Premiere der KSM Tech-Days Process Engineering

Hildesheim, November 2021:
Premiere of the KSM Tech-Days Process Engineering

The first Process Engineering Tech Days at KSM in Hildesheim was held in September under the topic “Chambers & Plungers – Casting and its Challenges”. Under the leadership of Carsten Engelke, Head of Industrial Engineering and Rolf Gerschwinat, Team Leader Process Engineering in the IE department at KSM, this new format is planned to continue as a quarterly event. The workshop was supported by Rogner Gießereitechnik and Brondolin, who contributed the two-day event with expert talks and subsequent opportunities for detailed discussion.

This series of meetings aims to bring experts and technicians together from throughout the company to address the specific challenges related to casting in process engineering. It also provides an opportunity to scrutinize problems faced by the plants and work together to find solutions. The aim is to provide a regular forum where colleagues from all KSM sites, supported by external experts from our suppliers, can actively share their knowledge and experience on specific casting issues. The first meeting on the subject of “chambers and plungers” also covered dosing launders, shot sleeves and plungers, and more generally provided an opportunity for participants to share their thoughts on how to optimize casting processes.

“By creating this format, we have taken another step in our journey to ensuring process engineering develops in a company-wide, consistent and above all sustainable further development”, says Rolf Gerschwinat. “With the IE team’s Tech Days, we are bringing together the casting knowledge and experience of our European locations in Hildesheim, Wernigerode, Wuppertal, Radevormwald and Hadek nad Nissou. At the same time, we are incorporating the expertise of our suppliers. It’s a win-win situation that helps us all to move forward,” adds Carsten Engelke.

Looking back, both managers feel very positive about the two days of inspiring and intensive discussions and are now looking forward to the many events that are already in the calendar. Process Engineering staff at KSM’s sites and headquarters were heavily involved in the workshop and contributed to a constructive discussion by giving presentations and talks on existing problems, along with reports on improvements that have already been made in the area of dosing launders, shot sleeves and plungers.

The next Tech Days will focus on topics such as venting and the use of vacuum, separating agents and spray heads, the use and interpretation of simulations, special mold setups, casting defect catalogues, mold tempering and jet cooling, optimized set-up processes, and the function and benefits of CT scans.

The event took place in compliance with the applicable corona rules.

Background
KSM Castings Group GmbH is one of the leading automotive suppliers for lightweight aluminium and magnesium cast components for chassis, transmissions and engines. Together with its parent company CITIC Dicastal, the KSM Castings Group employs around 3,800 staff at production sites in Germany, the Czech Republic, the USA and China. Customers include automobile manufacturers and suppliers such as Volkswagen, Daimler, BMW, ZF, Bosch, Benteler and Magna. In 2020, the company generated global sales €507 million.

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