A place to find solutions: interview with Döktaş
12 Jun 2023
Energy efficiency is the “biggest challenge” facing the foundry industry at the moment, according to Çağri Yamanturk, CTO of Güris Industrial Group (Döktaş), Turkey. The quest for solutions brought Mr Yamanturk and his colleagues to Düsseldorf and to the Foseco stand at GIFA 2023.
Through its Döktas subsidiary, Güris Industrial Group operates both iron and aluminium casting operations. Its Orhangazi iron foundry is the largest in Turkey and the fourth largest in Europe with a casting capacity of 150,000 tonnes per year. At its Manisa aluminium facility, the company runs high-pressure and low-pressure die casting lines with a total combined capacity of 15,000 tonnes per year.
“Everyone is facing rising energy prices and looking for solutions that improve energy efficiency,” continued Mr Yamanturk. “For us, this means solutions that increase yield. For example, we are working with Foseco on our use of feeders, to improve their efficiency and effectiveness, as well as to optimise their design to our casting needs.” This involves ongoing and frequent collaboration between Döktas and Foseco engineers: “Foseco’s team in Turkey regularly visits our site, working collaboratively with our engineering and production team to implement improvements.”
A case study in partnership
One recent example of the partnership has been the conversion of a large ductile iron casting – which requires spot feeding – from horizontal green sand moulding to vertically-parted moulding. Find out more about this case.
“Our FEEDEX K feeder has enabled Döktas to successfully spot feed an isolated heavy section in the centre of the casting, without modifying the casting geometry or using metal padding to create a feed path,” said Foseco’s Ziya Tanyeli, Business Unit Manager in Turkey. “This effectively allowed the foundry to switch to a vertically-parted moulding line, which reduces manufacturing costs, while still ensuring the soundness of the casting. The application of FEEDEX K feeders also helps to reduce scrap due to shrinkage.”
The Döktas project was one of the featured case studies at the Foseco stand at GIFA and highlights the importance of partnership and knowledge sharing to the future of the foundry industry: a key theme for Foseco at this year’s show.
“We are faced with an operating environment that is increasingly complex and challenging,” continued Tanyeli. “No one company will have all of the answers. Partnership and knowledge sharing will thus be an increasingly important component in the success of the industry moving forward.”
Discovering the latest innovations in foundry technology
Of course, innovation and technology – another key theme of the Foseco stand in Düsseldorf – will also play a critical role in ensuring foundries are equipped to succeed. And catching up with the latest product developments remains a major attraction of GIFA for Mr Yamanturk, his colleagues – and many thousands more. Held every four years, the trade show is the largest trade show for the international foundry industry and, alongside its sister shows, METEC, THERMPROCESS and NEWCAST, brings together the ‘bright world of metals’ from all corners of the globe.
At the Foseco stand, “we were impressed by the ICU Pro intelligent coating unit”, said Mr Yamanturk. By automating the process of controlling, monitoring, and adjusting coating mixes, the ICU Pro ensures coatings are applied consistently, with improved real-time control, process stability, and coating uniformity. The benefits for foundries include optimised drying times, reduced coating consumption, and higher productivity.
“The ICU Pro is the sort of technology that we need in the Turkish metal casting sector,” continued Mr Yamanturk, who noted that the unit on display at GIFA had been sold (on day one of the show) to another Turkish foundry. “It’s good to see the Turkish industry developing and improving through the application of advanced solutions from leading suppliers, such as Foseco. That’s good for the reputation of the sector as a whole, and for the Turkish economy.” Find out more about ICU
Advances in 3D sand printing had also caught Mr Yamanturk’s eye. “We have been printing cores since 2019, mainly for prototyping and small batch production, so it has been interesting to see the latest developments in that technology here at GIFA.”
Never a wasted trip
“The show is very important for the foundry industry,” explained Mr Yamanturk. “It offers a great opportunity to catch up with our supplies, such as Foseco, to see what they have been developing over the past four years, and to see in which ways the industry is moving. And because it is only every four years, we know that our suppliers have had the time to develop their products and solutions, and so will have something new and interesting to show. It’s never a wasted trip.”
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