American Foundry Society announces two casting of the year winners for the first time.The metalcasting industry recognized seven cast components as top designs for the 2006 Engineered Casting Solutions and American Foundry Society Casting Competition. These components are being delivered to end-use industries as diverse as military, automotive, art, aerospace and marine exploration. This year's competition was the first in which two companies took top honors for Casting of the Year. The winners are Fansteel/Wellman Dynamics, Creston, Iowa Creston is a city in Union County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,597 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Union CountyGR6. Southwestern Community College is located in Creston. , and Denison Industries, Denison, Texas Denison is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States. The population was 22,773 at the 2000 census, but had increased to an estimated population of 23,957 in July 2006. . Following is a look at each of the winners. A detailed description of the winners will be in the June 2006 issue of MODERN CASTING. Fansteel/Wellman Dynamics earned top honors in the annual Casting Competition for its intermediate case. The case is a structural frame used on jet engines for the popular Cessna business-class private jets. Fansteel/Wellman's component is made from ZE41 magnesium, weighs 97 lbs., measures 30 x 11 in. (76.2 x 27.9 cm) and was cast via nobake molding. The new design combines three separate castings and has many cast-in features such as hoses used for lubrication lubrication, introduction of a substance between the contact surfaces of moving parts to reduce friction and to dissipate heat. A lubricant may be oil, grease, graphite, or any substance—gas, liquid, semisolid, or solid—that permits free action of , saving a total of 11 hours in machining and assembly. Denison Industries was awarded top honors for its vehicle hull section for an unmanned, underwater military vehicle. Denison's component is made from A356-T6 aluminum, weighs 665 lbs. (301.6 kg), measures 48 x 72 in. (121.9 x 182.9 cm) and was cast via nobake molding. The component eliminated several hours of labor-intensive welding and machine fabrication fabrication (fab´rikā´sh  n),n the construction or making of a restoration. and cut the lead time by 50%. The customer also received a 15-20% cost reduction. AFS A distributed file system for large, widely dispersed Unix and Windows networks from Transarc Corporation, now part of IBM. It is noted for its ease of administration and expandability and stems from Carnegie-Mellon's Andrew File System. AFS - Andrew File System also awarded three Best-in-Class components and two Honorable Mentions. Following is a look at these five award-winning components. 2006 Best In Class Deep Sea Diving Helmet Diving helmets are worn by mainly by professional divers engaged in surface supplied diving. The helmet seals the whole of the diver's face from the water, allows the diver to see, provides the diver with breathing gas, provides an anchor point on the diver for the , Aristo-Cast Inc., Almont, Mich.--This stainless steel stainless steel: see steel. stainless steel Any of a family of alloy steels usually containing 10–30% chromium. The presence of chromium, together with low carbon content, gives remarkable resistance to corrosion and heat. , investment-cast helmet replaces a high-impact carbon fiber version that was very difficult, time-consuming and expensive to make. Break-Away Hinge, The Dotson Co. Inc., Mankato, Minn.--This ductile iron Ductile iron, also called ductile cast iron or nodular cast iron, is a type of cast iron invented in 1943 by Keith Millis[1]. While most varieties of cast iron are brittle, ductile iron is much more ductile, as the name implies. casting features two mating hinges that feature sinusoidal sinusoidal /si·nus·oi·dal/ (si?nu-soi´dal) 1. located in a sinusoid or affecting the circulation in the region of a sinusoid. 2. shaped like or pertaining to a sine wave. ends. The design allows the sprayer arm, or "boom," of a fertilizing cart to break-away when it hits an object and bend 90 degrees before snapping back into place. Shift Tower Assembly, Lunt Manufacturing Co. Inc., Schaumburg, Ill.--This magnesium casting replaces multiple steel fabrications, providing the customer with the greatest cost savings in both material and labor. Magnesium proved to be exceptionally strong, reliable and resistant to corrosion. 2006 Honorable Mention Hog Bank, Boose Aluminum Foundry Co. Inc., Reamstown, Penn.--This hollow aluminum casting helps bridge the gap between metalcasting and commercial art. Originally designed by a private artist, the hog is now being marketed to high-end art collectors. Radial Heatsink, Armstrong Mold Corp., East Syracuse, N.Y.--This A356-T6 aluminum casting boasts 1,750 individual pins that dissipate dis·si·pate v. dis·si·pat·ed, dis·si·pat·ing, dis·si·pates v.tr. 1. To drive away; disperse. 2. intense avionics heat. The original design was made as a "hogout," pin-stacked component, but the casting alternative provided time and cost savings. This year's Casting Competition was cosponsored by Magma Foundry Technologies, Schaumburg, Ill. MAGMA will provide both Casting of the Year winners, Denison Industries and Fansteel/Wellman, with a one-year license of Magmasoft software including training and implementation assistance. |
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