Abstract
	Production of  structural parts with complex shape from aluminium alloys via semisolid metal forming is an alternative to conventional die casting or forging.  Thixoformed  products exhibit better ductility and fatigue resistance while such  typical casting defects as e.g. air bubbles  and the problematic manipulation with the liquid metal can  be eliminated. The most important processing parameters include shear strain rate, heating rate, forming pressure, mould/die temperature which have to be strictly controlled because of the narrow temperature interval of the coexistence of liquid and solid phases. Semisolid forming may resemble injection moulding for lower solid phase fractions (slurries), denominated as thixocasting. In case of a mushy feedstock with a higher solid volume fraction the thixoforging forming process is applied. The precondition for a successful forming operation is nondendritic solid phase particle shape  in the feedstock, which may be produced by rheocasting or via strain induced melt activation (SIMA process). In industrial scale both the production of the semisolid material and the proper forming process requires a high degree of computer control and  automation.