Abstract
Abstract
commercial semi-solid cast aluminium alloy A356 and extruded wrought alloy A12024 were used to fabricate an arbitrarily shaped part by thixoforging. Thixoforging was conducted with four different die temperatures (Td = 400, 350, 300 and 250°C) and two levels of applied pressure (P = 100 and 150 MPa). The influence of process parameters on the defects in the thixoforging process of cast and wrought aluminium alloys is discussed in terms of the microstructure of each alloy. The fabricated components were heat treated to T6, and the mechanical properties were also investigated as a function of the process parameters. Various defects were observed, particularly at the lower die temperatures. It was necessary to increase the punch speed and to optimize the gate design. The tensile properties improved with increasing applied pressure.
