New Foundry Generation Forum generates significant productivity improvements

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The New Foundry Generation Forum (NFGF) was launched in 2013 to boost young leaders in the foundry industry and is a programme of the National Foundry Technology Network (NFTN), an initiative of the DTI.

During this year, NFGF members participated in front-end technologies and functional design training hosted by the Vaal University of Technology, Southern Gauteng Science and Technology Park at Sebokeng. Feedback was recently shared on three specific workshop modules held to demonstrate the latest technologies and how participants have applied them in their own workplaces.

Steve Jardine, NFTN Project Leader, said that the availability of simulation software and 3D printing at the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) is a major boost to the competitiveness of local foundries and related sectors. "Through the NFGF, we aim to equip and develop the next generation of foundry leaders. By exposing participants to front-end technologies and, more importantly, to the logic around functional design, foundries have been equipped to understand and engage their customers better. Ultimately, the impact is improved competitiveness," he said.

The hub for the NSN

VUT acts as the hub for the National Simulation Network (NSN), which provides a way for South African foundries to enjoy the benefits of simulation software at lower costs through links with institutions countrywide, which will serve as regional satellite facilities.

"The reality is that many companies in the foundry sector are SMEs. For small businesses, the costs of simulation software are prohibitive," said spokesman Jan Jooste, Director of Innovation of VUT, who heads up the VUT simulation facility. "But the benefits offered by simulation software are impressive, given the complex nature of production processes and the importance of integrated design."

One of the participants was able to scale down a large component to allow simulation and 3D printing, which, Jooste said, marks the first time this has been achieved.

The facility is a partnership between the Department of Science and Technology's Technology Localisation Implementation Unit (TLIU), hosting institution VUT, four regional universities and software and implementation partners Ametex/MAGMA.

Programme Manager Richard Beän, who is responsible for the TLIU's sector-wide initiative, said that foundries should take advantage of access to this technology. "The software can accurately describe the quality of a cast component up front, before production starts, allowing for the casting method to be efficiently designed at this stage. This benefit not only reduces pre-production sampling costs, but it also leads to energy, material and tooling savings as some of the NFGF members told us today," explained Beän.

For a number of participating foundries, the simulation and technology programme provided the first opportunity to work with their customers during the product development stages.

"The ability to engage meaningfully with customers at earlier stages of the process has significant benefits for both customers and for foundries to allow greater transparency and reliability during the production stage. This is the first time that industry training has been offered on all of these advanced manufacturing platforms as a series (Computer Aided Design (CAD), Idea 2 Product, Simulation, EOS, Fortus, Voxel Jet and Tooling Platforms)," concluded Jardine.