Casting Techniques: An Alternative for Producing Parts with Recycled Al in the Gravity Die Casting Process

This work applied the grain refinement technique by heterogeneous nucleation and precipitation hardening to investigate the effect of size and morphology of β-Fe particles on Al-Si alloys\' mechanical behavior Fe-critical, inoculated via Nb+B and heat-treated. The samples for the microstructural analyses were produced according to the standard mold, Test Procedure-1 (TP-1) and, analyzed by optical microscope with polarised light and filter plate and differential interference contrast (DIC) and by X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (XRD SEM) with EDS detector analyzer. The specimens for the mechanical tests were cast in a metal mold according to ASTM B108. The combined effect of manipulating the studied alloy Al10Si1Fe0.35Mg resulted in reduced and spheroidized β-Fe precipitates with improved mechanical properties in the material. Properties are similar to those achieved by commercially used alloys with engineering applications in structural and safety parts.

Design of metal casting mold for ADC 12 aluminium alloy with assistance of 20 kHz ultrasonic vibration

Metal mold casting is widely used in industry because of higher accuracy than sand casting and lower cost than diecasting. Metal mold casting can yield products with complex shapes and adjustable cooling rate. In this work, designing and fabrication of 20 kHz ultrasonic assisted mold casting using 20Cr steel are studied. Some major components such as motor, heater power, melting chamber are selected and calculated. Model for heating and pouring the ADC 12 alloy is designed. Samples with and without ultrasonic vibration are investigated using 3D laser scan.

Shape and position design of two-step micro-channel on plate during rubber pad forming process based on simulation

Rubber pad forming is an advanced processing technology. The micro-channel is formed on the plate by both rubber pad and the metal mold. With the development of micro-channel, a two-step micro-channel has been applied in more and more fields. However, little attention was given to the design during rubber pad forming process for these unique channels. In this paper, the rubber pad forming process of an entire plate with two-step channels is studied. In order to find the suitable design, the main parameters of the two-step micro-channel are discussed. Not only for the geometric ones for structures like: length, width, edge chamfer and the height ratio of first to second step, but also for the spatial distribution like: the number and distance of two-step micro-channels in the entire plate. Matlab is used to study the influences on the final forming results because of the various parameters. Moreover, a better design of the plate with two-step micro-channels are provided. Finally, based on the FEM and forming experiments, a design strategy is provided by forming results in conclusions.

The Potential of Seaweed Salt as an Alternative Low Natrium Salt: Safety and Sensory Test

Indonesia is one of the largest producers of red seaweed in the world, but there is very little research done on the role of red seaweed in the health sector. This study is about red seaweed type Euchema cottoni and it’s potential as seaweed salt that has lower natrium and rich in other minerals.This research was divided into two phases and conducted from December 2016 to March 2017. The first phase is a safety analysis in terms of metal, mold and bacteria contamination of seaweed from three different places of Indonesia: Saumlaki, Maluku; Nusa Dua, Bali and Flores, Nusa Tenggara Barat. After the seaweed safety was selected, the seaweed was made into powder at Industrial Research and Development Agency (BPPT), Tangerang. The seaweed powder mixed with ordinary salt with four type of concentrations were subjected to a salty sensory test by nine panellists who have been working at the food production at Hospital for at least one year. The second phase was to do acceptance sensory test of the seaweed salt product taste against a concentration that was selected in first phase to first-degree hypertensive subjects aged 25–59 years by using soup as the meal-media. Chi-square test was used to analyse the difference.Seaweed from Saumlaki, Maluku was selected as the safest seaweed due to it’s lowest content of metal, mold and bacterial contaminations. The ratio of seaweed powder to ordinary salt powder 1:1 was selected by nine panellists in salty sensory test. Analysis of minerals from the seaweed salt product found that besides the lower sodium and Iodium content, it’s potassium and magnesium content were much higher than ordinary salt. Salty taste test by 62 respondents with first degree hypertension with age 25-59 years showed no significant difference in saltiness between seaweed salt and ordinary salt.In conclusion, the seaweed salt product with a 1:1 ratio to ordinary salt powder is safe and acceptable to be used as an alternative low Na salt.