Magnesium Zinc Alloy

What is Magnesium Zinc Alloy?

A magnesium zinc alloy is a type of alloy that has both magnesium and zinc elements which improves performance.

Through enhancing properties like strength, machinability and ductility.

The magnesium zinc alloy has numerous applications where it can be used in hardening, grain refining and more.

The alloy comes in numerous forms that ranges from tubes, rods, wires, plates and sheets, foils, discs and other shapes.

Why Choose Magnesium Zinc Alloy?

magnesium zinc alloy bar

The following are some of the reasons why you should choose magnesium zinc alloys;

Grain Refining

With this type of alloy, the sizes of the grain structures can be changed using different techniques thus improving the function abilities.

Grain refining improves the functional abilities by boosting the strength of the alloy and the plasticity of the alloy hence coming up with best components.

Presence of magnesium in the alloy makes sure that the grain structure has been improved hence preventing inter granular corrosion that is often caused by impurities.

Hardening

Having the two metal elements to make an alloy, they create an alloy that has high level of strength that makes products made out of it to be stronger.

The alloy being hardened, it makes it to be wear resistant thus making it to be durable and reliable and it will save on costs.

Machinability

There is improved performance with this type of alloy due to its improved machinability.

The alloy can be cut with a lot of ease thus allowing a material removal from the alloy at a cost that is relatively.

Different types of cuttings on this alloy can be made with lots of ease and high satisfaction levels as individuals will get what they really want.

Cost

Utilizing the magnesium zinc alloy saves on lots of cost that range from its machinability which does not require complex processes when cutting the alloy or parts of the alloy.

Also, due to its strength and corrosion resistance, cost is saved as the alloy is durable and does not require constant repairs of the material whatsoever.

The alloy is of a high quality and less expensive as compared to other alloys with the same mechanical properties.

Other benefits are;

Depending on the ratio, where the zinc volumes are high, high levels of strength and response to heat treatment is achieved with a higher.

When the zinc volumes are low in the ratio, a good weldability is achieved;

A weld can be easily be made from the alloy without any crack and it will uphold its resistance properties to degradation.

Are There Limitations Of Magnesium Zinc Alloy?

Yes, there are limitations of the magnesium zinc alloy.

Some of the limitations of the magnesium include the following;

Elevated Temperatures

The magnesium zinc alloy has poor mechanical properties when the temperatures rise, there tensile strength goes down when the temperatures rise.

This is because the alloy is having a melting point that is low thus unable to withstand the high levels of temperatures in place.

Poor Resistance to Corrosion

A magnesium zinc alloy is a poor resistant to corrosion and they can alter dimensions where they start to wear.

Also, the alloys are not able to withstand corrosive alkali and acidic media due to their poor resistance to corrosion thus they cannot be used in such environments.

Also, the inter-granular corrosion takes place which causes deformation and wearing of the parts of the alloys.

Reactivity

The magnesium in the alloy makes the alloy to become more reactive which makes it more unlikely to be used in most of the applications like engine components.

Its high reactivity levels makes it to be more susceptible to corrosion and wear.

Wear

When the magnesium rations are higher than those of the zinc element in the alloy, it results to low levels or hardness which in turn increases the wear chances.

What Is The Chemical Composition Of Magnesium Zinc Alloy?

The chemical compositions of the magnesium zinc alloy varies depending on the percentage ratio of the elements such as;

When magnesium levels are high (96% Mg, 4% Zn)

When zinc levels are high (93.5% Zn, 6% Mg).

Die cast magnesium zinc alloy parts

Where Can You Use Magnesium Zinc Alloy?

Magnesium zinc alloy is used for the following applications;

Hardening

Having the two metal elements to make an alloy, they create an alloy that has high level of strength that makes products made out of it to be stronger.

Grain Refining

With this type of alloy, the sizes of the grain structures can be changed using different techniques thus improving the function abilities.

Grain refining improves the functional abilities by boosting the strength of the alloy and the plasticity of the alloy hence coming up with best components.

