Sometimes businesses require metal parts that are structurally superior and more intricately designed.
Liquid forging makes it easy to form metals into various products that offer structural integrity and a high aspect ratio with minimal use of materials.
In the following sections, we will discuss the intricacies of liquid forging, including its applications, advantages, and disadvantages.
We will explain how it compares to other metal manufacturing methods like die casting.
With this information, you will be able to discern whether or not the liquid forging metal manufacturing process is the right choice for your next project.
Liquid forging, also referred to as squeeze casting, is a technological breakthrough in metal manufacturing that was first created in the 1940s.
Its uniqueness lies in its four-step process that offers all the advantages of die casting and other forging methods, without having to use as much material and resources to achieve them.
The process offers a three-fold advantage that many industries requiring metal parts can benefit from.
These include:
Unlike other metal manufacturing methods, liquid forging gives manufacturers the option to use different metals such as alloys, magnesium, and aluminum to create dynamically designed parts without relying on different processes to create them.
The process results in high-strength metal due to its forging qualities.
It also has die casting capabilities, which allow for the production of a large number of components on a large series production scale.
The combination of both forging and casting capabilities and qualities results in a kind of “all-in-one” metal manufacturing process that can be used for a wide range of industrial applications.
Since liquid forging produces mass quantities of metal parts, it is simpler than other metal matrix manufacturing methods.
The metal alloys it produces boast strong and flexible metallurgic qualities, so the process can be used in a variety of industrial applications within the automotive, aerospace, defense, instrument, biomedical, and 3C industries.
Among others, the following parts within these industries are often created through liquid forging:
Since the required applications for many of these industries are constantly evolving, the need for flexibility and strength of metal parts is not a luxury but a requirement.
Liquid forging helps businesses keep up with technological breakthroughs.
As the process involves both casting and forging methods, it allows professionals to form multiple components with different sizes and shapes using reusable dies in one go.
The result of the liquid forging process then are shapely, lightweight, corrosion-free, and porosity-free components with tighter inner structures, smoother surface levels, and high aspect ratio qualities.
As mentioned earlier, the liquid forging process uses both casting and forging methods to create durable, flexible, and high-performance metal components.
It utilizes the stable flow in die casting to mold complex castings and forging techniques to create a compact texture with a high aspect ratio and high tensile strength.
The liquid forging process consists of four main parts:
| 1. Molten metal is heated. |
| 2. The heated metal is poured into the bottom half of the die located inside a hydraulic press. |
| 3. The top half of the die is used to close off the bottom half while pressure is applied to form the cast. |
| 4. The finished casting is ejected and new melt (liquified metal) is added so other components can be cast right away. |
The general parameters involved in the process include a starting temperature of around 6 to 55 °C (42.8 to 131 °F), and tooling temperatures anywhere between 190 to 315 °C (374 to 599 °F).
Furthermore, pressure levels of 50 to 140 MPa are typically used.
Finally, lubricant sprays are often added to the dies to minimize defects and eject casts more easily.
The final castings exhibit a host of benefits, including less shrinkage, gas-free content, and fine-grain structures.
All of these are useful in creating thicker parts for high-performance applications.
Liquid-forged castings can handle around 40 tons of pressure while reducing the weight of metal by 35 percent.
This four-part process also helps to reduce the materials needed to create geometrically designed castings.
Since there is no need for grain-refining additions, feeders, and risers, this ultimately lowers the costs of manufacturing metal components and parts.
While some of the advantages of liquid forging were briefly mentioned in the previous section, this section will go into further detail about them.
We will also list other benefits this unique process can bring to businesses requiring metal parts.
There are many advantages to this process.
For instance, a large number of metal components can be cast at any given time, with maximum utilization of materials (up to 90 percent).
No machining is needed during post-casting to enhance the surface or interior of the cast parts, and there are extremely low levels of porosity (i.e., hardly any void, empty spaces) and shrinkage within the cavity.
The process also produces finer microstructures and a smoother surface texture, while higher tensile strength results in stronger components and higher mechanical properties lead to better functionality.
Moreover, the dense and uniform structure allows cast parts to endure high degrees of pressure.
There is also a high degree of dimensional accuracy.
Liquid forging is equally effective with ferrous metals (iron, steel), non-ferrous alloys (aluminum, tin, copper), and composite materials (carbon fiber, kevlar) and can be used to cast parts with complex structures and large-wall thickness.
It is also an energy-saving process (low-energy consumption, high green degree) that entails no emissions of harmful gas, solids, or dust (i.e., no pollution).
Castings formed by liquid forging usually show better physical properties such as strength and functionality.
They also have a more uniform structure than casts formed by die casting and forging alone.
Liquid forging casting parameters allow grain patterns to be more closely controlled, resulting in stronger and smoother-looking components.
Liquid forging creates accurate-sized castings with dense internal structures and a smooth outer appearance.
This makes it a very useful manufacturing option for a wide range of industrial applications.
Even though liquid forging offers many benefits to businesses within industries requiring applications that remain functional under extreme heat and stress, it does come with some drawbacks.
There are three major disadvantages to using this method:
Let’s look into each of them.
While the process does help cut down on material wastage, it also requires large upfront costs because a company will need to acquire the right tooling to make it work.
The high tooling costs of liquid forging are attributed to the continuous need for molten metal, and the expensive casting and forging equipment that is required for the pouring, heating, cooling, and pressurizing cycles.
Die erosion that takes place during the process is another factor that contributes to high tooling costs.
Because of this, the process needs to be highly productive to be cost-effective.
With the high cost of tooling comes the need to produce more parts to offset that cost.
If mass production is not needed, then acquiring metal casts through liquid forging will cost more than they are worth.
In this situation, other casting and forging options would be more viable.
The highly controllable casting parameters associated with liquid forging may produce a more accurate and stronger design, but they also slow down the entire process.
This, of course, is not ideal for businesses that need their custom metal parts as soon as possible.
Ultimately, liquid forging is most suitable for large-scale projects that need predictable, reliable, and durable components.
It is not a good option, however, for smaller, low-budget projects that require a super-quick turnaround time.
There are several differences that set liquid forging apart from die casting and make it a better metal manufacturing choice for mass-produced metal parts.
Listed below are three distinctive features that separate the two manufacturing methods:
Let’s provide more insight into each of them.
In liquid forging, the pouring of the melt is much slower than that of die casting.
While this means slower cycle times, it also results in less turbulence, a more unified surface, and fewer defects.
Since die casting utilizes a faster injection of molten metal into the die without prior heat treatment, more voids and gaps are created in the microstructure of the molds.
Liquid forging, on the other hand, solves this problem by heat treating and cooling methods before and after the injection (pour).
This helps create a smoother and more uniform outer structure with a denser interior, making it ideal for a large range of industrial applications.
The liquid forging process incorporates a longer solidification time than die casting.
The shorter solidification period in die casting creates a thinner cross-sectional surface with more gaps and gas.
However, the longer solidification cycle (longer pressure and cooling periods) in liquid forging helps to reduce both shrinkage and gas pollution.
It is an excellent choice when thicker components with a high diameter surface need to be formed.
Liquid forging is one of the most versatile and flexible methods for casting complex metal matrix components, as it incorporates all the advantages of die casting and forging while reducing many of their limitations.
Liquid forging’s four-step process produces near-zero defects and the needed density required for high-pressure industrial applications.
Its ability to create high-quality, near-net dimensional castings on a large scale makes it particularly useful for projects that require a large number of dense, versatile, and geometrically complex components.
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