Paul,

Several months ago I spoke with Jose Olivas of Dynamic Materials Corp., (used to be Explosive Fabricators, I believe), They have an office near Boulder, CO.
I described to him what the group was trying to do in regards to the middle and end plates.

He was quite receptive,  however he and his boss both stated that the metal cladding of alum with steel won't work unless it is done with a solid billet to
begin with due to the stresses incurred during the explosive process.  If done with a casting there would be deformation and cracking.  Also, they indicated
that the process is quite expensive unless prorated over a large quantity due to setup time, etc.

The process is now done at their other plants.  It was interesting to see them do it when they were doing it here locally, however.  It is done in a shallow
swimming pool.  The material is set up on props/stands in the water -  makes a heck of a noise, the office building shakes, and water goes everywhere.
Imagine 6 or 7 of those a day.

For the middle piece I think the process might work if it were done on a billet, and then milled.  Still sounds too expensive.  I will send the literature to
you shortly for your evaluation.

His Ph No. is 1-303-604-3910, and e-mail at jolivas@dynamicmaterials.com.

Regards,
Joe Graham

Yes I agree with the solid billet part. I was not suggesting doing it to a casting 
directly. Once the steel is clad with the aluminum the aluminum part can be
furnace brazed to the aluminum end housing or the rotor housing.

BTW the big advantage of this over the two piece end housing is heat transfer.
Since there is a molecular bond between the dissimilar metals the heat transfer 
from the steel to the aluminum is as good as it is going to get.

I'll be focusing on the Mazda end housings.

Paul Lamar
 
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