The C.A. Lawton Co. and Penn-Mar Castings, LLC teamed up to teach an Iron 101 class to one of their customers. Unlike the typical Iron 101s, this one has a twist.  Employees from both sites collaborated to teach their knowledge on metalcasting and foundries. The main focus of the Iron 101 was to showcase how Lawton and Penn-Mar’s capabilities complemented each other. Due to the ongoing pandemic, Lawton has not been able to host its normal Iron 101...Continue Reading

Foundries have been setting high standards for recycling and inspiring other industries to adapt to their level of sustainability. For centuries, foundries have been making new metal objects by remelting old ones. For example, the oldest existing casting is a copper frog made in Mesopotamia dating back to 3200 B.C. Metalcasting facilities recycle more than 14 million tons, or 31.5 million pounds of steel each year. This is enough energy to light the homes of Chicago for one...Continue Reading

Author: R.J. Hawkins, Engineer Manager at The C.A. Lawton Co. Often kids are raised by a single parent. To the best of their abilities, the parent does all he or she can do to assure their kids don’t see the struggles that are taking place. I am an example of this because I was raised by a single mom. Even though I had a great childhood, my mom struggled to make ends meet. The only thing she wanted...Continue Reading

Selecting a foundry can be challenging whether you’re involved in a new project startup that requires cast parts or if you’re relocating patterns to a different supplier. Here is a simple process that will help you to identify the right foundry for your needs. Step 1: Know your product The more knowledge and information you have about the castings, the more productive you will be at narrowing down your list of prospective foundries. Working with a platform like...Continue Reading

Designing a pattern can be challenging, especially if you don’t have a well-defined process. At PMC, the design review process begins when the customer and the foundry’s casting engineer review the required casting shape. It consists of drawings or models of a casting-friendly pattern and more core boxes. Technical discussions typically include tolerances required, allowable machine stock, machined and non-machined surfaces, and the castablility of the desired casting. Tooling design can vary, depending upon the pattern material, casting...Continue Reading

Metal casters can develop complex shapes in many sizes using a wide variety of materials with unique properties that serve many different purposes. That’s why metal castings are vital to many key industries such as agriculture, healthcare, and mining. Without castings, these industries and the role they play in our everyday lives wouldn’t be the same. Agriculture “Agriculture is the world’s oldest industry; without it, society as we know it would not exist (avalon-castings.com, n.d.). Farmers grow the...Continue Reading