Oshkosh Truck Corp. found it could reduce costs by converting some steel welded components in its vehicles to ductile iron castings. It works closely with its foundry on these conversions. The process involves engineering, financial analysis, and evaluating castability. Good candidates for conversion are complex welded parts made of multiple pieces that have properties ductile iron can match. Converting parts to castings early in design allows testing and avoids retrofitting produced vehicles.
Oshkosh Truck Corp. found it could reduce costs by converting some steel welded components in its vehicles to ductile iron castings. It works closely with its foundry on these conversions. The process involves engineering, financial analysis, and evaluating castability. Good candidates for conversion are complex welded parts made of multiple pieces that have properties ductile iron can match. Converting parts to castings early in design allows testing and avoids retrofitting produced vehicles.
Oshkosh Truck Corp. found it could reduce costs by converting some steel welded components in its vehicles to ductile iron castings. It works closely with its foundry on these conversions. The process involves engineering, financial analysis, and evaluating castability. Good candidates for conversion are complex welded parts made of multiple pieces that have properties ductile iron can match. Converting parts to castings early in design allows testing and avoids retrofitting produced vehicles.
to Ductile Iron Castings Working closely with its foundry, this OEM found cost savings by changing several products to ductile iron cast components. ue to the com petitive na- ture of the truck m anufac- turing industry, cost reduc- tionw ithout sacrificing qualityis a continuous challenge, and one of pri- m ary im portance. O ne of the m ost effective w ays to re- duce cost w ith O shkosh Truck Corp.s (O TC) current designs is to convert steel w eldm ents into ductile iron castings. W ith this in m ind, O TC is exam ining its ve- hicles to determ ine potential areas for cost reduction through conversion. Founded in 1917, O TC is a Fortune 500 com pany that m anufactures a w ide variety of specialized trucks and trans- port equipm ent. Products are engi- neered for specific m arket niches w here a unique, innovative design w ill outper- form general purpose equipm ent. The com panys m ajor product cat- egories include heavy-duty com m ercial and m ilitary trucks, trailers, proprietary drive com ponents, service parts, and m otorized chassis for the m otor hom e, bus and w alk-in delivery van m arkets. O TC fills a unique role in the transporta- tion industry as the w orlds m ajor m anu- facturer of specialized heavy-duty trucks. A m ong the firm s dif- ferent product lines are snow rem oval, construc- tion, airport rescue and firefighting, refuse collec- tion, chassis and D epart- m ent of D efense (D oD ) products. The drive line com ponents include en- gineering advances in in- dependent suspension, all w heel steer and cen- tral tire inflation system s. O TC doesnt operate a cast iron foundry. Rather, it relies on the expertise of its cast iron suppliers in providing quality cast- ings that m eet its engi- neering requirem ents. Consequently, the con- version of steel w eldm ents to ductile iron castings is a team effort am ong O TCs engineering and purchasing de- partm ents, and the foundry that pro- duces the casting. The m ethodology that goes into a w eldm ent conversion is com posed of three prim ary areas, respectively: engineering design and m aterial prop- erty requirem ents; financial justification in converting the w eldm ent to a casting; the castability of the geom etry from the foundrys perspective. Since each area plays an essential part in the process, the ability of these disciplines to w ork as a team deter- m ines the success or failure of a w eldm ent conversion. Design Methodology In com ponent design, the prototype is usually produced from a w eldm ent. W eldm ents generally m ake good proto- types because of short lead tim es, ease of im plem enting changes and avoid- ance of pattern m anufacturing costs. A fter it is produced, the prototype is tested on a test stand or on the actual vehicle at a test course. Test courses provide accelerated durability inform a- tion on the vehicle. A 2500-m ile test course can be designed to represent 100,000 m iles of actual service. A s a result, the