The Cambridge Division of Pace Industries continued its history of winning awards at the NADCA International Die Casting Design Competition.  In fact, it was just two years ago when we last won an award at this very competition.  Check back in our blog archives for our January 14^th, 2016 blog to learn more about that story.

This year, Cambridge won the Aluminum under 1 lb. division, with a Mid – Housing for L3 Technologies.  This is the main housing for a Next Gen Aiming Laser to be placed on many weapons for the U.S. military, to pair with all generations of night vision devices. The Cambridge team was given a tough task in replacing a piece that was previously conceived in plastic, that now needed to be cast in aluminum.  We designed a part that would not add weight, but significantly increase the structural integrity on the part.  Not only did we succeed, but we exceeded all expectations creating a part with walls less than 0.05” thick, yet with tremendous detail and durability.

The Cambridge division was excited to partner with L3 Technologies on this project.  Through many hours of discussions and brain storming sessions, together we designed a part that both Pace and L3 Technologies were proud to be producing. Keith Liadis of L3 Technologies said this about Pace, “It was a great experience working with the Pace team on this project, Pace certainly deserves the accolades.” Cambridge was able to showcase their full-service abilities on this part, providing everything from early supplier involvement, die casting, machining, anodizing, assembling and part packaging to be delivered to L3 Technologies.  We always strive to be the highest quality supplier to our customers and this is an example of the processes that we can perform.

Cambridge Division excels in serving niche and specialty markets, by expertly producing difficult die castings and providing exemplary project management and engineering support.  In addition, Cambridge’s value-added services includes a spectrum of capabilities including, in-house assembly, machining, finishing, and creating a total solution provider.  Situated just outside of Boston, the Cambridge Division is prepared to serve the innovative customers and countless startups in the area and all over the world.

For the past 45 years, the North American Die Casting Association (NADCA) has sponsored the International Die Casting Design Competition where they recognize, reward and publicize the outstanding casting designs of the year.  This annual competition provides a competitive environment where submitted parts are judged on four equally weighted criteria, ingenuity of casting/product design, overall quality, cost savings and market-expanding potential.  The competition is broken down into several categories by both weight of castings and material used.

Pace Industries is no stranger to this competition, in the past 10 years, 6 divisions of Pace Industries have brought home a collective 12 awards. Pace has shown its expertise, by taking home awards in multiple different material and size divisions of the competition.  This year we are proud to announce that we have yet again brought home 2 awards from 2 of our divisions.

We are excited to celebrate with the Grafton Division on their winning part for the Aluminum casting 10lbs and up division.  The Grafton Division submitted a part cast out of 413 aluminum as their 2017 choice, the 44 lb. LED Light Fixture for Cree, Inc. This part was designed to increase the illuminated area by adding extra LED’s into the larger housing. What makes this light excellent is that the part not only maximizes its size, but also minimizes wind load requirements and reducing the overall part weight, helping to make the installation process much easier.  This part delivers many benefits such as reducing energy requirements, reduced maintenance cost and easier installs, allowing for rapid return on investments.

We are proud to partner with Cree, Inc. on the casting of this challenging part.  We know that our success ultimately comes when our customers succeed, and this part is truly raising the industry standard, and we are excited to be part of that.  Lisa Ruffalo from Cree, Inc. had this to say about her experience working with Pace on this project, “I was very impressed with Pace, it was a challenge to find a die caster who was able to produce a part this large but who could also produce a part with such detail.”  She went on to say “the software and mold flow analysis they used was outstanding, and they were constantly supportive and present through the entire process.”

The Grafton Division is an industry leader in complex high pressure die castings primarily for customers in the automotive, lighting, large and small engine industries.  Grafton can provide many value added services in house including machining, painting, polishing testing and assembly to name a few. Pace Industries is committed to providing uncommon solutions that contribute to the success of our customers.