New ultrasonic generator technology for 3D uniformly distributed, ultrasonically assisted metal casting, mixing, forming and ultrasonic degassing of molten aluminum- and other non-ferrous melts.
MMM ultrasonic driving creates uniform and homogenous distribution of acoustical activity on the surface and inside of the vibrating system, while avoiding the creation of stationary and standing waves, so that the whole vibrating system is fully agitated.
For more information about MMM please download our presentation here
Innovative Aspects
Development of a new ultrasonic electronics and a system feedback concept that allows real-time adaptation to continuously evolving acoustic conditions. Capability to ultrasonically drive any arbitrary shape or large mechanical system at high energy if needed- Ultrasonic driving of system harmonics and subharmonics gives a wideband multi-frequency effects that improves stimulation of the system. – Elimination of ultrasonic standing waves gives uniform treatment of material.
More information about our MMM sonic / ultrasonic generators here
Main Advantages
Improved metal homogenization and mixing of new alloys.- Improved crystallization and alloy characteristics in casting.- Friction reduction between a tool (e.g. casting, drawing, extruding, molding) and the material being worked improves the material flow.- Improved Surface finish on extruded or drawn materials.- Reduce or eliminate material voids or cavities in casting or molding applications. -Alloys’ density increase until theoretical limits. – Power Supply Generators are available in a standard range of 300 watts to 2,000 watts. Custom systems available to 120,000 watts.
Advantages and applications:
- Grain refinement, with significantly improved and 3D uniformly distributed micro-crystallization.
- Disintegration, elimination, wetting and dissolving of non-metallic and metallic inclusions, making smooth intermetallic transitional area.
- Alloys mixing with nano-particles, increasing density of the alloys, varying percentages of alloys ingredients.
- Improving chemical, mechanical and physical properties and corrosion resistance e.g. in Al-Li alloys and other aerospace alloys.
Ultrasonic World (www.UltrasonicsWorldGroup.com) has developed a new technology that applies high power ultrasonic energy to large, heavy irregular mass or un-tuned mechanical systems such as extruder, drawing die, mold tools, metal melt mixer, continuous casting, homogenizing, degassing, alloying, very fine and homogenous micro-crystallization, sintering, etc.
Conventional power ultrasonic systems comprising the power supply generator and piezoelectric transducers, as used in ultrasonic cleaning and welding applications, are limited in function and adaptability to new metal working applications…
A new AMMM ultrasonic generator technology has been developed to allow the use of conventional high amplitude transducers to drive large irregular shapes and un-tuned mechanical systems such as extruder heads, drawing die, injection mold tools, or a metal melt mixer.
This new technology has the unique capability to stimulate wide-band sonic and ultrasonic energy (ranging from infrasonic up to the MHz domain). The key to the technology is its use of a proprietary technique to analyze feedback signals and create custom driving wave forms to initiate and control ringing and relaxing, modulated, multimode mechanical oscillations in the harmonics and sub-harmonics of the attached mechanical system.
Controlling Cavitation:
In addition, we have real-time monitoring and measurements related to Cavitation in any liquid, which is the most significant active factor for realizing number of metallurgical processing such as: degassing, micro alloying, total surface, blind holes and micro-capillary, wetting of all kind of inclusions, uniform grain refinement, extending the natural limits in alloying, mixing, homogenizing and playing with different percentages of almost arbitrarily selectable ingredients, density increase…
We are able “to see”, measure and control the cavitation in real time (without submersing sensors for cavitation in a liquid metal). We know what the essential parameters of ultrasonic waves are in order to create cavitation. We know what to change, or implement during ultrasonic agitation for producing and controlling certain level of cavitation in liquids.
Our expertise in “self-sensing techniques” developed from other ultrasonic related applications [1, 2] has opened new ways to address the cavitation measurement challenge. Thus, we are now able “to see”, measure and control the cavitation in real time (without submersing sensors for cavitation in a liquid metal). We know what the essential parameters of ultrasonic waves are in order to create cavitation. We know what to change, or implement during ultrasonic agitation for producing and controlling certain level of cavitation in liquids.
Moreover, the dynamic of the ultrasonic transducers active power is continuously monitored with modern signal processing techniques [3, 4, 5]; this involves a novel approach which is very rarely available in standard monitoring systems. It is worth mentioning that the instantaneous parameters of the active power turn out to be closely linked to the most commonly desired structural characteristics of aluminum as well as to the total power consumption of the metallurgical process.
[1] Co-inventor of Microflow Engineering SA patent entitled:”Adaptive piezoelectric actuator control system”, October 2007
[2] Co-inventor of Microflow Engineering SA patent entitled:”Self-sensing dispensing devices”, February 2007
[3] J.-P. Sandoz, M. Prokic, ″Quasi Instantaneous Estimation of Time Evolving “Resonant Load” Parameters: a Novel Approach based on the Hilbert Transform″, IFT 2005, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
[4] J.-P. Sandoz, J.-D. Blumenthal, ″ Simple Implementation Solution of a General Purpose Hilbert Transformer Operating over more than Two Frequency Decades″, GSPx 2005, Santa Clara, California, USA
[5] J.-P. Sandoz, “Transducer to Transducer Time Domain Signal Response Shaping in Ultrasonic Applications”, IEEE Ultrasonic Symposium, Oct. 2006, Vancouver, Canada
Information about our Signal Processing is here (will be gradually updated): http://www.mastersonics.com/documents/mmm_applications/signal_processing_applications/
Papers:
New Trends in Aluminium Degassing –A Comparative Study
Fourth International Conference on Advances and Trends in Engineering Materials and their Applications. (AES – ATEMA’ 2009 Hamburg)
H. Puga 1, J. Barbosa 1*, E. Seabra 1, S.Ribeiro 2, M. Prokic 3
1 CT2M –Centre for Mechanical and Materials Technologies, University of Minho
4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal, (Email: kim@dem.uminho.pt)
2 Dep of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, FEUP, 4100 Porto, Portugal
(Email: sribeiro@fe.up.pt)
3 MP Interconsulting, 2400 Le Locle, Switzerland (Email: mpi@bluwin.ch)
The combined effect of melt stirring and ultrasonic agitation on the degassing efficiency of AlSi9Cu3 alloy.
