Objective PRESCREENING TRIALS The experimental programme initially was concerned with carrying out a series of prescreening trials to evaluate the relative importance of a wide range of spray forming variables. Spray strategy, spray metal selection, substrate material, and bonding conditions to electroformed shells were isolated as areas which needed further study. FUNDAMENTAL STUDY OF THE MUST PROCESS The work here, as well as concentrating on areas highlighted by the prescreening trials, was also concerned with: - assessing the mechanical properties of spray deposited materials using a range of process variables; - residual stress measurements in spray formed deposits; - investigating potential backing materials for the process. INSERT PRODUCTION AND TESTING Using the SSP conditions which the fundamental study suggested would give the optimum material properties, a number of inserts were manufactured and tested in a plastic injection machine, a high pressure die casting machine and a press forming machine. Various levels of success were achieved with some applications such as plastic injection mouldings showing a great deal of promise, while high pressure die casting showed some problems. SETTING UP MANUFACTURING CONDITIONS The work here was concerned with developing the process steps necessary for the productionisation of the MUST process. The targeted areas were: - the development of castable ceramic former materials; - developing spray strategies for spraying metal onto complex shaped formers containing cavities; - designing a pre-production MUST equipment. Although significant progress was made in these areas, further work is required, for instance, in promoting adhesion to castable refractories. MANUFACTURE OF TOOLS AND DIES The process achieved in formulating castable ceramics as former materials and the development of a spray strategy which enables reasonably complex shape tools to be spray formed, enabled a number of plastic injection dies to be produced for demonstration purposes. The manupulator attached to the Mk I chamber was only capable of producing dies up to 130mm in diameter. A Mk II chamber has been designed to make tools and dies up to 500mm in diameter. Further work will be required to ensure the accurate reproduction of larger sized formers.Based on a process, Simultaneous Spray Peening (SSP), which is a development of spray forming, both processes pioneered by the Prime Proposer over the past twelve years,a new replication process for making production tools for manufacturing processes such as deep drawing, injection moulding and die casting is developed. Development of this concept, named MUST in the proposal, engages three industrial companies and two research institutes in applied research in four main areas : The SSP process is explored and further developed with special attention paid to the above application. Research is carried out to find rational methods to make formers and patterns. Special attention is paid to the interface between pattern and sprayed shell. Electro forming is used to give high accuracy of replication. Two production units e produced and used to manufacture a number of sample tools which in turn are tested under real life conditions. SSP is a process of metal spraying which has overcome the shortcomings of conventional metal spraying. Therefore the proposers firmly believe that the MUST concept will provide production tools characterized by low price, short production cycle and good quality. The provision of tooling constitutes a major bottle neck in the time span from design to production in mechanical industry. The project will have a significant influence on this bottle neck. If and when the concept is broadly implemented annu savings could well amount to millions of ECU in a user company. The project proposal is based on a BRITE/EURAM feasibility study (FA 89-57) carried out by the Prime Proposer in 1989. Fields of science engineering and technologymechanical engineeringmanufacturing engineeringnatural sciencesmathematicspure mathematicsarithmeticsprime numbersengineering and technologymaterials engineeringceramics Programme(s) FP2-BRITE/EURAM 1 - Specific research and technological development programme (EEC) in the fields of industrial manufacturing technologies and advanced materials applications (BRITE/EURAM), 1989-1992 Topic(s) Data not available Call for proposal Data not available Funding Scheme Data not available Coordinator Sprayforming Developments Ltd EU contribution No data Address Innovation Centre Singleton Park SA2 8PP Swansea United Kingdom See on map Total cost No data Participants (4) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all Danish Technological Institute Denmark EU contribution No data Address Gregersensvej 5 2630 TAASTRUP See on map Total cost No data Grundfos International AS Denmark EU contribution No data Address Poul Due Jensensvej 7 8850 BJERRINGBRO See on map Total cost No data Magma Gießereitechnologie Gesellschaft für Gießerei-, Simulations- und Regeltechnik mbH Germany EU contribution No data Address Werner-Heisenberg-Straße 14 52477 Alsdorf See on map Total cost No data UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH United Kingdom EU contribution No data Address Mayfield Road King's Buildings EH9 3JL Edinburgh See on map Total cost No data
