Casting of Aluminum Alloy Wire Using Three-Wheel Caster

Abstract

A three-wheel caster for the fabrication of thin aluminum alloy wire was designed, assembled and tested. The first aim was to develop a caster more compact than the Properzi continuous caster. The second was to cast thin wires without burrs. The third was for the cast wire to have a cross-sectional area of less than 80 mm2. The casting of Al–Mg alloy wire was tested using the developed three-wheel caster, consisting of a large lower casting wheel and two small upper forming wheels whose positions could be independently adjusted. Two types of upper wheels were tested. The casting speed was 6 m/min, and the diameter of lower and upper wheels were 600 and 200 mm, respectively. The wheels were made from copper for the rapid solidification of the molten metal. The focus of this study was on the forming of the semisolid wire by the two upper forming wheels and the ability of the device to cast wire without burrs. The influence of the position of the upper wheels on the wire properties was investigated.