Magnesium Sandcast Wheels Development Program

The manufacturing of magnesium wheels has created interest since the mid 1930's.¹ The potential weight savings and the benefits related to these are pressing engineers to come up with wheel designs and manufacturing processes that can meet the customers quality and cost requirements. The objective of this work is to develop the expertise and knowledge on the design and the fabrication of a sandcast magnesium wheel, 381 mm diameter X 165 mm (6.5 J X 15 in.). Results for the conventional Al-Zn alloy and the Zn-Zr-RE alloy that provides better pressure tightness because of its lower tendancy to microporosity are presented. General design factors are discussed as well as the various quality assurance operations.

By better understanding the effects of the design and process parameters, the expertise developed in this program may serve as a first step in the development of a competitive process for high volume production of magnesium wheels.