Microstructural evolution, dislocation density and tensile properties of Al–6.5Si–2.1Cu–0.35Mg alloy produced by different casting processes

•Thixoforming method plays important role in increasing the performance of AlSiCuMg alloy•Thixoforming process transformed dendrite structures into spheroidal α-Al and uniformly distributing Si particles.•Heat treated thixoformed samples shows tensile strength improvement, 87% higher than that of gravity casting sample.•Higher accumulation of dislocation densities was obtained in the thixoformed samples due to the applied plastic deformation.