Objective The European Foundry industry is an essential provider of complex cast components to strategically important engineering sectors such as transportation, energy generation and fluid transmission. The SME sector of the foundry industry supplies many """"one-off' or small numbers of complex castings, but is facing severe competition from low cost producers outside the EU. Short manufacturing and delivery lead times are essential in this 'fast manufacturing' environment, and rapid production of castings is critical for survival and success of SME foundries. Complex, intricate castings can only be produced using a lengthy trial and error method which takes weeks or even months: this impacts not only on the competitiveness of SME foundries, but also on the thousands of businesses in strategically important engineering sectors whose performance is adversely affected by the outdated, low technology casting process. This project will develop a high technology process for rapid and accurate casting of complex, intricate components, such as automotive cylinder heads and heat exchangers. Its objectives are to make significant advances to the """"Patternless"""" technique, which despite having been proved industrially for large castings up to 3m in size, is limited and cannot be applied to delicate components. This project will unlock the potential of the process for small, delicate, intricate or complex castings .a significant proportion of annual casting production in the EU. The SME partners, and ultimately the rest of the foundry sector in the EU, will gain a significant competitive advantage through increased market share and secured employment, thereby helping to safeguard the industry from decline. The project will encourage the adoption of high technology in a traditional, skill-based industry, and will stimulate training and utilisation of local skills at a heightened level of competence""" Fields of science engineering and technologymechanical engineeringmanufacturing engineeringsocial scienceseconomics and businessbusiness and managementemployment Keywords Cast Metals Fast Manufacturing Foundry Programme(s) FP6-SME - Horizontal research activities involving SMEs: Specific activities covering wider field of research under the Focusing and Integrating Community Research programme 2002-2006. Topic(s) SME-1 - Co-operative Research (all areas of science and technology) Call for proposal Data not available Funding Scheme Cooperative - SMEs-Co-operative research contracts Coordinator CASTINGS TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL Address East bank road 7 Sheffield United Kingdom See on map EU contribution € 0,00 Participants (7) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all F. BAMFORD & CO LTD United Kingdom EU contribution € 0,00 Address Ajax works, whitehill Stockport See on map FOUR TRADE S.R.O Slovakia EU contribution € 0,00 Address Priemyselna, 37 Ziar nad hronom See on map ING. LADISLAV ANDRASIK VRYOBA ODLIATKOX Slovakia EU contribution € 0,00 Address Jesenskeho, 66 Ziar nad hronom See on map MAUS MODELL-UND FORMENBAU GMBH Germany EU contribution € 0,00 Address Am viehweg 9 Karlsruhe See on map OSHAUG METALL AS Norway EU contribution € 0,00 Address Grandfjaera, 20 Molde See on map WALTER FRANK & SONS LTD United Kingdom EU contribution € 0,00 Address Wakefield road 439 Barnsley See on map TRENCIANSKA UNIVERZITA ALEXANDRA DUBCEKA V TRENCINE Slovakia EU contribution € 0,00 Address Studentska, 1 Trencin See on map
