The foundry industry has been in a state of transformation for over 2600 years. From simple shapes carved into stone, to topologically optimized and additive manufacture facilitated creations, the evolution of metalcasting is easily witnessed. Whether this change has principally come about by man, method, material or market can be debated ad infinitum. Many futurists build their foundations on active fault lines, but the foundry industry likely faces a significant downturn. With the gradual shift from internal combustion engine personal vehicles to semi- or fully autonomous electric vehicles, competing in these shrinking markets will likely require agile and novel foundry solutions. This talk and paper will examine how foundries have been transformed primarily by shifts in the workforce, market pressures brought by global flattening (competition), environmental, health and safety and even by disaster.

2600多年来，铸造行业一直处于转型状态。从雕刻成石头的简单形状，到拓扑优化和增材制造促进的创作，金属铸造的演变很容易被目睹。这种变化主要是由人、方法、材料还是市场引起的，可以无止境地争论。许多未来主义者建立在活跃断层线上的基础，但铸造行业可能面临严重的低迷。随着内燃机个人汽车逐渐转向半自动或全自动电动汽车，在这些不断缩小的市场中竞争可能需要灵活和新颖的代工解决方案。本演讲和论文将探讨代工厂如何主要通过劳动力转移、全球扁平化（竞争）带来的市场压力、