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Semisolidmetalcasting
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Semisolidmetalcasting(SSM)isanearnetshapevariantofdiecasting.[1]Theprocessisusedwithnonferrous
metals,suchasaluminium,copper,[2]andmagnesium.Theprocesscombinestheadvantagesofcastingand
forging.Theprocessisnamedafterthefluidpropertythixotropy,whichisthephenomenonthatallowsthisprocess
towork.Simply,thixotropicfluidsshearwhenthematerialflows,butthickenwhenstanding.[3]Thepotentialfor
thistypeofprocesswasfirstrecognizedintheearly1970s.[3]Therearefourdifferentprocesses:thixocasting,
rheocasting,thixomolding,andSIMA.

SSMisdoneatatemperaturethatputsthemetalbetweenitsliquidusandsolidustemperature.Ideally,themetal
shouldbe30to65%solid.Themetalmusthavealowviscositytobeusable,andtoreachthislowviscositythe
materialneedsaglobularprimarysurroundedbytheliquidphase.[2]Thetemperaturerangepossibledependson
thematerialandforaluminumalloysis510C,butfornarrowmeltingrangecopperalloyscanbeonlyseveral
tenthsofadegree.[4]

Semisolidcastingistypicallyusedforhighendcastings.Foraluminumalloystypicalpartsincludeengine
suspensionmounts,airmanifoldsensorharness,engineblocksandoilpumpfilterhousing.[5]

Contents
1 Processes
1.1 Thixocasting
1.2 Rheocasting
1.3 Thixomolding
1.4 SIMA
2 Advantages
3 Disadvantages
4 Seealso
5 References
5.1 Notes
5.2 Bibliography
6 Externallinks

Processes
Thereareanumberofdifferenttechniquestoproducesemisolidcastings.Foraluminumalloysthemorecommon
processesarethixocastingandrheocasting.

Withmagnesiumalloys,themostcommonprocessismolding.[6]

Thixocasting

Thixocastingutilizesaprecastbilletwithanondendriticmicrostructurethatisnormallyproducedbyvigorously
stirringthemeltasthebarisbeingcast.Inductionheatingisnormallyusedtoreheatthebilletstothesemisolid
temperaturerange,anddiecastingmachinesareusedtoinjectthesemisolidmaterialintohardenedsteelsdies.
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ThixocastingisbeingperformedcommerciallyinNorthAmerica,EuropeandAsia.Thixocastinghastheabilityto
produceextremelyhighqualitycomponentsduetotheproductconsistencythatresultsfromusingprecastbillet
thatismanufacturedunderthesameidealcontinuousprocessingconditionsthatareemployedtomakeforgingor
rollingstock.[7]Themaindisadvantageisthatitisexpensiveduetothespecialbilletsthatmustbeused.Other
disadvantagesincludealimitednumberofalloys,andscrapcannotbedirectlyreused.[8]

Rheocasting

Unlikethixocasting,whichreheatsabillet,rheocastingdevelopsthesemisolidslurryfromthemoltenmetal
producedinatypicaldiecastingfurnace/machine.[7]Thisisabigadvantageoverthixocastingbecauseitresultsin
lessexpensivefeedstock,intheformoftypicaldiecastingalloys,andallowsfordirectrecycling.[8]

OneRheoCastingmethodusedintheindustryisthesocalled"RapidSlurryForming(http://www.google.com/pate
nts/CA2592251C?cl=en)"technologyinventedbyMagnusWessenandHaipingCao.Themoltenmetaliscooled
downbyswirlingansolidpartofAluminiumintoit.Theswirlingshearforceshearsthedentritesandleadsto
roundcrystalmicrostructure,whichenableslowerstressonthetoolingandbettermoldfilling.

