What is the difference between magnesium alloy processing and aluminum alloy processing?

Editor: Yang Daxin Technology

Many people are confused about magnesium alloy and aluminum alloy. Although they know they are different, what are the specific differences? Shenzhen Nuobo Intelligent Manufacturing Technology Co., Ltd. will explain in detail for everyone! Magnesium has a density of only 1.8g/cm3, making it the lighter of the three metals. As a result, magnesium alloys are 30% lighter than aluminum alloys and 80% lighter than steel. At the same time, it has an excellent strength to weight ratio, with a yield strength of 160 megapascals and a tensile strength of 240 megapascals, making it widely used in fields such as electronics, aerospace, etc. that are sensitive to both quality and strength.

Under the premise of maintaining a good structure, magnesium alloys allow for a lower casting wall thickness of up to 0.6 millimeters, which cannot be achieved by plastics or aluminum alloys. Additionally, magnesium alloys are easy to die cast and have better machinability, making them more suitable for large-scale production. Magnesium metal itself has excellent shock absorption performance, which can absorb a large amount of vibration and noise, making it very suitable for manufacturing backplates for crystal display screens.

Aluminum alloy is a general term for a series of alloys based on aluminum. The main metal elements include copper, silicon, magnesium, zinc, etc. Aluminum alloy has low density, but its specific strength is close to that of high-quality steel, second only to alloys. Good plasticity, can be processed into various profiles. The corrosion resistance is very outstanding.

Aluminum alloys can be divided into deformed aluminum alloys and cast aluminum alloys according to processing methods. Deformable aluminum alloys can be divided into non heat treatable aluminum alloys and heat treatable aluminum alloys. Heat treatment can help alloys achieve better mechanical, physical, and corrosion resistance properties. Casting aluminum alloys can be divided into aluminum silicon alloys, aluminum copper alloys, aluminum magnesium alloys, and aluminum zinc alloys according to their metal composition.

There is not much difference between aluminum alloy and magnesium alloy, but aluminum alloy has slightly lower density and stronger viscosity. However, compared to magnesium alloys, aluminum alloys can undergo heat treatment and have superior welding performance.

The difference between the two is as follows:

1. The tensile strength varies.

The strength of a frame made of magnesium alloy material with the same volume is not as good as that of aluminum alloy. To achieve frame strength, it is necessary to increase the material thickness and pipe diameter. Therefore, compared with aluminum alloy in terms of weight, magnesium alloy has no advantage.

2. The fatigue resistance varies.

Taking the frame as an example, the durability performance of a frame made of magnesium alloy material with the same volume is worse than that of an aluminum alloy frame. It is also a fatal flaw of magnesium alloys.

As the number of rides increases, the frequency of stress occurrence also increases, and the strength will significantly decrease, even to the point where the frame life does not exceed 2-3 years. Therefore, professional riders rarely use magnesium alloy frames. If used during competitions, the mileage is calculated and replaced by discarding them.

3. The oxidation properties of metals are different.

The periodic table clearly shows that magnesium alloys are more susceptible to oxidation and corrosion than aluminum alloys.

4. The manufacturing cost varies.

Due to magnesium alloy being a reactive metal, there are higher requirements for manufacturing equipment and environment, resulting in high manufacturing costs. The cost-effectiveness of bicycle frames produced is far inferior to that of aluminum alloy frames.

Let's focus on magnesium alloys, which have excellent electromagnetic shielding properties. Modern electronic products generally require a casing with excellent electromagnetic shielding properties to isolate various electromagnetic interferences outside the machine, and magnesium alloys can effectively accomplish this task. What are the classifications of magnesium alloys?

Magnesium alloy is an alloy formed by adding some other elements to magnesium metal as the matrix. The alloying elements added to magnesium alloy mainly include A1, Z, Mn, Si, x, Ca, i, and some rare earth elements. Generally speaking, the classification of magnesium alloy is based on the following three criteria: alloy chemical composition, forming process, and whether it contains zirconium.

1. According to the number of alloying components, it can be divided into binary, ternary, and multicomponent alloy systems.

Common magnesium alloy systems generally contain more than one alloying element. However, in practice, in order to analyze, simplify, and highlight the role of the main alloying elements in alloys, magnesium alloys can be divided into alloy series such as MgMn, MgAI, Mg RE, Mg Th, Mg-i, and Mg Ag.

2. Magnesium alloys can be divided into two categories based on whether they contain zirconium or not.

The most common series of zirconium containing magnesium alloys are Mg -/N -/r, Mg REZr, Mg Thzx, and Mg Agr series. Non zirconium magnesium alloys include: MgZn, MgMn, and Mg Al series. The most widely used currently is the Mg AI series of zirconium free die cast magnesium alloys, which contain both deformed magnesium alloys and cast magnesium alloys in both zirconium containing and zirconium free magnesium alloys. The main function of drilling in magnesium alloys is to refine the grain size of magnesium alloys.

Zirconium magnesium alloys have excellent room temperature and high temperature properties. Unfortunately, Zr cannot be used in all industrial alloys. For Mg AI and MgMn alloys, stable compounds are formed with AI and Mn during refining and sink to the bottom of the crucible, which cannot refine the grain size.

3. According to the forming process, magnesium alloys can be divided into two categories: deformed magnesium alloys and cast magnesium alloys.

Deformable magnesium alloy refers to magnesium alloys that can be processed using plastic forming methods such as extrusion, rolling, forging, and stamping. Cast magnesium alloy refers to magnesium alloys that are suitable for preparation and production of castings for direct use. There are significant differences in composition, microstructure, and properties between deformed magnesium alloys and cast magnesium alloys. At present, cast magnesium alloys are more widely used than deformed magnesium alloys. However, compared with casting processes, the microstructure of magnesium alloys is refined after hot deformation, casting defects are eliminated, and the comprehensive mechanical properties of products are greatly improved. Compared with cast magnesium alloy materials, it has higher strength, better ductility, and more diversified mechanical properties. Therefore, deformed magnesium alloys have greater application prospects