CASTFAST behind the scenes #1: Marcel Tschillaev

Behind CASTFAST is a small team that has developed the platform from an idea to a successful model over the last two years - and has big plans. Here we talk to Marcel Tschillaev, who has been with us from the start and is now head of 3D printing production at our first affiliated foundry, Römheld & Moelle.

Marcel, how did you end up at CASTFAST?

Marcel Tschillaev: I applied to Römheld & Moelle as a student trainee to work on the CASTFAST project as part of my Master’s degree in automotive engineering. You rarely come across the subject of casting and foundry during your studies. Wrongly so! I found it exciting to have the opportunity to help shape the future of the foundry.

What happened next?

MT: In mid-2021, I joined the strategy team directly with the management. And after that, things went from strength to strength. The idea right from the start was to combine 3D sand printing with online business. However, we quickly realized that the idea had potential beyond our foundry. At the end of 2021, the decision was made to develop CASTFAST as a platform and make it accessible to more foundries.

“The 3D printing element opens up new design possibilities [...]. The more customers engage with it, the more excited they are about the potential.”

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And at the same time, you got 3D sand printing production up and running at R&M?

MT:Exactly, we started with one printer and it was quickly used to capacity. The second 3D sand printer was added in February 2023.

In between and since then, we have learned a lot and further optimized production. 3D printing production has its own production hall, in which we continue to invest.

In addition, we are increasingly working on joint projects with our 3D sand printing customers in order to explore the advantages and specific properties of the process for the customer’s individual applications.

This involves thin-walled castings – how thin can we make them? – and interesting aspects of topology optimization. We also experiment a lot with combinations of 3D sand printing and our other processes. Full mold casting with printed cores, for example. Or, brand new, printed core boxes.

The 3D printing element opens up new design possibilities – the design is much less restricted by the manufacturing method. The more customers get to grips with it, the more enthusiastic they are about its potential.

“This means that several problems in foundry operations can be solved at once.”

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What role does the online ordering process and process digitization play?

MT: A decisive one. Casting buyers keep telling us that there is not enough agility in the market, that it takes too long to obtain quotations for castings and that it is difficult to involve additional suppliers. This is detrimental to the entire foundry industry.

3D sand printing enables the process to be digitized from the first price inquiry and also makes it much easier to cycle the casting production through the foundry afterwards.

This means that several problems in foundry operations can be solved in one fell swoop. Simply setting up a sand printer and ignoring the potential to radically improve the entire process made no sense to us.

What does that mean in concrete terms?

MT: Placing the order online, based on the key data of the casting or the CAD file, gives the customer an immediate price and provisional delivery date, and also allows affiliated foundries to process the request much more efficiently and quickly.

Everything is digital right up to the actual printing of the mold. No need to build a wooden model or fetch one from the warehouse.

And the more foundries that join the platform, the more choice and agility the customer gains. This frees up foundry capacity, which can be utilized much more flexibly at the same time. Foundries in turn benefit from the leaner process.

What’s next on the agenda for CASTFAST?

MT: Of course we want to further improve the platform and establish it on the market. The message: casting can also be modern.

Personally, I am particularly keen to familiarize designers with the new freedoms of 3D sand printing. Printed casting is also worthwhile for parts that have been designed for traditional casting processes, especially for individual pieces or small batches. However, it becomes really interesting when you can suddenly rethink cast parts from scratch. The potential is huge.

At CASTFAST, we are bringing the good old foundry into the 21st century. The ingredients: An additive manufacturing process, process digitization that starts with the offer, and the firm belief that foundries are stronger together.