Market Potential and Development of Magnesium Alloy/Aluminum Alloy Die Casting

Original Title: Market Potential and Development of Magnesium Alloy/Aluminum Alloy Die Casting Source: Research on Die Casting Aluminum Alloy Anodizing Industry

1. Current status and problems of magnesium alloy casting in my country

So far, die casting (high pressure casting) has occupied a dominant position in the manufacture of magnesium alloy structural parts. Since the beginning of this century, magnesium alloy die-casting structural parts have shown a continuous and rapid growth trend. With the accelerated pace of solving environmental problems on a global scale, many industries have a stronger demand for high-performance magnesium alloy die-casting structural parts. Because plastic processing can further improve the structure and performance of magnesium alloys, it has become increasingly popular internationally. Attention.

Similar to aluminum alloy die casting, the energy consumption of producing magnesium raw materials is much greater than the energy consumption of recycling, so magnesium alloys can be fully recycled. Take magnesium alloy die-casting as an example. In addition to being used for castings, magnesium alloy ingots will also produce other consumption. Regular magnesium alloy die-casting factories should establish a complete material flow control system to minimize resource consumption.

However, there are still many problems in the aluminum alloy die-casting and magnesium alloy die-casting industries:

(1) The industrial chain needs to be improved and integrated. The technical and economic relationships between the raw and auxiliary materials, alloy materials, forming and processing, and final machine products are loose. The industrial cluster of the magnesium alloy die-casting industry has not yet formed a cluster advantage, and the industrial structure needs to be continuously adjusted, optimized and upgraded. A sound industrial chain will enable the recycling and reuse of magnesium processing to develop benignly, and government guidance, industry promotion, technology development and standardization construction are the fundamentals for achieving industrial chain coordination.

(2) The overall quality of alloy materials is poor, and the grades of aluminum alloy die castings and magnesium alloy die castings are low. Poor quality of magnesium raw materials, backward production equipment and technology, low technological development capabilities, and lack of core technology are the fundamental factors restricting the production of high value-added magnesium alloy die castings.

(3) The basic conditions of casting process equipment are poor. The process equipment is not matched, and the mold design and manufacturing are mainly transplanted from aluminum alloy die-casting, and the professional level needs to be improved. The production equipment of raw and auxiliary materials is rudimentary, the technology is backward, and the testing methods are short. The raw and auxiliary materials are of different varieties and the quality is unstable. In addition, many standards in my country have not been revised for many years after they were formulated, which has brought a lot of inconvenience to the production and sales of products.

(4) Environmental protection and energy consumption are serious. Many magnesium alloy die-casting plants produce large amounts of harmful gases and dust due to backward management concepts, production techniques and equipment, which not only seriously pollute the environment, but also harm human health. Due to the low level of overall specialization, technology and management, the products consume large amounts of energy, have a high rejection rate, and are of poor quality.

(5) The technology is backward, the talents are lacking, the ability to develop new technology and new products is insufficient, the added value of the products is low, and the market is single. High-quality products depend on the long-term accumulation of technology and the formation of core capabilities, which is also the basis for opening up a diversified market.

(6) A complete magnesium recovery and regeneration system has not yet been established. Regardless of whether the energy consumed per ton or the amount of CO2 produced during production of recycled magnesium, it is greatly reduced compared with the production of new magnesium materials. Therefore, from the perspective of energy saving, resource saving and environmental protection, the recycling of magnesium is the requirement of the times. From a technical perspective, the recovery of magnesium is more difficult than aluminum, and the casting magnesium alloy industry should pay full attention to this from the height of its development strategy.

2. The future development direction of aluminum alloy die-casting and magnesium alloy die-casting

(1) Further improve independent innovation capabilities and product quality. In the future, aluminum alloy die castings will develop in the direction of thin wall, complex shape, high performance and high quality. Therefore, the improvement and innovation of traditional production technology will become an important task for aluminum alloy die casting.

In addition, the selection and application of casting technology should weigh the production cost, performance and casting quality, and make an overall analysis of each link.

