Fusible core alloy composites for plastics molding
STATEMENT OF COPENDENCY 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/187,734, filed Apr. 27, 1988 pending, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/166,060 filed Mar. 9, 1988 pending. Both previous applications were invented by Y. O. Lhymn and C. Lhymn. 
    
    
     INTRODUCTION 
     This to the preparation of core materials for use with the lost core technology for molding plastic parts with a hollow internal space such as air intake manifold, water pump housing, turbocharger housing, fan blade, etc. in automobile industry. New core materials were economically produced by applying the composites technology to traditional tin-based fusible alloys. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The progress of lost core technology for fabricating complex plastic parts with a hollow curved internal space has faced the problem of dimensional stability and consequent reproducibility in mass production. Such dimensional nonuniformity is the result of weak strength at a higher molding temperature for manufacturing thermoset or thermoplastic parts. As a core material, tin-based alloys were employed as stated in prior art [1. Automotive Engineer v.12 n.1 Feb/Mar (1987) p 38; 2. British Pat. GB 2165860 A (UK) (1985); 3. Automobil Tech. Z. v.89 n.3 Mar (1987) p 139]. The weakness problem of such monolithic alloys has been solved by applying the concept of composites technology and thus fiber reinforced metal matrix composites have been invented as described in prior art by the present inventors [4. U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 07/166,060 filed Mar. 9, 1988; 5. U.S. Pat. application filed Apr. 27, 1988 &#34;Development of Fusible Alloy Composites&#34;]. It is now possible to produce cores with a higher strength than monolithic alloys while maintaining the melting point of new core materials in the same range of conventional monolithic alloys. The cost of producing such fibrous metal matrix composites was about the same as conventional alloys. It will be economically desirable to produce acceptable core materials at a cheaper cost than traditional alloys. It is the goal of this invention to produce such core materials. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The process of the invention comprises the following steps or operations: 
     1. Precleaning steel shots or tin-coated steel fibers. 
     2. Preparation of tin-bismuth or tin-lead-antimony alloy. 
     3. Mixing steel shots or tin-coated short steel fibers with the molten tin-based alloy in air by adding a cleaning agent such as ammonium chloride. 
     An attractive feature of composites technology derived from the present invention is the low cost of production compared to the presently available tin-based alloy without degrading mechanical and physical properties such as strength and melting point. Reinforcing steel shots or steel fibers can have any carbon content and can contain additional alloying elements. Reinforcement can be done also by copper-coated steel fibers or by copper shots. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     The drawings represent microstructural morphology of tin-based matrix composites in which: 
     FIG. 1 represents a SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) micrograph of tin-bismuth alloy filled with steel shots. 
     FIG. 2 represents a SEM micrograph of tin-lead-antimony alloy reinforced with tin-coated steel fibers. 
     FIG. 3 represents a SEM micrograph of tin-bismuth alloy reinforced with tin-coated steel fibers and steel shots. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     We have invented low cost fusible alloy composites that are suitable as a core for use with the lost core technology. A preferred composite of our invention is a tin-bismuth or tin-lead-antimony alloy filled with steel shots or/and reinforced with tin-coated steel fibers as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3. The presence of fillers or reinforcements increases the strength while the melting temperature is determined by the compositional details of the alloy matrix phase. It is essential that the processing temperature must be low enough not to melt the steel component. For various fusible alloy composites to be described in the following six examples, mechanical strength properties such as tensile strength of alloy composites are higher than unreinforced monolithic alloys while the melting temperature of composites is about the same as monolithic alloys. In general, reinforcements can be copper-coated steel fibers or any metallic materials of any geometry. 
     The preferred geometry is shots. THe preferred metal shots are copper shots or steel shots, although any metal shots can be used as long as the metal shots have a higher melting point than the matrix malloy. The reinforcement metal shots should compose less than 50% by weight of the composite and preferably be less than 40% by weight. The diameter of the metal shots should be less than 1 inch and preferably should be between 0.3 and 0.5mm. 
     EXAMPLE 1 
     A binary alloy of 90 weight % tin- 10 weight % bismuth was prepared by melting in air. To this molten tin-bismuth alloy was added a mixture of 40 weight % precleaned steel shots and 1 to 5 weight % ammonium chloride powder. Steel shots were precleaned in 10% hydrochloric acid, rinsed in water, rinsed in acetone prior to mixing. The diameter of steel shots is about 0.3 to 0.5 mm and the melt was given an agitation in an air atmosphere. The melting point of fabricated composites is about 200 degree C. The alloy may be 80-94% tin and 5 to 20% bismuth. 
     EXAMPLE 2 
     A ternary alloy of 59 weight % tin- 34 weight % lead- 7 weight % antimony was prepared by melting and to this molten alloy was added a mixture of 35 weight % precleaned steel shots and 1 to 5 weight % ammonium chloride powder. The precleaning of steel shots consists of immersion in a 10% hydrochloric acid, rinsing in water, and rinsing in acetone. The diameter of steel shots is about 0.3 to 0.5 mm and the whole operation was performed in air. The melting temperature of fabricated composites is 185 to 189 degree C. The tin may be 50 to 65%, the lead 30 to 40% and the antimony 2 to 9%. 
     EXAMPLE 3 
     The eutectic alloy of 57 weight % bismuth-43 weight % tin was prepared by melting in air and to this melt was added 40 weight % precleaned steel shots and 1 to 5 weight % ammonium chloride powder. Precleaning steps for steel shots are same as described in example 1 or example 2 and the diameter of steel shots is 0.3 to 0.5 mm. The melting point of fabricated composites is 137 to 139 degree C. 
     EXAMPLE 4 
     To the molten melt of three kinds of matrix alloy in the preceding examples 1, 2, and 3, tin-coated steel fibers of 25 weight % was added together with 1 to 5 weight % ammonium chloride. The length of short tin-coated steel fibers is about 2 to 3 mm and the diameter is about 0.16 mm. 
     EXAMPLE 5 
     Hybrid composite alloys can be fabricated as follows. To the molten alloy of tin-bismuth, tin-lead-antimony, or eutectic tin-bismuth as described in examples 1, 2, and 3, was added a mixture of 20 weight % precleaned steel shots, 10 weight % tin-coated steel fibers, and 1 to 5 weight % ammonium chloride powder in air under agitation. 
     EXAMPLE 6 
     To the molten alloy of tin-bismuth, tin-lead-antimony, or eutectic tin-bismuth as described in examples 1, 2, and 3, was added 25 weight % copper-coated short steel fibers and 1 to 5 weight % ammonium chloride powder in air. 
     Having disclosed our invention and provided teachings which enable others to make and utilize the same, the scope of our claims may now be understood as follows.