US Castings Expands Permanent-Mold Casting

US Castings L.L.C., Entiat, WA, reports it has installed two new, Hall 3L multi-cavity permanent mold machines to its line of Stahl tilt-pour permanent molding machines. The company, a precision aluminum casting foundry, adds it expects the new equipment to increase its permanent-mold casting capacity by approximately 30%. Also, US Castings has added a 22-in. Mori Seiki, four-axis machining center, with automatic tool changing and multi-station loading capabilities, to its finishing operations. Another automated vertical machining center is on order. US Castings is a subsidiary of Advanced Metals Group L.L.C. that offers green-sand, lost-foam, permanent-mold and no-bake castings on a just-in-time basis to aviation, aerospace, military, and marine markets. Along with a recent upgrade of the plant’s lost-foam molding capabilities, including automation systems, US Castings says it expects the improvements to its green-sand molding equipment and adoption of lean manufacturing principles will reduce delivery lead times by as much as 40% for pattern-transfer tooling. It’s also updating other “value adding” services for its customers, including heat treating, coating, and in-house non-destructive testing. US Castings says the improvements are “further evidence of our continued commitment to follow through with various lean manufacturing initiatives which should increase quality, reduce lead time and eliminate inventory over-stocking for our customers. It also allows us to stay in line with the one-stop shopping theory of production.”