IMPORTANT NOTE:  High-resolution digital photos of each casting are available by contacting Christopher Lawson, American Foundry Society, at clawson@afsinc.org or 847-824-0181.

Schaumburg, Ill. The metalcasting industry recognized nine cast components as top designs for the 2007 Engineered Casting Solutions and American Foundry Society Casting Competition. These components are being used in a variety of industries, including agriculture, recreation, automotive, military, marine and heating.

Smith Foundry Co., Minneapolis, earned top honors in the annual competition for its Rangeland Planter Boot Casting. The component distributes seeds during re-vegetation of arid sites.

Smith’s component was made from austempered ductile iron, weighs 20 lbs., measures 3 x 8 x 19 in. and was cast via horizontally-parted green sand molding. Originally a steel weldment, the casting achieved a 15% weight reduction, cut lead time by 50% and reduced cost by 65%.

AFS also awarded four Best-in-Class honors and four Honorable Mentions. Following is a look at each of the award-winning components.

2007 Best In Class

Snowmobile Chassis Suspension Support, Grenville Castings Ltd., Perth, Ontario. This aluminum, low-pressure permanent mold casting offers superior strength while limiting overall weight, which improves performance and decreases gas consumption.

BMW X5 Instrument Panel Cross Car Beam, Lunt Manufacturing Co. Inc., Schaumburg, Ill. This magnesium diecast component provides 50% weight savings over a comparable steel design without sacrificing impact strength. It also provided significant cost savings, as it is cast in a two-cavity, high-pressure diecasting mold.

Transmission Main Housing, Denison Industries Inc., Denison, Texas. This A355 aluminum semi-permanent mold component saved an estimated 75% in cost and 50% in lead time over the proposed 15-20 piece machined and assembled component.

Drop Tube, Signicast Corp., Hartford, Wis. This carbon steel investment casting provided a dimensionally accurate and consistent part with no secondary operations and allowed the use of self-taping hardware, reducing the overall cost. Cast threads allowed for an easy assembly of additional sensors required for this product.

2007 Honorable Mention

Manifold Housing, Watry Industries Inc., Sheboygan, Wis. This A356 aluminum permanent mold casting reduced the need for any external plumbing to avoid fluid leaks.

Offset Bracket, Citation Columbiana, Columbiana, Ala. This ductile iron lost foam casting was converted from a multi-piece fabrication. The 39 cast-in holes reduced the weight of the casting by 20% without sacrificing strength.

Processing Unit Enclosure, Precise Cast Prototypes & Engineering Inc., Commerce City, Colo. The A356 aluminum rubber plaster mold casting was cast and delivered within two weeks of the order.

Evolution Size II Bottom Header, Burnham Foundry LLC, Zanesville, Ohio. By including many value-added services, the customer realized both time and cost savings over the original weldment design, which involved processing by several suppliers.

This year’s Casting Competition was sponsored by MAGMA Foundry Technologies, Schaumburg, Ill. MAGMA will provide Smith Foundry Co. with a one-year license of MAGMASOFT software, including training and implementation assistance.

For more information on the competition, contact Christopher Lawson at clawson@afsinc.org or 847/824-0181 x286.

Headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois, AFS is a not-for-profit technical and management society that has existed since 1896 to provide and promote knowledge and services that strengthen the metalcasting industry for the ultimate benefit of its customers and society.