A plant and a process are disclosed for producing components made of an aluminum alloy for vehicles and white goods, through the steps of: providing thixotropic billets made of an aluminum alloy; sizing the billets depending on a ratio between weight and size of the component to be produced, thereby obtaining crop ends of material; heating the crop ends in a range of temperatures during which both a solid phase and a liquid phase coexist with a prevalence in the solid phase (more than 50%) in heating means (5); loading, through loading means (9), the crop ends in an injecting vessel made of non-magnetic steel for further workings; removing, through scalping devices, an external part of the crop ends that has become cooled when passing from the heating means (5) to the loading means (9); firstly injecting the crop ends through a press; secondly injecting the crop ends through the press in 18 milliseconds by using a closed-loop control system and increasing the injection unit power with respect to a closing unit of the press; thirdly injecting the crop ends by coining the finished part in order to remove all porosities; extracting the molding through extracting means (13); depositing the molding onto a conveyor belt (15); and controlling a quality of the obtained molding, the molding being then sent to downstream mechanical workings and/or an heat treatment.

A plant and a process are disclosed for producing components made of an aluminum alloy for vehicles and white goods, through the steps of: providing thixotropic billets made of an aluminum alloy; sizing the billets depending on a ratio between weight and size of the component to be produced, thereby obtaining crop ends of material; heating the crop ends in a range of temperatures during which both a solid phase and a liquid phase coexist with a prevalence in the solid phase (more than 50%) in heating means (5); loading, through loading means (9), the crop ends in an injecting vessel made of non-magnetic steel for further workings; removing, through scalping devices, an external part of the crop ends that has become cooled when passing from the heating means (5) to the loading means (9); firstly injecting the crop ends through a press; secondly injecting the crop ends through the press in 18 milliseconds by using a closed-loop control system and increasing the injection unit power with respect to a closing unit of the press; thirdly injecting the crop ends by coining the finished part in order to remove all porosities; extracting the molding through extracting means (13); depositing the molding onto a conveyor belt (15); and controlling a quality of the obtained molding, the molding being then sent to downstream mechanical workings and/or an heat treatment.

Systems, devices, and methods are described for extruding materials. In certain embodiments, one or more hollow billets are loaded onto an elongate mandrel bar and transported along the mandrel bar to a rotating die. The billets are transported through fluid clamps, which engage the mandrel bar and provide cooling fluid to the mandrel bar tip, and through mandrel grips, which engage the mandrel bar and prevent the mandrel bar from rotating. One or more press-rams advance the billets through a centering insert and into the rotating die. A quench assembly is provided at an extrusion end of the extrusion press to quench the extruded material. A programmable logic controller may be provided to control, at least in part, operations of the extrusion press system.

An extrusion system including a die located about and along an axis and defining at least one extrusion opening. A primary container defines a channel for holding a first billet to be extruded. The primary container is movable into a position in which the channel of the primary container is aligned with the die along the axis. At least one supplementary container defines a channel for holding a supplementary billet to be extruded. The supplementary container is movable into a position in which the channel of the supplementary container is aligned with the die along the axis. A ram is movable along the axis for axially pushing the first and supplementary billets toward the die for passing material of the billets through the at least one extrusion opening of the die.

An extrusion system including a die located about and along an axis and defining at least one extrusion opening. A primary container defines a channel for holding a first billet to be extruded. The primary container is movable into a position in which the channel of the primary container is aligned with the die along the axis. At least one supplementary container defines a channel for holding a supplementary billet to be extruded. The supplementary container is movable into a position in which the channel of the supplementary container is aligned with the die along the axis. A ram is movable along the axis for axially pushing the first and supplementary billets toward the die for passing material of the billets through the at least one extrusion opening of the die.

Devices and methods for performing shear-assisted extrusion processes for forming extrusions of a desired composition from a feedstock material are provided. The processes can use a device having a scroll face having an inner diameter portion bounded by an outer diameter portion, and a member extending from the inner diameter portion beyond a surface of the outer diameter portion. Extrusion feedstocks and extrusion processes are provided for forming extrusions of a desired composition from a feedstock. The processes can include providing a feedstock having at least two different materials and engaging the materials with one another within a feedstock container. Methods for preparing metal sheets are provided that can include preparing a metal tube via shear assisted processing and extrusion; opening the metal tube to form a sheet having a first thickness; and rolling the sheet to a second thickness that is less than the first thickness.

An extrusion press for producing metal extrudates by extruding a billet, the extrusion press comprising: a punch holder crosspiece which carries a punch and is adapted to be translated in two opposite senses of translation along a first extrusion direction; a billet holder loader adapted to be alternately positioned between a resting position and a loading position; wherein said punch holder crosspiece is translatable along a second direction, perpendicular to said first extrusion direction, between a first position thereof and a second position thereof; wherein when the billet holder loader is in said resting position and said punch holder crosspiece is in the first position thereof, the translation of the punch holder crosspiece along said first extrusion direction in a first sense of translation, or sense of extrusion, causes a push by said punch against said billet and the extrusion of said billet; characterized in that said extrusion press comprises restraining means adapted to mutually restrain said punch holder crosspiece and said billet holder loader; and in that when the punch holder crosspiece is in the first position, it is restrained to the billet holder loader by means of said restraining means so that the translation of said punch holder crosspiece from the first position to the second position causes the movement of the billet holder loader from said resting position to said loading position.

An extrusion system including a press with a chassis, a slider mounted to be mobile vertically on the chassis and an actuating arrangement that moves the slider, a hollow container receiving a billet and having at one end an extrusion die and at the other end a piston mobile in translation horizontally in the container, and a movement transformation system arranged between the slider and the piston to transform the vertical movement in translation of the slider into horizontal movement in translation of the piston. With an arrangement of this kind, it is possible to use a press of higher power.

A shear assisted extrusion process for producing cladded materials wherein a cladding material and a material to be cladded are placed in sequence with the cladded material positioned to contact a rotating scroll face first and the material to be cladded second. The two materials are fed through a shear assisted extrusion device at a preselected feed rate and impacted by a rotating scroll face to generate a cladded extrusion product. This process allows for increased through wall strength and decreases the brittleness in formed structures as compared to the prior art.

The present disclosure provides methods for preparing an extruded product from a solid billet. The methods can include providing an as-cast billet for extrusion; applying a simultaneous rotational shear and axial extrusion force to the as-cast billet to plasticize the as-cast billet; and extruding the plasticized as-cast billet with an extrusion die to form an extruded product. Methods for preparing extruded products from billets can also include: providing a billet for extrusion; while maintaining a majority of the billet below 100 C., applying a simultaneous rotational shear and axial extrusion force to one end of the billet to plasticize the one end of the billet; and extruding the plasticized one end of the billet with an extrusion die to form an extruded product. Methods for preparing an extruded product from a billet can also include providing a billet for extrusion; applying a simultaneous rotational shear and axial extrusion force to the billet to plasticize the billet; extruding the plasticized billet with an extrusion die to form an extruded product; and artificially aging the extruded product for less than the ASTM recommended amount of time.