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Author: Angie

Globally recognised as a leader in the manufacture and supply of castings and fabrications that are unsurpassed in quality and integrity.

Foothills Steel Foundry has the capability to design and engineer quality cast steel wear parts as well as a variety of martensitic high chrome white iron products for the mining industry on a global scale. 

Quality is a massive part of our process, it’s our end game. We only deliver parts that we know have integrity. Because we start with the end in mind we are now known as a global leader for some of the best wear parts in the world. It’s a big claim but one we are prepared to back. 

With our recent ISO certification we can prove it too. Over the years our capability has increased year on year. The size of our operations has increased and our workforce has increased. As a proud Canadian Foundry with a long heritage and big plans we look forward to what the future holds. 

Our aim is to offer the market alternative and more reliable solutions to OEM parts and to ensure that any forced downtime experienced by our clients is minimised through the creation of quality parts that not only last longer and are supplied on time, but also at a reduced cost. Proprietary Alloys, linear delivery solutions and our global supply chain helps us to achieve this.

Talk to us about your next order of wear parts of custom cast solutions.

#foothills #foothillssteel #wearparts #qualitymanagement #manufacturing #downtimereduction #wearpartsthatlast

Our evolution from simple, small castings and forgings into global large scale high performance castings and fabrications

Over our 74 year history we have evolved from a small ironworks factory into a multi faceted, quality managed foundry who supplies to the entire globe. We have customers in Australia, Europe, USA, Canada, Africa and New Zealand. It’s not bad for a small family foundry that started on the shores of the Bow River in 1913.

The secret to our success lies solely with our people. Without the experience of our incredibly talented team we would not be where we are today. Over the years we have had some visionary leaders at the helm, today we embrace this quality and strive to meet and surpass their expectations. 

These days we don’t just manufacture small castings and forgings. We get involved in large scale plant & equipment parts, we engineer solutions for problems thought unsolvable. Because we have such a broad knowledge and deep experience, we are asked to find answers to problems that seem to stop the industry in its tracks. As engineers and thinkers from a foundry perspective and because we understand the mining, crushing and quarrying industry so intrinsically we are constantly consulting to the major players to help them find workarounds. 

Our evolution as thought leaders from an industrial perspective is something we are very proud of. It forms part of our quality management process and it is why our customer service is deemed “unsurpassable”. 

If you have a curly problem that you cannot work out – talk to us, chances are we’ve got the capacity and capability to solve it for you. 

Why do our wear parts outlast the competition?

Maybe it’s something to do with the metallurgists we have on staff, or the 74 years of hands-on experience, combined with our ability to create a consistent heat chemistry with just the right amount of manganese. Or the countless other controlled and repeatable processes implemented throughout our Quality Management System. Foothills wear parts just last longer. 

Let’s talk about our metals.

It is not just a case of pouring molten metal into a pattern and letting it cool, there is an art and a science to being a world leading steel casting supplier. 

Manganese alloys are extremely resilient, designed to work in some of the harshest environments on the planet. Products like cone and jaw liners can take a pounding before they become worn out.

The pathway to determining how much manganese, carbon and chrome to add to the steel is pure science developed over decades of trials. We put our metals through rigorous testing before we release a product to the market. 

Once molded into shape, our castings undergo extra hardening tests like explosion hardening,flame hardening, peening and induction hardening processes to increase wear life and reduce downtimes. We manage it all here at Foothills.

Manganese wear parts are sold in a number of common grades; 14% (standard Hadfield manganese), 18% and 21+% grades. 14% manganese has been used in crushing around the world for over 100 years and is a very reliable material suitable for all purposes.  14% manganese is supplied from the foundry with a hardness of approx 200 Brinel (HB), and when crushing rock with a high compressive strength (hard rock), will work harden to 450-500HB. Custom designed 18% and 21% grades are typically used in high abrasion applications, returning unsurpassed dollar-for -dollar wear life increases.

Our understanding of this and our sheer determination to continue to carry out R & D on our alloys and the strength of the end product defines Foothills Steel Foundry as a leader in our field and a renowned supplier of parts that last.

Read more about our metals here 

Technology and Experience makes Foothills the leaders in their field

faro-arm-13Foothills Steel Foundry has the capability to measure, design  and cast anything steel, and it is liberating.

When Faro™ created the FaroArm way back in the mid 80’s, I wonder whether these two biomedical engineers realised what an impact their lab creations would have on the industrial world today.  Originally the two “techno-junkies” set out to develop technology and software to support advanced surgical and diagnostic methods. They introduced their first articulated-arm measurement technology in 1984 and realised that the measuring arm would have multiple applications across various industries. The rest, as they say, is history as Faro continues to grow globally as one of the world’s fastest growing companies.

Foothills have been fans of the FaroArm for years, first purchasing the FaroArm for the Australian office in 2009, not long after the Fusion Arm came on the market. Since then we have measured many castings in Canada, Australia, USA and New Zealand.  Our advanced measuring ability has helped to win work, improve quality and ensure the accuracy of our custom cast parts for our customers.

The FaroArm Fusion model is the perfect blend of precision, durability and technology. The Fusion is an all-in-one portable measurement arm for inspections, CAD-to-part analysis, and reverse engineering, which is what Foothills use it for the most.

The large, spherical working volume (2.4m) and a measurement accuracy of 0.04mm, you can be sure that the parts Foothills cast with these measurements are as near to perfect as possible.

We are often asked to measure a part, create the pattern, then manufacture it. Before we deliver it, we also make sure to inspect it with the FaroArm.  The inspection ensures that the dimensions of the completed casting match the original sample. This is just one extra way that Foothills manages quality.

The portability of the FaroArm allows us to come to the plant or onto the site and measure the casting. Then literally take the measurements back to the foundry and create the pattern to solve the problem. It’s technology at its best, and we want to spread the word about our ability to do this.

The Foothills brand is synonymous with hard wearing and long lasting quality parts, and part of the reason is that we have the best tools to carry out the job and an experienced team who know their stuff. With over 70 years of experience and a bounty of technology, our reputation is well deserved.

If you need a solution to a tricky problem, let us see if we can help using our FaroArm technology.

Read all about our Faro Arm capabilities here

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Extending Wear Life

Finding a solution to wear problems is what we do best. Often our clients come to us with a specific wear problem, which essentially means that their liners they are using on their jaw’s and cones are not performing as expected. Foothills manufacture longer lasting wear parts specific to the crusher being used.

One of the first steps to take place is establishing what the issue actually is.  This is done by looking at the feed and discharge settings, digitally profiling worn liners, and looking for any unusual wear patterns.  Our evaluation and understanding process is where we differ from most other wear part suppliers, purely because we can tailor our wear parts to a particular crushing environment, as opposed to just selling more of the same wear parts.

Worn Liner Digital ProfileWe then design from a position of knowledge, where there is wear, we engineer new parts that combat the stress in these particular areas, which ultimately means that the new part will last longer for that particular application. This may include adding steel to the areas that wear more, changing the shape to spread the wear area, or increasing the thickness of the wear parts.

When the designs are completed, we manufacture the new parts and run trials in conjunction with our customers.  We assess the new liners in-situ with a goal of achieving longer wear life and more efficient crushing.

Once a suitable solution has been developed Foothills are then able to consistently cast these parts specifically for the customers change-out cycles and keep stock in Australia ready for prompt delivery when required. This is an efficient and cost effective way to manage your downtime and be prepared for any potential unforeseen crusher breakdowns.

Read all about how we developed a customised solution for one of our dealers in NZ

Komatsu BR380 HD Jaw Profile