We're doing our part to get the local community interested in manufacturing! By working with local schools, we're introducing the next generation to the manufacturing industry with field trip tours, guest speaker visits, and free classroom education materials. CHAPTERS  00:00 - 00:39 Intro  00:39 - 1:05 Today's Topic  1:05 - 1:44 Welcome Panelists  1:44 - 5:32 Field Trips  5:32 - 12:17 MFG Books, Stickers, Activities  12:17 - 13:42 Our Advice  13:42 - 14:14 Outro Batesville Products: https://batesvilleproducts.com/

A more informed customer is a better customer! That's why we educate our customers about the manufacturing process with guides, videos, and of course podcasts.   But a company is only as strong as it's employees! Here's why our new employee training program works: our employees actually WANT to participate in it! Our Pay4Skill program incentivized and rewards learning. Thank you to our Batesville Products panelists:  Kim Haines, Human Resources Manger Tim Williams, National Sales Manager Johnathan Johnson, Regional Sales Manager Rachel Weber, Regional Sales Manager Tim Weber, VP of Marketing Mary Jutzi, Digital Marketing Associate CHAPTERS  00:00 - 00:39 Intro 00:39 - 1:51 Welcome Panelists 1:51 - 3:57 Engineering Resources 3:57 - 4:57 FREE Design Guide 4:47 - 6:44 Employee Training Programs 6:44 - 10:35 Pay4Skill Employee Training 10:35 - 11:17 Outro

No one wants defective metal castings. Learn how to identify and prevent 6 common porosity defects!  Surface PorosityReaction PorosityGas Hole PorosityOxide InclusionsShrinkage PorosityHydrogen Gas Porosity Thank you to our special guests at Porosity Solutions: https://porositysolutions.com/ Brad Hohenstein - Porosity Solutions FounderErnie Coberly - Porosity Solutions Instructor And your friends at Batesville Products: https://batesvilleproducts.com/ Monty Fullerton - Manufacturing Engineer (guest)Tim Williams - National Sales Manager (host)Rachel Weber - Regional Sales Consultant (moderator)Johnathan Johnson - Regional Sales Consultant (moderator) CHAPTERS 00:00 - 00:39 Intro 00:39 - 02:15 Welcome Guests 02:15 - 03:34 Surface Porosity 03:34 - 04:55 Reaction Porosity 04:55 - 06:52 Gas Hole Porosity 06:52 - 08:53 Oxide Inclusions 08:53 - 11:42 Shrinkage 11:42 - 16:39 Hydrogen Gas Porosity 16:39 - 17:13 Outro

Join us as we discuss 5 hot topics in the metal casting industry!   Casting Lead Time Considerations Project Cost Considerations 3D Printing Tooling Transforming Weldments to Castings Castings Found in Everyday Life   To learn more about each Casting Source article mentioned, please visit www.castingsource.com  Thank you to our guest speaker Shannon Wetzel, Managing Editor of the American Foundry Society's Casting Source publication.

Best tip we can give Design Engineers?  Design for Manufacturing (DFM)! Always keep the end goal in mind. Before you finalize your design, you want to consider the manufacturing method. Why? Each manufacturing process has different design standards. Here are the standards for aluminum permanent mold metal casting. By following these standards, your product will be the strongest and most efficiently produced it can be. More questions? Ask our experienced engineers! They've been helping design & manufacture castings for over 40 years!

What does it take to make a casting cherry red? Learn everything there is to know about powder coating and painting aluminum castings in this podcast! Topics Include: Prepping and cleaning the castingPriming and paintingDegassingPowder coatingInspection & fixing defectsThe future of the finishing industry Thank you, Jerry Burchett, for sharing your 40 years of experience in the paint and powder coating industry!

40+ year metal polisher shares his secret to polishing aluminum castings! Can you mirror buff aluminum? Zinc? Do all parts need polished? Even if they'll be powder coated? What about chrome plated?  Welcome to Metal Polishing 101. Learn about polishing tools and what finishes you can achieve in this month's podcast episode. Thank you, Danny Courter, 40+ year metal polishing veteran for joining us!

What technology is used to simulate the casting process? How does a simulation improve permanent mold design?  A casting process simulation ensures the client builds the best tool possible. For example, an FEA can reduce casting defects by predicting flow and solidification of metal in the mold.  Thank you Vadim Pikhovich from MAGMA for sharing your vast foundry knowledge!

Listen to the children's book Foundry Friends make a Casting! Foundry Friends make a Casting uses fun and creative characters to tell the story of how a toy car is made. The toy goes through the metal casting manufacturing process - from engineering to polishing!  This storybook is a great way for children to learn about STEM through the lens of USA manufacturing.    We wrote this book to introduce children to the magic of manufacturing. At Batesville Products, we engineer, cast, machine, inspect and polish aluminum castings for over 70 industries nationwide!   Visit our website for coloring pages, free activity books, manufacturing experiments, and more!  https://batesvilleproducts.com/kids/

There are 5 things you should consider when machining aluminum castings: Material & Heat TreatCoolant & CuttersFixturesSpeeds & Feeds (and how this affects quoting!)Ergonomics & Recycling

Want to quote a new casting project or thinking about re-quote an existing part? Here's everything your supplier needs to know to give you the best quote possible! The quoting process can be confusing, especially if you are shopping around at multiple foundries. Here's what you can expect. Your supplier will ask questions about... Background & Part End UseTimelineMachining, Polishing, Secondariesand more! (and if they don't ask these questions - that's a red flag!)

How do robots impact the manufacturing industry?  Here's an engineer's guide to manufacturing automation.  In this podcast, we discuss different types of manufacturing robotics, including... Industrial RobotsCollaborative Robots (cobots) Universal Robots Mobile Industrial Robots Robots empower employees, not replace them! Robotics have the potential to improve ergonomics, job satisfaction, and employee retention.  Thank you to our special guests (or should I say Jeffs) from NEFF. Check out NEFF here: https://neffautomation.com/

Let's talk supply, demand, and availability of aluminum. Like many materials, the price of aluminum has doubled in the last year. Why? Energy costs, labor, and government regulations all impact the cost of aluminum. With material demand outpacing supply, availability is also a hot topic. It's imperative you have a supply chain you can trust and build relationships in the market.  Did you know that 75% of aluminum ever produced is still in use today? That’s because there is no limit to how many times aluminum can be recycled! While scrap metal recycling doesn't alleviate stress on the primary aluminum market, it is still an important market to explore. Thank you Dave Moore for joining us! Dave is Owner/Operator of The Foundry Way: https://thefoundryway.com/

Sand casting, permanent mold casting, die casting - which process should I use? Here are the pros and cons of each metal casting method.