Designing Magnesium Diecastings

The purpose of this paper is to assist the designer of die castings in utilizing successful concepts early in the stages of the product design cycle. Included are guidelines for alloy selection, wall thickness, taper, draft and achievement of greater part strength. Ideas are also presented on cast-in bearing possibilities, tooling substitution, locating ejector pins, gating, corrosion protection and finishes. This practical approach to the design of castings for magnesium includes examples of successes and areas of casting design and applications to avoid.