NovaCast improves Ecovadis rating once again
Despite tougher Ecovadis scoring methodology, NovaCast has further improved its sustainability rating with the world’s largest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings. Following on from our silver medal in 2023, we have once again been awarded a silver medal that places us in the top 15% of the 130,000 companies Ecovadis assesses worldwide....
NovaCast and Xylem planting project for Noah’s Ark
Noah’s Ark Children’s Venture is a charity providing a residential facility for disadvantaged and disabled children at Macaroni Woods near Cirencester. Their aim is to make a positive difference to the lives of children and young people who are experiencing social or educational exclusion, by reason of their youth, disability, poverty, or social and economic...
NovaCast provides a new public access defibrillator at it’s Bowerhill office
It’s a sobering thought that approximately 95% of people who suffer a sudden cardiac arrest will die before they reach hospital. This figure could be transformed into a survival rate of 70% if more locally available defibrillators were in place. At NovaCast, we have been working with London Hearts, an organisation set up to help...
Metal shrinkage in castings and why it matters
Within this article, we take a look at one of the issues within metal casting that is critical to get right but challenging to understand, even for those within the industry...
Bringing a piece of British motoring heritage back to life
In the early 1900’s, British car manufacturers were at the forefront of motor vehicle development. The Vulcan Motor company, based in Southport, England, was one such innovator that produced cars from 1902 until the late 1920s. Today, early examples of Vulcan cars are extremely rare collectors’ items. NovaCast was approached by a specialist engineering company...
NovaCast’s stockholding capability protects customers from Red Sea shipping delays
NovaCast’s customer base is a healthy mix of those ordering from our UK foundry, and those that want to take advantage of the more competitive rates and capacity of our partner foundries in the Far East and India. Clearly, for castings imported from these international locations, the current disruption in the Red Sea could have...
Job Vacancy: Quality Technician
Due to the substantial growth of the business NovaCast is looking to recruit a full-time Quality Technician who will be based at our foundry in Melksham. This is an exciting opportunity to work within a growing business that is investing in the latest foundry technologies and systems. The full job description can be found here...
The Differences Between Non-destructive and Destructive Testing of Metal Castings
In a perfect world, every casting would be free of defects and perform exactly and reliably to design specifications. The reality, however, is that casting metal is a process subject to a multitude of factors that affect the way that an alloy reacts throughout the process. The inevitable result is that defects are an inherent...
Why quantifying progress is essential for a sustainable future
During recent years there has been an ever-growing awareness of the impact that our activities have on the world we live in. Whatever your perspective on the causes of global warming, it is a matter of fact that most of us in the developed world cause harm to our environment through the products we consume,...
The Casting Design Development Process
In this article we run through a typical casting design process to highlight the importance of co-operation at an early stage between designer and foundry. A typical experience based on an iterative design process might be as follows. The role of the design engineers The product design engineer will design casting geometry based on the...
NovaCast embraces environmental transparency by disclosing through CDP
19.10.2023 NovaCast today announced that it has furthered its commitment to environmental transparency by disclosing its environmental impact through CDP, a global non-profit that runs the world’s leading environmental disclosure platform. NovaCast has disclosed through CDP since 2022, and in 2023 completed CDP’s Climate change & Water security questionnaires. With a record 23000+ companies disclosing...
A NovaCast Guide: “Casting Design Considerations for Design Engineers”
While there is no substitute for a close working relationship at an early stage between the design engineer and their chosen foundry, we hope that this guide will be of assistance to product design engineers. It will give an indication of the often-conflicting factors that the production team within the foundry will need to take...
A successful foundry is about so much more than just casting metal
As any buyer of castings will surely understand, there are hundreds of foundries around the world who could cast their component. The complexity of the geometry or the need to use a special alloy may limit that number somewhat, and demand and supply will dictate prices and lead times, but they will still have plenty...
Certified 100% Renewable Electricity
By its nature, a foundry is an energy-intensive business so the choice of energy supplier is a critical decision when considering the carbon footprint of the business moving forwards. As part of our commitment to sustainability, NovaCast has taken the opportunity to engage with an energy supplier that guarantees 100% of the electricity it supplies...
The Difference Between Gravity, Low and High Pressure Die Casting
Die casting is one of the most widely used casting processes but there are significant differences between Gravity Die Casting (GDC), Low Pressure Die Casting (LPDC), and High Pressure Die Casting (HPDC). Each are casting processes offered by NovaCast, so we are well placed to explain the differences and discuss the selection criteria. Getting metal...
The Leaders Council forum: Workforce Of The Future
On the 4th April 2023, a small group of business leaders, including Richard Phillips, MD at NovaCast, met at the Caledonian Club in London. The forum was convened by The Leaders Council to discuss how the workforce has changed over the past few years and the resultant opportunities and challenges. There was a specific emphasis...
Sustainability Matters
As part of our commitment to making our business more sustainable and doing our bit to improve the environment we all share, NovaCast has engaged with EcoVadis, the international sustainability ratings platform. We reported in February that we had improved our EcoVadis sustainability score by 61% in the past year. EcoVadis partners with hundreds of...
Choosing the right metal casting process
Selecting the right casting process for making a metal component is an important consideration at the early stages of product design. NovaCast has produced a guide that aims to highlight the considerations, and emphasise the importance of working closely with your foundry's design engineering team.
Metal shrinkage in castings and why it matters
Within this article, we take a look at one of the issues within metal casting that is critical to get right but challenging to understand, even for those within the industry...
See our updated brochure
The latest NovaCast brochure has just been uploaded to our website and includes much more information about the company, our casting options, and our approach to sustainability.
22 March is World Water Day
Every year since 1993, World Water Day (22 March) raises awareness and inspires action to tackle the water and sanitation crisis. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. It is a United Nations observance coordinated by UN-Water. You can find...
NovaCast improves its EcoVadis sustainability score by 61%
In recognition of the remarkable sustainability improvements made during the last year, NovaCast has just been awarded a silver medal by international sustainability ratings platform EcoVadis. NovaCast operates in a traditional industry where sustainability can be difficult to achieve due to the processes involved in a foundry environment. Since taking full ownership and management control,...
Comprehensive First Aid Training at NovaCast
With the focus on rapidly rising costs in virtually all aspects of running a business, it is easy to overlook the importance of health and safety in the workplace. Having a work colleague suffer a life-threatening medical emergency does tend to put everything else into perspective. At NovaCast, we operate in an environment with many...
Use of 3D scanning for reverse engineering and quality control
Over recent years, design engineering departments within foundries, such as NovaCast in the UK, have increasingly become the home to various digital technologies ranging from CAD systems, 3D modelling and casting simulation to 3D printing. We take a closer look at the latest addition to the digital revolution; 3D scanning technology introduced at NovaCast’s Melksham...