|
|
Home > Company Information > Facilities > Tour Hartford Location
 |
(click
to open)
|
PHOTO
TOUR
View various images from the Signicast Hartford location.
|
|
|
The Signicast complex in Hartford is where our Continuous
Flow Manufacturing philosophy really hits its stride. One thing
you'll notice when you visit the plant floor is that there aren't
piles of parts sitting around. That’s because nothing ever
stops moving. Designed from the outset to function much like a single
long production line, you’ll be hard pressed to find another
plant like it anywhere.
Designed for maximum flexibility and responsiveness for our customers, the Hartford plants provide true “just-in-time” delivery
of medium- to high-volume parts. By producing small quantities on
a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, we can ship exact quantities
on the day you request, with the same low price for any quantity.
Unscheduled orders can be turned around in as little as five days
– perhaps even less, depending on the type of part and schedule
availability.
| Signicast
Growth |
- HARTFORD MODULE 1
Designed from inception to change the investment casting industry.
This plant started our continuous flow philosophies and introduced
most of our robotic technologies. This plant pours low alloy
steel, 400S and tool steel. Module 1 opened in June of 1993
with 66,084 square feet of manufacturing space.
- HARTFORD MODULE 2
Covers 76,149 square feet,
and opened in November 1997. With the success of Module 1, Module
2 was created with improvements such as the ability to
pour and cut-off stainless steel investment casting.
- HARTFORD MODULE 3
When this 82,654-square-foot facility opened in August 2003,
it truly set Signicast even further apart from the competition.
With state-of-the-art robotics, including robotic pour, and
automated investment casting processes, Module 3 is the envy
of investment casters around the globe.
- HARTFORD MODULE 4
This 85,085 square foot facility
was completed in 2006, and is Signicast’s most innovative yet. Featuring much
of the same functionality as Module 3, but with even more proprietary automated
processes.
- HARTFORD MODULE 5
Completed in 2001, this 74,364 square feet facility houses all secondary
operations including machining, assembly, vibratory tumbling and painting.
Parts are routed from each investment casting module via roof
top conveyor. Upon arrival they are automatically routed to
the required cells where they are completed and shipped per
the customers requirements. Signicast developed proprietary wax is produced in this plant and routed to each module, including our Milwaukee plant.
|
Technological highlights:
- An Automatic
Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) delivers product
quickly and efficiently (on demand) from one station to
the next.
- 10 Signicast designed automatic
wax presses and one automatic sprue press.
- Patented Wax Distribution System
maintains precise temperature control for maximum dimensional
repeatability.
- Four robots perform dipping functions
with absolute precision and efficiency.
- Samples from each lot are weighed
to assure conformance of shell requirements; data is stored
in computer database.
- In pouring stage, chemistry of
each heat is analyzed with a spectrometer (standardized
twice per shift and at each alloy change).
- When caustic cleaning of parts
is required, robots load/unload eight molds at a time.
- Finishing fixtures are designed
and built by Signicast’s Tooling Center.
- If machining, assembly, painting,
or plating is required, parts are sent to Module 5 via an
overhead conveyor.
|
|
 |