durability of a design for its projected life can be estim ated on a test course. U pon successful com pletion of the test, the w eldm ent is taken into produc- tion, w here it rem ains unchanged from its test configuration. W hile it m ay have been originally used based on its attrac- tiveness as a prototype, it continues into production. In addition, costs associated w ith the w eldm ent are carried through each tim e the com ponent is w elded and absorbed into the overall vehicle cost. Fabrica- tion costs (the num ber of different part num bers that m ake up the w eldm ent) and the labor hours associated w ith the w eldm ent increase the com ponents cost. A s an exam ple, Fig. 1 show s a steer- ing gear bracket w eldm ent that consists of eight separate pieces that m ust be cut, fabricated and w elded to produce the bracket. G enerally, the costsincluding labor associated w ith produc- ing a w eldm ent are 10 20 tim es m ore than the parent m aterial used to m ake it. This assum ption appears reasonable in light of this exam ple. The part num ber m ainte- nance of this w eldm ent itself can be very costly com pared to the one part num ber of a cast bracket. This exam ple is repre- sentative of w eldm ents that m ake good conver- sion candidates. These w eldm ents are predom i- nant in suspension appli- cations such as beam Fig. 1. This engineering drawing shows a steering gear bracket consisting of eight pieces. This component was successfully converted to a one-piece ductile iron casting. Robert M. Hathaway Oshkosh Truck Corp., Oshkosh, Wisconsin Converting Steel Weldments to Ductile Iron Castings modern casting / March 1995 27 hanger brackets, shock brackets and steering gear brackets. They are good candi- dates not only because of the extent of w elding or the num ber of differ- ent parts, but because there are usually at least tw o of these products on each vehicle. H ence, in- stead of converting one w eldm ent per truck, tw o are changed and pattern costs can be recouped in half the tim e. These ap- plications becom e ideal candidates for conver- sion into ductile iron cast- ings based on piece-part cost savings and use. The best opportunity for converting w eldm ents to castings is at the begin- ning of a new vehicles developm ent. Ideally, the casting is produced dur- ing the prototype stage. This w ould enable it to be tested for durability and elim inates the conver- sion step. This is especially im portant w ith D oD contracts. W hen a com ponent fails during a du- rability test, a design change m ay be initiated to prevent future failures. The production vehicles m ust reflect the con- figuration after these changes have been m ade. Because all vehicles in the fleet m ust have a sim ilar configuration, if a w eldm ent is converted to a casting m id- w ay through production, any vehicles produced before that conversion m ust be retrofitted to m aintain consistency. The other problem arises in having to test the conversion to show that the conversion m eets the form , fit and func- tion requirem ents of the w eldm ent. Both of these endeavors are costly and re- flect the im portance of producing a cast- ing at the beginning of the initial devel- opm ent phase. O therw ise, the w eldm ent w ill rem ain throughout the life of the contract. Fortunately, technologies such as stereolithography, lam inated object m anufacturing (LO M ) and others en- able the prototyping of castings. These m odeling techniques can produce m od- els directly from com puter-aided de- sign (CAD ) system s that can be used as patterns for the casting. H ence, rapid prototyping gives all the benefits of a prototype w eldm ent w hile also allow - ing the casting design to be tested dur- ing developm ent and used in produc- tion w ithout a conversion step. Although stereolithography and LO M techniques are becom ing m ore com - m on in the developm ent stage, w eld- m ents exist and continue to be used in new vehicle designs that could be con- verted into ductile iron castings. Conversion The conversion process begins by identifying candidate w eldm ents. A w alk aroundis perform ed on a ve- hicle w ith representatives from : Engineeringthose w ho understand the form , fit and function of the w eldm ent; Purchasingsom eone w ho has know ledge of the w eldm ents quan- tities and cost; Foundry Officialw ho can identify the cast- ability of the w eldm ent and w hat (if any) geo- m etric changes