Welcome to e-Connections, the weekly AFS email newsletter. In this Sept. 30, 2008, edition:

2008 AFS Transactions Papers Available for Download
The Aluminum Div. 2, Molding Methods & Materials Div. 4, Cast Iron Div. 5, Magnesium Div. 6 and Lost Foam Div. 11 2008 Transactions of the American Foundry Society papers are available for download via the AFS E-Store. The lost foam download also contains a video clip of bead filling in the paper "Understanding and Improving Bead Filling Parameters that Affect Lost Foam Pattern Quality," H.E. Littleton and J.A. Griffin, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Ala. The Molding Methods & Materials division's papers include the Silver Anniversary paper, "Thermal-Pneumatic Reclamation of Molding Sands for Reuse in Core Work," M. Granlund, Foundry Systems Control, St. Joseph, Minn., and D.V. Silsby, Simpson Technologies Corp., Aurora, Ill.

To purchase any of these papers, click the downloads button on the AFS E-Store home page, and choose the set of papers that you wish to purchase. Once purchased, the .pdf files are immediately available for download.

For more information, contact AFS customer service at 800/537-4237 or estoreservices@afsinc.org.

Austempered Ductile Iron Webinar Coming in October
Engineered Casting Solutions magazine has scheduled a free webinar on the benefits and applications of austempered ductile iron (ADI). Scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 9, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. EST, this 45-minute webinar is for designers and buyers of metal castings, as well as metalcasters looking to enter the ADI market. In the webinar, ADI experts will detail how designing with ADI can provide mechanical properties similar to steel with weight and cost reduction opportunities compared to aluminum and steel components.

To register for this webinar, visit www.metalcastingdesign.com/adiwebinar. For more information, contact Dave Krugman, AFS PR and marketing coordinator, at dkrugman@afsinc.org or 800/537-4237 x286.

California Conference Focuses on New Lead Standard
The 2008 Metalworking Industry Conference will be held Nov. 13 at the Downtown Sacramento Hyatt, Sacramento, Calif. The conference is sponsored by the California Metals Coalition, El Dorado Hills, Calif.

The intent of this conference is to educate metalworkers on a new law which impacts all products intended to convey or dispense water for human consumption by lowering the lead content limit to .25%. In addition, Mike Jones, AFS Copper Consortium Chair, will be speaking on current AFS consortium projects, as well as future plans for the consortium. For more information, including a downloadable .pdf with information on the event click here.

Lost Foam Conference Offers Modeling Technology Update, Research
The International Lost Foam Conference will be held Oct. 21-23 at the Renaissance Asheville Hotel, Asheville, N.C. This conference will benefit casting buyers, designers and producers. Attendees will gain a greater understanding of the unique benefits of lost foam casting and stay on the leading edge of developments in lost foam casting technology. Key topics discussed include:

  • lost foam with vacuum and pressure;
  • current and future research;
  • lost foam cast iron application studies;
  • magnesium lost foam casting;
  • modeling technology update for casting and foam pattern production;
  • performing air emission calculations;

A plant tour of BRP, Spruce Pines, N.C. is planned. For more information, or to register for this conference, contact AFS customer service, at 800/537-4237. To view a conference brochure, click here.

Casting Design Course Coming
CMI will be offering a Casting Design course Oct. 14-16 at AFS Headquarters, Schaumburg, Ill. An innovative, conceptual approach to the design of metal castings is emphasized throughout this course. Selection of an alloy and how it impacts the design boundaries of a casting are considered. The session also examines a systems approach to casting design. Communications between designer, patternmaker and casting producer are stressed throughout the course. The correlation between costing processes and the design of the casting is reviewed. A tour of a metalcasting facility is tentatively scheduled.

For more information or to attend this course, contact AFS customer service at 800/537-4237, or click here to register.

Looking for more information on casting design? The publication Technology of Metalcasting can help. AFS Special Publications has everything you need to supplement your metalcasting training. Visit www.afsinc.org/estore or call 800/537-4237 for more information.