janet tierney

Advances in aluminium production

2010-02-24T02:53:00.000-08:00

DGI have made significant advances in the processing of aluminium investment castings which have resulted in a marked improvement in quality and repeatability.The key areas of development are in the shell type and construction with much tighter control of melting temperatures and use of de oxidants.We have always been able to produce good quality investment cast aluminium parts but we have now taken this to a new level, enabling us to produce more complex shapes with fine detail and thinner sections. Our post cast processing has also improved significantly which helps to protect the surface condition of the casting.

Health and Safety

2010-02-24T02:47:00.000-08:00

Manual handling is a major health and safety issue, not just for investment casting but for all areas of industry. With investment casting specifically, there is a need to keep mould sizes as big as possible in order to keep prices as keen as possible- and that means heavy moulds. DGI have invested heavily in manual handling aids including robotic mould transfer systems in the investment area and hydraulic handling equipment in other areas. The use of the robotic manipulator in the investment area also helps with lead times as the unit can run around the clock with minimal human input. It also ensures a high level of repeatability which adds to the over all quality of the components.

Manage the risk

2008-11-12T04:20:00.000-08:00

There are countless stories of the nightmare episodes of parts sourced from the Far East; wrong material, wrong shape, wrong month…..and when it eventually does arrive it can’t be used and can’t be returned!! You’ve probably had to buy a container load as well to get their attention, which has already been paid for in full!!

So how do you source a quality investment casting, commercial grade investment casting, sand casting or die casting supplier who is on the other side of the world and doesn’t speak much English? Try the web; but beware, all is not necessarily what it seems….and if you do find a decent foundry and actually go there and see it with your own eyes, how do you know for sure that your parts will be made there next time, or the time after?

The tales continue with initial samples being spot on, on time but this quickly deteriorates. And lets not forget, the Chinese are extremely good at producing what you ask for, but unless your instructions are crystal clear and all subjectivity removed, you may still be sampling this time next year. If the design won’t cast properly it won’t be challenged, and at best you will have variable quality.

And don’t forget the on costs; shipping, import duty, handling and storage fees, deferment, UK transport costs, inspection/ rework costs, scrap, storage, cash flow etc, etc.

DGI offer a guaranteed sourcing route from an engineering team with a combined 100 years experience in investment casting. Our aim is to supply an engineered solution which optimizes the design of the part and offers the most commercially viable option.

In short, this is risk management for processes that are technically demanding but if done correctly can offer huge rewards.
Some of the benefits we offer:

An impartial assessment of the project/ part- Right first time philosophy UK or China manufacturing options-Metallurgical advise- Lowest cost option- Delivered prices in Sterling- In house solid model design facility- FEA analysis- Bespoke casting simulation package -Quality assurance to ISO and TUV standards- PPAP and NDT- Dedicated quality, logistics and account managers -UK manufacturing facility backup -In house inspection and rework facility- Stocking facility- Credit facilities- Peace of mind; if it’s scrap, it’s our scrap and not yours!
So go for the very cheapest option and buy direct from China; or allow us to manage the risk on your behalf- the choice is yours.

Added value, reduced costs.

2008-11-12T04:13:00.000-08:00

DGI continue to manufacture investment castings from their facility in Manchester and offer a number of post operations such as machining, polishing and plating; some in house, others via approved sub contractors. But the business growth comes from the long established supply partnerships with foundries in the Far East, with the low cost manufacturing that benefits the high labour content processes of investment casting, commercial grade investment casting and sand casting.
Other less labour intensive processes such as machining, painting and plating do not offer the same level of savings over the base casting process but are, nevertheless, less expensive in the Far East. For this reason, wherever possible, DGI encourage their customers to add as much value as possible to the parts with the target to supply as near to finished as possible.
Not only do you make direct savings from the added processes, indirect savings from extra handling and transportation at this end.Which all adds to the total savings and keeps the responsibility for supply of good product in one place, rather than the “not our fault” philosophy that so often causes disruption to supply and costly scrap or rework at the wrong end of the process.
DGI’s technical input and quality management procedures are crucial in the supply chain of sourced parts from overseas, something that they have been perfecting now for nearly 10 years.

