Dotson Tour

Interactive Factory Tour

Click on the numbers to interact with the Dotson Factory Tour Map and learn about the casting process!

Discover the Dotson Difference

1. Engineering

Quoting, design, quality specs and new job startup are all part of the engineering department.

Quote response time for a basic casting quote is one day. When a quote includes value added services that response time is only slightly longer. Dotson’s unique method of integrating technology, processes, and round the clock activity allows Dotson’s lead time for samples from new tooling to be under 21 days. Dotson’s agility on new job startup translates to more agile customers.

2. Tooling

Tight tolerance, high quality production tooling is essential in the production of quality parts. Tooling needs differ from job to job, but at Dotson production tooling starts with the molding pattern and often includes, core boxes, core masks, grinding fixtures, and machining fixtures.

Dotson’s team of skilled employees is trained to handle tooling/fixture building/repair across all three shifts to assure agility at every stage of the production process.

3. Core Room

Cores are used to make the interior detail of castings. The cores are sand held together with a chemical binder system. Core boxes specific to each part are necessary to make cores. The Dotson Company utilizes Laempe core machines. These cold box system machines use a two part chemical reaction to solidify the cores.

Cores are produced in house just in time for production on fully automated core machines.

4. Mold

The foundry uses green sand compacted with matchplate molding machines. The working size of the molds is 20″ X 24″. Three molding machines are utilized on three separate mold lines that operate independently. In a 24-hour period these machines produce up to 7,000 molds.

Process time from order entry to finished goods is under 4 hours. Another example of Dotson agility translating to customer agility.

5. Melt

Two 8000 pound electric coreless induction furnaces are run from an air conditioned control room. An unattended, computer controlled overhead crane system builds the raw material charge going into the furnaces. Every 7 minutes a 1600# ladle is tapped from the furnaces providing the heartbeat pace of the foundry.

A focus on automation and on narrowing process variation results in constantly high quality parts run after run.

6. Pour

Dotson is the only North American jobbing foundry with 100% autopouring. The units provide tight control on both the flow rate and pouring height – translating into more consistent castings. The final ferro-silicon inoculations are computer controlled and added automatically to the metal stream as it is being poured into the mold.

Automated pouring greatly reduces the risk for operator error and improves overall casting quality because each and every pour is exactly the same.

7. Finishing

Dotson’ s fully automated finishing room is focused on world class takt time and flow. Degating is done with hydraulic wedges, and all grinding is done with CNC controlled grinders or a trim press. Inspection and shop work orders are online and in real time which eliminates the need for paper work orders and improves communication across all shifts.

Automated grinding ensures that each and every casting is ground to the customers specification every time.

8. Machining

At Dotson it’s our vision to become the world’s most agile foundry which means the machine shop must operate under the same key guiding principles that drive our agility. We use only the best quality Mills and Lathes in order to ensure the production of a quality product and eliminate issues for our customers. Lead times are kept low because the machine shop is located in the production flow of the foundry, castings are machined in-line just a few feet from the finishing department. We invite you to stop in and check out our progress in machining at any time.

Dotson provides short lead, no hassle, on-time machined complete castings.

9. Shipping

Shipping is the last stop for the castings. Dotson’s staff does a final check of both paperwork and parts to assure everything is in order. Dotson’s on time percentage is 98.7% with a consistent lead time of 5 days. With bar codes on every box, containers can be tracked electronically both at our location and yours.

Finished castings in 5 days or less all of the time!