NFFS members explore lost foam casting and vintage motorsports in Birmingham

On October 23rd, NFFS members and other foundry industry representatives gathered in Birmingham, Ala., for an industry networking event featuring a tour of American Foam Cast and an evening at a unique venue, Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum.

The one-day event began with a tour of American Foam Cast, where attendees observed the lost foam casting technique up close. The process begins with a Styrofoam pattern created in the shape of the desired castings. The pattern is mounted to a Styrofoam gating system, dipped in a thin refractory coating, and allowed to dry. The resulting pattern tree is then molded within the molding sand and vibrated to fill internal pattern cavities. Molten aluminum is poured directly into the mold, where the heat of the molten aluminum vaporizes the Styrofoam pattern, allowing the metal to fill the mold and solidify; hence the term ‘lost foam process’. This unique process generated significant interest among the tour participants, many of whom had never seen the lost foam process in person.

American Foam Cast has provided an informational video regarding the lost foam process, available online at https://youtu.be/pwDDe0G3BE8. 

NFFS would like to extend its appreciation to Sid and Angie Tankersley and the American Foam Cast team for welcoming the NFFS group and providing a  comprehensive and educational explanation of the lost foam process for their fellow industry colleagues. 

Following the tour at American Foam Cast, attendees headed to the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, where they enjoyed a relaxed networking event surrounded by a one-of-a-kind collection of vintage motorcycles and racecars. Attendees enjoyed dinner and drinks in the museum's lower level—an area not accessible to the general public—and then were given private access to the full museum to explore the collection of over 1,000 motorcycles and cars. 

The Birmingham event is the latest of the Society's single-day regional events, which are designed to provide opportunities for those in the non-ferrous foundry industry in all areas of the country to gather with their industry colleagues for an engaging mix of learning and networking. Watch your Crucible newsletter or NFFS events page for an announcement about the next regional event to take place in spring of 2025.