INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND

This report presents the results and conclusions from a study of the Japanese foundry industry conducted by a WTEC study team in January 1996. Results of that study were supplemented by additional visits later in the spring to foundries and foundry laboratories in Europe.

During its week in Japan, subgroups of the team visited 22 facilities. Included in these were four metal mold foundries, five iron and steel (sand mold) foundries, four investment casting foundries, four industrial research laboratories, four universities, and one government office. Seven facilities including sand foundries, metal mold foundries, and a foundry research center were later visited in Europe.

Panelists included two from industry, Paul Mikkola and Dennis Bertram; one from a national Laboratory, Wayne Hayden; and three from the university sector, Merton Flemings, Diran Apelian, and Thomas Piwonka. The sponsors of this study are: Paul Herer and Bruce Kramer of the National Science Foundation (NSF); Walter Warnick, Bob Rosenthal and Larry James of the Department of Energy (DOE); and Phyllis Genther-Yoshida and Patricia O'Neill-Brown of the Department of Commerce. The programmatic sponsor was William Obenchain of the DOE Casting Program. Some of the results presented here have been previously presented in summary form at a meeting in Washington on Feb. 27, 1996, and at the American Foundrymen's Society meeting in Philadelphia on April 23, 1996. Since then some information has been updated through a review of the draft report by panelists, WTEC staff, and site visit hosts.

In terms of tonnage, Japanese foundry production, at about 7 million tons per year, is about half U.S. production¹. The split of that tonnage among various metals is closely comparable to the split in the United States, the most important difference being that a substantially higher percentage of aluminum is cast in Japan (13% of the total in Japan but only 9% in the United States). In other respects the industry in Japan is similar to that in the United States. As in the United States, most foundries are small (under 100 people). The number of foundries and employment in the industry have shrunk over the last decade, while overall production has been relatively constant. In Japan, production of nodular iron, aluminum die castings, and investment castings has increased significantly over the last 20 years. It should be noted, however, that investment castings remain a very small portion of the total in Japan.

Past technological exchanges with Japan have been beneficial to the industries of both countries. Innovations from Japan that have been or are being adopted in this country include squeeze casting, metal mold counter-gravity casting, and advanced ceramics for casting processes. Innovations from the United States include computer design and modeling, counter gravity sand and investment casting, semisolid forming, and lost foam casting. In other advanced areas, including "glassy" metals, innovations on both sides of the Pacific are leading the way to new advanced cast materials and processes that show potential.

In its visit to Japan, the WTEC study team focused on foundry innovations, on the emphases of foundry-related R&D and facility investment, on foundry production practices, and on foundry-related education. The team's visits in Europe were fewer but were helpful in placing the Japanese visits in context and in enabling the team to formulate opinions as to the strengths and weaknesses of U.S. industry with respect to both Japan and Europe. The team returned with much respect for the accomplishments in both Japan and Europe and with a new understanding of the relative strengths of the U.S. foundry industry, as is reflected in the chapters of this report.

It is hoped that this report will be of use to those in industry, government, and universities who are concerned with foundry practice and foundry technology. Conclusions of the team carry implications for the future for companies, policymakers, and researchers.

¹The American Foundrymen's Society reports total Japanese casting production for 1995 as 6.98 million metric tons, up from a 1994 total of 6.74 million tons in 1994. This compares with U.S. production of 13.27 million tons in 1994 and 14.43 million tons in 1995 (Modern Casting, December 1995, 25 and December 1996, 31).