The Casting Designers & Buyers track at CastExpo 2025 provides hard-to-find training for engineers, supply chain pros, and OEM representatives. Led by experts in their fields, these sessions are included with an Exhibits Pass.
The Casting Source Theater Presents
The 2025 Casting Designer-Buyer Continuing Education Lineup:
Saturday, April 12, 2025
9:30 – 10:15 a.m.
10 Ways to Reduce Cost on Your Casting Program (25-195)
Tom Kayser, Osco Industries, Portsmouth, OH
Take this list of ideas back to your company and apply them immediately. Metalcasting pro Tom Kayser from OSCO Industries explains these tips and how implementing even a few can be a game-changer.
12:30 – 1:15 p.m.
Predicting Cast Steel Alloy Properties Based on Composition and Heat Treatment (25-122)
Raymond Monroe, Steel Founders Society of America, Crystal Lake, IL
Steel casting producers make small heats of specialty alloys for custom products. Unlike bulk producers like steel mills, casting producers frequently make non-standard alloys in small quantities, which requires them to be able to formulate heat compositions and heat-treat cycles for non-standard alloys. Non-standard alloys may be required when certain alloying elements are in short supply or unavailable. To develop the methodology for estimating the tensile properties from a non-standard composition a new data base of standard steel cast alloys with composition and tensile properties can be used. This SFSA data set has over 30,000 entries. The data set and an analysis of reported formulas to estimate properties like ideal critical diameter, DI, carbon equivalent, CE, or estimated hardness in heat treatments or welds have been evaluated for their ability to predict properties for non-standard alloy heats.
3:30 – 4:15 p.m.
Practical Versus Pretty- What Surface Finish Do you Really Need and How do you Get There (25-196)
Dr. Sam Ramrattan, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI
Casting processes, alloys, and post-casting machining can all contribute to giving your casting a pristine surface finish, but not all castings really require aesthetic perfection. Sit and listen in as we talk about how to evaluate and specify surface finish needs for different types of casting components – and when beauty is and isn’t worth the expense.
Sunday, April 13, 2025
9:30 – 10:30 a.m.
When to Convert a Weldment to a Casting - Based on the AFS paper, The Investment Casting Conversion Process: An Industry Consensus (25-187)
Vasko Popovski, Ransom & Randolph, Maumee, OH
Your company may be sitting on a gold mine of cost-savings opportunity. Many parts that are currently fabricated weldments or machined from ingot could have more features and properties and cost less if they were castings. Our guest expert offers guidance to ensure that the designer and buyer avoid common barriers enroute to a smooth, profitable transition to a casting conversion.
12:40 – 2 p.m.
How to Get the Best Casting! A Foundry-End User Panel Discussion (25-202)
From Foundries:
Philippe Dubuc, Fusium, Chicoutimi, QC, Canada
Rick Peterson, Pier Foundry & Pattern, Saint Paul, MN
From Manufacturers/Casting Buyers:
Tim Dorn, Amerequip, Kiel, WI
Paul Boone, Cadillac/General Motors, Saginaw, MI
Casting Source magazine’s editor moderates a lively conversation featuring examples of true innovation, problem-solving, and collaboration resulting in castings that exceeded expectations.
2:15 – 3:15 p.m.
Update on AFS Project for Digitizing Various Knowledge Platforms (25-010)
Brian Began, American Foundry Society, Inc., Schaumburg, IL
This presentation will focus on AFS’s efforts to improve digital accessibility and operability of its various knowledge platforms. This digitization entails improving navigation and functionality/searchability between various platforms including the digital library, AFS Onlive webinars, a new, yet-to-be-developed digital publication platform, CADS (Casting Alloy Database Search), and others. These efforts will also make AFS platforms more mobile-friendly and include creating new reference instructional/educational videos. Ultimately, it will highlight the various exciting ambitions with projected timelines and the status 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”.
3:15 – 3:45 p.m.
2024 Casting of the Year Case Study (25-204)
Matthew Pettus and Karl Warsinski, St. Marys Foundry Ltd., St. Marys, OH
Members from the foundry engineering team at St Marys pull back the curtain on how they produced a 6,600-lb. frame for a hard-working frac pump that put their casting and coremaking skills to the test. Hear the specs, the challenges, and the solutions they achieved through collaboration with their oil-and-gas industry customer.
Monday, April 14, 2025
9:30 – 10:15 a.m.
Reduce Defects to Reduce Rejects: Improving Quality in Your Castings (25-192)
Dr. Sudesh Kannan, Consultant, Schaumburg, IL
No one wants to deal with rejected product. Our metalcasting expert explains the causes behind the most common casting defects and what foundries can do to ensure your components meet your quality requirements.
12:30 – 1:15 p.m.
What to Ask a Prospective Foundry Partner (25-193)
Rachel Weber and Tim Williams, Batesville Products, Lawrenceburg, IN
You’ve got your CAD design and specifications, but where do you begin the journey of evaluating which foundry is best suited to produce your casting? We’ll walk you through all the questions you need to ask to make an informed decision – this checklist could prevent a costly mistake.
1:30 – 2:15 p.m.
Selecting the Right Alloy (25-203)
Tom Prucha, MetalMorphasis LLC, Rochester Hills, MI
Getting the material properties required for a casting often hinges on using the correct metal alloy––and there are literally hundreds to choose from. Don’t be inundated; be educated. This overview will equip you on the fundamentals of alloy selection and why foundries make different recommendations depending on the end-use application and your specifications.
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
9:30 – 10:15 a.m.
Rapid Prototyping and Advanced Manufacturing (25-194)
Dave Rittmeyer, Matthews Additive Technologies, Pittsburgh, PA
The metalcasting industry is experiencing a tremendous evolution right before our eyes as 3D printing super-accelerates the foundry’s ability to produce prototypes, molds, and cores––giving you unprecedented go-to-market speed. Hear the latest advancements and success stories happening throughout the North American manufacturing landscape.