Welcome to the Advanced Casting Research Center (ACRC)

ACRC is one of the largest industry-university consortia (~ 40 members) in North America dedicated to collaborative research in metal processing and manufacturing. Our focus is metal casting and digital manufacturing. We bring fundamental understanding to existing processes, develop new methods, new alloys, and address management-technology interface issues with our industrial partners. ACRC serves the global metal processing and foundry industry as its educational and research home.

Next ACRC meeting:  June 20-21, 2024, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.  We hope that you can join us.

Research on the Physics of Ultrasonic Treatment of Molten Aluminum Alloys

 

 

 

 

In this latest research project, we explore the use of ultrasonic energy in molten aluminum, which is a novel processing technique with the potential to improve the behavior of low-quality aluminum alloys. Ultrasonic treatment (UST) has been shown in literature to work as a ‘green’ alternative to processing methods such as degassing, grain refinement, and modification of detrimental intermetallic phase morphologies. At ACRC, we are investigating the fundamental mechanisms and physics of UST to determine optimal treatment parameters for targeting each of the three aforementioned processing methods in large volume melts.

Meet Our Newest Board Members

We are pleased to share that Matthew Gavin, senior metallurgist at Audubon Metals, John Jiang, senior materials engineer at Harley-Davidson, and Rodney Wirtz, mechanical engineer at Almex USA Inc. have joined our board as our newest board members. To learn more about the great work these individuals are doing in the industry and for our metalcasting collaborative, please click here. Next to each individual, you will see a blue arrow. Please click on it to learn more about their expertise and credentials. 
 
Welcome to the Board of Directors! And thanks to all of our other board members for all of their outstanding work. What a team we make!

ACRC Researcher Takes 2nd Place at EUROGUSS

 

We are pleased to share that ACRC researcher, Michael Moodispaw (center) won 2nd place out of 20 at the EUROGUSS Talent Award. EUROGUSS is the biggest trade fair for the die casting industry, featuring innovative solutions for processes such as aluminium die casting, magnesium die casting and zinc die casting. The event was held January 16 – 18, 2024 in Nuremberg, Germany. We are so proud of Michael’s incredible work.

Advancements in Material Quality Control for Additive Manufacturing

 

ACRC strategic partner, Verder Scientific, sponsored a workshop on the latest in material quality control for additive manufacturing here at the University of California, Irvine. ACRC is co-hosting the event, along with the Institute for Design and Manufacturing Innovation (IDMI). This 2-day workshop, included speakers, topics and networking opportunities.

AnaDiaz-Santos
New Student Researcher Joins ACRC Team

We are pleased to share that Ana Sofia Diaz-Santos has joined the ACRC research team. She is an undergraduate at UCI in the materials science and engineering department and is working on the ultrasonic treatment of metals for ACRC. Previously, Ana studied at San Diego State University and worked on the mechanical testing of density-graded polyurea.

In her her free time, Ana enjoys watching movies, snowboarding and dancing Ballet Folklorico.  Welcome to the team, Ana!

Dean Magnus Egersted, the Stacy Nicholas Dean of Engineering of the Samueli School of Engineering (UCI) visited the metal processing team and spent a morning learning about our activities, meeting the researchers, and visiting our laboratories.  The support and continuous encouragement we receive from our Dean is appreciated.

From the ACRC Board Chair:

The world of castings is evolving rapidly and the demands from industry are continuously pushing the boundaries of what was previously thought possible. It’s an extremely exciting time, and ACRC is well positioned at the tip-of-the-spear by bridging the gap from the needs and requirements of industry with the facilities, faculties, and talents of some of the brightest people in academia. VJ Technologies is proud to be a member of this wonderful organization – understanding the needs of our customers as they continue to push for lighter and more complex parts is critical to the development of the QA and testing systems and processes. The ACRC research programs provide a tremendous value in understanding the growing needs of industry now and into the future.

Sonia Alreja, VJ Technologies