Brian Began, American Foundry Society, Inc., Schaumburg, IL; Donald Deptowicz, Renaissance Services, Berthoud, CO 

This presentation will report on the status of a pilot program for the “Rapid Cast Parts – Center of Excellence” (RCP-COE).  The project, which runs from September of 2025 until October of 2026, allows participating foundries, with or without full DOD supplier credentials, to be a casting supplier to the DOD.  The presentation will advise on the project’s efforts to date, discuss specifics on how and why to get involved, cite examples of challenges that needed to be overcome within the program in supplying DOD castings, and discuss the program and emerging program futures.

Brian Began, American Foundry Society, Inc., Schaumburg, IL

This presentation is on AFS’s efforts to improve the digital accessibility and operability of its various knowledge platforms. This project has already yielded AFS Library enhancements such as the Liberty Link app, the “My Catalog” feature, library tutorials, and the AFS Library Enhanced AI Search Tool, as well as an improved storefront and webnar platform.   This third installment presentation will focus on recent enhancements of the aforementioned, as well as provide updates on CADS and other derivative service enhancements including live demonstration of the brand new AFS E pubs platform targeted for launch in April 2026.  Ultimately, it will highlight the various exciting ambitions with projected timelines of the ongoing AMC Emergent Metal Casting Solutions (EMCS) project, funded by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and AFS under the project title “Virtual Knowledge Transfer Platforms for Improved Access to Metalcasting Best Practices”.

Huub van der Weiden, GEMCO Cast Metal Technology, The Netherlands

Gemco stands for 50 years of independent foundry consulting and engineering expertise and 1500+ foundry
projects realized worldwide. How independent engineering translates into the best performing, customized
foundry system. From concept and feasibility, through system integration and interface engineering, to
implementation and performance. Gain insights into the accumulated knowledge of castings markets, cast
products and metal casting, -applied, tested, and proven- through generations of consulting, engineering, and
implementation projects in the foundry industry.

Cole Clayton, B&L Information Systems, Bridgman, MI

Foundry margins don’t disappear overnight. They erode quietly as real production costs drift away from the
quote. Most leaders don’t see the damage until month-end, when it’s too late to fix. This session takes a clear,
shop-level look at where margin is actually won or lost in metalcasting. Attendees will see how high-performing
foundries get earlier financial visibility, hold teams accountable at the job level, and protect margin
while work is still running.

Kory Anderson, Dakota Foundry, Inc., Webster, SD

Your step-by-step guide to designing better parts, choosing the right foundry, and simplifying production from start to finish. This session will cover alloys, specifications, defect prevention, and why collaboration with your foundry is essential. Whether you’re an engineer, buyer, or project manager, you’ll walk away with confidence and clarity, as well as a physical playbook packed with design tips, process insights, and sourcing checklists to take back to your team.

Laura Bartlett, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO 

Time to demystify the details and distinctions of seven metal casting processes: green sand, air-set/nobake, permanent mold, investment casting, and lost foam. Buyers: You’ll be prepared to converse with foundries about which process best suits your casting program. Designers: You’ll increase your knowledge of (1) designing for manufacturability, (2) the correlation between process and casting tolerance, and (3) achieving the desired properties for your casting, including weight, size, and surface finish. 

Tom Iven, Chemex Foundry Solutions GmbH, an HA Group company, Düsseldorf, Germany

Advanced feeding technologies are enabling foundries to achieve greater casting section soundness, reduced
shrinkage, and longer feeding distances than traditional exothermic or insulating risers allow. This session
features a case study where Tele‑Feeder Systems, combined with additional technologies, were used to extend
feeding distance to areas not previously accessible. Tom Iven will share global best practices with different
simulation technologies to engineer a beneficial feeding system to lower the overall cost to our customer
producing a casting.

Jason Bradley & Matt Sutterfield, Mueller Co., Chattanooga, TN

The Mueller Water Works design team walks you through the incredible journey they made to achieve their
2025 Casting of Year project.

Jiten Shah, Product Development & Analysis LLC, Naperville, IL

In DoD end use, alloys not in Metallic Materials Properties Development and Standardization (MMPDS) handbook are utilized much less due to knockdown factors applied, which further leads to non-optimization in design and sourcing.  This DLA/AMC funded project focuses on developing properties with design allowables for C355-T6 Sand Cast Aluminum and incorporating into MMPDS and the Casting Alloy Database Search (CADS) too with pedigree information, including chemistry, section thickness and other process & design characteristics for DoD end users to utilize castings in the C355-T6 alloy with no knockdown factor.  Project progress till-date will be presented, and the project involves AFS member aluminum foundries participation to produce test castings and share separately cast test bar properties historical data to derive best practice driven design allowable.