2005IFC_SurveyComputersFoundry

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December 2004

Technical paper for presentation at the

53rd

Indian Foundry Congress, Kolkata, January 2005

SURVEY OF COMPUTER APPLICATIONS

IN INDIAN FOUNDRY INDUSTRY:

BENEFITS AND CONCERNS

Dr. B. Ravi,Associate Professor

Durgesh Joshi,Research Scholar

Rahul Chougule,Research Scholar

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology,

Powai, Mumbai 400076

ABSTRACT

We present the results of a survey on computer applications in Indian foundry

industry to assess the level of penetration, as well as their benefits and concerns in

implementation. The survey was conducted over the last five years (2000-2004)

covering 128 participants belonging to 104 organisations from all over the country.

This included 77 foundries and tool-makers, 14 original equipment manufacturers,

and 13 consultants, researchers and teachers. The foundries represented all major

metals, processes and capacities. The survey showed a rapid increase in the

penetration of computer applications. Today 94% are using Internet, 71% are using

CAD/CAM, 65% are using planning software and 18% are using simulation. The

benefits of CAD/CAM are mainly felt for faster development and cost reduction;simulation for quality assurance and yield improvement; and planning, internet and

collaboration for cost reduction and customer satisfaction. Interestingly, the perceived

extent of benefits and bottlenecks has changed over the last five years. In 2000, for

both CAD/CAM and simulation, the major concerns were initial cost and technical

manpower. By 2004, these concerns rapidly diminished for CAD/CAM, but not for

simulation. On the other hand, technical support, which was not considered important

in 2000, has become a major concern now. The details are presented in the paper.

1. MOTIVATION AND METHODOLOGY

Information technology has changed the way products are designed, produced and

delivered today. A stream of new software products and services are enabling

continuous improvement in product quality and cost, while compressing the lead time

for development. Today, a number of computer applications are available for the

foundry industry [1-3]. Ironically, while a large number of Indians are working in

software firms abroad, and are also providing related services to manufacturing firms

there, the penetration of IT solutions in Indian manufacturing continues to be limited,

especially in the foundry industry.


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To spread awareness about the computer applications in foundry industry, we have

been conducting continuing education programmes for practicing engineers for more

than ten years. Since 2000, we also started administering a survey questionnaire to the

participants of such courses to obtain their feedback, gain a better insight about the

penetration of computer applications in Indian foundry industry, and to understand the

benefits and concerns involved. The participants (totalling 128 so far) represented 103

foundries, toolmakers, original equipment manufacturers, CAD/CAM firms, researchorganisations and engineering colleges from all over the country. The questionnaire

included four major areas of computer applications listed below, along with specific

application in each major area.

CAD/CAM: Solid modelling, tooling (pattern/mould) design and tool pathgeneration for manufacture on CNC machines.

Casting simulation: Feeder and gating system design, and simulation of mouldfilling and casting solidification.

Manufacturing Planning: Materials requirement planning, scheduling, costestimation, and quality control and management.

Internet and Collaboration: E-mail (for communication with employees,customers and suppliers), company website, design data exchange over LAN and

Internet, design for manufacture and concurrent engineering.

For each type of application, the participants gave their feedback about the benefits

and concerns. If an organisation did not yet implement a computer application in a

particular area, then the participant was requested to provide the perceived benefits

and concerns in implementing that application. The participants selected one or more

of the following options:

Benefits: Cost reduction, higher yield, lower rejections, faster development, andcustomer satisfaction.

Concerns: Initial cost, maintenance cost, technical support, trained manpower.In addition, the profile of the organisation in terms of types of castings handled:

metal, geometric complexity, size/weight range, and production capacity was also

obtained. The detailed questionnaire is given in Appendix 1.

2. PROFILE OF THE ORGANISATIONS

The total number of participants providing their feedback over the last five years

(2000-2004) was 128. Table 1 gives the year-wise distribution of the participants. A

few participants were from the same organisation, and the total number of

organisations covered was 104. This included 73 foundries, 4 tool-makers, 14 original

equipment manufacturers, and 13 CAD/CAM consultants, researchers and teachers.The complete list of organisations, segregated year-wise, is given in Appendix 2.

