YSU American Foundry Society Chapter places first in Cast in Steel Competition

The YSU Chapter of the American Foundry Society competed in the Cast in Steel competition in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, coming home with a first place category finish.

An annual event held by the Steel Founders’ Society of America, the Cast in Steel competition, challenges university students to use modern casting tools to creatively design and produce a functioning version of a tool, decided on by the judges, that is traditionally manufactured with another method. This year’s competition featured over 40 teams from across the world.

The 2024 competition challenged teams to produce a Halligan bar – a multipurpose tool used by firefighters to gain access to building spaces, vehicles, and for a multitude of other emergency uses. YSU’s student team produced their version, named “The Halliguin,” that was judged for its design, casting quality and performance by practical testing.

The team won first place in a surprise competition category offered by the ASM International Milwaukee Chapter for “Excellence in Material Selection, Analysis, and Processing.”

Throughout the year, the students gained experience with modern engineering tools including 3D sand printing, casting simulation software and worked with local foundry Coronado Steel to complete the casting. Next year, the team aims to complete the entire process in-house at YSU.

Led by Brian Vuksanovich, professor and faculty advisor, the team was made up of both Mechanical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering Technology students including Coleman Buchanan; Andrew Prokop; Elly Volz; Ely Vuksanovich; Jonah Montgomery; and Katie Chludzinski.