Chicago White Metal Casting News

As part of its program of aggressively pursuing best lean practices, CWM has formalized lean manufacturing in its production procedures, incorporating continuing in-house training.

The CWM program is based on in depth reviews of the successful lean programs of its largest customers, with successful backgrounds in the formal application of lean manufacturing principles. CWM team members participated in comprehensive lean training sessions incorporating Kaisan events and Value Stream Mapping.

The lean manufacturing program at CWM has demonstrated its continuing effectiveness in revealing improvement opportunities.

The new GR-3 GPS satellite tracking unit from Topcon Positioning Systems is a major breakthrough in technology.

Project managers at Topcon wanted the GR-3 enclosure to be as advanced as the technology inside: ultra-rugged and durable but lightweight for portable field use; waterproof; dustproof, with fail-safe EMI shielding. A high-tech CWM hot-chamber magnesium die casting was the clear housing choice– shock rated to survive 6.5 t. pole drops to concrete.

To examine full design and production details on this outstanding enclosure, click here for the PDF in the Case Study section of the OEM Die Cast Design Center.

Based on its environmental leadership practices and participation in the EPA’s National Environmental Performance Track program, Chicago White Metal Casting has been recognized as a GreenBiz Leader company, the first and, we believe, still the only custom die casting facility so named by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

This EPA’s programs recognize and encourage top environmental performers— those who go beyond compliance with regulatory requirements to attain levels of environmental performance and management that benefit people, communities, and the environment.

CWM’s GreenBiz Leader recognition is the latest in a series of environmental initiatives and achievements leading its industry:

•  1st to achieve ISO 14001 Certification
•  1st participant in EPA’s Performance Track Program
•  Member of EPA’s Sustainable Industries Partnership

And, of course, producer of Recyclable Products form Recyclable Alloys.

During CWM’s annual “Thank You” luncheon for all employees and suppliers, as well as company retirees and other guests, President Eric Treiber presented a summary of CWM’s accomplishments over the last year— including the remarkable 2010 sales increase of 21% over 2009.

Also noted were important companywide investments in training, strategic new hires, and new software and advanced new equipment such the state-of-the-art Pioneer Sheffield Coordinate Measuring Machine in CWM’s Quality Assurance Dept.

International Sales Growth
Over the last two decades, Eric pointed out, CWM’s international sales have continued to grow: at the end of 2010, CWM had shipped to 18 countries outside the U.S. By July 2011, these sales included 10 countries in the Europeon Union, five countries in Asia, as well as Israel in the Middle East and Canada and Mexico in North America.

The “CWM” trademark, along with its corporate name “Chicago White Metal Casting, Inc.,” has been registered under the Madrid Agreement and the Protocol within the European Community, as well as with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. The trademark of CWM is now acknowledged in 85 countries around the globe.

The design engineering teams from CWM and Cast Products collaborated on a new die cast product, a conversion from plastic to zinc. The results were an innovative product design and an award from the North American Die Casting Association for the design’s ingenuity, cost savings and overall quality.

The award was given in the “under 6 oz. non-electroplated” category and was presented at NADCA’s 2011 Die Casting Congress held in Columbus, Ohio.

Converted from ABS plastic to zinc die casting, the product’s durability and performance was greatly enhanced. The casting is used to hold a camera onto an interactive whiteboard. The camera picks up infrared light from the whiteboard and sends it to a computer. To accurately capture this, the camera had to be rigidly held in place. High product demand created an aggressive timeline to produce parts. The design teams met the challenge and samples were approved for production in just 5 weeks.

Chicago White Metal Casting was founded in 1937 in a loft building in the center of Chicago by Walter G. Treiber, Sr. and Samuel Gullo. As a custom die caster of recyclable alloys, the company operates today under 2nd & 3rd-generation Treiber family management from a modern 136,000 sq. ft. facility in Bensenville, Illinois.

From Zn to Al to Mg and Beyond. An early adopter of thin-wall zinc technology for hot-chamber die casting, CWM promoted Zn for complex, lighter-weight and lower-cost parts. With the addition of cold-chamber aluminum die casting machines, CWM soon integrated successive porosity-reduction techniques into Al part production. Today CWM engineers are leveraging the processing predictability of the Magmasoft® die casting software simulation system to optimize net-shape aluminum die cast components.

A Pioneer in Hot-Chamber Mg Production. CWM became a pioneer in hot-chamber magnesium die casting as the first North American custom die caster to offer this advanced, faster-cycling process. Its Mg experience has set the standard for close-toleranced, thin-wall, net- and near-net shape Mg housings: it operates the largest custom hot-chamber Mg department in North America. And today the cost-efficiency of miniature Zn & ZA-8 die casting is now offered.

High-precision in-house CNC machining, as well as complete contract manufacturing and assembly, became a part of CWM’s broadened services. CWM and its divisions are ISO 9001 registered and its environmental management systems 14001 registered, with best-in-class environmental practices recognized by EPA. For more on CWM capabilities, see the Capabilities Section.

House Majority Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam, a Wheaton IL Republican who represents the state’s 6th Congressional District, toured suburban Chicago businesses recently— later highlighting their plights before members of the local media.

At Chicago White Metal Casting in Bensenville, President and CEO Eric Treiber told the congressman the 240-person company has an employee who dedicates more than half of his time to complying with government regulations.

Regarding proposed new federal regulations Treiber said, “It’s a challenge to remaining competitive and profitable. It means trouble for new jobs and we’re not going to be able to invest in new equipment, new training.”

At a breakfast with the Greater Elgin-O’Hare Association of area businesses, Roskam described the federal government’s interactions with the economy on three broad levels — through legislation, spending and regulation.
“The final area is on the regulatory side, where new regulations can be unnecessary job killers,” Roskam said.

“Everyone is looking for remedies, everyone is looking for solutions on how to create more growth. We’ve got to grow the economy, not just cut government. We can do this.”

Special CWM Engineering Bulletin No. 76 provides OEMs with a condensed overview on how Miniature Zn & ZA-8 high-speed die casting process is the most cost-effective technology for small, complex structural parts.

This bulletin outlines the essential facts design engineers and purchasers should know about today’s specialized machines, the types of component parts that qualify, the part design guidelines the process requires be followed, and cost and lead-time considerations.