Danko Arlington is proud to showcase its newest technology with such a distinguished audience as well as flattered to receive so many gracious complements in return:

DLA Thank You letter 4_18_2012

AMC Thank you letter 4_20_2012

What do a traditional foundry and 3d printing have in common? A lot if you are talking about Danko Arlington located in the Park Heights section of Baltimore, Maryland. Danko Arlington is a third generation, family-owned business and an example of traditional industry staying competitive by embracing rapid technologies. About a year ago CEO John Danko purchased and integrated one of the largest and most accurate 3d printers on the market, the Stratasys Fortus 900mc for patternmaking, one of two in the state of Maryland. 3d printers decrease the time it takes to bid a job, get prototypes to the client, and ultimately decrease the time it takes to get a product to market. In short, the process is vastly more efficient than conventional methods.

John Danko will be speaking at the NEXTgen-M Rapid Technology Conference, the first of its kind in the Mid-Atlantic region. The conference is being held on April 27, in Timonium, Maryland. NEXTgen-M will bring together some of the most innovative minds around this topic to discuss the far-reaching implications of this globally transformative technology.

“Danko is a perfect example of a manufacturer who implemented rapid technologies to create a technological competitive advance that works. The conference is meant to show how this technology is working in business today and how it applies to various manufacturing settings.” said Mike Galiazzo, President, Regional Manufacturing Institute. The purpose of the April 27 conference is to introduce how rapid technology is finding a growing role in advanced manufacturing and to identify people in the Baltimore region who wish to support the advancement of rapid technology.

“Danko Arlington is an excellent example of how traditional industry adopts rapid technologies, namely 3D printing or rapid prototyping and digitizers, in order to compete in today’s digital world. They are sustaining and growing their business; creating jobs and keeping jobs in Maryland. Danko Arlington illustrates how rapid tech cuts across industries and sectors enabling industry to compete in today’s fast-paced global world.”
-Professor Jan Baum, Director of the Object Lab at Towson University and a member of the RMI Board of Directors

Danko Arlington uses 3d printing in lieu of traditional patternmaking, a skilled trade or, more specifically, a specialized form of master woodworking. Joseph O. Danko, Sr., founder of the company, started off as a patternmaker. Patterns, used in foundries, are replicas of objects to be cast, used to form the cavity in which molten metal will be poured during the casting process. While rapid prototyping has diminished the need for as many patternmakers, it hasn’t completely replaced the need for having experienced tradesmen on site and at the same time has helped the company garner new contracts which means jobs. While touring the pattern shop John Danko pointed out a patternmaker who has been with the company for several decades. The addition of 3d printing technology has reduced the time necessary for patternmaking from weeks to days. When bidding on new contracts, John Danko can put high quality, scale replicas of finished products into the hands of potential customers faster than ever. The resulting reduction in lead time, resources, and labor costs have positioned Danko Arlington as one of the more competitive foundries operating in the Mid-Atlantic region today. 3d digitizers and scanners are used to analyze the products/parts for tolerances and structural integrity, a key to maintaining their reputation and assuring future contracts.

Founded by the current CEO’s grandfather in 1920, Danko Arlington is a proud Baltimore company carrying on the city’s great foundry tradition. The first location for what was then known as, Danko Pattern and Manufacturing Company, was established at the corner of Light and Lee Streets on the Inner Harbor where the Harbor Court Hotel is now located. The current facility, in the Arlington neighborhood in Northwest Baltimore, is an anchor in the community and employs several local residents. It has served the nation by providing service to the federal government and it has served its city in various ways including providing cast aluminum seat brackets for Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium for a seating capacity of 31,000 fans.

The Danko Arlington story is one steeped in strong values, infused by the family who established the company nearly a century ago. Their history is an important component to the history of Baltimore and a great example of how embracing new ideas has enabled this company to evolve and thrive in uncertain times. In addition to embracing new technologies, Danko Arlington is also a green company recycling foundry sand and aluminum, using high efficiency lights and motors, and creates no contaminated waste water. This advantage, and new revenue sourced from providing rapid prototyping services for other organizations, has helped Danko Arlington forge boldly ahead into the 21st Century.

To hear the Danko Arlington story first hand, from CEO John Danko, reserve your seat at the NEXTgen-M Rapid Tech Conference being held on April 27, in Timonium, Maryland. NEXTgen-M is where you will find current leaders and influencers advancing the rapid tech agenda for the greater Baltimore region, a technological shift that is already shaping the 21st Century.

On November 30^th, 2011, at the Center for Urban Families STRIVE Baltimore’s 2nd Annual Employer Appreciation Breakfast, Danko Arlington was recognized for its commitment and dedication to helping fathers and families in the Baltimore Metropolitan Area.

