Casting industry names its stars

It may not have Emmy-level profile just yet, but the American Foundry Society decided it's high time its members got a taste of awards-type competition. So at the AFS' 105th annual Casting Congress, the society held its first-ever Casting Contest.

A total of 41 metal components were submitted by casting suppliers vying for “Casting of the Year” honors. Independent judges evaluated the entries based on ingenuity of design, component quality and function benefits to the final application.

Envelope, please: the Casting of the Year award goes to Huntington, IN's Maco Corp., for an oil filter/adapter cooler it makes for Mack Truck's diesel engines. It's an all-aluminum piece made via the lost-foam casting process and consolidates the former part's seven pieces into one casting, eliminating several potential leak points.

Lost-foam processes seem popular with judges, as several award-winners employ the process, including General Motors Corp's winning entrant from its Powertrain Div. in Saginaw, MI. GM won a casting award for its all-new, all-aluminum 4.2L Vortec inline 6-cyl. engine. Another enginemaker, Mercury Marine Corp., won an award for its lost-foam 2-stroke outboard engine casting.