The use of Metal Treatment to control the quality of an Aluminium casting produced by the High Pressure Diecasting Process

Authors

  • R. Kendrick
  • G. Muneratti
  • S. Consoli
  • F. Voltazza
  • S. Barison

Abstract

The High Pressure Diecasting process is very attractive to
the casting buyer, offering fast production rates coupled
to optimised production costs. As castings become
more complex and wall sections become heavier so the
advantage of the very rapid cooling rate is reduced and
casting defects more commonly seen in gravity diecasting
and sand casting are now being experienced. The need
to heat treat and weld castings also means that casting
quality levels must be improved.
A fresh approach to the treatment of the Aluminium melt
is therefore required and this paper describes the design
of a test piece and a test programme to examine the
influence that metal treatment can have on casting quality.
Simulation is used in the design of the test piece and
various non-destructive tests are used to measure the
quality of the Aluminium melt, prior to casting. Finally
X-Ray, SEM and image analysis and mechanical testing
are used to assess the quality of the resulting castings.

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Published

2013-09-06

Issue

Section

Articles