Numerical and Experimental Study of Semi-solid A356 Aluminum Alloy in Rheo-Forging process

Die casting process has been used widely for complex automotive products such as the knuckle, arm and etc. Generally, a part fabricated by casting has limited strength due to manufacturing defects by origin such as the dendrite structure and segregation. As an attempt to offer a solution to these problems, forging has been used as an alternative process. However, the forging process provides limited formability for complex shape products. Rheo-forging of metal offers not only superior mechanical strength but also requires significantly lower machine loads than solid forming processes. This paper presents the results of an A356 aluminum alloy sample, which were obtained by experiment and by simulation using DEFORM 3D. Samples of metal parts were subsequently fabricated by using hydraulic press machinery.