Manufacturing Process for Thin Walled Casting of Intricate Shapes

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The goal of this proposal is to explore the feasibility and technical merits of a process for making intricate thin wall castings by using permanent molds preheated to the metal melting temperature of the cast metal. The molds would be in the form of a punch and a die. The molten metal would be introduce into the preheated die and then the preheated punch would be lowered into the die. The preheat of the molds to the temperature of the molten metal would ensure complete filling of the intricate thin walled cavity between the punch and die. Solidification of the cast metal is achieved by introduction of a predetermined quantity of water or cold air into the cooling channel of the punch in such quantity that no extensive reheating of the punch and die is needed for the next casting. The punch and die material would be alloy steel as used in the die casting industry. A suitable coating would be employed on the cavity surfaces to facilitate extraction of the casting from the die. Aluminum alloy will be employed as the cast metal in this proposal; however, application of this techniques should also be possible to alloys of tin, lead, zinc, magnesium and copper. This work will explore the minimum casting thickness, the microstructure, strength and ductility properties, and the cycle time. With the proposed process it may be possible to attain wall thicknesses smaller than with the die casting process, i.e. 0.040" or less, without the need for pressure as is employed in the die casting process. Properties of the cast metal may also be enhanced.