Support of research is critical for North America to maintain a strong, vibrant, healthy and continually advancing metalcasting industry. Part of AFS' mission is to promote these activities for the betterment of our membership, our industry and our society.

AFS directly funds research projects from allocation of a portion of the annual dues paid by AFS Corporate Membershiop. The current AFS Funded Research Projects are described below. The other projects are funded through research partnmerships, government funding and industry contributions. AFS participates in these projects by securing industry partners and providing technical management and oversight. Current research funding partnerships include: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Industrial Technology funded through the Cast Metals Coalition (CMC) Program and U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) funded through the American Metalcasting Consortium (AMC) Castings for Improved Defense Readiness (CIDR) Program.

AFS Funded & Monitored Research

Eight projects are currently being funded through the allocation of a portion of the AFS Corporate Member dues in FY2007-2008: 

Quenched Cupola Experiment to Understand Silica on Carbide Behavior (04-05#06)
Effect of Casting Skin on the Tensile Properties of Lightweight Ductile Iron Castings (04-05#02)
Eliminating the Cause for Carbon Monoxide Gas Defects in Cast Iron (05-06#01)
Comparing Alternate Foundry Coating Measurement Systems (05-06#02)
Validation of Investment Casting Software (05-06#04)
Development of Fatigue Properties Database for Use With Modern Design Methods (06-07#02)
Standard Test for Machinability of Cast Iron (06-07#03)
Coke Quality Consortium

Metalcasting Industry Funded & Monitored Research

One project is currently being funded through the allocation of a portion of the AFS Corporate Member dues in FY2007-2008:

USCAR-USAMP DOE Funded Projects High-Integrity Magnesium Automotive Components