Process development of metallic glass wires by a groove quenching technique for production of coil springs

We have developed a continuous production process of metallic glassy alloy wires directly from melt. In the groove quenching process, Zr–Al–Cu–Ni alloy melt was injected to semi-circular groove located on upside surface of Cu-rotating disk. In an optimum operation condition, long glassy alloy wires with diameters ranging from 1 to 2 mm were produced. The cross-sectional geometry of the wires was nearly circular. The resultant wires exhibited almost the same thermal stability as that for the ribbon produced by a single roller melt spinning technique. The change in diameter was measured at an interval of each 10 mm. In addition, coil springs with a mean diameter of 7.2 mm could be formed using a viscous flow process. In this paper, the performance and properties of Zr-based glassy alloy wire are discussed.