New Golfing Products. Golf is turning in to a popular sport in America. You could have tried it, and desired to perfect that full swing to get ahead of the game, many golfers, whether pro or amateurs had searched the …
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Aluminum die casting process
The process of aluminum die casting involves the injection of molten aluminum into molds or casts by using very high pressure. Four essential steps are undertaken in aluminum die casting, first of which is spraying the mold with lubricant and closing the die cast. The lubricant is used not only to facilitate casting removal but also to contribute in controlling the temperature of the die during the casting process.
Next, high pressure is used to inject or shoot the molten aluminum into the die. The pressure is maintained once the die is completely filled and the casting has solidified. After the casting has cooled enough, the dies are then opened and ejector pins remove the shots inside. Scraps are separated from the castings, oftentimes through a special trimming device in a hydraulic press or power press. Secondary operations may be necessary in some aluminum die casting that could entail plating, painting or buffing or tapping a hole in the cast parts.
The high-pressure injection is the most critical step in Aluminum die casting process. The entire cavity of the die cast or mold has to be completely filled with the molten aluminum before any of the casting’s part solidifies. If the injection or shot is swift enough, there won’t be casting discontinuities even in thin, difficult-to-fill sections of the die cast.
Kinetic Die Casting manufactures products like heatsink die casting, aluminum housings, and lighting fixtures. If you would like more information, please visit our website:Kinetic Die Casting Company
Auto supplier Contech LLC files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
Auto supplier Contech LLC files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
by Alex Nixon | Kalamazoo Gazette
PORTAGE, MI — Local auto supplier Contech LLC has filed for federal bankruptcy protection citing weakness in the automotive industry for its financial problems, the Portage-based company announced Friday.
Contech, which employs about 65 workers at its Portage headquarters and operates nine plants in four states, said it will reorganize its operations under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
“The move, which was made with the support of Contech’s key customers, will make it possible to relieve Contech’s strong underlying operations from significant debt obligations, sell certain non-core operations and address the unprecedented low volumes in the North American automotive industry by rationalizing its operational cost structure,” the company said in a written statement.
Contech is a metal-part casting company that supplies the parts automotive and heavy truck industries. It leases in the Trade Centre office complex in Portage. The company was acquired in 2007 by New York-based private equity firm Marathon Asset Management from Charlotte, N.C.-based SPX Corp. for $146 million.
In its statement, Contech said it’s “conducting normal business operations, and remains focused on serving its customers.”
It expects to use interim financing and cash flow from operations to continue making parts and paying employees, the company said. The company employs a total of 1,000 workers.
“This action is an integral part of our ongoing efforts to restructure Contech and meet the challenges of the automotive industry going forward,” Morris Rowlett, chairman and chief executive officer, said in the statement.
“Over the past year, we have faced the same challenges many of our competitors and colleagues in the automotive industry have faced resulting from significantly reduced production levels at our largest customers,” Rowlett said.
The company said its United Kingdom operations aren’t affected by the bankruptcy filing.
Kinetic Die Casting manufactures die cast parts for their customers. If you would like to know more about what is die casting or if you would like a quote, please visit our website:Kinetic Die Casting Company
Die Casting to Continue Contraction in 2009
Die Casting to Continue Contraction in 2009. When the U.S. sneezes, everyone catches a cold. At least in 2008 and for the foreseeable future, the U.S. economy has a significant impact on the rest of the world. However, basic conditions around the world are changing. Globalization is occurring, work time arrangements are becoming similar, consumption, lifestyle and production are all “leveling out” in every sector of the world. The term third-world country is becoming obsolete. World issues such as climate change, migration, income disparity and employee training are being discussed. Now, it is a matter of which countries have the greatest influence in the direction the world economy takes.
World economic growth from 2000 to 2008 averaged +3.8%/year. As a result of the U.S. recession, world economic growth of most economies is forecast to slow in 2009. The overall world economy will grow 3% in 2009. The slowdown is attributed to the housing and financial crisis in the U.S. and shortages in resources around the world. Estimates are that the downward trend will continue through 2009 and halfway through 2010.
The good news is that the surviving companies will be less leveraged, not be as “speculative,” have good internal checks/controls and have sound fiscal policies. These are all good attributes to deal with as suppliers or investors.
Kinetic Die Casting manufactures custom metal parts to their customer. If you would like more information about Kinetic Die Casting, please visit our website:Kinetic Die Casting Company
WHAT IS DIE CASTING?
WHAT IS DIE CASTING? The process of die casting provides the backbone to the functioning of the major heavy and even light metal industries and especially in developed economies such as the US. Most of the raw material parts in hardware, auto and locomotive industries are a product of this vital process. Here is simple and short guide get elemental knowledge about this technique.
To define in a simple layman tone, die casting is a process where at high pressure and controlled conditions, molten metal is poured or forced into casts or molds and consequently give them solid definite shapes for desired purposes.
