The Boeing Advanced Manufacturing Research Center (AMCR) at UK’s University of Sheffield expects to confirm later this year that a manufacturing process known as thixoforming can be used with aerospace alloys.
Already used by the automotive and electronics industries, thixoforming has been tested by AMCR researchers on a variety of alloys applicable to aerospace.
Thixoforming involves heating a metal until it demonstrates semi-solid properties. The mixture of solid- and liquid-phase metal is then poured into a mould or a die to form the net shape of a part. Thixoforming is viewed as a hybrid between casting and forging.
Thixoformed parts have so far shown superior mechanical properties compared with castings – they can be welded, and their formation is gas free. In the automotive industry, the process is used to produce net-shape parts.
“We have to verify the properties for aerospace,” says Plato Kaprano, research fellow on thixoforming. “If we can reproduce the recent results, then we’re close for some alloys to be used by industry.”
Source: Flight International