Thixomolding

Formagnesiumalloys,thixomoldingusesamachinesimilartoinjectionmolding.Inasinglestepprocess,room
temperaturemagnesiumalloychipsarefedintothebackendofaheatedbarrelthroughavolumetricfeeder.The
barrelismaintainedunderanargonatmospheretopreventoxidationofthemagnesiumchips.Ascrewfeeder
locatedinsidethebarrelfeedsthemagnesiumchipsforwardastheyareheatedintothesemisolidtemperature
range.Thescrewrotationprovidesthenecessaryshearingforcetogeneratetheglobularstructureneededforsemi
solidcasting.Onceenoughslurryhasaccumulated,thescrewmovesforwardtoinjecttheslurryintoasteeldie.[9]

SIMA

IntheSIMAmethodthematerialisfirstheatedtotheSMMtemperature.Asitnearsthesolidustemperaturethe
grainsrecrystallizetoformafinegrainstructure.Afterthesolidustemperatureispassedthegrainboundariesmelt
toformtheSSMmicrostructure.Forthismethodtoworkthematerialshouldbeextrudedorcoldrolledinthehalf
hardtemperedstate.Thismethodislimitedinsizetobardiameterssmallerthan37mm(1.5in)becauseofthis
onlysmallerpartscanbecast.[10]

Advantages
Theadvantagesofsemisolidcastingareasfollows:[11]

Complexpartsproducednetshape
Porosityfree
Reducedshrinkage
Excellentmechanicalperformance
Pressuretightness
Tighttolerances
Thinwalls.
Heattreatable(T4/T5/T6)

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Duetothelowerpressuresandtemperaturesrequiredtodiecastsemisolidmetalthediematerialdoesnotneedto
beasexotic.Oftengraphiteorsofterstainlesssteelsmaybeused.Evennonferrousdiescanbeusedforonetime
shots.Becauseofthistheprocesscanbeappliedtorapidprototypingneedsandmassproduction.Thisalsoallows
forthecastingofhighmeltingpointmetals,suchastoolsteelandstellite,ifahighertemperaturediematerialis
used.Otheradvantagesinclude:easilyautomated,consistent,productionratesareequaltoorbetterthandie
castingrates,noairentrapment,lowshrinkagerates,andauniformmicrostructure.[3]

Disadvantages
Becausethixotropy(semisolidstate)isamiddlestateinphysicalorrheologicalsenseprocessconditionsforma
bandsonarrowevenenvironmentaltemperaturedifferenceshavetobeconsidered.Thusproductionfacilitiesneed
ahighleveloftechnologyandoperatorsrequiresimilarknownledgeandtraining.

Seealso
Metalinjectionmolding
Sprayforming

References
Notes
1."WelcometoMyNADCA!".diecasting.org.Retrieved20150820.
2.Young,p.1.
3.Lowe,AnthonyRidgway,KeithAtkinson,Helen(September1999),"Thixoforming",MaterialsWorld,7(9):541543.
4.Vinarcik,EdwardJ.(2003),Highintegritydiecastingprocesses,1,WileyIEEE,pp.91101,ISBN9780471201311.
5.P.Kapranos,Proc.10thInter.Conf.SemiSolidProcessingofAlloysandComposites,Aachen,Germany&Liege,
Belgium,2008
6.S.LeBeau&RDecker,"MicrostructuralDesignofThixomoldedMagnesiumAlloys",Proc.5thInter.Conf.SemiSolid
ProcessingofAlloysandComposites,Golden,Colorado,1998
7.StephenP.Midson,SemiSolidCastingofAluminumAlloys:AnUpdate,DieCastingEngineer,Sept.2008
8.JohnL.,Jorstad(September2006),"AluminumFutureTechnologyinDieCasting",DieCastingEngineering:1825,
archivedfromtheoriginal(PDF)on20101211.
9.StephenP.Midson,RobertK.Kilbert,StephenE.LeBeau&RaymondDecker,"GuidelinesforProducingMagnesium
ThixomoldedSemiSolidComponentsusedinStructuralApplications",Proc.8thInter.Conf.SemiSolidProcessingof
AlloysandComposites,Limasol,Cyprus,2004
10.Young,p.2.
11.StephenP.Midson,NADCASemiSolid&SqueezeCastingConference,Rosemont,Illinois,1996

Bibliography

Young,KennethP.,SemiSolidMetalCasting:ReducingtheCostofCopperAlloyParts(PDF),
MassachusettsOfficeofTechnicalAssistance,archivedfromtheoriginal(PDF)on20061007.

Externallinks
VideoofanautomaticforgingcellforSSM(http://www.cctbw.de/ThixoSchmieden.mpg)

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