En Jämförelse Mellan Rheogjutning Och Konventionell Pressgjutning Med Vakuum. : Vid Tillverkning Av Aluminiumkomponenter.

The car industry is constantly under pressure to be competitive in their product development which includes not only safety and increased performance, but also in their environmental impact. Volvo Cars strives to be more environmental and high performing in their product development, which of course includes manufacturing methods since these highly effect a components environmental impact and mechanical performance. To optimize these aspects of car components it is important to have good knowledge of current manufacturing processes and the possibilities and challenges that come with them and their relationship to already well-established processes. This report focuses on the relatively new RheoMetal-process (called rheocasting in this report), a process that uses a partly solidified slurry to fill the mold, and the conventional high pressure die casting (HPDC) which uses a liquid melt, and their differences in casting aluminum-alloys from both a process-and design perspective. The RheoMetal-process is also compared to a few other semi-solid processes on the market, thixocasting, GISS and SEED. This report is meant to work as a foundation for product developers at Volvo Cars to learn about rheocasting, and eventually use to make future choices for manufacturing processes for aluminum alloys. With a literature review, interviews with experts and professionals and analysis of casting simulations, information of the processes and their effect on material properties was collected and compiled. What could be concluded from these methods was that the slurry in the RheoMetal process has a globular microstructure, unlike the melt in HPDC which is dendritic. The globular microstructure in rheocasting is caused from shearing the slurry which makes it run more easily. The thicker consistency of the slurry makes the flow more laminar when filling a mold which makes for less air entrapment and defects in the material. The reduced number of defects opens the possibility of using T6 heat treatment on rheocasted components to reach improved mechanical properties, which would normally not be recommended for components made with HPDC. The globular microstructure makes the slurry flow easier which means, in combination with less defects, thinner components can be cast with similar strength as thicker components made with HPDC. This would contribute to weight reduction in a car, and in turn less fuel consumption. With rheocasting, a wider range of alloys can be used because of the ability of using non-eutectic alloys for the slurry. From research and analysis of simulations it could also be concluded that a combination of a high solid phase fraction and low gate velocity result in a more laminar flow and therefore fewer porosities in the final component