New answers to old questions keynote this year's gathering.

"The recession hit East Coast foundries pretty hard and the road back to full order books is taking longer than expected. Paradoxically, there are some positive sides to the slowdown. It has made the American foundry industry take stock of how it was operating and in the end, has made it far more competitive.

"We have become more cost-conscious and, that in turn, has stimulated research and development efforts to make our foundries safer, more effective producers."

The above remarks were made by Dean Bankert, chairman of the AFS East Coast Regional Conference, during this year's gathering on October 1-3 in Annapolis, Maryland. About 180 foundrymen turned out to analyze and evaluate foundry management, marketing and manufacturing techniques, and to learn of advances in foundry technology.

Paying the 'Green' Tax

James Young, The Morie Co., said foundrymen want a better environment and are willing to pay their share. But, he added, the industry has been hard hit by the government's perversity in deciding who gets the bill.

The foundry industry has already paid $1.25 billion as its share of state, local and federal taxes to cover EPA, MACT and all other departments guarding the ecology, Young said. The Clean Air Act will take another $750 million out of the pockets of metalcasters, making the bill 40-80% of total foundry spending for all noniron expenditures.

Young said part of the industry's answer to this inequity can be dealt with by the AFS Washington effort; the other requires foundry people to become vocal watchdogs for the industry.

AFS President Daniel Goodyear, the dinner speaker, cautioned foundrymen to be wary of government encroachment into their businesses. He urged them to contact their congressional delegations about the economic importance of the metalcasting industry by letting them know it is the sixth-largest employer in the country.

AFS and other organizations in the American Metalcasting Consortium are working to focus legislative attention on the foundry industry and develop its full participation in federal affairs affecting the industry, Goodyear said.

"A major goal is to establish a direct line of communication between the AFS Washington office and chapter leaders, state chairmen and individual foundries," he said. "The D.C. office can help line up guest speakers to address federal issues affecting foundry operations, and, generally, stir up a grass-roots awareness of the importance to all of us of having our own advocacy program.

'We're a strong industry, but in the past we were the only ones who knew it. Now, it's our turn to stand up and be counted."

Goodyear told attendees they must identify their strengths and build on them. "But that's only part of the job," he said. "The rest of it is to let our communities know us and our contributions to their welfare."

Technical Advances

Mike Snell, American Colloid Company, discussed safe, reliable and environmentally friendly green sand additives that are available and binder research projects nearing the market-ready stage.

He said the time is near when foundry sand will be virtually contamination-free, and noted successful results with new, higher bond-strength binders with better rebond potential and reclamation possibilities.

Acme Resin Corp.'s Calvin Johnson described a new warm air-cured, inorganic glass binder that requires no contaminating chemical additions or curing time. It is pH-neutral, reusable and can be washed out with water. Virtually odorless and smokeless, the binder has a low VOC and an indefinite, moisture-resistant shelf life.

In the field of metallurgy, John Keough, Applied Process, Inc., explained the advantages of austenitizing gray iron to improve wear and damping characteristics. He said austenitized gray iron can be used as a substitute for ductile iron for parts such as brake shoes, rotors and bearing supports. Austenitizing high-silicon gray iron improves damping and toughness, but austenitizing low-silicon iron gives poor results, he said.

Austenitizing can improve good ductile iron because it has better strength properties, is 10% lighter than steel and its abrasion resistance provides an added edge on steel castings at any hardness, Keough said.

Reflecting the steady growth of aluminum castings, consultant Elwin Rooy discussed causes and cures for hydrogen contamination of aluminum, and Satya Shivkumar, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, explained the latest research on reducing hydrogen inclusions.