Foundries covered in the survey had a wide range of processes, cast metals and

application areas (see Table 2). The sum of percentage values for each of these can be

more than 100% as many foundries have more than one type of metal, process and

application areas. Of these, 70% were ISO9000/QS9000 certified. Capacity-wise,

about 35% foundries had less than 1000 tonnes/year production, 34% had 1000-5000

tonnes/year, and 31% had over 5000 tonnes/year.


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Original equipment manufacturers included organizations manufacturing automobile,

automobile components, machine tools, motors & generators, pumps & valves, heavy

equipment, railways and defence sector. The group of consultants, researchers and

teachers included participants providing assistance to the foundry sector in terms of

consultancy, R&D and training. Most of the consultants were from CAD/CAM

service firms, some with special groups handling tool design and casting simulation.

Table 1: Distribution of participants

Type of participants \ Year 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 Total

Foundry and tool-makers 22 13 18 19 15 87

Original equipment manufacturers 10 7 3 0 0 20

Consultants, researchers, teachers 8 2 9 1 1 21

Total 40 22 30 20 16 128

Table 2: Profile of foundries covered in the survey (percent wise)

Casting Processes Cast Metals Applications

Sand Moulding 69 Grey Iron 57 Auto components 68

Shell Moulding 31 Ductile Iron 29 Pumps & Valves 49

Pressure Die Casting 23 Stainless Steel 12 Motors & Generators 37

Gravity Die Casting 18 Carbon Steel 12 Machine Tools 32

Investment Casting 6 Aluminium 45 Farming & Mining 25

Centrifugal Casting 5 Copper 15 Railways 23

Full Mould 2 Zinc 9 Defence 20

Flaskless Moulding 2 Tin 9 Others 17

Magnesium 5

Others 6

3. SURVEY RESULTS AND INSIGHTS

The survey provided several valuable insights into the penetration and perceptions

regarding computer applications in Indian foundry industry. Table 3 presents the

distribution of different types of computer applications in the foundry industry. The

report of participants showed a gradual increase in the use of CAD/CAM, planning

and Internet/collaboration software in their organisations over the last 4 years. The

use of CAD/CAM increased from 32% (in 2001) to 71% (in 2004). Similarly,

planning software increased from 37% to 65%. Interestingly, there seems to have

been a healthy investment in all computer applications in 2000: 50% of participants

reported CAD/CAM applications, 43% simulation, 71% planning and 57% Internet.

This sharply fell in the following year (especially for simulation software: 16%, and

planning software: 37%), perhaps owing to the dotcom meltdown and depressed

markets. The trend continued in 2002 with lower reported penetration of Internet and

planning software, but somewhat compensated by increased spending in simulation

software, which increased to 33%. However, the absolute penetration of casting

simulation software continues to remain low: still less than 20% in the last two years.

Some of these trends are evident from the results in Figure 1.


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Table 3: Penetration of computer applications in foundry industry

Year 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 Total

Organisations 17 12 15 19 14 77

CAD/CAM 12 (71%) 6 (50%) 5 (33%) 6 (32%) 7 (50%) 36 (47%)Simulation 3 (18%) 2 (17%) 5 (33%) 3 (16%) 6 (43%) 19 (25%)

Planning 11 (65%) 3 (25%) 3 (20%) 7 (37%) 10 (71%) 34 (44%)

Net/Collab. 16 (94%) 8 (67%) 5 (33%) 10 (53%) 8 (57%) 47 (61%)

Fig. 1: Growth of computer applications in foundry industry

The benefits and concerns related to computer applications, as experienced or

perceived by the participants of this survey, are given in Table 4. The benefits of

CAD/CAM are experienced mainly in terms of shorter development time (41% of

foundries and 75% of OEMs), followed by cost reduction (30% of foundries and 50%

of OEMs). The benefits of planning are felt more in cost reduction and customer

satisfaction, and here too, felt more strongly by participants from OEMs (45% and

65% for the two benefits, respectively) than those from foundries (29% and 25%).

The benefits of Internet and collaboration are felt equally in terms of fasterdevelopment and customer satisfaction, and by foundries (36%) as well as OEMs

(45%). Simulation appears to help more in terms of lower rejection, higher yield and

faster development. In this case, the perceptions of both foundries are OEMs are

almost equal (32% and 30%, respectively).

