Casting Connection

Casting Connection

 

Casting Connection is AFS’s members-only message board for asking and answering technical questions, as well as collaborating with AFS committees and shared interest groups. Hosted at afsinc.force.com/castingconnection, all card-carrying members of AFS have access to Casting Connection. 

To access your Casting Connection account, click here and enter the email and password associated with your AFS account. (To reset your password, select “Forgot your password?”) Need help? Email us at customerservice@afsinc.org.

Casting Connection 

Terms of Use 

Casting Connection is a member benefit exclusively for members in good standing of the American Foundry Society. We encourage members to use and enjoy Casting Connection in a responsible fashion.  These Terms of Use and the AFS code of conduct help set the tone for respectful and inclusive interactions within the community and foster a positive environment. All Members in the AFS Casting Connection community must agree to and comply with these terms in order to participate. All Members must abide by the Casting Connection Community Code of Conduct, the AFS Code of Conduct, and the AFS Antitrust Compliance Policy while engaging in activity in Casting Connection. These Terms of Use and Code of Conduct are subject to change without prior notice. 

  1. Be Respectful: Treat all community members with respect, regardless of their level of experience, background, or opinions. Polite disagreements and debates are natural, but personal attacks, offensive language, and slanderous or defamatory comments, will not be tolerated. 

  1. Stay on Topic: Keep discussions relevant to the community's purpose and topic. Avoid spamming, advertising, or posting unrelated content. Comments in response to a question that suggest a source of a product or service are permitted, but anything deemed as advertising or selling is not permissible, and will be removed. 

  1. Non-AFS Sponsored Events: Members may not use Casting Connection to promote events not officially sponsored by AFS HQ. (AFS chapter events are listed in AFS Insider News.) 

  1. Share Knowledge and Experience: Contribute positively by responding to questions, sharing your expertise, insights, and experiences. Help others learn and grow in a supportive manner. 

  1. Cite Sources and Respect Copyright: When sharing information or resources, give credit to the original authors or creators. Respect copyright and intellectual property laws. 

  1. No Harassment or Bullying: Harassment, bullying, or any form of harmful behavior will not be tolerated. This includes but is not limited to offensive language, stalking, discriminatory comments, or threatening behavior. 

  1. Respect Privacy: Do not share personal or sensitive information about others without their explicit consent. Respect the privacy of all community members. 

  1. Report Inappropriate Behavior: If you witness any violation of the code of conduct, promptly report it to the community moderators or administrators at this email address. 

  1. Use Clear and Concise Language: Communicate clearly and avoid jargon that may be confusing to others. Be mindful of language barriers when communicating in an international community. 

  1. Respect Moderators' Decisions: Follow the instructions of the community moderators or administrators. They are responsible for maintaining the community's integrity and enforcing the code of conduct. 

  1. Continuous Improvement: Be open to feedback and continuously strive to improve the community. Engage in constructive discussions on how to make the community better for everyone. 

  1. Privilege to Participate. Casting Connection is a member benefit. Keep your membership current to ensure that your privileges remain active. AFS in its sole discretion reserves the right to remove postings that violate this policy, and/or suspend or terminate the privilege to participate in Casting Connection for any posting, action or pattern of actions that may constitute a violation of the Terms of Use, Code of Conduct, other AFS policies or federal, state or local laws. 

AFS Code of Conduct 

The American Foundry Society invites attendees to participate in AFS conferences, courses, and other events in a spirit of collegiality, collaboration, professionalism, and respect, as we endeavor to advance AFS’s mission—to provide members of the metalcasting supply chain with advocacy support, technical and management education, and access to innovative shared research and technology. 

When you attend an AFS event, you agree to: 

  • Treat all attendees—including registrants, guests, speakers, volunteers, exhibitors, staff, service providers, and others in attendance—with respect and consideration. 

  • Respect the boundaries of others. 

  • Give permission that AFS can use pictures, video and audio recordings taken during AFS-related events for AFS promotional purposes. AFS can use your likeness without remuneration. 

  • Be collegial and collaborative in your discussions, communicating openly and with civil attitudes. 

  • Respect confidentiality requests from speakers and other attendees. AFS Committee meetings allow for the open exchange of information and are confidential to those in attendance.  

  • Obey all applicable laws, rules and policies. These include rules and policies of the meeting venue, hotels, or any other site where your AFS affiliation is likely to be displayed. 

