Foresight - casting
As a result of the request from the Industry and Technology Policy Board, the Division have formulated the following table which illustrates Division's view of the Foresight Drivers for the Industry Sector.
| Business Drivers | Issues | Technology & Innovation needs |
| Markets & Customers | Globalisation of markets Reduced lead times Just-in-time delivery Poor perceived status of industry and casting profession (leading to oppressively aggressive pricing of under-valued product, reinforced by poor performance of the industry). Poor investment (since profitability is poor) Competitive materials (since performance of casting, particularly reliability, is poor) |
More cost-effective casting processes (+) Fulfilling all 10 Rules
|
| Miniaturisation | New tooling and casting processes | |
| Light weighting | Development of Al, Mg, Li, Ti casting alloys Development of thin walls plus increased accuracy |
|
| Business Practice | Cost reduction Labour relations Distributed manufacture Overseas ownership of local operations (leads to beneficial investment for good operations, but first to be closed down when business contracts). Electronic data transmission for all aspects of business and manufacture |
See (+) above |
| Education & Training | Need for training ageing work force in new IT & CAD Need to enhance University degree courses Need to attract science and engineering students Practical training of workforce Poaching of internally trained skilled staff (thus no incentive to train) |
IT, CAD and e-commerce training University bases cast metals technology course and practical workshops Introduction of cash incentives for science and engineering students Trade association workshops Re-introduction of national training levy and/or training requirements |
| Process Capability |
Adoption of
|
Development of capable (10 Rules) casting processes Development of 6 sigma concepts Development of advanced NDT and metrology |
| Quality, reliability and durability | Repairability | Development of weldable, non-heat treated casting alloys |
| Recycling | Develop improved mould materials recycling | |
| Regulations and Standards | Health and Safety | |
| Hazardous materials | R&D for alternative materials e.g. asbestos | |
| Working conditions | Improved PPE | |
| Transport of materials (COSHH) | Full database for process materials | |
| Bad Regulations and Standards | Possibly wrongly identified hazardous materials (Be in Al cast alloys) | Justify or withdraw unhelpful regulations. |
| Dangerous heat treatments for Al alloys | R&D to define safe practices, plus dissemination of good practice | |
| Blue Skies R&D & Emerging Technologies | Automation of manual tasks Improved product quality New processes New materials |
Advanced robotics Process improvements and inspection methods Blue sky R&D; Blue sky R&D;Materials not in UK e.g. Ti, silicides, etc. |
| Information Technology and Concurrent Engineering | E-business CAD/CAM Concurrent Engineering Product quality responsibility |
See (+) above, plus Full alloy physical property characterisation Full process material characterisation |