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News | May 28, 2024

ARM Institute Explores Robotic Solutions for Casting and Forging

By ARM Institute

Problem Statement

The casting and forging industries in the U.S. are critical to the defense supply chain, but are plagued with significant issues, including personnel safety concerns, material availability, and cost. Robotics and automation are well-suited for overcoming these challenges, however, a strategic roadmap is needed to identify needs and opportunities in order to prioritize investments and overcome these challenges.

Today, most casting and forging processes are completed with a high-degree of manual work by human operators in unsafe conditions. Additionally, firms have extreme difficulty finding workers who are interested and qualified to complete this work. This leads to a two-pronged issue of not having enough workers to fulfill demand and placing the qualified workers who are in these roles in unsafe conditions.

The use of robotics and automation in casting and forging represents a major opportunity to make this work safer, augment workforce gaps, make outputs/components more consistent, and have the resources needed to meet demand. Additionally, with casting and forging processes used in diverse markets, including aerospace, automotive, railroads, and others, robotics advancements would have wide impact.

Approach & Work Completed to Date

The ARM Institute is taking a key step in the creation of a Robotics for Casting & Forging Roadmap through a series of workshops that are designed to gain input from the casting and forging industries, robotics experts, and Department of Defense stakeholders. The resulting roadmap will define the advancements needed in robotics, automation, and workforce development to strengthen casting and forging in the U.S., prioritize these advancements, and identify high-impact near-term and intermediate-term solutions.

To date, the ARM Institute has worked with industry experts to identify top industry pain points and ways robotics and automation can address these challenges. From this exploration, several key focus areas have emerged, including:

  • Handling
  • Process Automation & Monitoring
  • Inspection
  • Maintenance & Durability

Provide Your Input

This is an ongoing effort and a strategic focus area for the ARM Institute. If you have expertise or are involved in the casting and forging industries, we encourage you to contact us by:

  • ARM Members who are interested in becoming involved should email Cara Cranston, Director of Technology Programs, at Cara.Cranston@arminstitute.org. Include a brief summary of your background and experience in this area.
  • Organizations that are not currently members, but interested in getting involved, should email membership@arminstitute.org.