Phase Transformation Die Casting Process for Manufacturing a Thin-Type Product and Its Mechanical Performance Assessment

Thixo die casting of Al alloy is suitable for complicated large parts of the near net shape with less defect and excellent mechanical properties in comparison with conventional liquid metal die casting processes. To manufacture products with high performance, the reheating conditions, the casting plan, the die design, the injection conditions, the defect analysis, and the quantitative evaluation of mechanical properties are required. Al-Si binary alloys like A356 and A357 suitable for the thixo die casting process (phase transformation die casting process), which have outstanding fluidity, have been employed to completely fill the die cavity during forming. Thus, in the current work, the phase transformation die casting experiments using hypoeutectic A356 alloys were conducted for a variety of injection conditions and pressurization conditions. Finally, the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and yield strength (YS) as well as the elongation of the thixo die cast component were evaluated in terms of both mechanical and metallurgical points of view.