2004

2004

2004

2004

2003

2003

2003

2003

2002

2002

2002

2002

2001

2001

2001

200

1

2000

2000

2000

2000

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

CAD/CAM Simulation Planning Internet /

Collaboration


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Fig. 2: Benefits and concerns in various computer applications for foundries

Table 5: Variation in foundry perceptions over last 5 years (percent wise)

Benefits Experienced

or Perceived

Concerns in

Implementation

YearComputer

Application

Cost

Reduction

HigherYield

Lower

Rejection

Faster

Development

Customer

Satisfaction

Initial

Cost

Maintenance

Technical

Support

Trained

Manpower

CAD/CAM 27 18 18 64 50 5 0 41 23

Simulation 27 27 27 45 23 32 9 23 27

Planning 36 9 9 32 32 18 9 18 232004

Net/Collaboration 14 5 5 55 50 23 18 18 27CAD/CAM 38 15 15 85 23 31 0 38 31

Simulation 23 23 23 38 23 31 8 31 23

Planning 38 15 8 31 38 15 8 15 312003

Net/Collaboration 15 0 15 54 46 23 15 23 23

CAD/CAM 6 6 6 17 11 17 0 11 17

Simulation 28 28 28 28 28 11 0 6 17

Planning 17 0 17 17 17 0 0 17 172002


CAD/CAM 37 11 11 37 32 42 11 37 26

Simulation 42 32 37 37 37 37 5 21 16

Planning 16 5 5 5 16 11 5 16 212001


CAD/CAM 47 20 27 7 20 33 13 27 47

Simulation 33 53 47 7 20 40 13 33 33

Planning 40 13 13 0 27 13 20 7 132000



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lower rejections and higher yield (27% each). For planning software, the major

benefits reported today are cost reduction (36%), customer satisfaction (32%) and

faster development (32%). The benefits of Internet and collaboration applications are

faster development (55%) and customer satisfaction (50%).

4. CONCLUSION

After a hesitant start in 2000-2001, Indian foundry industry has made rapid progress

in exploring and adopting computer applications in the last three years. There is now a

high penetration of low-cost applications such as Internet/E-mail and manufacturing

planning, followed by a medium penetration of medium-cost applications including

CAD/CAM, and low penetration of high end software such as simulation. The

concerns of adequate technical support and trained manpower continue to be high,

especially for recent or advanced applications. These need to be addressed by

developing engineering courses (for students) and continuing education programmes

(for practicing engineers) covering computer applications in manufacturing, including

metal casting. We also found that the penetration of high end applications such as

simulation and collaboration programs is much lower in smaller foundries whencompared with medium and large foundries. In the short term, this problem can be

overcome by setting up co-operative CAD/CAM centers near foundry clusters [4]. For

the long term, we need to embark on indigenous development of low-cost software

solutions suitable for SME foundries. For this purpose, collaborative ventures must be

initiated by all stake-holders: foundries, OEMs, consultants and academia, without

further delay.

REFERENCES

1.

B. Ravi, Internet: Millenium Mantra for Metalcasters, 49

th

Indian FoundryCongress, Institute of Indian Foundrymen, New Delhi, February 2001.

2. B. Ravi, CAD/CAM Revolution for Small and Medium Foundries, 48thIndianFoundry Congress, Institute of Indian Foundrymen, Coimbatore, February 2000.

3. B. Ravi, "Computer-Aided Casting - Past, Present and Future," 47th IndianFoundry Congress, Institute of Indian Foundrymen, Calcutta, January 1999.

4. B. Ravi, Cooperative CAD/CAM Centers, Foundry, May-June 2001.


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Appendix I: Survey Questionnaire

COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN INDIAN FOUNDRY INDUSTRY - 2004

Introduction: Information Technology (Computers+Communication) is changing the

way companies conduct their business. Several computer applications for metalcasting have appeared in the last decade, and many companies worldwide have

embraced them with significant results.

Objectives: This questionnaire will help us in identifying the vision, strengths and

concerns of Indian manufacturing sector in terms of computer applications for casting.

We request you to fill this up carefully and as correctly as possible, and return it to us.

Results: The feedback will be analyzed to determine the best and average values of

participating companies. Participants will be given a copy of these results. This will

provide a direct benchmark for comparing your company against the average and the

best values (company names will be withheld).

Confidentiality: The information provided by you will be kept strictly confidential.

Contact address: Prof. B. Ravi, Mechanical Engineering Department,

Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, Mumbai - 400 076

Phone: (022) 2576 7510

E-mail:[email protected]

PART A: COMPANY AND CONTACT ADDRESS:

Company Details:

Company Name:.

