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L A ALUMINUM PLANT TOUR
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| It all starts with you, the customer. L A Aluminum
Engineering can take your idea, drawing, print or sample
and present it to our department heads: Quality, Manufacturing,
Machine Shop, and Tool Making. They will develop a strategy
to manufacture a permanent mold for your specific lightweight
casting situation. This will ensure that the job will be successful.
In some cases we are able to recommend design modifications
that will increase productivity, enhance the functionality of
a part, or reduce mass and other changes that will reduce the
cost to the customer.
Once the strategy is decided upon regarding how we can provide
the component to meet customer specifications, we go to our
design
and
mold
making process. This is where our Tool Maker creates the
3D drawing using SolidWorks modeling software on the computer.
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Our Tool Maker writes a program in SURFCAM (3D CNC program)
and sends it to one of the FADAL CNC machining centers at LA
Aluminum. From there, the actual cutting of the cast iron mold
takes place. Cast iron is used because of the stability of
the
alloy and excellent tool life, which saves the customer
time and money. This is also the phase of the process where
any shell cores or steel cores are made. Shell cores are made
from fine sand and are only used once, then destroyed.
After many hours during the making of the tool we are ready
to actually construct the first casting for a first article
customer
evaluation.
This is where any final changes are made to the design and
all dimensional and cosmetic items are corrected. After approval
is given, we move on to the casting process. Our fully automated
machine shop is equipped with CNC mills and lathes. We
can
do simple drilling and tapping to complex 4th & 5th axis
work.
Once the mold has been prepared with the mold coat (used to
help release the casting and reduce wear to the mold), a casting
is made. There may be inserts in the casting, a shell core or
solid steel core.
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| Now we are ready to melt some aluminum alloy. Each ingot
is certified as to its purity. Only primary aluminum is used
at L A Aluminum. The ingot is brought in from storage and preheated
to remove any potential moisture.
The ingot is placed
in the gas fired crucible (the silicon carbide crucibles are
where the aluminum alloy is melted) which is heated to approximately
1300 degrees F. L A Aluminum has eight crucible melting /
holding furnaces with a total melting capacity of 2,000 pounds
per hour. Temperature control is important in all aspects
of the pouring process. The use of thermocouples and laser
temperature sensors are utilized to insure optimum temperature
control.
 The
aluminum is ladled into the mold and allowed to freeze or
solidify over a predetermined time period. Once this is completed
we remove the casting from the mold and place it on a pallet
for its journey through the rest of the process.
Removal of risers, gates and inlets are performed on the saw.
Then the part travels to the heat treating and aging process.
Parts are carefully loaded into wire baskets and placed on
a table to be heat treated. The amount of time in the heat
treat and the temperature are critical factors since the temper
of the alloy is determined in this process.
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 CNC
MACHINING - MAZAK lathes
and FADAL machining centers are used to provide additional
services
to the customer. Once the parts come from the finishing department
and heat treating, it goes to the machine shop. Our machine
shop is run by capable machinists and operators who program
the CNC machines to operate the required customer specifications
to the part.
We specialize in aluminum, brass or free machining steel
up to 8” round by 14” long for our Mazak CNC
Lathes. Tolerances possible: (under 1”=+/- .0005),
(1” to 2.5”=+/-.001), (over 2.5”=+/-.002).
Our Computer Numeric Control turning centers can perform
a wide variety of operations: turning, facing, grooving,
drilling, boring, tapping chamfering, countersinking, profiling,
knurling, reaming, tapering, threading, counter bores and
radius.
L A Aluminum’s Fadal Vertical Machining CNC centers (Made in the
USA) have a 30 Tool Automatic Tool Changer. These centers
offer spindles with the torque for milling steel and high
speeds for cutting aluminum.
We mill aluminum or brass up to 18” by 36” with tolerances
of boring = +/- .001 and millwork = +/- .003.
From simple turning operations on the lathes to complex
machining tasks on the 4th and 5th axis FADAL machining
centers and horizontal machine, L A Aluminum provides its customers
a turnkey project solution to fit most modern requirements.
These combined capabilities allow us to take
responsibility on projects from start to finish.
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| Finish work which includes deburring, sanding,
grinding, plating and powder coating provide additional job
cost savings. Reducing the amount of work required in the customer's
shop means that cost is reduced by lessening or eliminating
the need for extra handling of the part. Light assembly such
as stamping part numbers, attaching labels, bagging and packaging
to customer specifications are all available at L A Aluminum
Casting Company. |
| Some parts require a chemical conversion coating which is
performed in the plating department. This is an operation that
provides an added measure of corrosion protection and electrical
conductivity. Chemical stability is monitored regularly with
our in-house quality testing. Samples of the solutions are also
sent to outside labs to verify in house results. |
During many of the procedures and upon completion of all
the machining operations L A Aluminum performs quality checks
to
ensure the manufactured part meets the exact customer specifications.
These tasks vary from performing S.P.C. (Statistical Process
Control) on machined castings,
to using "go/no-go gauges" (to determine if threads
are correct) to pressure testing using a testing apparatus.
Additionally, we verify our heat treat process by testing the
hardness using the mil spec MIL-H-6088F.
Our quality program is always improving as we change to meet
our customer's requirements. Seminars, in-house training, along
with the certification of all testing apparatus(s) guarantees
we are on the leading edge of the latest technology.
The Quality Assurance Program at L A Aluminum is designed to
meet a wide variety of industries, including commercial, military,
automotive, industrial, and farming. Our primary goal is to
meet or exceed customer requirements. Specific casting control
measures include: Heat Treat Certification, Hardness Testing,
First Article Inspection and Pressure Testing. All equipment
and tools are certified at regular intervals to MIL-STD 45662.
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FINISHED AND READY TO SHIP! |
| After all quality and order requirements are met, the final
inspection is performed in the shipping department. Every
piece
is inspected by our shipping team. They are the final approval
station in the process. Once the shipping team is satisfied,
the parts are carefully packed and shipped according to the
order instructions.
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This concludes your tour of L
A Aluminum Casting Company. Thank you for joining us.
Please
take a moment to fill out our "Send
me more information" form and let us know
your comments and/or questions.
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