Alcan International Limited

Sprayform Holdings Limited

Other

Alcan Research and Development Limited

Sprayforming Developments Limited

Richard Michael Jordan

Allen Dennis Roche

Olivo G Sivilotti

Alfred R Singer

Allen Roche

Philip G Enright

Patrick Grant

Piers Newbery

John White

Jonathan Betts

Ian R Hughes

Treve C Willis

A process for producing a metallic tool, mould, die or other body of significant thickness or a coating, the process comprising directing a spray ( ) comprising molten metallic droplets carried by a propelling gas toward an object surface ( ) of a substrate or pattern ( ) so as to build up a metallic deposit or coating comprising the mould, tool, die, body or coating on the object surface ( ) of the substrate or pattern ( ), wherein at one or more predetermined stages during spraying droplets of a relatively large mean size are sprayed and at one or more other stages droplets or a relatively smaller mean size are sprayed.

Spray deposition process

A facsimile of article to be produced by tooling is laid in register with a first tooling part and sprayed metallic material is deposited over the first tooling part and the facsimile of the article in order to form a second tooling part. The first tooling part typically comprises a metallic material and portions of the first and second tooling parts bounding the article facsimile are typically in metal to metal contact with one another. The tooling parts are separated and the article facsimile removed.

Tooling production

Filling porosity or voids in articles formed in spray deposition

Atomized metal is deposited metal onto a substrate so as to cause at least partial solidification of the deposited metal; further atomized metal is deposited onto the partially solidified deposited metal on the substrate; and the metal deposited onto the partially solidified deposited metal is allowed to fully solidify on the substrate; the cooling of the further deposited metal, and the composition of the metal and/or of a gas used in the atomization of the further atomized metal being tailored such that volumetric contraction on solidification and cooling of the further deposited metal is compensated for, when the deposited metal has been cooled to ambient temperature, by volumetric expansion in a reaction or phase change in the further deposited metal.

Metal forming process

Metallic articles having heat transfer channels and method of making

A metal matrix composite may be produced by atomizing a stream of molten aluminum-lithium alloy to form a spray of hot metal particles by subjecting the stream to relatively cold gas directed at the stream, applying to the stream or spray fine solid particles of reinforcement e.g. silicon carbide, and depositing the metal having the fine particles incorporated therein. The resulting composite has the following properties in an extruded and age hardened state:

Aluminum alloy composites

The invention provides apparatus for the production of a continuous uniform length of coherent metal. A cone 10 of atomized metal particles is deposited on a surface 12, which is continuously withdrawn in the form of a length of coherent metal 14. Shaping means 16 are provided to make the withdrawn deposit uniform along its length. The equipment is protected from the atmosphere by a hood 18 through which the length of metal is withdrawn through an aperture provided with a seal 20. Preferably, the deposit is of circular cross-section and is caused to rotate during withdrawal about its longitudinal axis. The equipment is suitable to form billet or rod or tube.

Production of billet or tube

In the production of alloys, particularly Al alloys, by a continuous casting process a supplementary alloy stream is continuously fed into a main metal stream running to the casting mould. The supplementary alloy stream preferably amounts to 1-20% of the main metal stream and has a liquidus temperature above the temperature of the main metal stream so that on contact with the main metal stream, intermetallic phases are precipitated very rapidly as a result of the high chill rates. This mode of casting reduces the risk of coarse primary particles when casting alloys of high alloying element content. The supplementary alloy stream need not be based on the same metal as the main metal stream. The method is considered suitable for the addition of various metals, such as Zr, Mn, Cu, Fe, to aluminium and aluminium alloys to overcome a variety of difficulties and to produce alloy products of improved properties.

Casting metals

A composite metal sheet or plate is manufactured by completely immersing an assembly of parallel or substantially parallel metal core sheets in molten metal at a lower melting point than the metal of the core sheets, and after the molten metal has solidified reducing the thickness of the ingot by hot rolling in a direction generally normal to the planes of the core sheets. The method has a particularly useful but by no means exclusive application in the production of reinforced aluminium alloy sheets and plates.

Growing community of inventors

Hook Norton, United Kingdom

Richard Michael Jordan