Thixoforming : Semi-solid Metal Processing

Figure 10.9 Experimental results, desired surface temperature
(W desired), measured temperature at the surface (W out) and in the
middle (Win) of the billet.
outer scale. However, this would lead to an extensive calculation of the coil current
trajectory.
10.3.2
Thixoforging and Thixo Lateral Extrusion of Aluminium
This section takes a closer look at investigations in the field of thixoforging and thixo
lateral extrusion of aluminium alloys and shows possible geometries and typical
defects based on rheological causes. Several components with a large range of
different geometries were produced to analyse the feasibility of thixoforging and
thixo lateral extrusion by using the low-melting alloy AlSi7Mg (A356) (Figure 10.10).
The tools were made of hot forming tool steel X38CrMoV5-1 and are preheated to
300 C before starting the forming. The increase in the geometric complexity in
comparison with forging is clearly demonstrated with the selected components
shown due to specifications of their geometry. Typical constructions such as undercuts
and bore diameters, which are realized by using core pullings (Figure 10.10a)
Figure 10.10 Selection of produced components (AlSi7Mg) by thixoforging.
10.3 Heating and Forming Operationsj383