Blue Diamond Steel Casting (Pigeon, Michigan) helped a customer significantly reduce inventory and assembly with a conversion for a Bobcat R series loader. The lift arm assembly, which comes in right- and left-hand pairs, was reduced from a 22-piece fabrication to two parts. Plus, the weld inches were reduced from 810 to 191. The cast version is 20% stronger with better durability and reinforcement, and the need for form die bends/air bends was eliminated from eight to zero. The overall aesthetic appearance of the Bobcat machine was improved tremendously with streamlined casting shapes on both sides.

Click here to read the full column in the May/June 2022 digital edition.