CFUF was originally founded to provide parenting and workforce development services to low-income fathers because “men—the most disconnected and underserved citizens in urban communities—who connect with women, their children, and the workplace are key to the restoration of stability and optimism.”

CFUF’s programs later evolved to assist both men and women to restore hope, self esteem, reunite family life, and tackle tough issues such as high unemployment, substance abuse, addiction, and social responsibility.  STRIVE Baltimore is part of CFUF’s workforce development which prepares candidates with career readiness through “attitudinal training.”

Danko Arlington is proud to be a long standing Baltimore City employer who gives back to the community.

Danko Arlington is honored to have cast a prominent cross for Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church located at 905 Frederick Road in Catonsville, Maryland.

The metal cross,  an exact copy of a wooden original,  now adorns the church’s new octagonal shaped portico.    The piece was handmade  and cast in a solid, aircraft-aluminum alloy and  powder coated gold color to resist the outdoor elements.

The new cross now stands to greet future generations who enter this sacred space.

Salem Lutheran Church was founded in 1849 by German immigrants who originally worshiped and educated neighboring children in their native German language.  The congregation later expanded to their present Catonsville location in 1903 and has become a landmark in the community.

October 2011

By DLA Aviation Public Affairs
July 5, 2011

Members of DLA Aviation Casting and Forgings Program Assistance Team discuss mold patterns and sand cast parts.

New technology in sand castings is helping Defense Logistics Agency Aviation provide military services with parts in less time, with lower scrap, and lower cost, said Dale Roberts Aviation Casting and Forgings Program Assistance Team program manager.

Many DLA Aviation metal parts are made from “sand castings,” where molten metal is poured into sand molds created by pressing wood patterns into a special sand that is held together with binding materials to retain the shape.

“These sand castings have an advantage, in that very complex internal shapes can be created inside of a casting using internal sand molds that are removed after the metal cools by breaking up the sand, and pouring it out of an available opening. Though possible, it may not be practical to ‘hog out’ complex internal spaces by machining that are easily produced using sand castings. However, skilled craftsman traditionally construct the patterns using wood and similar materials, which can take weeks, and is an expensive process.”

As part of DLA Aviation’s castings program Roberts, along with Air Force Capt. Alex Mol, and Keith Sturgill with Advanced Technology International, met with the John Danko, president of Danko Arlington to see firsthand new technology his company is implementing to meet the challenge of producing specialized aviation castings economically, Roberts said.

“DLA Aviation has visited their facilities in the past, as part of the AFCAT bus trips that bring DLA Aviation personnel to foundries and forges to see the technology and meet with people in the industry,” Roberts said. “Since the last visit in September 2010, they made the decision to adopt new technology that allows an even faster response to the needs of DLA customers.”

Danko said his business uses rapid prototyping where drawings are converted to physical patterns by computer: “We now use stereo lithography to convert a computer-based model of the geometry and dimensions into a ’3-D print’; an exact pattern of the needed part,” Danko said.

“It is like watching the ‘replicator’ on Star Trek, as the computer literally prints a 3 dimensional object before your eyes, including voids, passageways and internal spaces that may not be visible,” Roberts said. Roberts said with this new system, “there is no need to use precious work space for storage of traditional patterns that are used infrequently, when it can be printed out as needed for a small production run, then disposed of or recycled.”

“This new equipment will enable the company’s existing Foundry, Pattern, and Machine Shop Divisions to quickly and accurately produce mold patterns for parts (and the sand cast parts themselves) in days instead of weeks, and at much lower cost,” Danko said. “The use of computer aided design to move paper to production helps to create optimum patterns, reducing scrap. It is exciting using new technology in a traditional industry.”

“The computer model really simplifies the making of the casting molds. You can handle it just like the real thing, but on a computer screen. You can turn it in 3-D and look at it from every angle,” Roberts said.

Roberts said if a craftsman made a physical wooden casting model, it would take weeks compared to making one with a computer with a few clicks from a computer mouse.

“The benefit to DLA and the warfighter is that rapid prototype of patterns reduces lead time and cost. For infrequent buys in small quantities, ‘economies of scale’ works against us; However reducing set up costs with new technology helps us reverse that trend,” Roberts said.

Danko Arlington is committed to environmental sustainability…even to the grave.

After being used in metal casting, Danko Arlington’s foundry sand is 100% recycled into original pure clean dry sand.  From time to time, however, the recycled sand needs to be replaced with new sand.

Instead of offloading the recycled sand to a landfill, Danko Arlington has formed a unique partnership with neighboring Wilbert & Monarch Burial Vaults to provide recycled sand for use in their products.

This collaboration now eliminates precious land fill space and truck emissions from hauling, as well as saves cost for both companies.   The new relationship is just a small, but powerful example of how sharing our earth’s natural resources can be a win-win outcome for two well-established and diverse manufacturers who are committed to going green….even to the grave.

