AFS NEWS
AFS NEWS AFS-Led Project Funded for
Metalcasting Roadmapping On May 8, the National Institute of Standards and Tech-
“ I’m very satisfi ed with
my long-term print advertis- ing program in MCDP—it’s the only advertising I do. It gives me great visibility and name recognition, both with existing customers and with new ones. And the steady fl ow of new business it brings in easily justifi es the investment.
”
Kevin Evers President St. Louis Precision Casting
nology (NIST) awarded an advanced manufacturing technol- ogy planning grant to a metalcasting project helmed by the American Foundry Society (AFS). T e Pathway to Improved Metalcasting Manufacturing Technology and Processes –Taking Metal Casting Beyond 2020 project is one of 19 initiatives that were awarded a total of $9 million to develop technology roadmaps aimed at strengthening U.S. manufac- turing and innovation performance across industries. AFS is the lead organization in the project that will
be launched by the American Metalcasting Consortium, which is composed of four industry associations (AFS, Steel Founders’ Society, North American Die Casting As- sociation and Non-Ferrous Founders’ Society) that repre- sent 95% of the nation’s 2,000 foundries. T e roadmapping project has been given a 24-month duration and $396,287 in federal funding. T e other funded participants include Advanced Technology International (ATI) dba SCRA Ap- plied R&D, Product Development & Analysis LLC, and Rock Valley College. T e goal is to conduct an industrywide roadmapping eff ort to identify research and related actions aimed at achieving signifi cant improvements in processing capabilities and pro- ductivity. Specifi c objectives are to: • Reach industry consensus on metalcasting capability gaps, solution priorities and investment recommendations.
• Identify potentially transformative technologies requiring collaborative research.
• Establish clear problem defi nitions and a common frame- work for parallel work by multiple organizations.
• Chart a transition path to facilitate interoperability of developed solutions with existing systems.
• Build a collaborative infrastructure tailored to the roadmap’s targeted outcomes.
• Initiate development of an infrastructure that supports an advanced U.S. metalcasting industry. Cast metal products are found in virtually every sector of the
economy including energy exploration and production, mining, construction, maritime, fl uid power, instrumentation, comput- ers, transportation, aerospace, defense and myriads of household products. Markets for products containing metal castings are increasingly competitive, and manufacturers are placing greater emphasis on the rapid production of high-quality, competitively priced castings delivered in smaller quantities. “T e road-mapping planning process will help identify, select and develop technological alternatives to ensure a competitive U.S. metalcasting industry,” said Tom Prucha, AFS vice president-technical services. “It will address major barriers and lead to the identifi cation and prioritization of research projects.” The 19 grants, awarded to universities and other non-
METALCASTINGDESIGN.COM 46 | MODERN CASTING June 2014
profit organizations, are the first conferred by NIST’s new Advanced Manufacturing Technology Consortia (AMTech) Program. They range from $378,900 to $540,000 for a period of up to two years.
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