As the ball dropped between two outfielders at my daughter’s softball game, the coach yelled, “Come on! You need to communicate out there.” The ball was catchable—an easy out. Instead, the inning dragged on, requiring the team to work harder for a win.

The importance of communication is shown to us again and again, from when we were kids to now as adults in our careers. Yet we often still need the reminder.

Communication between casting supplier and buyer is a common theme in Casting Source. Open channels can save time and money and get you that win much easier. 

As casting engineer Jeff Taylor explains on page 15, “That’s why we ask so many questions up front—it enables us to cast their parts right and meet or exceed their expectations the first time.”

Some of the things important to communicate with your casting supplier include final application, level of acceptable surface porosity and visual defects, dimensional validation required, expected volumes, and required process information, such as control plans and process flow diagrams. Columnist Dave Charbauski goes into more detail on the communication required during the sampling process on page 8. 

Finally, several examples of successful communication are in these pages, including our cover story on page 20. 

The design and production ramp-up of a new invention for lifting and connecting heavy pipes safely was the result of 12 weeks, 114 email exchanges and dozens of phone calls, as our editor Kim Phelan put it. 

“When you get a part you have to make into a casting, there’s a lot of little details you have to put into it, and there was definitely a lot of back and forth,” LA Aluminum’s Gary Jackson said. 

The result of open and frequent communication: a robust part that improved the safety of its users and cost 65% less than the previous weldment.  

Don’t make it harder for your team to win. Remember, you have to communicate out there.   CS