Professor uses artist's way to change industrial process
Released: Novemeber 1, 2006
Sometimes it takes a fresh look at an old process to make a significant change. That's exactly what University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Associate Professor of Art Daniel McGuire did when he invented a new process that enables foundries to save a day's worth of work when making ceramic shells.
McGuires invention is a new twist on an old metal-casting process. The process, originally designed for the classroom, will help students in the sculpture lab to create metal casting shells in a short window of time. Ceramic shells are molds used in foundries for the casting of molten metal.
After research, McGuire and Eric Hellstrom, materials science and engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, noticed that the technology had use in foundries.
McGuire, a Beloit native with a concentration in sculpture art, has a solid history in the integration of art and industry. "I tried to take an industrial process like ceramic shells and use it in classroom setting," he said.
McGuire believes it is important for students to understand how art can be integrated with industry, and he strives to expose them to available industrial processes that reflect their artistic and visual expression. "It is important that they understand the audience that industry caters to. Industry tends to take the quickest route to a solution," he said.
In today's investment-casting industry, this invention will help foundries increase production of ceramic shells. With existing technology, it takes the best foundries roughly 29 hours to produce a high-temperature casting. "We can complete this in six hours," McGuire said.
In its raw state, the invention was not usable in foundries. McGuire then worked with Hellstrom for the second patent. Hellstrom, who has his hand in other patents, aided McGuire in modifying his invention to conform to current industrial processes. McGuire and Hellstrom already have a patent pending that can expedite the production of finished ceramic shells 10 times faster with current industrial applications.
The next step was getting the investment-casting industry exposed to McGuire's invention.
"It was sitting there in the closet not being used, and we needed to get the message out to the industry," said Bud Gayhart, program director for small business development at UW-Whitewater. McGuire and Gayhart worked on a plan that would be conducive to the industry's production of ceramic shells.
Gayhart, who is familiar with the energy industry having worked for what is now We-Energies, still has contacts in the company. He contacted Clean Technology- formerly known as the Center for Technology- in Madison. Clean Technology tries to find ways to conserve energy.
In turn, Clean Technology asked several investment-casting foundries to participate in the testing of the invention, including Wisconsin Precision Casting Corporation in East Troy, Walworth Foundries in Darien and ShellMet Precision Casting in Wild Rose. McGuire ran the invention in line with their current technology to gauge real-time savings. As hypothesized, the tests revealed quite a few benefits for foundries
"It will greatly reduce the amount of people time in this process, and we can get the finished product back to the customer faster," Gayhart said.
McGuire's invention brings to light the innovative minds at UW-Whitewater and its support for faculty research.
"The beauty of this is we know that there are a lot of products that have come to market because of research out of Madison, but there has never been a product commercialized from UW-Whitewater. This would be the first," Gayhart said.
Richard Telfer, vice chancellor and provost, believes McGuire's accomplishment will benefit other professionals. "I'm proud of Professor McGuire, and I'm glad he's on the faculty here at UW-Whitewater," he said.
McGuire consulted with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and WiSys for the research, legal, and patent concerns for the invention. "WiSys is a great partner to have in your corner. They bring so much to the table," McGuire said. WiSys links technology from the UW System with interested companies. "McGuire's success story shows how WiSys ties together the UW-System, its inventors and companies on the forefront of technology development," Paul Pucci, manager for WiSys, said.
Intrigued by this experience, McGuire plans to continue to use technology in the classroom as a teaching aide and as a way for art students across the country to generate quick casting that reflects their visual statement.
"I've always enjoyed the sciences, and it's very exciting to see a concept materialize to the point that this research has," he said.
- LeQuez Spearman,spearmanlt22@uww.edu
