Each October the last few years, our office has hosted an event for National Manufacturing Day activities.

Manufacturing Day’s goal is to celebrate careers in manufacturing and share with the community and students how these industries support our economy. It’s a chance for companies to share what they do with the public. Your organization might even hold an event. We host an open house with a hands-on metalcasting demonstration.

Man, it is fun.

In your jobs and industries, the pressure is on to deliver safe, economic, and attractive parts, and it may not feel like any fun much of the time. Manufacturing Day is the chance to take a break from the deadlines and show others what you thought was so much fun about manufacturing and engineering in the first place.

Designing something, making a part that has a purpose in the world, is gratifying. The smiles on grade-school kids’ faces after pouring their first small casting is proof of that.

Like most issues of Metal Casting Design & Purchasing, this one features a wide range of cast parts that met deadlines, reduced cost and were a little fun, too. On page 22, you can read about a niche industry any sports fan will enjoy—cast iron seat components for ballparks and stadiums. Our case study on an electronics enclosure on page 32 shows how creative engineering can achieve results when the wiggle-room for design changes is slim. Perhaps most fun of all, our Shakeout on page 56 takes us to the final frontier.

Once again, I’m looking forward to our Manufacturing Day open house this October. I enjoy seeing the community and students learn and be excited about manufacturing and engineering.

Even more, I like watching those from the industry explain metalcasting and the opportunities it offers as a career and a manufacturing method.

If you are looking for an audience to share what your company is making or how you are utilizing castings in your projects, you’ve found the place. Not all projects are headaches—let us know what’s got you smiling.

Click here to see this story as it appears in MCDP