Im Rahmen der Arbeit wurde das Potential von Magnesium für den Einsatz im Fahrwerk eines Automobils, am Beispiel der Querbrücke des Hinterachsträgers, ermittelt. Verschiedene Mg-Legierungen wurden im konventionellen und vakuumunterstützen Druckguss vergossen und der Al-Legierung vergleichend gegenübergestellt. Es wurden in einem ersten Schritt statische und zyklische Werkstoffkennwerte sowie Materialmodelle erforscht und bewertet. Verschiedene Lastfälle im Standard- und Sonderfahrbetrieb wurden durch statische und zyklische Betriebsfestigkeitssimulationen abgesichert. Konstruktive Bauteiloptimierungen waren notwendig um den Werkstoff Magnesium an die Anforderungen der Querbrücke anzupassen. Äußere Umwelteinflüsse im Fahrbetrieb machten ein Korrosionsschutzkonzept für die Querbrücke aus Magnesium notwendig. Untersucht wurden dabei verschiedene Maßnahmen zur Vermeidung von Kontakt- und Oberflächenkorrosion. Grundsätzlich scheint der Einsatz von Magnesium im Fahrwerk im Bereich mittlerer Betriebsbelastungen denkbar.

Quality of the castings is affected by several factors which the designer should take into consideration during the product development process. Although residual stress is one of those, it is often not considered in practical computations. Hence residual stresses are one of the forgotten areas in designing of machine parts. This master thesis is focused on the investigation of residual stresses in a high pressure die casted component, with the aim of extending its service life, by taking results from the study as a feedback. The investigation of residual stresses was done on a variety of specimens, cast aluminum flywheel, provided by Husqvarna AB. This flywheel is a component in a product of the same company.In evaluating the residual stresses in the part, two tools-simulation and physical measurement were used. Moreover, comparison with these two methods is also done at an area of interest on the flywheel. The simulation was carried out by using MAGMAhpdc-a module for high pressure die casting process, from the commercial software package MAGMAsoft; while for the physical measurements, the hole drilling method was used, a method believed to be less accurate at low stresses areas. The findings obtained from this study show that the results from both procedures are close, with small deviations observed, which reveals the reliability of the hole drilling method even when the stress levels are low. It is also found that the compressive residual stresses dominate in the component-a preferred phenomenon with regards to residual stress.

Detta examensarbete omfattar produktutvecklingen av en komponent till en mätutrustning som ska mäta flytbarheten hos smält metall. Arbetet har utförts hos Bryne AB och har lett fram till koncept-, material- och tillverkningsförslag för komponenten. Arbetet har även utvärderat ett för gjuteribranschen nytt formmaterial som alternativ till dagens gjutsand. Tester har gjorts för att se om återvunnet (material x) går att använda som formmaterial till högtemperaturapplikationer. / This thesis covers the product development of a component for a measuring device that measures the fluidity of molted metal. The work has been performed at Bryne AB and has led to concept, material and manufacturing proposal for the component. This work has also evaluated new molding material to be used in foundries that can be an alternative to today's molding sand. Tests have been made to see if recycled (material x) can be used as mold material for high temperature applications. / <p>Uppladdad version av rapporten är en offentlig kopia av orginalrapporten. I den offentliga versionen har känslig information fått ett annat namn för att inte påverka uppdragsgivarens patentansökan.</p>

Syfte – Syftet med examensarbetet är att studera om det finns miljömässiga och kostnadsmässiga fördelar att övergå till additiv tillverkning, 3D-printning, när det kommer till tillverkning av pressgjutningsverktyg. Studien har gjorts på en jämförelse mellan ett laboratorie försök samt den verkliga produktionen. Metod – En jämförelse av ett additivt tillverkat och ett traditionellt tillverkat pressgjutningsverktyg görs utifrån en förenklad livscykelanalys sett ur energiperspektiv samt tillverkningskostnad. Resultat – Jämförelsen leder till att påvisa vilken tillverkningsmetod som är mest miljö- och kostnadsmässigt korrekt att välja. Under studien har det visat att den traditionella tillverkningsmetoden är både mer miljövänlig och kostnadseffektiv jämfört med den additiva tekniken. Resultatet speglar ett specifikt laboratorie försök jämfört med traditionell tillverkning som har utvecklats och prispressats genom under en mångårig industri historia. Implikationer – Resultatet kan uppmuntra till vidare studie där den mest effektiva tekniken används. Det vill säga en uppföljningsstudie där den planerade tekniken kan förbättras från denna studie och ge ett annorlunda resultat. Begränsningar – Eftersom detta är en liten del i ett större projekt, ADDING, som i sin tur är en förstudie för eventuell fortsatt forskning, är analysen avgränsad till de delar i processen för framtagning av ett pressgjutningsverktyg som skiljer sig åt. Studien har valts att fokusera på energiförbrukningen samt tillverkningskostnad. Datainsamlingen har begränsats något av att tekniken är förhållandevis ny samt att tillgången till databaser varit begränsad.

