• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.102-109
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• 2000

With the emergence of the 3D CAD, it is possible to create a physical part directly from a digital model by accumulating layers of a given material. The technology is being widely used for checking designs, to create master models for rapid tooling, and for reverse engineering. However, in general, a model created by rapid prototyping technology is made of soft material that cannot be used as mass prouduction hard tool. Newly developed powder casting is suitable for rapid-manufacturing metallic tools. Powder casting can serve as a promising rapid tooling method because of high density characteristics and low dimensional shrinkage below 0.1% during sintering and infiltration. Through this process, we have realized significant time and cost savings eliminating the expense of conventional prototype tooling process.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.172-181
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• 2024

In this study, the effect of addition of Ti and Co elements on microstructural evolution and characteristics of vacuum-casted Cu-25%Cr electrical contact material was investigated. The coarse and insoluble Cr phases with an average size of 300 ㎛ in commercial Cu-25%Cr alloy were reduced to tens of micrometers in vacuum casted Cu-25%Cr-X(X=Ti, Co) alloy, which can be interpreted as result controlling coarsening and the work-frame structure of the insoluble Cr phase by the formation of intermetallic compounds such as Cr₂Ti or Cr_0.5Co_1.5Ti around the Cr phase As a result, the electrical properties such as weight loss and fusion resistance against the repeated arc generation of the electrical contact material as well as the mechanical properties were greatly improved.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.153-158
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• 2007

Molten metal flow in vacuum die casting was characterized by a numerical analysis. The VOF method was used to simulate the filling behaviors of molten metal during filling process. The various vacuum degrees of no vacuum(760 mmHg), 650, 500, 250 and 60mmHg were artificially applied in cavity. And the filling behaviors of molten metal with the applied vacuum conditions were simulated and compared with those of experiment. The results showed that molten metal was partially filled into cavity when vacuum was applied and the filling length of molten metal in cavity was increased with increasing applied reduced pressure in cavity. Also, the simulated filling behaviors of molten metal were apparently similar to those of experiment, indicating the numerical analysis developed in this study was highly effective. Through the result of fluid flow simulation, both relation equations of filling length and filling velocity with the variation of pressure conditions in cavity were calculated respectively and the internal gas contents of casting was significantly reduced by the modification of vacuum gate system.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.52-57
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• 1999

Funtional metal prototypes are often required in numerous industrial applications. These components are typically needed in the early stage of a project to determine form, fit and function. Recent R/P(Rapid Prototyping) part are made of soft materials such as plastics, wax, paper, these master models cannot be employed durable test in real harsh working environment. Parts by direct metal rapid tooling method, such as laser sintering, by now are hard to get net shape, pores of the green parts of powder casting method must be infiltrated to get proper strength as tool, and new type of 3D direct tooling system combining fabrication welding arc and cutting process is reported by song etc. But a system which can build directly 3D parts of high performance functional material as metal part would need long period of system development, massive investment and other serious obstacles, such as patent. In this paper, through the rapid tooling process as silicon rubber molding using R/P master model, and fabricate wax pattern in that silicon rubber mold using vacuum casting method, then we tranlsated the wax patterns to numerous metal prototypes by new investment casting process combined conventional investment casting with rapid pototyping & rapid tooling process. with this wax-injection-mold-free investment casting, we developed new investment casting process of fabricating numerous functional metal prototypes from one master model, combined 3-D CAD, R/P and conventional investment casting and tried to expect net shape measuring total dimension shrinkage from R/P part to metal part.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.274-283
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• 2011

The vacuum die casting is a promising candidate of the stamping process for fabrication of fuel cell bipolar plate due to its advantages, such as precision casting, mass production and short production time. This study proposes vacuum die casting process to fabricate bipolar plates in fuel cell. Bipolar plates were fabricated under various injection conditions such as molten metal temperature and injection velocity. Also, according to injection velocity conditions, simulation results of MAGMA soft were compared to the experimental results. In case of melt temperature $650^{\circ}C$, misrun occurred. When the melt temperature was $730^{\circ}C$, mechanical properties were low due to dendrite microstructure. Injection velocity has to set at more than 2.0 m/s to fabricate the sound sample. When melt temperature, injection velocity (Fast shot), and vacuum pressure are $700^{\circ}C$, 2.5 m/s and 30 kPa respectively, sample had good formability and few casting defects. Simulation results are mostly in agreement with experimental results.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.8 no.9
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• pp.831-836
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• 1998

