A look ahead to the next 150 years with 3D printing

If you’re not looking ahead, you’re already falling behind – Waupaca Foundry

Looking to the future with 3D printing

The history of Waupaca Foundry dates back to 1871. The company specialises in the manufacture of high-quality castings made from grey cast iron, ductile cast iron and tempered ductile cast iron. Today, the company has an annual capacity of 1.4 million tonnes and employs more than 4,000 staff at works across the United States. To ensure continued growth over the next 150 years, innovation is a top priority for Waupaca Foundry, because “if you’re not looking ahead, you’re already behind”.

And to stay one step ahead of the times, Waupaca Foundry has adopted additive manufacturing to deliver greater value to its customers, resolve quality issues and eliminate supply chain instability in iron casting production. Waupaca initially utilised the technology through services offered by leading pattern-making companies and installed its first sand 3D printer at Plant 1 in 2022. With the in-house S-Max Pro from ExOne, the leading provider of sand 3D printing solutions, the foundry is able to automate the core-making process and produce complex core assemblies as one-off items.

opens up new possibilities By expanding Waupaca’s capabilities to include 3D printing, the team can offer flexible, local solutions to its customers’ specific challenges. The foundry is currently expanding its expertise in binder jetting to support design development and programme roll-out through rapid prototyping.

“Customers can explore products without having to produce a new mould,” says Nick Bonikowske, Sample and Process Analyst at Waupaca Foundry. Using 3D printing, the team is able to produce a proof-of-concept cast part using digitally manufactured moulds and cores, without incurring the costs of tooling or the 6 to 10-week lead time. This allows customers to minimise risks by testing and verifying the part’s performance before the casting goes into production. “We can implement any changes we need to make to a design immediately and provide a new prototype within a day rather than weeks,” emphasised Bonikowske.

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