In der Dissertation wurde der Stand der Technik zum Fertigungsverfahren Druckgießen mit dem Fokus auf die Druckgießwerkzeuge recherchiert und strukturiert aufbereitet. Der Stand der Technik mündet in der Systematik zur Optimierung des Druckgießens. Darin wurde die Problematik ganzheitlich aufgearbeitet, konkretisiert und wesentliche Handlungsfelder, wie das Temperierkonzept, der Werkstoff sowie die Auslegung, herausgearbeitet. Das Handlungsfeld Temperierkonzept wurde fokussiert und daraus das Konzept des mehrteiligenWerkzeuges erarbeitet. DiesesWerkzeugkonzept ermöglicht durch seinen Aufbau eine Maximierung der Wärmeübertragungsfläche, eine Reduzierung des Abstandes der Temperierung zum Gussteil und eine Erhöhung des Wärmeübergangskoeffizienten. Der mehrteilige Aufbau wurde in einem Versuchswerkzeug für das Druckgießen umgesetzt, sukzessive ausgelegt und virtuell abgesichert. Abschließend zeigte die thermische Simulation des Prozess Druckgießen ein Potential zur Reduzierung der Zykluszeit von 12,9s (14%) mit dem mehrteiligen Werkzeug auf. Im Dauerbetrieb konnte prozesssicher, reproduzierbar und dauerhaft eine Zykluszeitreduzierung um 20,5s (23%) nachgewiesen werden.

In der Dissertation wurde der Stand der Technik zum Fertigungsverfahren Druckgießen mit dem Fokus auf die Druckgießwerkzeuge recherchiert und strukturiert aufbereitet. Der Stand der Technik mündet in der Systematik zur Optimierung des Druckgießens. Darin wurde die Problematik ganzheitlich aufgearbeitet, konkretisiert und wesentliche Handlungsfelder, wie das Temperierkonzept, der Werkstoff sowie die Auslegung, herausgearbeitet. Das Handlungsfeld Temperierkonzept wurde fokussiert und daraus das Konzept des mehrteiligen Werkzeuges erarbeitet. Dieses Werkzeugkonzept ermöglicht durch seinen Aufbau eine Maximierung der Wärmeübertragungsfläche, eine Reduzierung des Abstandes der Temperierung zum Gussteil und eine Erhöhung des Wärmeübergangskoeffizienten. Der mehrteilige Aufbau wurde in einem Versuchswerkzeug für das Druckgießen umgesetzt, sukzessive ausgelegt und virtuell abgesichert. Abschließend zeigte die thermische Simulation des Prozess Druckgießen ein Potential zur Reduzierung der Zykluszeit von 12,9s (14%) mit dem mehrteiligen Werkzeug auf. Im Dauerbetrieb konnte prozesssicher, reproduzierbar und dauerhaft eine Zykluszeitreduzierung um 20,5s (23%) nachgewiesen werden.