Address:.....

City: State:..

Pin Code: Website:

Contact Person (Participant):

Name:.

Designation:

Phone: Fax:.

E-mail:


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PART B: COMPUTER APPLICATIONS (tick one or more appropriate choices)

Benefits

experienced

or perceived

Concerns in

implementation

Computer Aided

Applications

Tick

ifimplemented

System

Name

Costreduction

Higheryield

Lowerrejection

Fasterdevelopment

Customersatisfaction

Initialcost

Maintenancecost

Technicalsupport

Trainedmanpower

Accounting

ISO 9000 documents

3D modeling (CAD)

CNC planning (CAM)

Gating/feeding design

Solidificn. simulation

Mold filling simulation

Rapid prototype tooling

Materials planning

Scheduling

Cost estimation

Microstructure analysis

Defect analysis system

Company website

Drgs/quotes by e-mail

Internal network (LAN)

DFM/CE system

PART C: CASTING CAPABILITY (FOR FOUNDRIES):

1. Which is the most commonly used casting process in your foundry?

Sand Mold Shell Mold Permanent Mold

Die Casting Full Mold (EPC) Investment Casting

Flask less Centrifugal Other_________


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2. Specify the types of metal handled by your foundry.

Gray Iron Malleable Iron Ductile Iron

Stainless Steel Carbon Steel Other _________

Aluminium Magnesium Copper

Zinc Tin Other _________

3. What is the total installed capacity of the foundry. _______________ tons / year.

4. What percentage of capacity was utilized last year. __________%.

5. Castings exported: By weight: __________%. By value: __________%.

6. How many orders are of jobbing type (number of new projects/year)? __________.

7. Order sizes: Minimum_______ Typical __________ Maximum _________

8. What is the lead-time from customer inquiry to sample casting acceptance?

Minimum_______ Typical___________ Maximum__________

9. Casting size (kg)? Minimum________ Typical________ Max__________

10. What is the wall thickness of castings handled by your foundry (in mm)?

Minimum_______ Typical________ Maximum________

11. What is the maximum mold box size used in your foundry? __________

12. What are the main applications of your castings:

Automobile Agriculture/Mining Railways

Pumps & Valves Machine Tools Motors & Generators

Defense Other: ____________________

13. Main customers (names): 1: _________________ 2: _________________

3: _________________ 4: _________________

14. Number of employees? Permanent _________ Temporary _________

15. Annual turnover of your foundry? ___________ (Rs lakhs)

16. What types of molding equipment are used in your foundry?

Hand molding Squeeze Jolt Squeeze

Impact High Pressure Hot Chamber

Cold Chamber Other__________

17. Indicate the most commonly used mold type.

Horizontally Parted Vertically Parted

18. What types of core making processes are available in your foundry?

No Bake Hot Box Cold Box

Box Shell CO2(Sodium Silicate) Others __________


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19. Sand preparation facility? Manual Mechanized Sand Plant

20. What type of furnace is used to melt the metal?

Cupola Induction Electric Arc

Oil and gas fired Other __________

21. Method of pouring the metal? Manual Controlled Automatic

22. Does your foundry have in-house facility for:

Pattern-making Heat treatment Machining

23. Quality certification? ISO 9000 QS 9000 Certified Supplier

24. What types of testing facilities are available in your foundry?

Sand Lab Physical Lab Chemical Lab

Radiography Ultrasonic Dye penetration

Pressure testing Spectrometer Other___________

25. Name any awards received: ________________________________________

26. How process planning is done in your factory?

Manually (Hand written) Based on WORD or EXCEL templates

Using computer program for process planning

27. Process planning is used for the following purposes in your foundry:

ISO documentation Cost estimation Scheduling

Defect diagnosis Other____________________

28. How do you assess the performance of your foundry?

Capacity utilization (%) Total rejections (%)Sample delivery time

Cost per product or per kg Average yield On-time delivery

Inquiries/fulfillment ratio Other____________________

29. Percentage of major defects in your foundry:

Dimensional (_____) Surface (_____) Internal (_____)

Shape (_____) Other____________________

30. Percentage of defects that can be prevented by minor changes to product design.

Up to 25% 25-50% Over 50%

31. At which stage do you have more defects (indicate approximate percentage inbrackets)?

Shake out (_____) Fettling (_____) Inspection (_____)

Machining (_____) During use (_____)

32. How does your company manage the past experience/knowledge gained over the

years?

