Retrofit System Simplifies Adoption of Advanced Extrusion Technology

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has developed a new retrofit system, ShAPEretro, designed to make its patented Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE) technology more accessible to manufacturers. Conventional extrusion, a process used for over a century to produce items ranging from sporting goods to nuclear components, has seen limited innovation, leading to inefficiencies, high energy costs, and performance limitations.

PNNL's ShAPE technology addresses these issues by using friction from shear to precisely soften metal at the point of extrusion, rather than indiscriminately heating the entire material. This targeted approach results in superior material properties, reduced costs, and lower energy consumption. PNNL has previously used ShAPE to create components for the automotive industry and ultra-conductors.

Despite ShAPE's advantages, widespread commercial adoption has been hindered by the significant cost and complexity of acquiring entirely new extrusion systems, many of which are manufactured overseas. To overcome this barrier, PNNL designed ShAPEretro as a "drop-in" upgrade module for existing conventional extrusion presses. This retrofit aims to enable domestic manufacturers to produce higher-quality products without the expense of new standalone systems.

The ShAPEretro module is designed to fit into the die pocket and die slide of traditional extrusion presses, areas already intended for swapping hardware. By adding a rotational axis and managing alignment, the module effectively converts a conventional press into a ShAPE system. Initial tests on a prototype installed on PNNL's ShAPE 2 system demonstrated efficacy in extruding aluminum tubing, producing results comparable to dedicated ShAPE machines. PNNL is now seeking industrial partners for full-scale trials.