Casting with metal slurries

Rheocasting and thixocasting are processes for the high pressure die casting of products using metal slurries. In principal, the slurry casting process is not new, an early example being the stir casting of organ pipes. But its potential has not been realised until recently. A wide range of metals can be die cast in this way and work is currently proceeding at the Fulmer Research Institute and Sheffield and Sussex Universities, as well as at a number of companies, such as Delta Metal, to evaluate both the fundamentals of the process and its application to specific products.