New Manufacturing Technology for Volume Optimization of Parts : Amorphous Metal Moulding

Abstract: Amorphous metals have gained a lot of attention since its introduction in the 1960s, and the usage and knowledge are growing rapidly. The underlying reason for this trend is the desire to utilize these materials unique combinationof properties. New manufacturing techniques such as amorphous metal moulding (AMM) have enabled themanufacture of larger and more complex amorphous products in larger production volumes than before. In order to successfully implement AMM into the development and production of products, knowledge regarding its strengths and weaknesses, as well as how to relate to it when designing parts to be manufactured using the technology is needed. The objective in this master thesis was to investigate the implementation and potential gains of using amorphous alloys made with AMM, both in theory using academic research, and in practice by redesigning existing productsto be manufactured using the technology. Processes how to identify products that are suitable to manufacture and then design them for AMM were formulated. The academic research was compiled in a literature study and served as a base together with a dialog with a manufacturer to formulate these processes. The processes were then used toredesign the current fuze holder designs to accommodate the new manufacturing requirements posed by AMM. A 3D-model was designed and later analysed to provide a design with sufficient strength. It was shown that substantial volume reductions were possible but at a penalty of increased weight and cost, due to the higher density and material cost of the amorphous alloys compared to the current aluminium alloy. Furthermore, as of this writing, with the limitations that exists with the technology, it was not possible to design the fuze holders to fulfil all requirements that exist for AMM. But a small piston that is currently made of steel was shown to be possible to manufacture using AMM, which resulted in both reduced volume and weight, but also cost. In order toverify the results in this study and to progress further, a prototype should be manufactured and tested. This in order to verify both the integrity of the analysis, but also to verify that the design meets the other requirements posed onfuze holders, such as environmental and functional demands.