Patent ID: 6845809
Filing Date: 2005-01-25
Classification: B22D,C22C,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A method of producing on-demand, semi-solid material for a casting process, said method comprising the following steps: heating a metal alloy until it reaches a molten state; transferring an amount of said metal alloy, while in said molten state, to a vessel; cooling said amount of metal alloy in said vessel; applying an electromagnetic field to said amount of metal alloy for creating a flow pattern of said metal alloy within said vessel while said cooling continues in order to create a slurry billet of the desired thixotropic solid to liquid ratio for casting; and discharging said slurry billet from said vessel, directly and immediately, into a shot sleeve of a casting machine, without any intermediate stage of holding said slurry billet between said vessel and said shot sleeve and without any heating step subsequent to said discharging from said vessel.