Seize the opportunity.

2008-11-12T01:50:00.000-08:00

Doom and gloom continues to make the headlines, costs escalating, companies losing turnover and profit, short time working and so on and so on. But at DGI we see a real opportunity to continue the ambitious growth that we have experienced over the last three years.
Our business model is simple but effective; low cost UK manufactured parts with a low controlled overhead for the “buy British” brigade, or where the numbers are low; lower cost sourcing from our supply partners in China with the proven quality management and procedures to guarantee a smooth transition for parts that are currently sourced from less commercially advantageous locations.
Investment castings, commercial grade investment castings and sand castings all benefit significantly from our proven supply routes in China; allied to the very best engineered solutions that we can offer to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks assosciated with low cost sourcing countries.
Commercial grade investment casting in particular offers huge benefits in designing or converting parts that were intended to be or already are fabricated parts.
So don’t withdraw and accept defeat; DGI can offer process solutions and cost reductions to enable you to get that competitive edge back and to regain that market share.

Expand the range.

2008-06-30T04:43:00.000-07:00

The Dean Group do not just offer investment castings or lost wax castings, the range encompasses commercial grade investment castings, sand castings and die castings.
As part of their pro active sourcing policy they are now able to source quality extruded parts in both aluminium and brass. Because extrusion has a relatively low labour content, savings over UK production are not as significant as with investment casting; however, if there are subsequent processes involved, drilling/ tapping of holes, cutting to length etc, significant savings are still possible.
This rule applies generally to all the process they source; the more added value that can be applied, the larger the savings. This is particularly true with investment castings where parts could be post machined, electo polished, mechanically hand polished, plated and assembled.

The key to sourcing success.

2008-06-30T04:40:00.000-07:00

In today’s global market a large percentage of the UK’s manufactured goods come from the Far East, where labour is still relatively cheap.
This is still particularly true where products, such as investment castings, have a large labour content in the manufacturing process.
The Dean Group have invested heavily in the latest manufacturing techniques, in automation and robotics, to try and remain competitive and our UK prices are still the most competitive on a like for like basis. But for larger volume work, the Far East still offer significant benefits for the lost wax process.
The key to success in sourcing from this region is to retain total control of the process parameters and quality procedures and this is where the Dean Group offers the most significant benefits over less technically able sourcing companies. The very reason for choosing the lost wax process for your parts is usually to achieve the very best quality part from a dimensional and surface finish aspect. Investment casting is a highly technical and multi staged process; failure to control any one aspect of this process will have an impact on the subsequent investment casting.
There are a vast number of potential sources in the Far East for investment casting but only a few that can offer the quality and service that we demand in the UK. There are less still that are interested in the smaller accounts. This is where the Dean Group scores again; as we already source a huge range of parts from our supply partners we are able to add relatively small accounts, and offer exactly the same benefits to our range of customers. As one of our supply partner’s largest customers we are able to demand the very best levels of service for our lost wax/ investment castings.

Lighter is better

2008-06-13T01:51:00.000-07:00

DGI have experienced significant growth in demand for aluminium investment castings in the last few months. Aluminium has always been a relatively small part of the UK investment casting portfolio, most of the lost wax casting being in carbon and stainless steel and other non ferrous materials.
DGI have been developing the process for aluminium casting and results are now significantly improved. The quality of investment casting that is now achieved is consistent and of extremely good quality. Minor surface finish issues that were experienced from time to time have now been overcome with subtle changes to the process.
DGI can now offer a wide range of investment cast aluminium parts with full confidence that yield and quality will be as high as other materials that are cast.

Why heat treat investment castings?

2008-06-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

Conventional lost wax castings are produced using a hollow ceramic shell. The metal is poured in and the mould is allowed to cool, either at room temperature or with forced air cooling. The resultant investment casting was a rather unrefined grain structure so to optimize the mechanical properties of the casting, various heat treatment processes are undertaken. This could be simply an annealing process or may be more involved with parts being soaked at a specific temperature and potentially oil or water quenched. Mechanical properties can be found in the technical section on DGI's web site.

