[HN Gopher] Semi-Solid Casting Enables Net Shape Volume Manufact...
___________________________________________________________________
Semi-Solid Casting Enables Net Shape Volume Manufacturing
Author : baybal2
Score : 21 points
Date : 2021-05-30 14:49 UTC (8 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.engineering.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.engineering.com)
| mikewarot wrote:
| The article hints that this is the process used to cast car
| frames, and does _not_ mention Tesla by name. The pressures
| required in this method require actual dies, and not the sand
| casting that is within the range of the home shop.
|
| Interesting things to know, but not something directly applicable
| to me. Thanks for posting it.
| p_l wrote:
| It's not like Tesla is anything special there, except for
| buying Italian-Chinese industrial caster for their product
| line, probably heavily due to being in the right time
| (combination of availability and building new line for a fresh
| product meaning they could do new design).
| antattack wrote:
| Tesla is using high pressure casting which, which supposedly,
| as per article, is more expensive, requires larger machines,
| wears out molds faster and requires additives than semi-solid
| casting.
| baybal2 wrote:
| Some background to it.
|
| For laptop sized parts, semi-solid rheocasting,thixomolding
| is much cheaper than conventional casting on per part basis,
| and usually gives you superior fine features like studs,
| ribs, thin walls, and thus _greatly reducing the need for
| final machining._
|
| Downside is that semi-solid casting/molding machines are much
| more expensive than conventional ones because of powerful
| hydraulics, up to few times as much ($300k-$600k for making
| CE parts,) and the cost grows much faster than the maximum
| part volume. The alloy for them is also much more expensive
| than common aluminiums.
|
| But on scales of consumer electronics manufacturing, material
| costs are minuscule in comparison to everything else, and the
| net shape capability is 100% worth the premium.
|
| Both techniques will give you equally high material strength,
| but you will be paying much more for quality for conventional
| casting, to the point the cost advantage is lost.
|
| Stronger low silicon alloys will need higher casting
| temperatures, and pressures to compensate for lower
| castability, and will also need degassing equipment, more
| expensive molds, and more extra equipment in general.
|
| On the size of car chassis, I may bet the material cost will
| start to make a difference.
|
| As a rule, you will need a lot more extra material to
| compensate for overall lower strength of cast parts.
| kragen wrote:
| What are the _disadvantages_? The article left those out.
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-solid_metal_casting says it's
| "typically used for high-end applications" which suggests that
| it's very expensive. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-
| solid_metal_casting#Disad... says this is because it requires
| much more precise control over process parameters.
|
| This augurs well for SSM casting, since precise control is
| immensely cheaper in 02021 than it was in 01977.
| baybal2 wrote:
| As I wrote below machines are n-times more expensive, and
| alloys themselves are far from being common, or cheap too.
| kragen wrote:
| Thank you very much!
___________________________________________________________________
(page generated 2021-05-30 23:01 UTC)