in Dusseldorf, Germany, Magma will present its new software generation for casting process simulation, MAGMA5. At the 300 sq. m stand 12A16, the company will demonstrate how casting process simulation with MAGMA5 can be used for optimization at all stages of casting manufacturing to contribute to foundry profitability. MAGMA will show the newest version MAGMA5 5.2 with extended capabilities for all cast materials and processes, introduce its new software MAGMA C+M for the simulation of the core production processes and provide a view into the future of autonomous optimization of casting processes. Additionally, MAGMA is participating in the initiative “ecoMetals” from the Messe Düsseldorf, which supports companies who develop innovative products and processes leading to a more efficient use of energy. MAGMA will demonstrate, using practical examples, how the application of casting process simulation considerably increases a foundry’s energy and resource efficiency.
MAGMA5 – optimized simulation
Autonomous optimization of casting processes and layouts, shown here for gating optimization in die casting, is the future of casting processsimulation.
MAGMA5 5.2 introduces several new simulation capabilities: new process modes for permanent mold, low pressure sand and low pressure die casting, as well both hot-chamber and cold-chamber die casting, allow for detailed process-specific definitions. The software also supports process design by controlling process parameters during a simulation run. For gravity casters, process modules for DISAMATIC and investment casting are now available.
At GIFA, MAGMA will also present its newest developments for the quantitative prediction of as-cast and heat treated local microstructures and properties in aluminum, iron and steel castings. MAGMA5 simulates sand and reoxidation inclusions during mold filling and predicts defects related to molding materials. MAGMAnonferrous calculates the final microstructure and mechanical properties for aluminum alloys considering the metallurgy, inoculation, and hydrogen content of the melt. MAGMAiron predicts local microstructures for iron materials from graphite growth through to the distribution of phases making up the matrix. MAGMAsteel calculates macrosegregation in steel castings and the local microstructure resulting from heat treatment.
The stress module MAGMAstress for the first time offers casters the option to calculate thermally induced casting stresses in permanent molds for all manufacturing steps, including heat treatment and finishing, in order to predict casting crack problems and distortion. The simulated distortion results can be evaluated just as on a coordinate measuring machine and compared directly with real measurements. For the first time, the new module MAGMAdielife facilitates the evaluation of the effects of tooling design and thermal stresses on the durability of permanent molds.
MAGMA Core+Mold – transparency in core production
With MAGMA C+M, the simulation of the core shooting process is possible for complex tools, shown here for three cores including blow tubes in a single core box.
With MAGMA C+M, MAGMA introduces an integrated tool for the simulation of core production processes. MAGMA C+M simulates core shooting, blowing and hardening of organic and inorganic cores. Processes where binder hardening is driven by a catalyst gas as well
as core production with tempered core boxes are supported. MAGMA C+M considers all aspects of core production starting from the core shooter, in order to calculate the flow of the air-sand mixture based on the real shot parameters. An integrated database provides the ability to specify the characteristics of the sand and the binder system as well as core box vents and blow tubes. The program simulates gassing, purging and the curing reaction of gas-hardened cores. The design and control of core box tempering for heat-cured cores (hotbox, croning, inorganic) is effectively supported by modeling of heating cartridges and oil channels. For inorganic cores, MAGMA C+M calculates the drying of the core in the heated core box as well as due to transport of water vapor by hot air during gassing. MAGMA C+M takes advantage of all the functionality of MAGMA5 and is available as an add-on module to MAGMA5 or asa stand-alone product.
Autonomous optimization is the future
With autonomous optimization, foundrymen can make use of simulation in order to pursue their objectives for quality and cost. Autonomous optimization makes proposals for the right casting layout or the optimum process parameters. The virtual test foundry in the computer enables variation of parameters and systematic examination of influencing variables leading up to the optimum configuration. Based on the fundamental physics embedded in MAGMA5, the program finds the best possible dimensions and positions of ingates, as well as the location of feeders and chills including their optimum size. Using industrial examples, MAGMA will present state-of-the-art capabilities and provide a view into the future of optimization.
MAGMA – very involved
At the accompanying WFO Technical Forum, MAGMA will give presentations on the topics of aluminum casting, core production, and optimization. At the NewCast exhibition, which takes place in parallel with GIFA, simulation specialists will discuss the prediction of residual stresses and distortion in cast iron components.
MAGMA also has a further exhibition stand (12A15) as part of the “Get-In-Form” project “Youth-Technology-Future” (“Jugend-Technik-Zukunft“). Here, the attractiveness of work as a professional or specialist in the metal casting industry will be illustrated to students and apprentices in an entertaining and interactive manner.
About software for casting process simulation
Casting process simulation software considers the complete casting process including mold filling, solidification and cooling, and also provides the quantitative prediction of mechanical properties, thermally induced casting stresses and the distortion of cast components. Simulation accurately describes a cast component’s quality upfront before production starts, thus the casting layout can be designed with respect to the required component properties. This results in a reduction in pre-production sampling, but also the precise layout of the complete casting system leads to energy, material and tooling savings for the foundry.
The range of application of MAGMA solutions comprises all cast alloys, from cast iron to aluminum sand casting, permanent mold and die casting up to large steel castings. The software supports the user in component design, the determination of melting practice and casting methodology through to mold making, heat treatment and finishing. This saves costs consequently along the entire casting manufacturing line.
During the last 10 years, the use of casting process simulation has become a valuable business asset for many foundries. MAGMA5 now expands the capabilities of casting process simulation and will further accelerate the acceptance of this technology.
About MAGMA
MAGMA offers comprehensive solutions to the metal casting industry, casting buyers and casting designers worldwide. The MAGMA product and service portfolio includes the powerful modular simulation software MAGMASOFT®,with the newest release MAGMA5, as well as engineering services for casting design and optimization.
Today, MAGMASOFT® is used throughout the metal casting industry, especially for the optimization of cast components in automotive and heavy industry applications.
MAGMA Giessereitechnologie GmbH was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Aachen, Germany. A global presence and support are guaranteed by offices and subsidiaries in the USA, Singapore, Brazil, Korea, Turkey, India and China. Additionally, more than 30 qualified partners represent MAGMA around the world.
For more information on this release, please contact:
Christof Heisser President MAGMA Foundry Technologies, Inc. 10 N. Martingale Road, Suite 425 Schaumburg, IL 60173 Phone 847-969-1001 ext. 225
Email: cheisser@magmasoft.com Web: www.magmasoft.com
Agency contact: Tim Daro Bernard & Company 847-934-4500 tdaro@bernardandcompany.com
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