The B1914 Ni-base superalloy was manufactured according to crystal structures of poly-, directionally solidified- and single crystals. We observe deformation as type of different crystal structure from room to high temperature. Specimens are controled by cooling rate and thermal gradient and then heat treatment in vacuum and then cooling with Ar gas. Different crystal structure has different stress-strain characteristic. At $600^{\circ}C$, yield strength and ultimate strength is increased single-, directionally solidified- and poly crystals in order.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.11 no.12
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• pp.1057-1062
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• 2001

We investigated the change of mechanical properties for TiNi shape memory alloy by heat treatment. 6061Al matrix composites with TiNi shape memory alloy as reinforcement were fabricated by vacuum casting. TiNi alloy has the maximum tensile strength at 673K treated and there is no change of tensile strength and hardness at 448K treated. The composites, prepared by vacuum casting, showed good interface bonding by vacuum casting. It was about 3$\mu\textrm{m}$ of thickness of the diffusion layer. Tensile strength of the composite was in higher than that of 6061Al alloy as increased value of about 70MPa at room temperature and about 110MPa at 363K. We thought that the increase of the tensile strength at 363K was due to reverse transformation of the TiNi shape memory alloy.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.47.2-47.2
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• 2010

1980년대 이후로 등장한 Nd-Fe-B 소결자석은 뛰어난 자성특성을 나타내며, 원재료도 풍부하기 때문에 단위 자기 에너지당 가격은 비교적 저가이다. 따라서 대부분의 기존 Sm-Co와 주조 Al-Ni-Co 자석재료를 대체하며 다양한 첨단사업의 핵심소재로 적용되며, 자동차 및 의료기기 등 산업 전반에 사용되고 있다. 이러한 응용 중에서도 향후 녹색성장을 위한 신성장동력 산업인 하이브리드 자동차의 구동 모터로서 사용되는 대표적인 영구자석이다. 현재 개발된 Nd계 영구자석은 큐리온도가 낮고 높은 온도에서 자기적 성능의 열화가 심하게 진행된다는 단점이 있기 새로운 합금 설계 및 공정의 최적화를 통해 보자력을 향상 시킴으로써 사용온도를 $200^{\circ}C$ 정도로 높이는 연구가 활발히 진행되고 있다. 본 연구에서는 일반적인 제조공정을 통해 제조된 소결체의 미세구조에 변화시키기 위하여 약 $10^{-5}$ Torr의 진공분위기에서 $10^{\circ}C/min$의 승온/냉각속도로 $350^{\circ}C$부터 $450^{\circ}C$ 구간에서 2 사이클부터 8 사이클까지 승온과 냉각을 반복하는 열처리를 수행하였다. Nd-Fe-B 소결자석을 $350^{\circ}C{\sim}450^{\circ}C$ 온도구간에서 반복적인 열처리를 수행한 결과 열처리 사이클에 따라 보자력 특성이 다르게 나타내었다. 이에 승온과 냉각을 반복하며 나타난 미세구조의 변화가 자성특성에 어떠한 영향을 미쳤는지에 대해 고찰하였다.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.39-45
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• 1998

In the previous study. the powder casting was attempted as the rapid tooling. The powder casting was the process to cast dry powder into the casting mold transferred from R/P model and infiltrate the liquid binder to solidify the powder. And then, the melted copper was infiltrated to control the shrinkage rate of the final mold Conseqently, the shrinkage rate was under 0.1% through that process. The mechanical characteristic was also excellent. Generally, in the slurry casting, the alumina powder and the water soluble phenol were mainly used. However, the mechanical property of the phenol was not good enough to apply to molds directly. In this study, aluminium powder filled with epoxy is applicated to the slurry casting to solve these problems. The mechanical and thermal properties are better than phenol because the epoxy is the thermosetting resin. We achieved a successful result that the shrinkage rate is shortened about 0.047%. Futhermore, the manufacturing time and cost savings are significant. Finally, we assume that the developing possibility of this process is very optimistic.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.263-270
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• 2012

This study investigates the effect of heat treatment on the mechanical properties of a forged Ni-based superalloy called Nimonic 80A. Nimonic 80A ingot samples were fabricated by vacuum spray casting to achieve a fine and homogenized microstructure. The ingot samples were subsequently hot-forged with the diameter of 220 mm at 1373 K. From the center to the surface of the forged Nimonic 80A, its average grain size decreased and its micro-Vickers hardness increased slightly. Solution treatment was carried out at 1353 K with 8 hours of air cooling followed by aging treatment, which was carried out in the range of 873-1073 K with various times from 0.5 to 256 hours. To set the optimum aging conditions, micro-Vickers hardness tests were performed. The maximum hardness value of 388.0 Hv was obtained by aging at 973 K for 32 hours. Also, tensile tests were performed for optimum aging conditions at room temperature and 873 K. The results can be used effectively to perform reasonable heat treatment of Nimonic 80A superalloy.