This is the first winter in a new home and the steep driveway had both me and my husband wary of snowfall, icing, and our cars’ abilities to get up the hill. We wondered what’s the best way to tackle the driveway during Midwest winter storms?
So many variables come into play: what type of snow or precipitation (heavy, powdery, etc.), how many inches, what’s the temperature and weather going to be in the next 12-24 hours, when do we apply ice melt, what kind of ice melt works best, when do the village snowplows typically come through, etc. 

We talked with our neighbors with similar driveways and got tips based on their experiences and heard their recommendations for snow removal tools and ice melt products. After five snowfalls so far, we’ve started to learn some of our own strategies, as well. 
Clearing a driveway seems a simple thing, yet the number of little decisions to do it best added up. Buying a casting and all the variables that come into play is driveway shoveling times a million. And you may find yourself in decision-paralysis. 

But you can find help in making all the necessary choices easier by talking with your peers about their experiences and learning from your own projects. Bit by bit, you will gain the confidence to breeze through certain decisions, leaving more time for better casting design, improved casting sources, and higher-value parts.

Casting Source is also here to provide data and insight into metalcasting to help better inform your decisions. In this issue alone, two full articles are dedicated to helping you make a choice on process (page 30) and alloy (page 35).  

Plus, you can take advantage of the virtual AFS Metalcasting Congress this April to hear from others in the industry who will share projects and case studies that will illustrate their decision-making processes. Eight sessions are dedicated to casting buyers, designers and specifiers, like you. Visit www.metalcastingcongress.com for more information.   CS