Inside ICI INCAST Search Feature, Archive Project Update by Erin Almaleh, INCAST Editor-in-Chief


orchestrate the introduction of a digital version of the magazine. I was already armed with the knowledge of how to create a digital version for the content I was currently creating, but I had my sights set on a bigger picture. One that encompassed the past, as well. In the corner of my office sat boxes and boxes of brimming with INCAST magazines. I knew that digitizing that archive would ensure that past issues and articles would be preserved indefinitely.


W


The Evolution of an Industry Standard INCAST was the brain-child of past Executive Director, R. Russell Stratton (1987-1991) and the Board of Directors at the time. It started as a 12-page, black and white, print newsletter for foundry and supplier members of the ICI. Its mission was to promote the Institute and feature articles of industry news as technology advancements were rapidly changing the industry. In those days, single crystal and directional solidification was new – there was no robotic cutoff or digital spec file transfers. The first issue featured rapid prototyping and the industry was skeptical, with a headline that ran, "A Star Wars Pipe Dream.. or an Investment Casting Revolution?"


As more and more technical articles were added, INCAST became an educational resource. Then, with the introduction of an official editorial calendar


in 1990, members were


assured that every step of the investment casting process would be covered during the year. These improvements helped INCAST evolve from an Institute publication into an industry publication. Editorial coverage included not just the


investment casting, process but


also promotion of investment casting products. So, readership then expanded


12 ❘ February 2025 ®


hen I was first hired as the editor of INCAST in 2014, one of my first tasks was to


Above: Users can search within the current issue or archive of INCAST.


to include users and buyers of investment castings.


the


In 2018, another change took place, partnership


with the European


Investment Casters' Federation. The magazine’s content is now augmented with regular articles addressing the happenings in the European market. EICF members now have a regular monthly publication dedicated to the investment casting industry.


Archiving the INCAST Legacy Although I've encountered many challenges with this objective, I am happy to report that we now have a complete, searchable library of INCAST dating back to 2011. Accessed via the Investment Casting Institute's Member's Only area of the website, Members can use the search function to find specific articles and topics using keywords to search within an issue or across the magazine archive.


Older articles can remain relevant


as younger generations of readers are exposed to investment casting. By embracing digitization, INCAST can further maintain its legacy while adapting to modern media consumption.


ICI Welcomes New Member


REGULAR ASSOCIATE MEMBER


FUNDALUM S.A. Parque Industrial Tandil Calle 1, Empresa 2 Tandil, 7000 ARGENTINA Tel: 54 (249) 445-3330 fundalum.com.ar The official rep is Ariel Steinbach,


Engineer. Fundalum S.A. is an Investment


Casting Foundry based in Argentina. They specialize in casting a broad range of alloys, including carbon steels, low and medium alloy steels, austenitic, martensitic, duplex, precipitation hardening, and tooling steels. They also work with nickel and cobalt alloys such as Monel M25S, Nitronic 50, Stellite 6, and F75. In addition to casting, Fundalum offers fully finished components


through precision


CNC machining and certified heat treatments. Their parts range from just a few grams to 50 kilograms in weight, serving industries such as oil and gas, valves, tools, pumps, agroindustry, automotive, food processing, and medical sectors.


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