Development of Economical Procedures for Producing and Processing Fine Grained SSM Feedstock via Mechanical Stirring

48 Development of Economical Procedures for Producing and Processing Fine Grained SSM Feedstock via Mechanical Stirring--Formcast, Inc., 1415 Cedar Avenue, Denver, CO 80223; (303) 778-6566 Mr. Norman H. Nicholas, Principal Investigator Mr. Charles Carlberg, Business Official DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-97ER82377 Amount: $72,667 DOE has identified a market need for a more economical, less energy intensive process for the production of high-quality, small diameter, feedstock without deleterious surface properties. Semi-solid metal forming involves the use of a special starting material (feedstock) that has been heated into a liquid + solid state. It provides a higher quality and more cost effective alternative to conventional means for forming parts close to their final shape. Currently commercial semi-solid forming is essentially confined to expensive electromagnetic stirring facilities that produce large diameter feedstock with deleterious surface properties. The objective of this project is to develop an economical mechanical stirring process for the production of small diameter semi-solid forming feedstock free of deleterious surface structures. The Phase I project will develop a small scale mechanical stirring facility and demonstrate the feasibility for production of the desired feedstock. The feedstock as well as simple formed parts will be evaluated. In Phase II, the facility developed in Phase I will be scaled up and detailed processing procedures developed to bring the process to the point of commercialization. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: If the research effort is successful, this technology will directly benefit industries that require the production of relatively small parts to near final shape. The aerospace, automotive and computer hardware industries will benefit directly from this technology. Furthermore, scale-up to larger diameter feedstock would potentially impact the entire light alloy, near net shape forming industry._