m ust be perform ed to enable cast- ing of the parts geom etri- c envelope. Form ing a team , these individuals w ork to- gether to understand com ponents that are can- didates for conversion. N ot all w eldm ents are good conversion candi- dates. Poor candidates are w eldm ents that have a low annual use (unable to accom m odate the pat- tern costs), rely on spe- cific m aterials character- istics that are unavailable w ith ductile iron and w hose geom etries arent readily castable. Therefore, the team m ust w ork to- gether and look at all aspects of the part to determ ine if the w eldm ent is an ap- propriate conversion candidate. The team w alks around the vehicle and iden- tifies candidate parts for castings. These candidates are typically com plex w eldm ents that consist of several pieces, have a castable geom etry, and are w elded from a m aterial w hose engi- neering m aterial properties can be ap- proxim ated by the foundry. The tensile properties of the w eld- m ent are only a fraction of the possible m aterial characteristics that m ust be Fig. 2. Fastened to the frame rail of the chassis on OTCs S-Series front discharge cement mixer trucks, this successfully converted cast axle stop bracket (r) costs 33% less than the traditional weldment. Table 1. Rolled Steel vs. Ductile Iron Material Comparisons Properties Hot Rolled Ductile Iron Ductile Iron AISI 1020 Grade 65-45-12 Grade 60-40-18 ASTM A830 ASTM A536 ASTM A536 Tensile Strength (KSI) 48 min. 65 min. 60 min. Yield Strength (KSI) 27 min. 45 min. 40 min. % Elongation in 2" 36 12 min. 18 min. Hardness (Bhn) 96140 156217 143187 Modulus of Elasticity x 10 6 psi 29.5 24.4 24.5 Poissons Ratio 0.33 0.29 0.29 Specific Damping Capacity, % 1.5 9.9 9.9 Density, lb/in. 3 0.2839 .2565 .2565 Machinability Rating, % of 78 @ feed 4283 @ feeds 67108 @ feeds Cutting Speed for B112/1212 of 0.17 of 0.25-0.50 of 0.25-0.50 mm/rev. mm/rev. mm/rev. Charpy V-Notch Impact 140 and 30 17 and 2 20 and 4 Energy at R.T. and -40 o F, J Unnotched Endurance ASTM A36, E60S-3 30.5 30 Limit, KSI Double -V Butt Weld 20 28 modern casting / March 1995 considered w hen evaluating conversion candidates. Table 1 show s a com pari- son of m aterial characteristics that m ay need to be considered for any applica- tion. For a typical 1020 steel w eldm ent w ith a m inim um tensile strength of 48 ksi, 27 ksi yield strength, and hardness ranging betw een 96-140 Bhn, the con- version to a 65-45-12 or 60-40-18 grade of ductile iron increases tensile strength properties. N orm ally, com ponents are designed to yield strength characteristics w ith an added safety factor. But because m ost failures occur from repeated applica- tion of loads (fatigue) that generate stresses below the m aterials yield strength, notch geom etries and m icro- structural transitions inherently present in the w eldm ent becom e the critical factor in the survivability of the com - ponent. In m ost cases, the casting offers increased durability and resis- tance to fatigue failure by reducing or elim inating these discontinuities. A lthough low er in ductility and toughness than steel, ductile iron of- fers reduced density and increased dam ping characteristics. In addition, the elim ination of w eldm ents pro- vides the com ponent w ith im proved function through m ore uniform load- ing in the casting cross section. Optimizing Design Exam ination of a w eldm ent for po- tential casting conversion also provides an opportunity to optim ize the com ponents design. As part of the cast- ing conversion process, a finite elem ent analysis should be perform ed and con- firm ed w ith actual testing. D uring this activity, the design can be optim ized for a particular application and load case. Tim e m ay not have been available during the prototype stage to perform this type of in-depth analysis. Instead, reliance w as placed on experience and a liberal safety factor. H ence, exam in- ing it for a casting conversion provides a unique opportunity to reinvestigate the part. A redesign m ay im prove its function or m erely im prove its cosm etic appearance. Casting the w eldm ent w ill also result in few er internal stresses, depending on how it is cooled, w hich results in less distortion during subsequent m achin- ing operations. This w ill aid in m ore accurate dim ensional conform ance. W eldm ents inherently contain re- sidual tensile stresses that can ap- proach the m aterials yield strength. Rem