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Synthesis – Melting, Casting

Cold crucible casting

  • Manuf.: in-house development of IFW-Research Technology Department
  • Contact-free inductive melting under protective gas or vacuum – no crucible
  • Also suitable for reactive metals
  • Casting in copper mold
    (rod diameter: 10 to 12 mm, length ca. 10 cm)
  • Subsequent addition of further constituents to alloy feasible

Arc melting / Suction casting

  • Manuf.: Co. E. Buehler
  • Melting process via electric arc in small water cooled copper slots (ca. 10 g) under argon atmosphere
  • Also suitable for reactive metals
  • Subsequent suction casting in copper molds with small diameters or small rectangular cross section (e.g. rod diameter: 1.5 to 6 mm, rod length: 7 cm) to ensure high cooling rates

Arc melting (large)

  • Manuf.: Co. ALD
  • Melting process via electric arc in water cooled copper sheets (ca. 50 g) under argon atmosphere
  • Also suitable for reactive metals

Centrifugal casting

  • Manuf.: Co. Linn High Therm
  • For smaller melt volumes (ca. 2 cm3)
  • Melt process under protective gas or vacuum
  • Excellent capability for mold filling and high cooling rates effective during centrifugal coating in a copper mold with small diameter (1.5 to 6 mm)
  • Eventual turbulences in melt can lead to „marbling“

Strip casting/Melt spinning

  • Manuf.: Co. E. Buehler
  • Inductive melting in e.g. SiO2 -and graphite crucibles under protection gas or vacuum
  • Also suitable for reactive metals
  • Casting on copper wheel
  • High cooling rates up to 106 K/s
  • Attainable Ribbon thickness: 15 to ca. 50 µm

Induction casting

  • Manuf.: Co. Balzers
  • For larger melt volumes (ca. 250 cm3)
  • Melt process under protection gas or vacuum
  • Casting in molds of different material (copper, steel…) and different forms (cylinder, cuboid…)

Photos: M. Otto / IFW Dresden