Great Lakes Bay Manufacturers Association
Member Spotlight
Great Lakes Bay Manufacturers Association Newsletter – March 2021
Our Member Spot this month is Bernier Cast Metals, Inc. They are a successful family business that initially started out as Model Aluminum Foundry in 1945. At the time it was Saginaw’s only foundry dealing exclusively in aluminum castings. Core driers were the main production item and were purchased by local foundries in the automotive industry. In 1972 the foundry changed names to Bernier Cast Metals, Inc., and over the years it has expanded beyond aluminum castings, incorporating brass, bronze, copper, grey iron, ductile iron, steel, stainless steel, and zinc into the mix.
According to recent customer surveys, the reasons customers return with repeat business to Bernier is due to their high-quality parts, on-time delivery, and fair market pricing. But what truly differentiates Bernier from other casting companies is their friendliness, responsiveness, and ability to communicate, making it a hassle-free way for customers to do business.
CASTING CAPABILITIES
Air-Set (No Bake)
Dry sand is combined with a liquid resin and hardener. The resulting mixture is then compacted around a pattern and left to set. When the mold halves are pulled apart, the pattern removed, and the mold is closed, molten metal is poured into the mold cavity, creating a casting. The air-set (no bake) process can handle larger and more complex castings than with the green sand molding process.
Equipment:
- 1 – 300-500 Castec Articulated Continuous Sand Mixer
- 1 – 50-150 Castec Continuous Sand Mixer
- 1 – Castec Vibratory Compaction Table
- 1 – Continuous Tube Sand Heater
- Flask Sizes: 8″x12″ up to 70″x112″
Green Sand
Granular refractory mineral is coated with mostly bentonite clay and water, and then compacted (molded) around a pattern. The molten metal is then poured into the mold and allowed to cool, creating a casting. Once the mold has been shaken out, the resulting casting is a strong, durable product. The green sand molding process is used to make simple-shaped castings. The benefits are in lower-cost tooling, faster turnaround, and castings usually less costly than with other molding methods.
Equipment:
- Jolt and Squeeze Department with Flask Sizes between 10″x16″ up to 14″x20″
Wood or plastic patterns directly from customer requirements.
If you provide us with a drawing or 3-D solid model, we can produce a wooden or plastic three-dimensional pattern to be used to create a mold.
Patterns:
- Loose Wood Patterns
- Matchboards and Matchplates
- Cope and Drag Boxes
- SLA Rapid Prototypes direct from CAD Models
Analysis/Testing
In addition to metal casting operations, Bernier Cast Metals, Inc. provides analysis and inspection solutions. If your firm is in need of chemical analysis, we can help. Our chemical analysis operations include verifying product specification compliance. Our state of the art spectrometer equipment can accurately check chemical analysis to ensure it is up to your standards.
Value Added Services
Our additional services include heat treating, machining, and surface treatments. Heat treating involves heating and cooling metal to alter its physical properties. Heat treating manipulates such properties as hardness and elasticity. We also offer machining services. With our surface finishing services, we can treat your products to improve corrosion/wear resistance and appearance.
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Certificate Number: 15393
EAC Code: 17
Certified Since: June 18, 2008
Valid Until: June 5, 2026
Reissued: June 6, 2023
Cycle Issued: June 6, 2020
ABOUT US
Bernier Cast Metals, Inc. is a successful family business. It began as a manufacturer of quality sand castings in 1945 and continues to thrive under fourth generation ownership and operation.
Bernier Cast Metals is a complete casting provider with a wide range of services, casting sizes and materials, including prototype to semi-production quantities. Our customers enjoy the convenience and savings of purchasing a wide range of castings and services from one qualified vendor. In addition to quality sand castings, we supply rapid prototyping, as well as wood and plastic patterns from our in-house pattern shop. We provide on-site chemical certifications as well as hardness testing. We outsource heat treatment, machining and non-destructive testing. All services are customized to customer specifications. Bernier Cast Metals is proud to hold an ISO 9001:2015 Certificate.
VALUE ADDED SERVICES
Bernier Cast Metals provides a wide variety of testing and analysis, including but not limited to chemical, hardness, magnetic particle inspection, die penetrant, tensile, radiographic, metallographic evaluation, and ultra sound.
In addition to metal castings, we also provide various additional services including heat treating, machining, and surface treatment.