oving m aterial during m achining operations has a tendency to relieve these residual stresses and generate distortion. O nly if the w eldm ent is stress-relieved before m achining can the distortions be elim inated. These benefits lend justification to convert- ing the w eldm ent into a casting. Austempered Duc tile Iron In addition to the 65-45-12 and 60-40-18 ductile iron grades avail- able, the onset of austem pered ductile iron (AD I) provides a con- version m aterial that can accom - m odate w eldm ents produced from high-strength, low -alloy, quench and tem pered steel plate, such as those grades referenced in A STM A 514. Table 2 provides a sum m ary Fig. 3. This impeller housing hub (l) and impeller shaft support used on OTCs HB-Series snow blower are examples of former weldment components that are now more cost- effectively produced via casting. Table 2. Steel Plate vs. Austempered Ductile Iron Material Comparisons Properties ASTM A514, Grade B, Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI) Quench and Per ASTM A897, Tempered HSLA Grade 150-100-07 Ultimate Tensile Strength (KSI) 110130 150 min. Yield Strength (KSI) 100 min. 100 min. % Elongation in 2" 18 min. 7 min. Hardness (Bhn) 235293 302363 Elastic Modulus x 106 29.5 25.7 Density lb/in 3 .2839 .2620 Unnotched Fatigue Strength (KSI) 55 66; 100 w/ fillet rolling or shot peening Impact Energy, Ft/lb @ 72 o F Notched 20 long., Unnotched: 80 15 tran. Notched: 8.59.0 Notched Impact Energy, Ft/lb @ -50 o F 15 long. N/A tran. 6 Plane-Strain Fracture Toughness Klc 150177 for similar 73.4 (KSIin.1/2) at R.T. ASTM A517 Grd. F 4 Critical Crack Size 1.51.8" for similar 0.4" (Klc/Y.S.)2 (ac) ASTM A517 Grd. F Cost per lb. $0.41 $1.10 Specific Stiffness (*106 in.) 104 98 Modulus/Density Table 3. Generic Candidates for Ductie Iron Conversions A B C D E F Current Weldment Cost $150.00 $135.00 $47.00 $79.00 $147.64 $123.45 Casting Cost $39.47 $46.84 $30.24 $26.67 $76.77 $123.45 Piece Part Savings $110.53 $98.16 $16.76 $52.33 $70.87 $195.01 Number Per Truck 2 2 2 2 2 2 Total Savings Per Truck $221.06 $196.32 $33.52 $104.66 $141.74 $390.02 Usage Per Year 89 89 89 89 89 89 Savings Per Year $19,674.34 $17,472.48 $2983.28 $9314.74 $12,614.86 $34,711.78 Tooling Cost $6557.00 $6365.00 $4425.00 $4900.00 $4950.00 $4770.00 Total First Year Savings $13,117.34 $11,107.48 $1441.72 $4414.74 $7664.86 $29,941.78 modern casting / March 1995 29 These are examples of successful casting conversions and the respective benefits and savings that are available.
Courtesy of Ductile Iron Group, Cost Savings Ideas, Designs in Ductile Iron. of m aterial characteristics available. Keep in m ind that the base m etals strength has little effect on the as-w elded fatigue strength. Although A D I is low er in ductility and toughness, the tensile properties of a 150-100-07 grade are com - parable to the ASTM A514 m aterial. The low er hardness A D I grades are com - m only used in structural applications, w hile the higher hardness A D Is are ex- cellent for w ear applications. It is essential to thoroughly under- stand the w eldm ents specific applica- tion, and the critical m aterial properties prior to converting it to a casting. Each team m em ber m ust be involved in the decision process. Som e w eldm ents m ay be ideally suited for conversion to AD I, such as those designed specifically to yield strength characteristics; w hile oth- erssuch as those designed specifically to accom m odate shock loading at low tem peraturesm ay not. Cost J ustific ation W hile there are m any benefits and options to consider before a conversion can be m ade, the bottom line is cost justification. Q uestions such as H ow m uch w ill the casting tooling cost?and H ow m uch w ill be saved on the piece parts per annum ?are the team s prim ary concerns. A fter candidate w eldm ents are se- lected during the w alk around,a for- m al cost study is done to assure that the casting offers an annual savings in com - parison w ith the w eldm ents cost. Table 3 contains six generic w eld- m ents that O TC determ ined to be good candidates for conversion. The w eld- m ents consist of various steering gear and beam hanger brackets. G ood conversion candidates need enough use in production to accom - m odate the tooling cost associated w ith the casting pattern. A m ortizing the pat- tern cost into the casting cost produces a paperw ork nightm are for both the foundry and the original