  • Look out for one another. Immediately alert emergency services, meeting or property security personnel, AFS staff, or AFS leadership if you notice someone in distress or see a dangerous or potentially dangerous situation. 

Unacceptable behavior at an AFS event includes: 

  • Physical or verbal abuse of any attendee. 

  • Being disruptive, stalking, following, threatening, or intimidating anyone. 

  • Drinking excessively or becoming intoxicated. 

  • Harassment of any kind, including unwelcome sexual attention and inappropriate physical conduct. 

  • Making comments or engaging in conduct that is racist, sexist, ageist, or otherwise discriminates against or is offensive to a group or class of people. 

  • Audio or video recording, or taking images of another’s presentation, posters, or materials without permission. 

  • Distribution of written materials or digital postings, whether as an exhibitor or attendee, that are offensive or include inappropriate references, metaphors or images. 

  • Meetings may be recorded by AFS staff for business purposes. Any recordings or transcription by the participants or through artificial intelligence, present or not, is prohibited. 

Contact us to report an incident 

If, while at an AFS event, you are personally involved in an incident, or you witness an incident involving others, that violates this Code of Conduct, please let AFS staff know about it immediately. You can speak directly with a member of the AFS staff leadership concerning an incident, or you can use a name-optional reporting form that will soon be a part of the AFS website. You can also email your information on the Code of Conduct form found below to AFSCodeofConduct@afsinc.org. 

If you experience or witness behavior that is an imminent or serious threat to public safety or is a criminal act, you should take action to maintain your own personal safety and contact 911 emergency services immediately. 

AFS's Commitment to Quality Member/Attendee Experiences 

AFS is committed to providing our members and event attendees with a quality experience. We take any violation of the above standards extremely seriously. AFS reserves the right to bar any person who violates this Code of Conduct from further participation in the event without refund. AFS may also suspend or expel any person who violates this Code of Conduct from AFS membership or from attending or participating in future AFS events. 

Code of Conduct Report Form 

AFS Antitrust Compliance Policy  

The following policy is applicable to all AFS activities and must be observed in all situations and under all circumstances, without exception or qualification other than as noted below. 

  1. Neither AFS nor any committee, conference or activity of AFS shall be used for the purpose of bringing about, or attempting to bring about, any understanding or agreement, whether written or oral, formal or informal, expressed or implied, among competitors with regard to prices, terms or conditions of sale, discounts, distribution, volume of production, territories or customers. 
      

  1. No AFS activity or communication shall include discussion or action, for any purpose or in any fashion, of prices or pricing methods, production quotas or other limitations on either the timing or volume of production or of sales or involve allocation of territories or markets or customers in any way. 
      

  1. No AFS committee shall undertake any activity, which involves exchange or collection and dissemination among competitors, of any information regarding prices, pricing methods, costs of production, or of sales or distribution or individual company statistics of any kind, without first obtaining the advice of legal counsel, provided by the Society, as to those proper and lawful methods by which these activities may be pursued. 
      

  1. No AFS activity or communication shall include any discussion or action which might be construed as an attempt to prevent any person or business entity from gaining access to any market or to any customer for goods or services, or to prevent or boycott any business entity from obtaining a supply of goods or otherwise purchasing goods or services freely in the market. 
      

  1. No AFS activity or communication shall include any discussion or action which might be construed as an agreement or understanding to refrain from purchasing any raw materials, equipment, services or other supplies from any supplier. 
      

  1. Neither AFS nor any committee thereof, shall make any effort to bring about the standardization of any product or method of manufacture or certification of any product or program for the purpose of preventing the manufacture or sale of any product not conforming to a specified standard or which would tend to have the overall effect of either lessening competition or resulting in a degree of price stabilization. 
      

  1. In conducting AFS committee meetings, the chairman thereof shall prepare and follow a formal agenda.  Minutes of each meeting shall be distributed to all persons who attended such meetings.  Approval of the minutes shall be obtained from the membership of the committee at its next meeting.  Copies of the minutes shall be transmitted to the headquarters staff for retention. 
      

  1. Society speakers and authors of conference papers shall be informed of the need to comply with the Society’s antitrust policy in the preparation and presentation of their papers. 
      

  1. In informal or social discussions at the site of an AFS meeting, which are beyond the control of its officers and committee leaders, all representatives are expected to observe the same standards of personal conduct required of the Society in its compliance with these antitrust guidelines.  In addition, copies of the foregoing Antitrust Policy Statement and General Rules of Antitrust Compliance will be included in registration packets and will also be printed in the AFS Committee Handbook.