What's in a name?

2008-06-09T08:47:00.000-07:00

Investment casting has been around for thousands of years and essentially, the technique is still the same today. A mould is produced in wax and this is "invested" into ceramic. Once the ceramic shell has been formed the wax is removed, usually with high pressure steam and this is where the term lost wax casting comes from. The process is then completed by firing the shell and pouring in the required material, removing the shell by vibration and shot blasting and applying any additional processes such as heat treatment, machining, plating or painting.

Why choose investment casting?

2008-06-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

Investment casting, or Lost wax casting as it is also known, is ideal for casting "near to shape parts" in a variety of high and low temperature materials including carbon steel, stainless steel, brass, bronze and aluminum.The accuracy achievable with investment castings reduces significantly the amount of machining required thus keeping the overall part price down.Whilst the process of investment casting is quite labour intensive the savings gained from reduced on processes makes it ideal for certain applications.

Credit crunch

2008-06-04T07:28:00.000-07:00

There maybe turbulent water ahead for many industries and control of costs will be ever more critical. One option has traditionally been to invest in technology to remove cost, however this may not be so easy with credit increasingly more expensive and companies wishing to keep their gearing down.

This maybe the time to take the plunge and talk to DGI about converting your components to precision investment castings. The lost wax production can then be sourced with our supply partners abroad. You will benefit from a well designed finished investment casting component at reduced cost without the need for expensive investment in capital equipment.

Looks like chrome plate.

2008-05-28T08:05:00.000-07:00

The investment casting process provides a very high quality of casting with exceptional surface finish. Because of this, stainless steel castings can be mechanically polished to create a finish which is virtually identical to a chrome plated finish.
To achieve the required base casting it’s essential that the process control is good and DGI use a casting simulation package to ensure they produce the very best investment castings which are free from porosity and surface defects. Once polished, even if the parts become damaged, they are relatively easily recovered with mechanical polishing. If plated, they would have to be stripped first, reworked and then re plated, which often makes it uneconomic and results in expensive scrap.
The process of mechanical, mirror polishing of investment castings is often used for furniture or decorative items including beer dispense pumps.

Add value, not cost with investment casting!

2008-05-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

Because the investment casting process can achieve such high accuracy and an extremely good surface finish, fine detail can be incorporated into the design at no additional cost.
With traditional methods of manufacture; fabrications, machined items, even sand and die casting, the more detail you add the more expensive the part becomes.
Investment casting tooling is normally manually assembled and as such a greater complexity is possible. This means that you can incorporate part numbers, company logos and traceability information into the investment casting tooling and even have change pieces within the tooling to facilitate similar but different parts.
Investment castings offer a viable alternative, especially when features can be cast in place that would ordinarily have to be added separately.

Steel costs continue to rise

2008-05-16T04:44:00.000-07:00

World steel prices continue to rise with the cost of iron ore pushing steel prices to record levels. Whilst this is a global problem, component costs can be managed by utilising lower cost labour countries such as China. DGI have a wealth of knowledge and expertise in producing, sourcing and managing investment casting products from China.

China rail link

2008-05-16T04:31:00.000-07:00

There is serious talk about a viable rail link between China and Germany. The track exists but until now the bureaucracy and border crossing issues negated any benefit from the conventional sea freight option.
Due to the massive increase of imports from China, the capacities of shipping and ports is reaching overload and this has brought the matter to a head.
A trial has recently been run with a container train which took only 18 days; compared to the 4 weeks or more by sea. DGI would welcome any improvement in delivery times for its casting products from China.

Casting assembly

2008-05-16T04:19:00.000-07:00

Internal labour costs continue to increase in the UK and many companies are looking to reduce costs by sub contracting simple assembly and packaging, and reducing their work force and overheads accordingly. Automation has been the other option to reduce the labour content but with the current credit crunch, FD's across the land are tightening the purse strings.
There is another simple and low cost option and that is to utilise our low cost sourcing partners, where the parts can be investment cast through the lost wax process, machined, plated and assembled under one roof- and they can be individually packed with part reference information as required.

