Magnesium Alloy Die Casting Parts

01 Sep Magnesium Alloy Die Casting Parts

Nowadays magnesium die casting is becoming more and more popular, as magnesium die casting has excellent mechanical and physical property, and it provides much precision in dimension than aluminum and zinc die casting. Meanwhile magnesium die casting is 70% lighter than steel, and 35% lighter than aluminum die casting parts. So people often use it for light structure material.

Magnesium die casting parts is good for environment protection, as it’s 100% recyclable, but there is different magnesium alloy material, how will you choose them for your project? Therefore we would like to share some of our experience as below

AM50: It is an improved material based on AM60B, and it provide a further increase in ductility but at a slightly lower strength. It is typically used for low pressure die casting process. Magnesium AM50A alloy is chiefly used in the automobile industrial, like Bracket, Seat frame, Steering wheel, and Instrument panel.

AM60B: has excellent ductility, superior energy absorbing properties, and good strength and castability. It is commonly used for automotive die casting parts for safety components such as instrument panel structures and seat frames.

AZ91D: This is the most common magnesium allow for high pressure die casting. It provides excellent strength to weight ratio, very good corrosion resistance that can be used in outdoor and sea water environment.

Generally the principle of choosing a proper magnesium alloy is based on the environment  that the part will function in the performance requirements. For example, if the using temperature is above 120 degrees C,  there is a large selection of magnesium alloys, we can choose from AZ60, AZ62, AZ63, AZ80, AM60, etc

MAGNESIUM DIE CASTING  VS. ALUMINUM DIE CASTING

• 30% lighter than aluminum.
• Similar or greater mechanical properties.
• Lower working temperatures extend die life and reduce energy consumption during production.
• Machining is faster and easier and machining tools last significantly longer.
• Superior thin-walled near net shape casting of larger, more complex parts so there are fewer components and less assembly required.
• Better surface appearance than aluminum die casting parts.

MAGNESIUM DIE CASTING  VS. PLASTIC INJECTION MOLDING

• Much stronger and greater wear resistance than plastic parts.
• Superior stiffness as plastic often requires significant reinforcing.
• Greater impact resistance and energy absorbing capacity.
• Superior thin-walled near net shape casting of larger parts.
• Higher temperature applications than plastic parts.
• More stable in dimensional control.

MAGNESIUM DIE CASTING  VS. STEEL

• 70% lighter than steel.
• Complicated thin-walled near net shape casting that would be impossible to achieve using steel.
• Consolidation of individual components into a single die cast magnesium part, which improves rigidity while reducing welding costs and assembly time associated with steel.
• Tooling costs are significantly reduced due to consolidation of multiple parts into a single part.
• More stable in dimensional control.

After our sharing on magnesium alloy die casting process above, I think you should have some basic knowledge about it. In case you have any other query or die casting project to run, please do not hesitate to contact ECO die casting team, we will be always here in China for you.