Method and apparatus for forming a thixoforged copper base alloy cartridge casing
AssigneeOlin Corporation
InventorsMichael J. Pryor, Joseph Winter, Jonathan A. Dantzig
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Abstract
A process and apparatus for forming a thin-walled, elongated member having superior strength properties from an age hardenable copper base alloy is described herein. A slug or billet of a slurry cast, age hardenable copper base alloy is formed into a semi-solid slurry having about 10% to about 30% of the alloy in a liquid phase. The semi-solid slurry is then thixoforged to form the thin-walled, elongated member. Thereafter, the member is age hardened to provide a product having desired strength properties. The process and apparatus of the instant invention may be utilized to form cartridge casings.
Claims10
A cartridge casing comprising:
- an elongated, thin-walled member formed from an age hardenable copper base alloy;
- said copper base alloy being in a condition wherein it has been forged from a semi-solid slurry and having a tensile strength of at least about 80 ksi, a yield strength of at least about 65 ksi and a structure comprising a plurality of discrete particles in a solid surrounding metal matrix;
- said semi-solid slurry comprising said surrounding metal matrix in a molten condition and said discrete particles within said molten matrix.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.