We were contacted by our customer in the wastewater industry. The customer was not satisfied with the performance of their current screening equipment at a particular site, because it was not able to screen a satisfactory level of debris and organic material. They quickly designed a component that would meet their standards, but they needed this part to be produced as soon as possible.
The component designed was a stainless steel ring with an approximate diameter of 14 inches and weighing in at 23 pounds. The customer was looking at three possible production methods for this part:
- Machined from solid steel
- Fabrication welded from several pieces
- Casting
The first two options were out of the question due to long lead times and a less-than-perfect form. So they decided to go with a casting manufacturing method.
The company sent Bernier Cast Metals an email with their specifications, and we responded with a quote. They informed us that it would take up to 4 weeks for their tooling source to provide a pattern, so they asked us if we could provide the pattern within a week. Our pattern shop came through and was able to make the pattern from mahogany wood within four days of finalizing the order. We then poured the castings, cleaned and inspected dimensionally within 2 days of receiving the tooling, resulting in a week from receipt of the purchase order to final parts being submitted to our new customer.
Result: We were able to provide a final product for our customer with no compromise in material, shape, cost or delivery, even when considering the low quantity – 2 pieces.
