Guest Post

Waste: an unwanted or undesired material or substance (Wikipedia: online encyclopedia). To an outsider, looking in at the metalcasting industry, it seems as though the substances we waste most often are time and energy - and they might well be right! At some foundries, these non-replaceable resources are squandered - not recklessly, not intentionally - but because their design and production methods are based on outdated production processes. Past Engineering Process In times past, paper and pencil were the most important tools a casting designer had - and the development of a casting was a process that was tedious and time consuming. A paper design was created; the blue print was introduced to the die caster - who teamed up with a toolmaker. Together, a die-casting machine was selected; the process and mold layout developed and costs estimated. Quotations were made. The bidding winner gave permission to his tool vendor to order die steel and start with mold designing. When finished, t...

For more than 5,000 years metal has been casting raw ore into usable tools. At first the castings were limited to very simple and small structures, but nowadays we see castings weighing anything from an ounce to thousands of pounds. New casting processes developed over the last hundred years allows modern casters to produce very thin and complex castings that can be made with predetermined quality characteristics at levels well below the visual. These are not single castings produced in a laboratory; these are mass productions with minute tolerances for dimensions, grain structures, mechanical properties and strength. 19th Century Originally, casting was limited to gravity pouring of liquid metal into a mould. In the nineteenth century, a more mechanical casting approach was developed. The first die casting-related patent was granted in 1849 for a small hand operated machine for the purpose of mechanized printing type production (1), the forerunner of today's high pressure die cas...

Basketball shoes for men are very significant for basketball players since they cannot play without these things. The shoe itself is not just enough, it should be specifically made for basketball players and its style should be suitable in playing on court. Choosing good basketball shoes is not all about the physical appearance of the shoes, the inner aspects are much important. The shoe design will just add impact to the overall persona of the wearer; the most important thing is how the shoe was made, and what is its inner features and style. Since basketball is a physical game, where endurance and stability are really need while playing on court, basketball shoes must support the needs of the players. The shoes must offer magnificent features that promote endurance and stability for the players. Shoes that were worn several times may damage easily due to extensive usage. The parts of the shoes, most especially the sole part will tend to worn out easily due to constant friction fro...

A lot of athletes acknowledge that their performance could be impacted by the gear and shoes that they use. Whether they are seasoned athletes, amateur athletes, or just playing sports to have fun - the majority of athletes realize that shoes play a major part throughout their performances and having a crappy pair of shoes can make playing the game uncomfortable. When athletes' shoes don't fit properly, or fail to have the correct feel to them, it can cause the athletes' feet to be tender and undoubtedly impact their game. Wearing bad shoes may also cause complications elsewhere on top of that. Yikes! When a player has a bad fitting pair of shoes it can easily contribute to some other problems including shin splints, foot injuries, ankle injuries, and even perhaps lower back and hip injuries. An athlete might even alter the way he/she runs without even knowing it! This could create further stress and wear on different parts of their feet, might cause general pain and irr...