Modernizing an Obsolete Foundry System to Increase Daily Production by 50% and Slash Unplanned Downtime

Wollaston Alloys' molding line — a turnkey system installed in 1999 by a company that has since gone out of business — had become a growing liability. Obsolete electrical and control systems contributed to maintenance challenges, unplanned downtime was 10 days per month, and daily production capacity stood at 16 units. An $11.8 million investment will install a modern no-bake foundry system, increasing daily production capacity by 50%, reducing unplanned machine downtime by 70%, and cutting lead times for non-RT castings by 25%. The investment modernizes the outdated molding line and reduces maintainability risk associated with obsolete technology.

The Problem & Opportunity

Wollaston Alloys' molding line was designed and installed by the IMF Group in 1999 as a turnkey system, including all mechanical and electrical components as well as management and automation software. Since IMFessentially wentout of business, it has become increasingly difficult for Wollaston tomaintainthe legacy equipment, with the electrical and control systems now obsolete. The aging system was limiting daily production capacity, generating significant unplanned downtime, and extending lead times for castings. The opportunity was to replace the entire molding system with modern no-bake foundry technology that would restore reliability, increase throughput, and reduce lead times.

Objective

Install a new no-bake foundry system at Wollaston Alloys to modernize the obsolete legacy molding line, increase production capacity, reduce unplanned downtime, and shorten lead times for non-RT castings.

Solution

The investment enabled Wollaston Alloys, Inc. to move from a difficult-to-maintain legacy molding line to a modern no-bake foundry system.

The work centered on three capability improvements: replacing obsolete molding-line infrastructure, improving production reliability by reducing unplanned downtime, and increasing casting throughput to better support raw material availability. By focusing on the system at the center of the constraint, the investment addressed both near-term production disruption and longer-term maintainability.

Impact

• Daily production capacity is expected to increase by 50%, from 16 units per day to 24 units per day.
• Lead times for non-RT castings are expected to fall by 25%, from 16 weeks to 12 weeks.
• The tracked capacity metric is currently expected to achieve its target.
• Unplanned machine downtime is expected to decrease by 70%, from 10 days per month to 3 days per month.
• Annual production hours tied to the tracked capacity metric are expected to increase from 19,000 hours per year to 28,600 hours per year within 36 months, by April 30, 2026.

About BlueForge Alliance

BlueForge Alliance (BFA) is the national nonprofit, neutral integrator whose mission is to reinvigorate the U.S. defense industrial base necessary to produce next generation capabilities in partnership with the U.S. Navy and Department of Defense. BFA is a critical partner in the U.S. Navy Submarine Industrial Base’s mission to ensure industry has the capability, capacity, and resilience to build and maintain America’s next generation of undersea platforms and to support international commitments under the AUKUS partnership. The organization’s team of experts in a variety of disciplines focus on addressing critical workforce, technology, and supplier development needs. BFA is headquartered in Bryan/College Station, Texas. For more information, visit www.BlueForgeAlliance.us.