The Alloy that never Solidifies

In the ninth Gold Nugget of the Goldcasting Podcast, Dr. Per Jansson explained his start in Rheocasting. He was amazed by the alloy that never solidified. Let me explain to you how a never-solidifying alloy works.

In classical liquid HPDC, a solid metal layer forms on the outer surface towards the tool. The heat is transferred through the solidified material into the steel. In Rheocasting, that surface layer forms the same way.

But then the magic happens. The next solidification steps occur within the melt. While making the slurry, globular solid phases are produced within the liquid melt. Then, in the cooling process, solidification occurs onto these spheres, too. The only direction the latent heat can go is back into the melt. So, the remaining liquid parts are heated by the latent heat.

Let’s take an everyday use case to explain it. Everybody knows the warm feeling of pocket warmers on cold winter days. You press the metal plate, and the crystallization of the liquid starts. And it keeps your hand warm for 20 to 30 minutes.

When changing the aggregate from liquid to solid, the energy level changes. A liquid has a higher energy at the same temperature. That excess energy, the latent heat, is distributed in the surrounding area.

Keeping the latent heat within the melt is ideal for long flow lengths. Imagine a gigacasting; A flow length of 2 to 3 meters is typical for such parts. A liquid cools down quickly, and melt fronts cannot recombine at the end because they are too cold. With Rheocasting, they arrive hotter and can still be fed from the ingate. This will improve the quality of the casting drastically.

So, if you have complex parts with high flow length or leakiness requirements, look into Rheocasting. I’m happy to give you more information; schedule a free Consultation Call down below!