La réduction de la masse des véhicules, notamment des Groupes Motopropulseurs contribue à la réduction des émissions polluantes. Aujourd’hui afin d’aboutir à cet objectif, la conception de pièces automobiles (Carter Mécanisme, Carter Cylindre) en matériau allégé tel que l’aluminium et ses alliages est en plein essor. Pour la production de grande série, ces alliages sont mis en œuvre par le procédé de fonderie ‘’Aluminium sous pression’’.Ce procédé utilise des moules métalliques. La maîtrise du comportement thermique du moule : chauffage, refroidissement interne (par circuit) et externe, est un point clef pour la qualité et la cadence de production.Dans ce mémoire, le processus industriel est détaillé depuis la fermeture du moule et l’injection du métal liquide jusqu’à l’ouverture du moule et l’extraction de la pièce (carter mécanisme RENAULT). Ensuite, le design détaillé du moule, les différentes générations de circuit de refroidissement et les paramètres de chaque étape de la fabrication utilisés compte tenu du système de refroidissement actuel sont présentés. Le circuit de refroidissement du moule est aujourd’hui positionné dans le moule de façon empirique. Le but ultime de cette thèse est de donner les éléments clés de la conception du circuit de refroidissement d’un point vue thermique. Pour cela, une modélisation complète du phénomène a été réalisée et validée par 8 thermocouples et la position du system de refroidissement a été définie a partir des équations thermiques. Le cycle thermique du moule a été donc optimisé et nous a permis d’abaisser et d’homogénéiser les champs de température à la surface du moule pendant la production en vue d’une augmentation de la productivité, la santé des pièces et la durée de vie du moule. / Reducing the weight of vehicles, specially the powertrain Group, contributes to the reduction of the emissions. Today, in order to achieve this objective, the automobile parts conception (Housing gear box, Cylinder block) in lightweight materials such as aluminum and its alloys is increasing. For the mass production, aluminum alloys are formed by a foundry process called ‘’High Pressure Die Casting’’.This process uses the metal molds. Control the thermal behavior of the mold : Heating, intern cooling (by circuit) and extern cooling, is a key point to ensure castings quality and rate of production.In this thesis, the industrial process has been detailed since the mold closing and aluminum melting injection in the die, to the mold opening time and the part (Gearbox RENAULT) ejection. Then, the mold design details, different generation of the cooling systems and the parameters of each step of the manufacturing process taking into account the actual cooling system are presented. The actual cooling systems in the dies are positioned today in empirical way. The ultimate goal of this thesis is to provide the key elements for the cooling system conception from the thermal behavior point of view. For this one, a complete modeling of the phenomena has been realized and validated by 8 thermocouples and the cooling system position has been defined from the thermal equations. The thermal cycle of the die has been optimized and allowed us to reduce and homogenize the temperature fields on the die surface during the production. The rate of production, the castings quality and the lifetime of the die have been consequently increased.

The complexity in the vehicles production process is due mainly to the large number of Assembled components that are generally characterized by a high technological content. The castings, one of these components, fit perfectly in this category and they only can be made at a competitive quality and cost level if a proper tooling is available. The molds and dies manufacturing process requires modern computer technologies and materials of high reliability and performance. Although made to mass production, toolings are unique products whose manufacturing requires technical knowledge and familiarity with the casting process where they will be employed. The selection of a casting tooling supplier is usually a complicated and time- consuming issue. The decision process is based on several criteria that can be conflicting or superposed, objective or subjective. In the present paper the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to select a tooling supplier for the manufacturing of a transmission housing by the die casting process. Several qualitative and quantitative criteria for the tooling supplier selection were identified through the technical literature review and discussion with foundry specialists. Subsequently, the criteria hierarchy was established in three levels and comparison matrixes were developed to determine the priorities among them. The consistency ratio for each matrix was calculated and the final score of each potential supplier was determined. The study was concluded with a sensitivity analysis that contributed to confirm the choice of the selected supplier. The application of the methodology improved the selection process by reducing the subjectivity and by weighing the major selection criteria. / A complexidade no processo de produção de veículos deve-se, entre outras razões, aos inúmeros componentes utilizados na montagem, que em geral tem elevado conteúdo tecnológico. Os fundidos enquadram-se perfeitamente nesta categoria e somente podem ser produzidos com qualidade e custo competitivo com o emprego de moldes apropriados. A fabricação destes moldes é feita usando-se modernas tecnologias computacionais e materiais de alto desempenho e confiabilidade. Embora destinados à produção em massa, cada molde é um produto único cuja manufatura requer conhecimento técnico específico e familiaridade com o processo de fundição onde serão utilizados. A escolha de um fornecedor para moldes de fundição é normalmente um problema complicado e que consome tempo, a análise envolve múltiplos critérios, que podem ser conflitantes ou superpostos, objetivos ou subjetivos. O objetivo deste trabalho é mostrar a utilização do processo hierárquico analítico (AHP) para selecionar um fornecedor de um molde para uso no processo de fundição sob pressão, para produção de uma carcaça de transmissão. Através da revisão de literatura técnica e contatos com especialistas, diversos critérios qualitativos e quantitativos foram identificados para a escolha do fornecedor. Posteriormente estes critérios foram hierarquizados em três níveis e as prioridades entre eles identificadas em matrizes de comparação. A seguir, calculou-se a razão de consistência para cada uma das matrizes e obteve-se o escore final de cada fornecedor em potencial. O estudo foi concluído com uma análise de sensibilidade, que contribuiu para ratificar a escolha do fornecedor selecionado. A aplicação do método melhorou o processo de seleção pela redução da subjetividade e pela ponderação dos critérios julgados importantes em um fabricante de moldes complexos.

