A Comparison of Thixocasting and Rheocasting
A Comparison of Thixocasting and Rheocasting Stephen P. Midson The Midson Group, Inc. Denver, Colorado USA Andrew Jackson Arthur Jackson & Co., Ltd. Brighouse UK Abstract The first semi-solid casting process to be commercialized was thixocasting, where a pre-cast billet is re-heated to the semi-solid solid casting temperature. Advantages of thixocasting include the production of high quality components, while the main disadvantage is the higher cost associated with the production of the pre-cast billets. Commercial pressures have driven casters to examine a different approach to semi-solid casting, where the semi-solid slurry is generated directly from the liquid adjacent to a die casting machine. These processes are collectively referred to as rheocasting, and there are currently at least 15 rheocasting processes either in commercial production or under development around the world. This paper will describe technical aspects of both thixocasting and rheocasting, comparing the procedures used to generate the globular, semi-solid slurry. Two rheocasting processes will be examined in detail, one involved in the production of high integrity properties, while the other is focusing on reducing the porosity content of conventional die castings. Key Words Semi-solid casting, thixocasting, rheocasting, aluminum alloys 22 / 1 Introduction Semi-solid casting is a modified die casting process that reduces or eliminates the porosity present in most die castings [1] . Rather than using liquid metal as the feed material, semi-solid processing uses a higher viscosity feed material that is partially solid and partially liquid. The high viscosity of the semi-solid metal, along with the use of controlled die filling conditions, ensures that the semi-solid metal fills the die in a non-turbulent manner so that harmful gas porosity can be essentially eliminated.
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