A new method for producing amorphous alloy wires

A rotating disk casting has been developed as a new method of producing an amorphous alloy wire. The rotating disk, which is made of copper, has a semicircular groove on its upside surface. The amorphous alloy wires with large diameters from 0.5 to 1.5 mm in the Zr-Al-Ni-Cu alloy system with high glass-forming ability have been prepared by the new method. The cross-section of the wires is nearly circular, because the melt is quenched to an amorphous state at the contact with an inner surface in the groove of the rotating disk. The cast amorphous alloy wires exhibit the same thermal stability and mechanical properties as those for the melt-spun amorphous alloy ribbon with the same composition. The formation of the amorphous alloy wires with large diameters is attributed to the high glass-forming ability of the alloy. In any event, the success of forming amorphous alloy wires by the present casting method is important for the future extension of application fields of amorphous alloys.