Titanium castings

2008-05-08T10:09:00.000-07:00

Titanium has many excellent characteristics with strength similar to steel and weight benefits that make it ideal for the lost wax process, casting components for high tech applications. But it also has extremely good corrosion resistance properties which opens it up for off shore applications where components are in direct contact with salt water for prolonged periods of time.

Why use Duplex StSt

2008-05-08T09:59:00.000-07:00

Duplex StSt is primarily used in chemical plants and piping applications, the duplex stainless steels are developing rapidly today and have a microstructure of approximately equal amounts of ferrite and austenite. Duplex stainless steels typically contain approximately 22-25% chromium and 5% nickel with molybdenum and nitrogen. Although duplex and some austenitics do have similar alloying elements, duplexes have higher yield strength and greater stress corrosion cracking resistance to chloride than austenitic stainless steels.

Green issues

2008-05-08T09:57:00.000-07:00

The foundry industry has long been considered a high polluting and dirty industry. The nature of the process, the energy consumption and the process by-products all contribute to the picture and have been unchanged for many years.
As a responsible company and employer, Dean Group International have taken a pro active stance and are making huge strides to clean up the image of the business.
Commercial Director Carol Dean says "investment casting is a dirty business and it's very easy to fall into this trap and just accept it. But you can improve and change people's perceptions. We encourage everyone to take responsibility for their own areas, to keep the place clean and tidy and it hits home when visitors comment on the general cleanliness of the place. The philosophy starts at the shop floor and resonates through the business, form a paperless (or as close at it can be) office to recycling and reducing and controlling our emissions. There's a lot of talk out carbon footprints these days, this industry uses a lot of energy so we're doing our best to compensate for this in other ways."
In recognition of our efforts, DGI have just received a GOLD award from Salford City council for "Protecting and Improving Our Environment"

Innovative new Process

2008-05-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

DGI’s innovative new process for fabrication and sand casting is set to revolutionise the traditional UK fabrication and sand casting markets.
DGI’s commercial grade investment casting method offers many of the advantages of conventional investment casting but with far lower costs.
The new process has been used to great advantage within the commercial vehicle industry and is based on the investment casting or lost wax process, a relatively expensive but highly accurate form of casting parts in steel, iron or stainless steel and - parts that have been traditionally produced by cutting up sheet or plate steel to various sizes which are then fixtured and welded together can now be produced at costs similar to those of sand casting and the end product is free from weld splatter, sharp edges and burrs.
Until now, the options were either to fabricate or produce a low cost sand casting which would generally need machining to bring it in line with fit and function requirements. The new commercial grade investment casting process allows for complex shapes to be produced without the need for draft angles of tapers. Undercuts, internal pockets and thin sections are all possible without affecting the piece part price and the weight range is large - from 100 grams to 150 kilos – with castings of any size being possible.
Commercial grade IC is more accurate than sand casting and has a superior surface finish so that post machining is reduced. Because the part is cast, there is no waste material, there are fewer design constraints and design changes can usually be incorporated into the tooling at relatively low cost.
Each new casting design goes through DGI’s bespoke casting simulation package combined with their 3D CAD models and cosmos stress simulation to ensure that the best possible casting is achieved with added features such as weight relief, part numbers and company logos designed into the casting at no extra cost. The integrity of the part is assured and, because there is no welding involved, there is no potential for process variation from poor quality welds.
DGI is a family owned manufacturing and sourcing company with 35 years of knowledge and experience of servicing all types of industries including automotive, agricultural, industrial, hydraulic, construction, switchgear, transport, valves, lift equipment, architectural markets, defence, medical, electronics, ironmongery, leisure, transport, mechanical equipment and general engineering.
For more information on the ground-breaking new commercial grade investment casting, visit http://www.deangroup-int.co.uk/ or call 0161 775 1633