Recognizing a nearly 30-year, distinguished partnership

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—His resume is filled with hundreds of entries—hundreds of publication citations, dozens of committee memberships and consulting projects, many patents and academic appointments. But that impressive list doesn’t tell the whole story—the story of WMU’s Dr. Sam Ramrattan’s impact on research that for nearly 30 years has included Sinto Group—the foundry arm of Toyota—in a partnership that is advancing the science of metal casting.

And the importance of metal casting cannot be overstated. Although the industry comprises primarily small businesses, the American Foundry Society reports it is the sixth largest industry in the United States, responsible for an $8 billion payroll. In this environment, Ramrattan thrives as a WMU professor of engineering design, manufacturing and management systems, Foundry Education Foundation Key Professor and global researcher.

In 1992, Ramrattan met Richard Stewart, then president of Michigan-based Roberts Sinto. This association resulted in Ramrattan’s connection with Sinto. In 2006, he began annual visits to Sinto’s headquarters in Toyokawa, Japan.

“The primary goal of our collaboration is to advance smart technologies to make quality castings faster,” says Ramrattan.

This continuous partnership has resulted in eight research publications just this year. Ramrattan’s numerous patents benefit Sinto and include a joint patent with the metal casting giant titled “Aeration Sand Filling Technology.”

With more than 500 WMU alumni working internationally as metal casting professionals, Ramrattan continues moving metal casting education forward with other activities that help distinguish WMU’s offerings, including:

A yearly week-long camp for 15 high school students each summer, introducing them to the foundry industry and WMU.

An annual seminar that brings together a small group of about 50 to discuss recent research. This year they shared technical information emerging from international research projects related to green and chemically bonded sand control. Among the attendees and speakers were leaders from WMU, Carpenter Brothers, Norican Group, HA-International, Furness-Newburge, International Journal of Metal casting, ASK Chemicals, Laempe+Reich and MPM India.

For Ramrattan, his endless efforts remain focused on a single goal—improving metal casting in ways that benefit the world.

“A big shout out to my key professor at Western Michigan University, Dr. Sam Ramrattan, for picking me to work on the thermal distortion tester as my senior project,” says Rodney Burkhardt, B.S.’97, senior vice president and chief technical officer for castings and engineering at Metal Technologies. “Thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to explore the potential in the foundry industry. You are a great professor and ambassador for the foundry industry.”

The accolades Ramrattan has earned from students, alumni and industry leaders are also replicated by his WMU colleagues.

 “Sam’s more than 30 years of research has helped not only develop innovative testing methods and processes but has also influenced generations of engineers who are leaders in the industry,” says Dr. Steve Butt, dean of WMU’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

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