Ube Industries, Inc.

Atsushi Yoshida

Mitsuru Adachi

Satoru Sato

Hiroto Sasaki

Yasunori Harada

Tatsuo Sakamoto

Naomichi Yamamoto

Thoru Tsuno

Kazuki Hiraizumi

A method and apparatus for the semisolid forming of alloys to enable shaped parts having a fine-grained, spherical thixotropic structure to be produced in a convenient, easy and inexpensive manner without relying upon the conventional mechanical or electromagnetic agitation. In the method, a molten alloy having crystal nuclei at a temperature not lower than the liquidus temperature or a partially solid, partially molten alloy having crystal nuclei at a temperature not lower than a molding temperature is fed into an insulated vessel and is maintained in the insulated vessel for 5 seconds to 60 minutes as it is cooled to the molding temperature where a specified liquid fraction is established, thereby crystallizing fine primary crystals in the alloy solution, and the alloy is fed into a forming mold, where it is shaped under pressure.

Method of shaping semisolid metals

In a pressure-casting method and apparatus, wherein a metal melt is fed in a mold cavity and then an oscillating squeeze pressure is applied to the melt by a squeezing plunger of a hydraulic cylinder moving with an oscillating stroke varying to compensate for shrinkage of the melt while being solidified, the hydraulic cylinder is feedback-controlled, using a control unit including a detector for detecting information on an actual squeeze pressure, so that a pressure converted from the actual oscillating squeeze pressure to have a mean value of zero copies a desired alternately positive and negative impulsive pressure pattern or locus representing a pressure oscillated to have a mean value of zero with a given amplitude and frequency versus an elapse of time.

Pressure-casting method and apparatus

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Ube, Japan

Atsushi Yoshida