Welcome to e-Connections, the weekly AFS email newsletter. In this Dec. 23, 2008, edition:

Attend the 2009 International Iron Melting Conference
Winter IJMC Includes Modification of Al-Si Alloys Through Stronium
Additions, Metallurgy of Al Alloys
Webinar to Focus on 2009 Metalcasting Forecast and Trends
Photo Galleries Updated on MetalcastingDesign.com
Analysis & Reduction of Casting Defects Course Coming

Attend the 2009 International Iron Melting Conference
The AFS International Iron Melting Conference 2009 is scheduled to be held Jan. 21-23, 2009, at the Holiday Inn Select Orlando International Airport, Orlando, Fla. The conference is designed to assist iron melting facilities in improving their operations with the latest industry advances and technology.

Topics to be covered include automatic pouring, charge materials, common mistakes in cupola melting, refractory issues in a coreless induction furnace and today’s channel furnace technology. For more information or to register for this conference, contact AFS customer service at 800/537-4237.

IJMC Includes Modification of Al-Si Alloys Through Strontium Additions, Metallurgy of Al Alloys
The 2009 Winter issue of the IJMC has been released. This issue marks the beginning of its second full year of publication, and includes a detailed technical discussion on the modification of aluminium silicon alloys through strontium additions. A previously published journal article—printed in the Spring IJMC Spring 2008 (Vol. 2 Issue 2)—and a subsequent letter to the editor resulted in a comprehensive technical discussion on mechanisms for nucleation of eutectic silicon and other intermetallic particles in aluminum-silicon alloys, including counter hypotheses and alternative theories to those proposed in the original article.

The issue also includes two other papers on metallurgy of aluminium casting alloys, A Comparative Study of Porosity and Pore Morphology in a Directionally Solidified A356 Alloy and Characterization of the Flow Behavior of Near Eutectic Composition Aluminum-Silicon Alloys.

Don't delay. Subscribe today to the publication leading the transfer of technology to the global metalcasting industry. To register, contact AFS customer service at 800/537-4237 or visit www.metalcastingjournal.com.

Webinar to Focus on Metalcasting Forecast and Trends
AFS is producing a webinar Jan. 8 at 11:00 a.m. EST for its corporate members on the number of factors that will impact the metalcasting industry in 2009 and beyond. Developed from intensive research and interviews of casting users and producers, this webinar will analyze casting shipments from both a producer and buyer perspective, and looks at all major casting consuming markets and metals and processes.

To register for this webinar, click here. For more information, contact Dave Krugman, AFS PR and marketing coordinator, at dkrugman@afsinc.org or 800/537-4237.

Photo Galleries Updated on MetalcastingDesign.com
Images of successful castings can help with future designs, and now more examples of engineered cast components are available on www.MetalcastingDesign.com.

MetalcastingDesign.com has created a fully stocked photo gallery by drawing from the annual AFS/ECS Casting Competition and several other sources. Each photo is accompanied by a detailed caption. Go to MetalcastingDesign.com and visit the updated photo gallery to get inspiration for your next casting design.

Analysis & Reduction of Casting Defects Course Coming
CMI will be offering an Analysis & Reduction of Casting Defects course Feb. 17-19 at the Radisson Hotel-Indianapolis Airport, Indianapolis. The class offers students a critical analysis of defective castings, types of imperfections, and causes and corrective measures for sand molds. Inspection techniques, customer requirements and the long-range economics of analyzing and minimizing casting defects also are discussed.

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 defects? The publication titled 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.

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