Friday 4 November 2011

Magnesium alloy wheels

What is magnesium alloy wheels. Lets read this article for more info.
Magnesium alloy wheel on a Porsche Carrera GT

Magnesium alloy wheels, or "mag wheels", are sometimes used on racing cars, in place of heavier steel or aluminum wheels, for better performance. Magnesium wheels can be produced through various methods.

Forging
Forging can be done by a one or multi-step process forging from various magnesium alloys, most commonly AZ80, ZK60 (MA14 in Russia). Wheels produced by this method are usually of higher toughness and ductility than aluminum wheels, although the costs are much higher.
High pressure die casting (HPDC)
This process uses a die arranged in a large machine that has high closing force to clamp the die closed. The molten magnesium is poured into a filler tube called a shot sleeve. A piston pushes the metal into the die with high speed and pressure, the magnesium solidifies and the die is opened and the wheel is released. Wheels produced by this method can offer reductions in price and improvements in corrosion resistance but they are less ductile and of lower strength due to the nature of HPDC.
Low pressure casting (LPDC)
This process usually employs a steel die, it is arranged above the crucible filled with molten magnesium. Most commonly the crucible is sealed against the die and pressurized air/cover gas mix is used to force the molten metal up a straw like filler tube into the die. When processed using best practice methods LPDC wheels can offer improvements in ductility over HPDC magnesium wheels and any cast aluminum wheels, they remain less ductile than forged magnesium.
Gravity casting (permanent mold and sand casting)
Gravity cast magnesium wheels have been in production since the early 1920's. This method offers wheels with good ductility, and relative properties above what can be made with aluminum casting. Tooling costs for gravity cast wheels are among the cheapest of any process. This has allowed small batch production, flexibility in design and short development time.

How is it? You can try to your new Myvi or your new car.

Source : en.wikipedia.org

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