Spray forming

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Spray forming, also known as spray casting, is a method of casting metal shapes with homogenous internal structures via the deposition onto a mould of molten sprayed droplets. In spray forming, a metal or alloy is melted, normally in an induction furnace, then the molten metal is slowly poured through a narrow neck, like oil through a funnel. The molten metal thus exits the furnace as a thin freefalling stream. The metal stream is broken up into tiny droplets by a blast of gas jets, and these droplets then proceed downwards to impact onto a mould. The droplets strike the mould whilst still partially melted, and thus weld together, gradually building up a thick layer of metal on the mould.

For safety's sake the entire process is enclosed in a spray chamber, an image of a spray forming rig belonging to Oxford University, UK, can be found at [1] Here, the large orange furnace can be seen at top, with the open spray chamber beneath.