T.h.t. Presses, Inc.

Eric W Cruse

Richard J Kamm

Larry T Siefring

A metal alloy is heated to a molten state and then poured into a shallow shot chamber defined by a shot sleeve and a shot piston of a vertical die cast press. A homogenizing member having L-shape arms projecting outwardly from a vertical shaft is inserted into the molten metal, and the shaft and arms are simultaneously rotated and orbited by a six axes robot for moving more solidified semi-solid metal cooled by the shot sleeve and shot piston into a more liquified semi-solid metal within a central portion of the shot chamber to form a homogenizing slurry. The force required to move the homogenizing member is used to determine the solid fraction of the slurry and to stop the homogenizing process after a predetermined force is detected. A hydraulic cylinder actuates the piston to transfer the semi-solid slurry upwardly from the shot chamber into a die cavity.

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Dayton, OH, United States of America

Eric W Cruse