Cold bulk metal forming has made large-scale production of small complex solid parts economically feasible. Tooling used in metal forming poses many uncertainties in the preliminary cost estimation and production process and continual tool replacement and

Aluminium casting/forging is used to produce aluminium tie-rod ends for the steering systems of automobiles. First, casting experiments were carried out to attain a satisfactory preform for forging of tie-rod ends. In the casting experiment, the effects of additives, Ti+B, Zr, Sr, and Mg, on the mechanical properties and the microstructure of a preform cast were investigated. A finite element analysis was performed to determine an optimal configuration of the cast preform. Lastly, a forging experiment was carried out to make the final product of an aluminium tie-rod end by using the cast preform. In the casting experiments, when 0.2% Ti+B and 0.25% Zr were simultaneously added into a molten Al–Si alloy, the highest values of tensile strength and elongation of the cast perform were obtained. When 0.04% Sr was added into the molten aluminium ally, the finest silicon structure was observed in the cast perform. The highest hardness was obtained when 0.2% Mg was added. In the forging experiment, it was confirmed that the optimal configuration of the perform cast could be predicted by FE analysis. The hardness of a cast/forged product using the designed perform was superior to that of required specifications