A Comparison between Semisolid Casting Methods for Aluminium Alloys

Semisolid casting of aluminium alloys is growing. For magnesium alloys, Thixomoulding became the dominant process around the world. For aluminium processing, the situation is different as semisolid processing of aluminium is more technically challenging than for magnesium. Today three processes are leading the process implementation, The Gas-Induced Superheated-Slurry (GISS) method, the RheoMetal process and the Swirling Enthalpy Equilibration Device (SEED) process. These processes have all strengths and weaknesses and will fit a particular range of applications. The current paper aims at looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the processes to identify product types and niche applications for each process based on current applications and development directions taken for these processes.