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Aluminium Casters' Association (ALUCAST)R, India
Innovative & Creative World of Aluminium

ALUCAST 2017

ALUCAST 2017, Conference and Table Top Display of Aluminium Die Casting Technology was held at hotel Courtyard by Marriott, Ahmedabad on 8 & 9 December 2017. The two-day event organised by the Pune Zonal Centre, under the aegis of Aluminium Casters Association of India (ALUCAST), consisted of a number of technical papers on a variety of topics by experts in the die casting field. This was supplemented by three product presentations

An additional feature was the Table Top Display with 28 Tables displaying a variety of products used in Die Casting production.

Dignitaries who addressed the gathering during the Inagural Function were :

Mr. Suhas Palekar, Chairman Pune Zonal Center and Chairman Organising Committee, ALUCAST :

The decision to hold the Event, ALUCAST 2017, in Ahmedabad, was prompted by the expected demand for die cast aluminium parts to meet the requirements of Auto majors TATA Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Honda and HERO, who recently set up manufacturies in Gujarat. Die casting technology is evolving constantly and to help the industry to keep pace with the changes, the ALUCAST Conference and Table Top Display brings some information on the changing dynamics, machines and processes.

He extended a warm welcome to all the delegates, authors, exhibitors, visitors and special invitees and requested their active participation in the proceedings.

Mr. T. Parabrahman, Trustee, Aluminium Casters Association of India

The Theme for the Event - Casting the Future With Aluminium  is significant as it embodies all the positives of the metal. The many applications of castings made from die casting process outstrip by far parts derived from any other process or material. At the same time, a variety of complex scenarios challenge the people who make these parts every day. It is necessary to not only solve such problems as they occur, but also ensure that they do not recur. ALUCAST is playing a small part in bringing to you information on new technology, machines and processes to help you in this effort.

Striking a suggestive note, Mr. Parabrahman hoped that industrialists from the State of Gujarat, generally known to be endowed with innovation and entrepreneurship, would soon step up to fill in the gap existing in India between demand and availability of two of the most precious items needed for die casting , namely, Die Casting Machines and virgin metal.

Chief Guest, Dr. P. N. Bhagwati. Chairman, Bhagwati Spherocast Pvt. Ltd.

The future of Aluminium die Casting is in composites, involving a number of post casting operations. Sub-assemblies would play a major role. He observed that foundry industry, which is the core of manufacturing, requires a change in orientation. It is difficult to locate high quality vendors. What is needed is managerial competence with emphasis on productivity and quality. Documentation is important to establish credentials of the manufacturer. This together with cost competency will enable global benchmarks with revised customer expectations to be reached. The current tendency to maintain two standards namely export quality to international standards and domestic quality to national standards needs to be addressed seriously and discouraged. There should be no need for any discussions on Quality- it is inherent and expected.

Any training should include not only managers but also lower level persons. Management techniques such as Kaizen, TPM, TQM should be practised at all levels. Constant retraining will help everybody to be updated and to perform at peak efficiencies. In this regard Dr. Bhagwati appreciated ALUCAST for providing appropriate training to persons at different levels.He was also pleased to note that ALUCAST is promoting internship programmes for Graduate Engineers interested in making a career in Die Casting. He said that his institute would be glad to collaborate with ALUCAST in this endeavour.

Mr. Zubin Kabraji, Secretary, Aluminium Casters Association of India.

ALUCAST , in existence since January 2005, is the largest registered body for Aluminium Die Casters in India. Head quartered in Pune and with active Zonal Centres in Bengaluru and New Delhi. ALUCAST is an interactive forum for members to acquire knowledge and expertise in die casting technology. Our major training events are in partnership with the North American Die Casting Association, (NADCA). These are extremely comprehensive and well received by Indian Industry.

The flagship Event, the ALUCAST International Trade Show, is held every alternate year (even number). In 2014 and 2016 it was held in conjunction with NurenbergMesse and attracted tremendous participation from India and abroad. Scheduled to be next held at Noida in December 2018, the event is likely to be 30% bigger in terms of floor area. The National level ALUCAST Conference and Table Top Display is held during odd years (2013, 2015, 2017). As a Policy, it is decided to move to new areas where there is potential and Gujarat has been identified as the foremost State. Our team has been touring the State , meeting people on one-on-one basis explaining the objectives of such an Event. It has been well received and interest among the foundrymen in Gujarat is substantial.

The ALUCAST Internship Programme helps graduating engineers to gain much needed practical experience and exposure to day  to  day problems on the shop floor. This provides them an opportunity to pursue a career in Die Casting. The first batch of two students has already been absorbed by industry and we hope to increase this number to six in the current year.

The Conference

The Conference, with presentations of 11 Technical Papers and three Product Presentations were well conducted by Mr. Rajesh Aggawal, Member, Technical Committee. Papers which dealt with highly technical contents were interspersed with Management topics, thus taking away the drudgery. Presentation by Dr. Steve Midson, on "Current Trends in Die Casting Technology" was widely appreciated for the futuristic scenario which would prevail if the ongoing experiments being spearheaded by the author are conclusive. Other papers which captured the interest of the audience included Operational Exellence to Business Excellence by Mr. Jayant Murthy, Kaizen Institute, Ahmedabad, Optical 3D Scanner by Mr. Anil Gupta, APM Technologies, Delhi and Ceramic Coatings for Non-Ferrous Casting Technology by Ramdas Chitalkar, Morgan PLC, Aurangabad.

Product Presentations covered detailed information on Thermal Vision Cameras used in HPDC (by Marposs India, Gurgaon), on Die Coats and Fluxes (by Quality Tech Pvt.Ltd., Hyderabad), and on Hedging-Price Risk Management for Furnace oil in Diecasting Industry(by MCX, Mumbai).

Table of Display

Table Top Display was completely sold out. The product catalogues on display ranged from diecasting machines, machine accessories such as ring piston, measuring instruments like optical 3D scanners, analyzers like thermal imaging systems, x-ray machines and consumables and samples of casting.

Overall, the objectives of holding the Event at Ahmedabad seem to have been achieved. Awareness about ALUCAST and its programs has been created. The high standards of presentations by authors in the Conference has been impressive, as evidenced by the near full hall in every session. However, foot fall of visitors to the Table Top Display was meagre. Feed back received from visitors and exhibitors attribute inadequate promotional efforts as the main reason. Despite this, most people responded that they would certainly participate in ALUCAST 2018 at Greater Noida.

ALUCAST appreciates efforts put in by leaders and members of various committees under the able guidance of the Chairman . ALUCAST also records appreciation of support from the Sponsors, Advertisers, Service Providers, Authors, Exhibitors, Delegates, Special Invitees, Guests , Management and Staff at Courtyard By Marriott. The Pune Zonal Centre is thankful to the Board of Trustees for the encouragement and support.

Lighting of Lamp-Innaguration of Conference

Table Top Display Inaguration

Technical Volume and Journal Release

View of Delegates

View of Delegates

Presentation by Dr. Midson, NADCA

Presentation by Jayesh Rathod, Godrej Tooling

Product Presentation by Marposs India

Certificate Distrubution to Participants

Table Top Display

Table Top Display