THE FOUR STEP PROCESS
- The cast is readied for pouring in the molten metal. This is done by lubricating the walls of the mold so that when the metal solidifies it is easier to take it out. The lubricant also helps in maintaining the perfect temperature for the process.
- Next the liquid metal is forced into the cast; a more technical terminology would be “shooting” the molten metal inside. It is very important that the constant high pressure is maintained at this stage. The pressure is usually ranged from 1500 to 2500 psi.
- The next step is to open the cast and then the shot/shots are taken out using ejector pins.
- The last step is to separate all the waste or scrap such as gate, runner, sprues form the pure cast of the metal.
The cast which are used are preferably made out of non ferrous metals such as copper, zinc, magnesium, aluminum and the like. In the present day the demand for aluminum products is sky high and so is the supply through aluminum die casting.
Kinetic Die Casting makes great quality aluminum, and Zinc Die Casting If looking for a job or would like a quote please visit our website:Kinetic Die Casting Company
Lost Manufacturing Jobs in California
Two months ago, more than 300 people were employed at the site making engine parts for trucks and heavy machinery for Gregg Industries, which is owned by Neenah Enterprises Inc. in Wisconsin.
But a settlement with the South Coast Air Quality Management District required Gregg to spend $5 million on factory improvements, so the company decided instead to leave the state. Company spokesman Adan Ortega Jr. said Gregg didn’t want to make the payment in the difficult economic climate.
Gregg is part of the parade of companies marching out of California. The state lost 79,000 manufacturing jobs between 2003 and 2007, while seven other states with a meaningful percentage of U.S. manufacturing gained 62,000, according to a report scheduled to be released today by the Milken Institute.
The report blames the state’s onerous regulations and high taxes in particular for pushing businesses elsewhere.
“The picture is not pretty,” said Perry Wong, senior managing economist at the Milken Institute, which received funding from the California Manufacturing and Technology Assn. for the study.
The state is shedding manufacturing jobs at a faster pace than the nation as a whole, the report said. Though many jobs left the country in the 2002 recession, states such as Arizona, Nevada and Oregon saw an increase in manufacturing employment in 2003.
Part of the problem, Wong said, is that regulations change so often in California that it’s difficult for companies to plan. The state enacted an average of 15 changes in labor law each year from 1992 to 2002, four times more than state legislatures averaged nationwide.
California also often requires projects to be approved in many different jurisdictions, so that a plan vetted by the state could be sidetracked by the county, Wong said.
Not everybody agrees with the report’s conclusion. Christopher Thornberg of Beacon Economics said manufacturing output has been as high as ever in the state and that there’s no evidence that jobs are going to other states.
“At least up to the last couple of years, the pace of job loss in manufacturing in California was no different than anywhere else,” he said, basing his calculations on the state gross domestic product, the value of goods and services made in the state.
California GDP grew last year despite the global financial crisis, said Brian McGowan, the state’s deputy secretary for economic development and commerce. And green-energy jobs in the state have grown at a rate 10 times faster than total job growth since 2005. To evaluate a state’s business climate, he said, companies should focus on workforce skill, availability of capital and overall quality of life, rather than just on taxes and regulatory costs.
Still, Gregg Industries in large part blames the frustrating regulatory environment for its fate. Ortega said a few neighbors complained that the factory smelled, calling the AQMD hotline frequently. He said inspectors began to harass Gregg employees, citing the company for odor nuisances on days when machines weren’t even running.
“The agency here was accusatory and threatening,” Ortega said. “Workers lost their jobs because we couldn’t meet an arbitrary standard of nuisance odors.”
The Milken report also broke down the job losses by sectors. Cut-and-sew apparel manufacturing lost 45,000 jobs since 2000, the computer and electrical product industry cut 70,000 and the printing industry shed 23,500. The report calculates that if manufacturing had maintained its 12.8% share of employment in the state, nearly half a million jobs paying an average of $57,000 a year would have been preserved.
To prevent more departures, the study recommends creating incentives for innovation, assisting companies in obtaining capital, investing in workforce development and establishing an office to streamline the regulatory process.
Heftier incentives might have motivated SolarWorld, a manufacturer of solar technology founded in Camarillo, to keep more jobs in the state. It decided to consolidate its wafering and cell manufacturing in Oregon after that state offered incentives, such as property tax abatement and business energy tax credits, said Bob Beisner, a company vice president. SolarWorld will employ 1,000 in Oregon by 2011. It will also keep some jobs in California.
“The price of land in California was extraordinary, and the incentives that the state was willing to talk about were few,” he said.
The business community fears that the exodus might quicken with the implementation of more regulations, such as one that would cut warming emissions in the state to 1990 levels by 2020. The California Chamber of Commerce has labeled that law a job killer.
The state Assembly Committee on Jobs, the Economy and Economic Development plans to hold a hearing June 30 on the departure of manufacturing jobs. In April, Assemblyman Dan Logue (R-Marysville) brought 13 legislators to Nevada to talk to business owners who had been lured there from California.
“We have to stop the hemorrhaging,” he said. “We have to make California business-friendly again.”