July 7, 2011

Danko Arlington is pleased to have made rapid prototypes for two new design concepts to assist individuals with disabilities.

Designed by  V-LINC Engineer and Co-founder, Mr. John Staehlin, the new working prototypes will make life’s daily tasks easier for those in wheelchairs.  The concepts include a backpack hook linkage and a tray adapter which can be mounted directly to the chair frame.  With the push of a lever, an individual can easily rotate a hook from the rear of the chair to the side.   The tray adapter will allow a meal tray to be easily attached and reattached.  Production aluminum cast parts may follow after the new products are tested and evaluated in plastic.

Danko Arlington has been associated with Mr. Staehlin since 1982 when he and his fellow engineers founded Volunteers for Medical Engineering at the Westinghouse Corporation, now the Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems Division.  In 2010 VME merged with Learning Independence Through Computers (LINC) to become V-LINC.

Our company is very proud of its association with V-LINC and our ability to combine the latest manufacturing technology with years of casting experience to improve the daily lives the disabled.

March 24 2011

Danko Arlington, Inc. is pleased to announce its entry in the exciting field of Rapid Prototyping.

The company has recently purchased a portable 7 axis Coordinate Measuring Machine with an integrated laser scanner, reverse engineering software, and a large 3D Printing System. This new equipment will enable the company’s existing Foundry, Pattern, and Machine Shop Divisions to quickly and accurately reproduce a customer supplied file or part in days as compared to weeks of standard lead time.

The portable CMM can measure parts in the shop or in the field to an accuracy of +/- .0015 inches with +/- .0011 inches of repeatability within an 8.2 foot measuring range! Points and data can then be used to make parametric computer models for copying, modifying, or enhancing an existing part’s shape. Parting lines, fillets, draft, and cores can also be developed to produce optimal casting designs.

A strong, hard plastic prototype of the new geometry can then be printed on the new machine for customer review, evaluation, and approval. 3D printing can also be used to make new or replacement foundry patterns, core sticks, or full core boxes for sand casting. For thinner walled parts, the pattern material itself can be fully invested as a quick cast used in the investment casting process.

The company will use Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) to print ABS or high strength Poly Carbonate thermoplastic in .007″ layers for a high surface finish and accurate feature details. The printer has a huge build size of 36″ x 24″ x 36″ with accuracies of .0035″ inches or +/-.0015 inch per inch whichever is greater.

Purchased equipment includes Hexagon Metrology’s Romer 7axis 7525 SI Portable CMM and PCDMIS CAD ++ Software, Dezign Works Software by Creative Dezign Concepts, and a Fortus 900mc Production System made by the Stratasys Corporation.

Danko Arlington is proud to take our ninety year old company to the next level of fast, state-of-the-art, and efficient manufacturing. The rapid prototype technology will nicely enhance the company’s existing capabilities for many more years to come!

The purpose of the trip was to introduce DLA Engineers and Buyers to the processes behind the commodities that they purchase. Danko Arlington’s facility is a great place to learn about military castings as the company produces a wide variety of defense components and as patternmaking, sand casting, and CNC machining can be viewed at one facility. The tour also provided a wonderful exchange of discussion about private industry and government purchasing.

The visit was co-organized by Mr. Keith Sturgill of the American Metal Casting Consortium (AMC) which is a partnership between the metal casting industry and the government to produce casting solutions that improve quality and reduces costs for military applications. Also in attendance was Mr. Dale Roberts, the Program Manager of the Aviation Casting and Forgings Program Assistance Team (AFCAT).

DLA Aviation purchases over 1.3 million supply and repair parts to support our nation’s  military and weapon systems.

Danko Arlington is committed to increasing manufacturing efficiencies, reducing waste, and lessening Maryland’s carbon footprint. With assistance from the Baltimore Gas & Electric Company and C & J Contractors of Laurel, MD, the company replaced every light fixture in the entire 65,000 square foot facility with efficient state-of-the-art HID lighting fixtures. Some of the existing incandescent and fluorescent fixtures were over sixty five years old!

The one time investment will reduce the company’s estimated annual lighting load by 50%, pay for the installation of the new bulbs and fixtures within the year, and reduce greenhouse emissions by 2200 tons a year.

In addition to lowering lighting costs in 2010, Danko Arlington has been very active over the recent years in reducing energy and becoming a cleaner manufacturer. The company now reclaims 100% of spent foundry sand, melts metal with a new electric furnace, runs two new efficient VFD drive air compressors, operates heat treat ovens with new insulation, replaces bathroom paper towels with electric hand dryers, and turns off printers/monitors/computers at night.

Overall, Danko Arlington is very proud of its win-win environmental partnership!