equipm ent m anufacturer (O EM ). A m uch sim pler, m ore cost-effective approach is to m ain- tain a tooling budget to purchase the patterns up-front. After evaluation, the six parts in Table 3 result in a potential first year savings of about $66,246after the cost of the pat- terns are subtracted. H ence, a financial justification exists in all cases to convert the candidate w eldm ents to castings. Figures 23 show additional con- versions to w eldm ents on O TCs prod- uct line. (See sidebar below for m ore com plex exam ples of successful cast- ing conversions.) OEMFoundry Partnership It is essential that the foundry be in- volved during the early stages of the conversion process and participate in the w alk around.The foundry under- stands its ow n capabilities and can of- fer valuable insight w hen choosing con- version candidates. Poor Candidates for Casting Conversion parts w ith low annual use (unable to accom m odate the pattern costs); parts that rely on specific m ateri- als characteristics unavailable w ith ductile iron; parts w hose geom etries arent readily castable. 30 modern casting / March 1995 As a m em ber of the conversion team , it is im portant that the O EM w orks w ith its foundry on the project. The foundry understands its casting processes and the m ethods and geom etries that w ork best in its facility, and can provide in- sight into any changes that can be m ade to increase the parts castability. The foundry can predict how m uch shrinkage can be expected, the toler- ances available, the m inim um section thickness that can be poured, how m uch m achine stock should be left, the draft angles, and how to orientate the pattern so the parting line doesnt reside in a high-stress area. Prediction of these vari- ables is critical to the w eldm ent conversions success. Casting the com ponent also offers the ability of casting in logos and prod- uct num bers that arent available w ith w eldm ents. H ow ever, because m ost standard steels provide better w eldability w hen com pared w ith ductile iron, w hen the conversion candidate is subsequently w elded onto another structure, retaining the w eldm ent m ay be m ore desirable. Com m unication betw een the foundry and O EM should be open and honest to optim ize the benefits and recognize the draw backs. Since all foundries vary, w hat w orks w ell for one m ay not for another. The process of converting w eldm ents into castings is a partnership effort be- tw een the custom er and the foundry. Design, Manufac turing & Cost Conversions are advantageous to the product engineer and the m anufactur- ing plant. Conversion candidates m ust offer im proved value, low er piece price or im proved installed cost by solving other m anufacturing problem s. Converting w eldm ents to ductile iron castings: elim inates w eld zone defects; provides m ore uniform loading throughout the part; im proves strength to w eight ratio (es- pecially w ith A D I); reduces internal residual stresses; im proves m achinability, dam ping characteristics and appearance through redesign; provides parts consolidation. W elded brackets are costly in both the num ber of pieces required to m ake the w eldm ent and the labor hours asso- ciated w ith the joining process. M This article was written following a presenta- tion given by Robert Hathaway and Tim Fleming, Oshkosh Truck Corp., and John Young, Ohio Cast Products, Canton, Ohio, at ASM/ TMS 1994 Materials Week. For a free copy of this article circle No. 344 on the Reader Action Card. Referenc es J. D oering and R. W ilson, N odular Iron Conver- sions at John D eere,Metal Progress, (July 1974), pp 83-86. J.R. Laub, Austem pered D uctile Iron Com es of Age,Metalworking News, April 23, 1990, p 21. Cost Saving D esign Ideas,Designs in Ductile Iron, The D uctile Iron G roup. J.M . Barsom , S.T. Rolfe, Fracture and Fatigue Con- trol in Structures,Applications of Fracture Me- chanics, Second Edition, (1987), pp. 93. Good Candidates for Casting Conversion com plex w eldm ents that consist of several individual pieces; parts that have a castable geom etry; parts w elded from a m aterial w hose engineering m aterial prop- erties can be approxim ated by the foundry.
Bearings And Bearing Metals: A Treatise Dealing with Various Types of Plain Bearings, the Compositions and Properties of Bearing Metals, Methods of Insuring Proper Lubrication, and Important Factors Governing the Design of Plain Bearings