Materials Letters 63 (2009) 2089–2092
H. Puga a, J.C. Teixeira a, J. Barbosa a,⁎, E. Seabra a, S. Ribeiro b, M. Prokic c
a. Universidade do Minho, Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
b. FEUP, Departamento de Engenharia Metalúrgica e de Materiais, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
c. MP Interconsulting, 2400 Le Locle, Switzerland
The influence of processing parameters on the ultrasonic degassing of molten AlSi9Cu3 aluminium alloy.
Hélder Puga, Joaquim Barbosa, E. Seabra a, S. Ribeiro, M. Prokic. Universidade do Minho, Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal, FEUP, Departamento de Engenharia Metalúrgica e de Materiais, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal, MP Interconsulting, 2400 Le Locle, Switzerland. Submitted to ELSEVIER Materials Letters in October 2008. Accepted 8 January 2009.
EVALUATION OF ULTRASONIC ALUMINIUM DEGASSING BY
PIEZOELECTRIC SENSOR
H. Pugaa, J. Barbosaa*, J. Gabrielb, E. Seabraa, S. Ribeiroc, M. Prokic d
aCT2M – Centre for Mechanical and Materials Technologies, Universidade do Minho, Azurém
4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
bIDMEC – Pólo FEUP, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto
4200-465 Porto, Portugal
cFEUP, Departamento de Engª Metalúrgica e de Materiais, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
d MP Interconsulting, 2400 Le Locle, Switzerland
ELSEVIER Materials Letters
IFT (Institute of Food Technologists) symposium 2005
″Advances in Power Ultrasound Research and Technology:
Food and Bio-product Applications″
New Orleans, USA, July 2005
Innovative MMM Technology for Implementing Power Ultrasonic Technique in Food-Processing Industry
Miodrag Prokic, M.P. Interconsulting, Le Locle, Switzerland,
www.mpi-ultrasonics.com
J.-Paul Sandoz, Applied Sciences University, He-Arc, Le Locle, Switzerland
Prokic M., Radmanovic M., Hedrih K. The change of Electrical and Mechanical resonant Characteristics under Conditions of Various Trans. Loads, GAMM, Dubrovnik, pp.1-24. 1985
Prokic M. Multifrequency Ultrasonic Actuators with Special Application to Ultrasonic Cleaning in Liquid and Supercritical CO2, UIA Conference, Atlanta, 10-12 October 2001
Prokic M., Tapson J., Mortimer B. The ultrasonic Hammer Transducer
Miodrag Prokic: MP Interconsulting, Marais 36, CH-2400 LeLocle, Switzerland
Jon Tapson: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
Bruce J.P. Mortimer: Centre for Instrumentation Research, Cape Technikon, PO Box 652, Cape Town 8000, South Africa
Patents:
Below listed patent applications are owned by the company MP Interconsulting (and Miodrag Prokic): www.mpi-ultrasonics.com , www.mastersonics.com
DISPOSITIF POUR LA GENERATION D’ONDES ULTRASONORES
Inventeurs : Prokic Miodrag et Jean Claude Padoy
N° de publication 2 743 929
N° d’enregistrement national : 96 01029
République Française, Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle, Paris, 25.07.97 & 10.04.98, bulletin 98/15
European Patent Application: EP 1 405 679 A1
Linear array of sonic and ultrasonic transducers, assembled in the form of complex, integral tube resonator
Applicants: Prokic Miodrag, MP Interconsulting, and Lee, Hee-Myong, Ilsan Suntek, 03.10.2002 – 07.04.2004
European Patent Application: EP 1 050 347 A3
Ultrasonic transducer
Applicants: Prokic Miodrag, MP Interconsulting, and Lee, Hee-Myong, Ilsan Suntek, 18.06.1999 – 24.07.2002
European Patent Application: EP 1 060 798 A1
Unidirectional single piston ultrasonic transducer
Applicant: Prokic Miodrag, MP Interconsulting, 8.06.1999 – 20.12.2000
European Patent Application (related to MMM technology):
EP 1 238 715 A1
Multifrequency ultrasonic structural actuator
Applicant: Prokic Miodrag, MP Interconsulting, 5.03.2001 – 11.09.2002
Books:
Miodrag Prokic, Piezoelectric Transducers Modeling and Characterization. 240 pages, January 2004, MPI, Le Locle, Switzerland, www.mpi-ultrasonics.com
H. Feng et al. (eds.), Ultrasound Technologies for Food and Bioprocessing, Food Engineering Series, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-7472-3_5. Chapter 5 Wideband Multi-frequency, Multimode, and Modulated (MMM) Ultrasonic Technology (author M. Prokic). Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011