Improved Performances

Also, the alloy is used to improve performance through the enhancement of ductility and machinability of the components.

Machinability is improved as the alloy cannot be cut with a lot of ease thus easily removing material from the alloy without requiring complex processes.

How Can You Die Cast Magnesium Zinc Alloy?

The alloy is die casted through the following steps;

Clamping

This is the first step to die cast the magnesium zinc alloy where it entails the preparing and clinching of the halves of the die which are two.

Individual halves of the die must be cleaned as it has been used from the last injection, also, both halves should be lubricated in the preparation of the next ejection.

Depending on the part size, lubrication increases according to the size of parts, the side cores and the number of cavities present.

It is always good to lubricate the parts after each cycle but it is not a must as they can be lubricated after 2 to three cycles.

Since the parts have already been lubricated, the halves that are attached inside the casting machine, are then locked and clinched on one another.

die cast magnesium zinc alloy

To ensure that they have been clamped effectively and securely while injection is taking place, sufficient pressure should be applied.

Injection

The already molten liquid metal which is at the furnace, is then to the chamber where it is subjected to injection under pressure into the die.

Depending on machine used, either a cold chamber or hot chamber, the transferring method of the molten metal is dependent on the machine being used.

After the transfer has been done, under high pressures that range from 1000 to 20,000 psi, injection of the molten metal takes place into the die.

Throughout the solidification process, the pressure is able to hold the molten metal.

Injection time is always determine by the thermodynamic properties of the material as well as the thickness size of the casting.

In the event that the wall needs to be thicker, more injection time is going to be used.

Cooling

After the die cavity has been filled with the molten metal, the molten metal will cool and the solidification process will also start.

After the cavity has been filled up with the molten metal and solidification has taken place, the desired shape of the casting forms.

It is important to note that until the cooling time is over and the solidification of the casting has taken place, the die should not be opened.

When the thickness of the wall is greater, it will consume more time during the cooling process.

Ejection

This is the next step after the cooling process.

After it has been confirmed that the cooling process is well completed, the die halves are then opened and the mechanism of ejection is able to push out the casting out of the die cavities.

The mechanism of ejection is designed to provide some force since during cooling, the parts shrink and adheres to the die thus force is required to eject them out.

After opening the casting, clamp shutting of the die should be done to await for the next injection.

Time to open the die can be estimated to be time between since the beginning of the cycle and the ejection time.

Trimming

During the cooling and solidification process, materials of the die tend to attach themselves on the casting.

The material should be trimmed from the casting through different ways such as procedures like cutting or at times a trimming press can be used.

The casting’s envelope size determines the required time to trim the material that is excess.

The excess trimmed material can be disposed safely or reused again in the process of die casting.

Is Magnesium Zinc Alloy Durable?

No, magnesium zinc alloy is durable because of its poor resistance to corrosion.

How Does Magnesium Zinc Alloy Compare To Aluminum Alloy?

On strength, the aluminium alloy is stronger than the magnesium zinc alloy.

On corrosion resistance, the aluminium alloy is resistance to corrosion while the magnesium zinc alloy does is poor when it comes to corrosion resistance.

Die cast aluminum alloy

Is Magnesium Zinc Alloy Corrosion Resistant?

No, the magnesium zinc alloy is not resistant to corrosion.

Are There Standard Specifications Of Magnesium Zinc Alloy?

Yes, there are standard specifications for the magnesium zinc alloys.

Which Surface Finishes Are Suitable For Magnesium Zinc Alloy Parts?

Anodizing

Powder coating

Pickling

Polishing

Which Are There Common Magnesium Zinc Alloy Die Cast Parts?

Automotive parts

die cast magnesium zinc alloy parts

How Do You Test Quality Of Magnesium Alloy?

ASTM B557 is a testing standard that can be used to test the quality of magnesium alloys.

The method determines the ductility and strength of the magnesium alloy under uniaxial tensile stresses.

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