In order to meet the requirements of high-quality castings, the improvement of alloys matching the casting process and the development of melting and casting technology must arouse sufficient attention. Improving the quality of molten aluminum is still the focus of attention in the aluminum alloy die-casting industry.

(2) Shorten the product development cycle, effectively control the cost of castings, and expand the scope of application. Shortening the development cycle can better meet the needs of users and reduce development costs, so as to achieve the purpose of improving product competitiveness. With the increasing application of computer simulation technology, product development time is also greatly reduced, and the current development model based on experience will gradually rise to rationality in the future.

(3) Development of aluminum recycling. Develop technology to effectively separate aluminum from composite materials and waste mixed with dissimilar materials; establish a wide-area economic recovery social system for waste aluminum; through the development and application of refining technology, improve the use of recycled materials in high-performance aluminum alloy castings and The proportion of applications in die castings.

3. Research direction of aluminum alloy die-casting and magnesium alloy die-casting

In the future, the development of my country's aluminum-magnesium alloy casting industry will still focus on basic research, provide support for technological innovation, shorten the gap with Western developed countries, and occupy the commanding heights of international competition.

(1) Development of materials and preparation technology. On the basis of traditional technology, the development of new tissue miniaturization technology can expand the use of old materials with higher concentrations of impurity elements on the one hand, and provide economical preparation processes for high-strength materials on the other. There are few types of cast magnesium alloys, and it is difficult to meet the increasingly high diversification requirements in the future. Therefore, the development of new alloy materials will still be the main issue in the field of cast magnesium alloys.

Research and development direction of magnesium alloy materials

(2) Development of net shape forming technology. Traditional processing technology has great limitations for the precision, light weight and high integration of aluminum-magnesium alloy parts. Net shape forming can expand the cost competitiveness of cast parts and gain international advantages. In addition to the development of new processing methods and processes such as semi-solid casting, the improvement of traditional processing methods and process integration should be emphasized with the goal of energy saving and environmental protection.

Magnesium alloy forming methods are currently mainly based on magnesium alloy die-casting. With the increase in the application of magnesium alloys in automobiles, the forming and processing methods have gradually become diversified.

Application and Development of Magnesium Alloy in Automobile

(3) Development of cast aluminum-magnesium alloy without heat treatment. Heat treatment is generally used to improve the strength and performance of aluminum-magnesium alloy castings, but heat treatment will increase energy consumption and production cycle, and there are problems such as dimensional deformation and residual stress. Development and heat treatment products have the same mechanical properties of aluminum-magnesium alloy materials and processes , It is of great significance for reducing equipment investment, reducing manufacturing costs, reducing energy consumption and emissions.

(4) Utilization of recycled materials. Under the condition that aluminum-magnesium alloy castings require high performance, new alloys are generally used instead of old materials to ensure that the performance requirements are met. In order to build a recycling-oriented society, the use of aluminum-magnesium alloy recycled materials is a very urgent figure. In the long run, in order to maintain a balance between demand and supply, aluminum-magnesium alloy recycled materials* will eventually be used as part of the new materials. Therefore, the development of refining technology that effectively removes impurity elements in recycled materials has long-term significance.

(5) Production technology for large, complex and high-precision castings. Solve the casting technology of large and key equipment parts, and further expand the application of aluminum and magnesium alloy castings in the fields of rail vehicles, electric power, medical treatment, national defense and aerospace, accumulate strong technology and enhance technical strength.

(6) Change the traditional manufacturing model. Through scientific and technological progress and technological innovation, we will change the traditional manufacturing model that simply pursues scale, meet users' requirements for product diversification and individualization, and realize flexible production, lean production, green production and global manufacturing.

In the future, the competitiveness of aluminum-magnesium alloy products and manufacturing processes mainly depends on the degree of impact they have on the entire environment, which runs through all aspects of raw material production, manufacturing, product application, and recycling after the end of the product life cycle. Therefore, while actively promoting the implementation of the green casting strategy, my country's aluminum-magnesium alloy casting must strengthen its core competitiveness, improve the industrial chain, and improve independent innovation capabilities, so that China will gradually transform from a "processing factory" for low-end products to the world's aluminum The center of the magnesium alloy casting industry.