The 111th edition of the Metalcasting Congress, sponsored by the American Foundry Society and the North American Die Casting Association, featured 56 technical and management presentations. Over 1,800 people attended this annual event, this year in Houston. Next year in Atlanta, AFS and NADCA will host CastExpo, North America's largest trade show and exposition for metalcasters and industry suppliers. Held every three years, CastExpo attracts thousands of decision-making metalcasters from around the world, all of whom are looking for the latest advancements in equipment, technology and services to use in their own facilities.
In addition to the exhibition, CastExpo is held in conjunction with the annual Metalcasting Congress, where technical and management papers will be presented. The wide variety of paper topics planned for next year's Congress ranges from ferrous and nonferrous metals to molding, engineering, melting, patternmaking, diecasting, lost foam casting, marketing, human resources, and environmental, health and safety — guaranteed to attract a plethora of metalcasters.
While attendees and exhibitors look ahead to Atlanta in 2008, FM&T takes a look back at those equipment builders and service suppliers to the metalcasting industry who made the 2007 Congress a worthwhile event.
Ashland Casting Solutions
Ashland Casting Solutions (www.ashland.com/businesses/apm/cs/) presented a multi-panel display of its core and mold adhesives and binders; water-based refractory coatings; core and mold release agents; and riser sleeves, as well as software for running and feeding systems. ACS also offers cleaners, for binder films and release agents that build up on core boxes, tooling, and patterns; and sand additives to cut veining, gas and penetration, and erosion defects.
Bruker AXS
Bruker AXS (www.bruker-axs.de) offered details of its advanced X-ray systems and solutions for structural and elemental analysis using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray microanalysis (EDS), and X-ray crystallography techniques. Its offerings are designed for material research and process analysis, providing essential information about molecular structures, material and structural parameters, and elemental composition.
D&E Foundry Ladles
D&E Foundry Ladles (www.teemarkcorp.com/foundry) offers standard and custom-design ladles for foundries pouring up to 30,000 lb. Special design features include "double enveloping" worm gears, to increase durability and lessen backlash; renewable trunnion-bearing wear surfaces that eliminate shaft scoring, for smooth rotation and longer ladle life; and replaceable ladle bottoms, which lower refractory costs and simplify maintenance.
Didion
Didion (www.didion.com) presented its rotary equipment, which includes sand/casting separators, media drums, protective coating drums, lump crusher/ sand reclaimers, dryers, sand screeners, sand blending/cooling drums, separators/sprue mills, tumblers/dross reclaimers, and separators/thimble cleaners. Didion also showed its Conveyor Dynamics line (www.conveyordynamicscorp.com) of vibrator processing machinery, for feeding, conveying, furnace charging, shakeout, screening, and many more applications.
Foseco
Foseco's (www.foseco-foundry.com) portfolio of products for ferrous and nonferrous metalcasting were highlighted, such as optimized feeding systems that reduce porosity; molten-metal filters to guard against non-metallic inclusions; metal-treatment, inoculant, and fluxing products; organic resin and sodium-silicate sand binders; preformed insulation for ladles; mold/core coatings; and molding and pattern materials.
Foundry Educational Foundation (FEF)
The Foundation's administrators updated visitors on the latest developments for the Foundation, which is celebrating 60 years of support and advocacy for metalcasting education and career development. Visit FEF online at www.fefinc.org.
Foundry Solutions & Design
FS&D (www.foundrysd.com) performs foundry-specific engineering and integration, and offers foundry consulting, operational assistance, equipment automation, and installation services. Its staff of engineers have decades of experience in metalcasting operations, which is augmented with a network of consulting engineering affiliates around the world.
General Kinematics
General Kinematics (www.generalkinematics.com) develops and manufactures vibratory systems that help profitable and efficient foundries turn capital investments into profits. GK foundry equipment increases casting throughput, reduces casting damage, and reduces maintenance cost, and its designs are promoted as the "longest lasting" vibratory equipment in the world.
HA International
HA International is the North American foundry industry's largest supplier of products for core/mold production. Its parent organizations are well integrated in the global chemical industry: Borden Chemical Inc., is the largest producer of formaldehyde and phenolic resins in North America, and Huttenes Albertus supplies the global foundry industry through a network of subsidiary and affiliated companies.
Heraeus Electro Nite
Heraeus Electro-Nite (www.electro-nite.com) designs and supplies products and services for sampling, measuring/ monitoring, and controlling molten iron and steel, aluminum, and copper. Its products are used for controlling temperature, oxygen activity, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen. It also offers sublance systems and sensors for sampling molten metal conditions
Inductotherm
Inductotherm (www.Inductotherm.com) exhibited its induction melting systems and induction power supplies, as well as charging and preheating systems, automatic pouring systems, and computer control systems. The Inductotherm Group includes Bricmont Inc. (thermal process engineering company); Electric Melting Services (EMSCO), specializing in induction melting furnace repairs for all induction melting furnace brands; and HI T.E.Q. Inc., a supplier of high-quality aluminum processing furnaces.
Info Sight Corporation
InfoSight (www.infosight.com) develops industrial marking machines, as well as metal tag systems, metal-tag printers, bar-code readers, and custom machinery for manual and automatic identification and traceability.
Posi Flate
Posi-Flate (www.posiflate.com) exhibited its various designs for inflated-seated butterfly valves (ANSIand metric-flange compatible), and numerous control products, including pneumatic actuators, limit switches, positioners (electro/pneumatic and pneumatic) position monitors, and control assemblies.
Viking Corporation
Viking (www.vikingcorporation.com) designs a wide range of machinery for blast cleaning and surface preparation, including standard and pass-through blasters, dust collectors, washers, blast wheels, and equipment for job-shop blasting, washing, and painting.
Vulcan
Vulcan (www.vulcangroup.com) is recognized as North America's largest in-house engineering, manufacturing, and installation group for metalcasting technology and operations. Its range of products offer solutions for molding operations, including greensand systems for various processes; matchplate and flaskless molding systems; and automated mold-handling systems, as well as sand-reclamation systems and complete lost-foam systems.