Hire retired employees as consultants Systematic documentation

Other________________________________________________


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Appendix II: Organisations represented by survey participants

Foundries and Tool-makers

Year 20041. Anant Enterprises, Pune2. Atlas Automotive Pvt. Ltd, Pune3. Bhillai Engineering Corporation Ltd.,

Bhillai

4. Controllorate of Quality Assurance,Chennai

5. Crompton Greaves Ltd., Mumbai6. Kirloskar Brothers Ltd., Dewas7. Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd., Pune8. Laxmi Oil Pumps & Systems Pvt. Ltd.,

Solapur

9. Mahalaxmi Auto Industries, Jamshedpur10. Mahindra & Mahindra (Auto.) Ltd.,

Mumbai11. Mutha Founders Pvt. Ltd., Satara12. Pooja Engineers, Ahmedabad13. Prevail Casting Pvt. Ltd., Rajkot14. Shanthala Spherocast Pvt. Ltd., Shimoga15. Shreeram Engineers, Mumbai16. Swastik Casting Pvt. Ltd., Jaipur17. Synergies Dooray Automotive Ltd.,

Vizag.

Year 2003

1. India Pistons Ltd., Chennai2. Kirloskar Brothers Ltd., Sangli3. Marshall Castings Ltd., Faridabad4. Pee Cee Castings Pvt. Ltd., Faridabad5. Porwal Auto Components Ltd., Pithampur6. Praga Die Casting & Metal Ind., Mumbai7. Raneka Industries Ltd., Indore8. Rapsri Engg. Ind. Ltd., Bangalore9. Sahayog Founders & Engineers, Pune10. Sansu Automotives Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore11. Sri Bhavani Castings Ltd., Kakinada12. Swastik Metal Castings, AlwarYear 2002

1. Chougule Industry, Kolhapur2. Dr. Dinesh & Ramesh Engineers Pvt. Ltd,

Ahmedabad

3. DRDL, Hyderabad4. Entek Corporation, Mumbai5. Ghatge Patil Industries, Kolhapur6. HAL, Foundry and Forge Division,

Bangalore7. Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd., Solapur

8. Magna Electro Castings Ltd., Coimbatore9. Mahle Migma Ltd., Indore10.New United Metal & Engg. Work,

Mumbai11. Pranjape Autocast Pvt. Ltd., Satara12. RBD Engineers, Gandhinagar13. Satish Pattern work, Mumbai14. Shakti Auto Component Ltd., Erode15. Sundaram Clayton Ltd., ChennaiYear 20011. Ambica Enterprise, Vadodara2. Anurang Engineering Co. Pvt. Ltd., Pune3. Business Combine Ltd., Nasik4. Bajaj Electricals Ltd., Aurangabad5. Birla Perucchini Ltd., Aurangabad6. Fluid controls, Baroda7. Ichalkaranji Mettalloy, Ichalkaranji8. Indo German Tool Room, Aurangabad9. ISGEC, Yamunanagar10. Jay Metal Tech., Surat11. Laxmi Pattern Works, V.V. Nagar12. Mutha Founders Pvt. Ltd, Satara13.Nodule cast, Vadodara14. Prakash Foundries, Vadodara15. Rajdeep Engineers, Baroda16. Sanjay Founders Pvt. Ltd., Ichalkaranji17. Shakti Foundry, Baroda18. Simplex Casting Ltd., Raipur19. Southern Auto Casting Pvt. Ltd., ChennaiYear 20001. Aquasub Engineering, Coimbatore2. Autokast Ltd, Alappuzha3. Autoshell Casts Pvt. Ltd., Coimbatore4. DMRL, Hyderabad5. Escorts Mahle Ltd., Bangalore6. FIE Spherotech, Ichalkaranji7. Flow link Systems Pvt. Ltd., Coimbatore8. Gas Turbine Research Estt., Bangalore9. HAL Foundry & Forge Div., Bangalore10. Laxmi Automatic Loam Work Pvt. Ltd.,

Hosur

11. Laxmi Machine Works Ltd., Coimbatore12. Sage Electrical, Pune13. Simplex Casting Ltd, Bhillai14. Texmo Precision Castings, Coimbatore


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