Conventional casting alloys Al-7Si-Mg A356/7 contain between 6.5 and 7.5% Si, together with 0.25-0.7% Mg and are used for critical castings in the automotive and aerospace industries. These alloys are also the most popular alloys used for semi-solid metal (SSM) forming due to good castability and fluidity imparted by the large volumes of the Al-Si eutectic. Despite their industrial importance, there is a lack of detailed research work revealing precipitate micro- and nanostructural evolution during aging of these alloys compared with the Al-Mg-Si 6000 series wrought alloys. This study characterises the heat treatment response of SSM-processed Al-7Si-Mg alloys in comparison with conventionally liquid cast alloys (investment casting and gravity die casting). It is shown that, provided that the maximum quantity of the alloy’s Mg is placed into solid solution during solution treatment, and that the alloy’s Fe content is within specification, the response to age hardening of Al-7Si-Mg alloys is independent of the processing technique used. The nanostructural evolution of Al- 7Si-Mg alloys after artificial aging with and without natural pre-aging has been characterized using transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography and correlated with hardness and mechanical tensile properties. The number densities and Mg:Si ratios of solute clusters, GP zones and β"-needles were determined. The heat treatment response of SSM-processed casting alloys A356/7 alloys are also compared with SSM-processed Al-Mg-Si 6000 series wrought alloys, with the advantage of having similar globular microstructures. The high Si-content of the casting alloys compared to the wrought alloys offers several advantages, including a faster artificial aging response (shorter T6 aging cycles), higher strength for comparable Mg contents and less sensitivity to prior natural aging on peak strength. Finally, an age-hardening model was developed for the Al-7Si-Mg alloys, including a method of incorporating the effects of changes in Mg-content on the aging curves. / Thesis (PhD(Eng))--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering / unrestricted

O processo de fundição sob pressão de alumínio tem se desenvolvido significativamente nas últimas décadas, ocupando um lugar de destaque na indústria por produzir componentes de engenharia inovadora. Dentre os problemas de qualidade deste processo, o mais recorrente é a porosidade causada por vários fatores, dentre eles os parâmetros do processo que são de difícil determinação, sendo comumente selecionados por meio da abordagem de tentativa e erro. A presente dissertação buscou responder a pergunta: Como determinar a melhor configuração de parâmetros do processo de fundição sob pressão de alumínio para minimizar a porosidade nas peças produzidas? Tendo como objetivo a melhoria da qualidade de uma peça de alumínio, fundida sob pressão, por meio da redução da porosidade. A principal contribuição desta dissertação concentra-se na aplicação do método de Taguchi utilizando dados categóricos ordinais (classes de porosidades) como característica de qualidade, por meio da análise da relação sinal-ruído ponderada. Os resultados dos experimentos foram analisados a partir do efeito médio dos fatores e da análise de variância (ANOVA). Como conclusão os parâmetros de temperatura do metal e velocidade de primeira e segunda fase de injeção foram os mais significativos na redução da porosidade da peça estudada. E ainda, o método de Taguchi alcançou o resultado esperado, trazendo significativa redução de porosidade na peça estudada por meio da otimização dos parâmetros do processo. / The aluminum die casting process has developed significantly in recent decades, occupying a prominent place for producing innovative engineering components. Among quality problems of this process is porosity due to several factors, including the process parameters that are difficult to determine, and are commonly selected by trial and error approach. This paper sought to answer the question: How to determine the best set of parameters of the aluminum die casting process to minimize porosity in the parts produced? Aiming improving die casting aluminum parts quality through reducing porosity. The main contribution of this paper focuses on the application of Taguchi method using ordinal categorical data (porosity classes) as a quality characteristic, by analyzing the weighted signal-to-noise ratio. The experimental results were analyzed from the average effect of factors and analysis of variance (ANOVA). In conclusion parameters metal temperature and speed of the first and second injection phase were the most significant in reducing the porosity of the part studied. Also, the Taguchi method achieved the expected result, bringing significant reduction of porosity in the part studied by optimizing the process parameters.