Continuous extrusion of Cu-based material from recycling loop into semi-finished products for sustainable applications.

CONFORM continuous extrusion is a unique metal forming process that requires no external heat input and can use either solid or particulate feed such as metal powders, has the potential to manufacture new unique alloys that cannot be made by conventional processing. Because CONFORM extrusion is a low temperature manufacturing method and bypasses several conventional processing steps, it provides a sustainable, low carbon footprint alternative manufacturing process.
The aims of this project are to develop a greater understanding of the CONFORM process and then apply this to the development of the next generation of copper-based alloys.
The first phase will focus on studying the feedstock characteristics, key process parameters, and tooling designs that control particulate extrusion. This will include small scale testing of a range of copper alloy chemistries, particle sizes, particle morphologies, and particle size distributions to determine flow behavior, compaction behavior and consolidation (rheology) behavior. Process parameter effects will also be examined to determine the impact of tooling design, feedstock feed rate, wheel speed, and temperature. Such data will provide essential material data for both finite elements DEFORM software and discrete element modelling EDEM software.
The second phase will use the above findings for fabricating a new generation of alloy chemistries that cannot be made via conventional processing.
The third phase will assess the microstructural and mechanical properties of these new generation alloys and compare it to state-of-the-art conventionally manufactured alloys in order to evaluate the potential of CONFORM processing.
By studying and applying the CONFORM process, this project will contribute to both, innovative, sustainable metal forming processes and next generation alloy development.