While Casting may be one of the oldest professions with a deep and storied history, it has continually changed as developments in technology have changed the way the world looks at materials. Eck Industries has never been one to sit back and see where the industry is headed, choosing rather to be at the forefront of progress.
200 Series Alloy Development
Eck has been a pioneer throughout the advancement of 200 series aluminum alloys in cast applications, particularly 201 and 206. Eck was one of the first foundries to pour these alloys and is a global leader in melting and molding technologies to maximize their mechanical properties.
E357 Alloy Development
Eck Industries is currently partnered with the American Foundry Society and a few other foundries to support efforts to further develop and define E357 as a superior casting alloy. These efforts began as the Beryllium containing versions of 357 are being phased out due to health and environmental concerns. Work continues to fine tune melting and molding techniques to maximize properties and enhance castability.
Wrought Alloy Development
Though traditionally thought of as wrought alloys used in processes such as rolling, extrusion, and foils, materials such as 6061 and 7075 are working their way into foundries and being used as cast alloys. Offering improved strength, enhanced thermal conductivity and other possible benefits such as weight savings, these alloys are currently being developed for premium cast applications.
Composite Materials
With extraordinary wear resistance and high stiffness, coupled with enhanced thermal conductivity and a low coefficient of thermal expansion, aluminum metal matrix composites (MMC) are being specified for applications such as industrial braking and semiconductor manufacturing. Eck Industries has been at the forefront of development and use of composite materials, particularly SiC and SiC-Graphite containing alloys. We are also capable of using a direct squeeze casting process to infiltrate high performance fabrics and wires into aluminum castings.
Nano-particle Technology
Never one to rest on past success, Eck Industries has recently partnered with the U.S. Government, the University of Wisconsin – Madison and Oshkosh Truck to develop nano-particle technology. Preliminary results show a doubling of yield strength using only 2% of 30 nanometer SiC particles.