AFS Corporate Member Boose Quality Castings has purchased a DISA MATCH 20/24, which was operational in October. The company reported that after two years of operating a DISA MATCH 16/20 machine, it has been able to profitably produce aluminum castings with high dimensional accuracy and excellent surface finish.

“We consistently saw weekly scrap rates of 4%-5% on jobs running on the old machines,” said Brandon Boose, vice president of operations at BQC. “That same product mix when switched over to the DISA machine runs less than 2% scrap on an average week, so our scrap percentages are a fraction of what they were before the DISA MATCH installation, which really is incredible. It’s even more impressive that it’s done this while producing up to 187 molds per hour.”

The company stated it is receiving a growing number of RFQs for previously die-cast components to be produced in green sand.

"We can now quote jobs we’ve never been able to quote before, typically jobs that would go to die cast right away,” said Boose. “We can really compete against permanent molds or die cast, even with extremely challenging products with deep pockets and complex geometries. Since we can have the higher volumes at the same time, we’re able to keep the cost down for customers.

European Foundry Sector sees marginal improvement

This November, the European Foundry Industry Sentiment Indicator (FISI) has recorded a slight increase, keeping the index stable but clearly below the threshold of 100 points, according to a report from CAEF The European Foundry Association. With an increase of 0.6 index points, the index now stands at 91.6, up from 91.0 last month.

The industry has managed to stop its downward trend in the past month, marking a significant halt to the negative development observed in 2023. The Index has stabilized just above the 90-point mark. Despite facing intense competition and operating in a challenging and pressurized industry environment, it is noteworthy that the sector is demonstrating resilience and holding up admirably well.

European Foundries are worried about how well they can compete internationally, especially with uncertainty about getting the materials they need.

The anticipation of rising carbon border prices, the critical raw material act (CRMA), and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) are casting a shadow over the upcoming year.

Meanwhile the Business Climate Indicator (BCI) stands at -0.39 index points in November. This marks the fifth consecutive time that the BCI is below the critical threshold of 0 index points. The index decreased once again by 0.06 points from -0.33. This month the negative BCI can be attributed to the situation of the assessment that export orders-book levels have worsened. The ongoing geopolitical tensions in both the Near East and Ukraine are playing a pivotal role in propelling this development.

The FISI––European Foundry Industry Sentiment Indicator–– is the earliest available composite indicator providing information on the European foundry industry performance. It is published by CAEF the European Foundry Association every month and is based on survey responses of the European foundry industry. The CAEF members are asked to give their assessment of the current business situation in the foundry sector and their expectations for the next six months. The BCI – Business Climate Indicator – is an indicator published by the European Commission. The BCI evaluates development conditions of the manufacturing sector in the euro area every month and uses five balances of opinion from industry survey: production trends, order books, export order books, stocks and production expectations.

More information is available at www.caef.eu.