Prototyping Magnesium Alloy Castings

Magnesium die casting alloys have the strength and modulus of a metal and the light weight of a plastic. Magnesium die castings have been successful in hundreds of automotive applications over several decades. Magnesium has been unfairly rejected for other die-cast automotive applications due to corrosion observed during testing of prototypes - corrosion that is characteristic of improperly produced gravity castings under extreme test conditions; corrosion that is often not characteristic of die-cast magnesium in service. This paper first discusses the alternatives for producing prototypes of magnesium parts, and then discusses the requirements for producing quality gravity cast magnesium prototypes.