The electromagnetic stirring combined with mechanical stirring (EMSCMV) method was developed for preparing the AlSi9Mg alloy semi-solid slurry. The experimental results demonstrate that, the preparation of semi-solid slurry by EMSCMV is sufficient to obtain fine microstructure of billet. The primary -Al particles are small, spherical and uniform throughout the microstructure. When increasing the stirring power and the vibrating power, the size of primary -Al particles decreases while the shape factor increases, and its distribution is more uniform. The fine microstructure of billet prepared by EMSCMV was obtained at the stirring power of 2.0~2.4 kW and vibrating power of 0.8 kW.

Semi-solid metal processing (thixoforming) is a potential forming technology, which can realize near-net-shape forming process with good quality in one forming step. In this study, semi-solid casting (thixocasting) was used to form the auto box-like. Based on Power Law Cut-Off (PLCO) model and finite element code Procast software, the thixocasting process was modeled and simulated. The impact of main process parameters such as initial billet temperature, ram speed as well as die temperature on the thixocasting process was studied. The results show that thixocasting process can be used in forming auto box-like.

Thixoforming of steel is a potential forming technology, which can realize near-net-shape forming process with good quality in one forming step. In this paper, thixoforming process was used to replace the conventional hot forging process to form the auto claw-pole. The finite element code Forge2008Ó was used to simulate the auto claw-pole thixoforming process. The impact of three main process parameters such as initial billet temperature, punch speed and die temperature on the forming process were investigated. The reasonable process parameters for the auto claw-pole thixoforming were obtained: initial billet temperature 1430~1440°C, punch speed 100~200mm/s and die temperature 300~400°C.

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Thixoforming is an effective near-net-shape forming process to produce components with complex geometry and in fewer forming steps. In this study, thixoforming was used to replace the conventional hot forging to form the auto claw-pole. The finite element code Forge2008Ó was used to simulate the auto claw-pole thixoforming process. The results show that initial billet temperature, punch speed, die temperature and friction have strong impact on the forming process. Finally, the reasonable process parameters for the auto claw-pole thixoforming were obtained: initial billet temperature 1430~1440°C, punch speed 100~200mm/s and die temperature 300~400°C.