About the Network

The Die Cast Training Network has been established by a small team of industry professionals who are aware of the need for more training for the Die Casting industry.

A shortage of adequately trained personnel is a significant problem for this technically-based industry which is undergoing expansion worldwide.

The objectives of the Die Cast Training Network are:-

• To develop and maintain a complete set of structured, well-designed courses, supported with extensive, state-of-the-art resources
• To use modern network technology to deliver training courses and materials on a global basis
• To establish and maintain a network of organisations and people who can provide teaching, mentoring and support services to regional groups
• To keep course fees as low as possible through sponsorship support, elimination of duplicated effort and the efficiency of global reach.

All members of the establishment team have extensive previous experience in setting up and running training programs for the Die Casting industry, including:

• Education programs for the Society of Die Casting Engineers of Australia
• Conferences and Seminars for the Die Casting Institute of Australia and the Australian Die Casting Association
• Training courses to Advanced Diploma level through the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)
• Training courses at operator level delivered through the Technical and Further Education (TAFE) system in New South Wales.
• Training courses for the Vehicle Industry Certificate (VIC) delivered to automotive companies in Victoria

These courses have all been very effective in raising the knowledge-base in the industry however they are too expensive to maintain as an on-going activity for a small user base. Hence our belief that global reach is important to amortise the establishment and support costs of training programs for this industry.

The concept of training courses for the Die Casting industry at three distinct and different educational levels (Operator Level, Technician Level and Management Level) is also quite important. It is effective, practical and matched to the needs of the industry.

The core subject areas of Die Cast training do not change very much. The support materials need to be updated, and new teachers need to be trained, but the basics remain the basics.

The On-going Leaning process also does not change. The need for international and regional conferences and seminars will always remain. This is where the latest developments are introduced to the industry and from there, if they are successful; they propagate through the factories of the world. In time, they become incorporated into the basic training courses for the next generation.

The leaders of tomorrow are the ones being trained today. The companies that will succeed into the future are the ones who understand what a well trained workforce can do for a manufacturing business.

If you want to read more, download the white paper titled

"Training Programs for the International Die Casting Industry"

Graham Wilson

Achieved a science degree at Monash University and then moved into manufacturing industry, taking on a wide range of roles and experiences; Die Casting, Injection Moulding and Tooling being specialist interests. Joined the Society of Die Casting Engineers of Australia, and learned from Alan Cope, Alan Davis, Peter Robinson and Ed Herman during the perod when rapid advances were being made in understanding the fundamentals of the technology. Has always been active in the Australian Die Casting Association, holding various offices. Worked and assisted with a range of training programs in Die Casting technology, including seminars, conferences and class-based courses. Worked closely with research organisations and universities and was a board member of the CAST Cooperative Research Centre for many years. Has a great deal of practical experience in applying science and engineering to the Die Casting process and seeing the benefits that can be achieved.

Eric Buckley

Eric attended the University of NSW studying applied chemistry and science. His first position was with the oldest Die Casting company in Australia, Lawrenson Diecasting, during which time he was engaged in chemical analysis and testing, melting, low pressure and high pressure Die Casting, finishing and electroplating.

He then moved to the secondary metals production industry, gaining experience in Aluminium, Zinc and Copper based casting materials.

After that he worked for a company producing high-integrity, high volume Die Cast parts for the international automotive industry and was responsible for customer relations, quotations and contracts, and in due course, senior management.

He then left to start his own company, supplying high and low pressure Die Casting machines and ancillary equipment as well as consulting and problem-solving services to industry.

Eric has a vast knowledge of the various Die Casting processes, their applications, and the technical capabilities.

John Carrig

With formal qualifications in metallurgy and education, John has had years of experience in industry before joining the RMIT Foundry School as a lecturer. He established the Die Casting Technician's Course for the Australian Die Casting Association and managed it for many years, resulting in formal training and qualification for hundreds of people in the industry. He then joined CSIRO in research into the Die Casting Process, and, among many other projects, developed the T-Mag process for the low pressure casting of magnesium alloys. He is a Life Member of the Australian Die Casting Association in recognition of his many years of work organising training seminars, technical presentations and conferences.

Dr Thang Nguyen

Dr. Nguyen worked as a research scientist with the Die Casting Group at CSIRO Melbourne for many years. His knowledge and experience with the various casting processes is very wide and you will see his name on many of the papers produced by CSIRO and presented at International Conferences over the years. Dr Nguyen is now retired, but he has been an invaluable help to The Die Cast Training Network by reviewing and contributing to the training subject contents.

Ed A. Herman

 Mr Herman has spent his whole career in manufacturing technology. As a qualified Industrial Engineer, he began in plants making Aluminium and Zinc Die Castings where he quickly got to grips with the technical issues. He could see that to improve the process, industry needed to apply scientific research and techniques to the process. He joined the US Society of Die Casting Engineers as the Education Officer, where he organised the training programs. Over several years, he wrote a series of text books on Die Casting technology which became the bedrock of training in the industry. Some of the titles of these text books are: Gating Die Casting Dies, Heat Flow, Dimensional Repeatability, Costing of Die Castings, Die Casting Dies Designing and Die Casting Process Engineering Control. His name is found on many papers by the SDCE and the North American Die Casting association. When the Australian Die Casting Association was setting up its Technician Training Course, Mr Herman was engaged to establish the course materials, and he produced two wonderful texts: 'Die Casting Technology Calculations' and 'Die Casting Process and Die Design Level II'. These text books are no longer in print, but the content lives on in many of the subjects of The Die Cast Training Network.