SERVICES
Die Casting
Die casting is a well-established process for manufacturing near-net shape, thin walled components from aluminum, magnesium, zinc and copper-alloys. Die casting is the most common casting process for aluminum alloys - in fact about 65% of all aluminum castings in North America are produced by die casting. It is an inexpensive technique to produce near-net shape components having thin walls, complex shapes, excellent surface quality, and tight dimensional tolerances.
Dr. Midson's extensive experience as a die casting consultant and die casting expert includes:
● Leading a number of Department of Defense funded die casting research projects at the Colorado School of Mines, with a total value of more than $3 million dollars
● Experience in die casting of aluminum alloys, copper alloys, metal-matrix composites, and steels.
● Previously employed as on-staff die casting expert at the North American Die Casting Association (the die casting trade association).
● Produced numerous books, technical papers, and webinars for the North American Die Casting Association on a range of die casting topics.
● Chair of the Die Materials Committee, and member of the Research and Development Committee, for the North American Die Casting Association.
● Developed and led training classes in die casting both on-line, as well as in-person around the world (including the US, Mexico, China, and India).
● During late 1990s, established and managed Buhler's North American Casting Development Center. Buhler is a Swiss-based manufacturer of die casting machines and provider of die casting technology (www.buhlergroup.com/17360EN.asp
Steve working with the students and engineers at the General Research Institute for Non-Ferrous Metals (GRINM) in Beijing, China
Steve leading a training class in Chennai, India
Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing)
● Steve is a Director of ADAPT, the award-winning 3D printing industry-academic consortium at the Colorado School of Mines (https://adapt.mines.edu).
● Steve produced a short book and webinar series for NADCA, describing the application of additive manufacturing for die cast tooling.
● Steve recently led a research project involving General Motors, voestalpine, and the Colorado School of Mines, to examine the effect of the rough surfaces of conformal cooling lines on the life of additively manufactured die inserts.
● ADAPT is a member of America Makes and so Steve has participated in a number of America Makes meetings, including a series of meetings benchmarking the application of additive manufacturing for metal casting applications.
Steve Midson is an expert in the application of additive manufacturing (3D printing) for the production of tooling for die casting and other manufacturing applications. Specifically:
Metal Shaping
● Currently leading a one million dollar Department of Defense funded research project seeking to utilize PVD coatings to reduce the use of conventional lubricants during forging.
● Providing technical expertise and failure analysis for the extrusion billet manufacturing facility of a primary aluminum company.
● Providing technical support to hot and cold rolling facilities for a Fortune 500 company.
● Serving as member of a corporate-wide task force for a Fortune 500 company, dedicated to improving the quality of flat rolled products for the manufacturing of aluminum beverage cans.
Along with casting, Dr. Midson is experienced in the shaping of metal by various techniques, including forging, extrusion, rolling, and drawing. His experiences include:
Foundry Technology
Steve Midson’s expertise in metal casting includes a wide range of alloys, including aluminum, copper, zinc, and magnesium, as well as ferrous alloys.
Steve has experience in a number of casting processes, including die casting, continuous casting, gravity sand casting, permanent mold casting, squeeze casting, and semi-solid casting.
To the right is an example of a technical paper published at the American Foundry Society 2024 Congress, describing a permanent mold research project led by Steve Midson. (ADD PAPER)
Metallurgical Consulting
With a PhD in metallurgy, and more than 30 years industrial and research experience, Steve Midson is expert in applying metallurgical concepts to solving manufacturing problems for casting and metal forming. Specific skills include optical and electron metallography, heat treating, hardness and tensile testing, and fatigue testing.