Magnesium Alloy Powders in Automotive Industry

The automotive industry worldwide urgently requires improvements in energy efficiency alongside significant emission reductions. The automotive industry has turned to lightweighting as its primary developmental focus because of strict limitations on passenger car fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions. Magnesium alloys stand out as perfect materials for lightweight objectives due to their exceptional physical and chemical characteristics.

Alloy Powders Products List

• High-Temperature Alloy Powders
• Stainless Steel Powders
• Precision Alloy Powders
• High-Entropy Alloy Powders
• Other Alloy Powders

Core Advantages of Magnesium Alloy Powder

Magnesium alloy holds a density between 1.74–1.8 g/cm³ which stands at two-thirds the density of aluminum alloy and one-fourth the density of steel enabling major weight reductions in vehicle bodies. Steel substitution leads to a 60%~70% reduction in component weight which decreases by an additional 15%~20% relative to aluminum alloy.

Magnesium alloy displays greater specific strength than aluminum alloy and steel making it ideal for structural components such as battery trays and steering brackets that bear heavy loads.

Magnesium alloy's damping coefficient exceeds aluminum alloy by over 10 times which enables significant reduction of vehicle vibrations and noise while improving driver comfort.

Magnesium alloy shows great thermal conductivity and protects against electromagnetic interference within the 30–300 MHz range making it ideal for protecting battery packs and electronic components in new energy vehicles.

Surface treatment together with adding rare earth elements and optimizing processes enables magnesium alloys to overcome application difficulties despite their poor corrosion resistance and high processing expenses.

Types and Characteristics of Magnesium Alloy Powders

Through adjustments in composition and process improvements magnesium alloy powders can fulfill various requirements. Three mainstream product categories with their respective application scenarios are presented below.

Magnesium aluminum alloy powder (Al-Mg Alloy Powder) merges aluminum's corrosion resistance with magnesium's lightweight quality.

Magnesium aluminum alloy powder merges aluminum's corrosion resistance with magnesium's lightweight properties. When compared to traditional aluminum alloys this material possesses only one third of their density but retains both high strength and toughness. Body structural components like instrument panel brackets and seat frames alongside heat dissipation parts utilize this material widely because manufacturers can create complex shapes using either die casting or extrusion methods.

Magnalium powder uses zinc elements to enhance fluidity for 3D printing applications enabling one-piece production of high-precision complex parts like special-shaped pipes and hollow brackets. Custom-made parts and small-scale production batches show the highest level of suitability for this process when dealing with items like lightweight wheels and steering components.

Application Cases in the Automotive Field

The use of magnesium alloys proves exceptional for reducing vehicle weight in automotive engineering. The shock tower and gearbox housing benefit from magnesium alloys to replace traditional materials resulting in a 30% weight reduction while also increasing fuel efficiency by 6-8% and extending electric vehicle range by 5-8%. Magnesium alloys deliver an additional weight reduction of 15-20% when compared to aluminum alloys. The difference in specific components is significant: The magnesium alloy transmission housing parts weigh 15kg which is 30% lighter than the 21.5kg aluminum alloy parts.

The vehicle's energy consumption declines as a direct result of weight reduction. Research indicates that a vehicle's fuel consumption decreases by 0.7L per 100 kilometers for every 100kg weight reduction and annual CO₂ emissions decrease by more than 30%. In addition, weight reduction also optimizes handling: Reducing weight at the top of a vehicle lowers the center of gravity while front weight reduction results in better steering performance.

Headlight brackets and center console brackets employ magnesium alloys because of their excellent heat dissipation capabilities together with anti-electromagnetic interference properties. The vibration reduction coefficient of this material is ten times better than aluminum which allows it to significantly decrease noise and vibration in components including seat frames and instrument panel brackets.

Production Technology: from Powder Metallurgy to Additive Manufacturing

Near-net forming with powder metallurgy technology minimizes processing steps while reducing energy consumption. The advancement of magnesium alloy leads to substantial enhancement of material strength. The production process encounters low sintering density which leads to inadequate mechanical properties and requires optimization of laser power and scanning speed parameters to achieve better density.

Through selective laser melting (SLM) processes manufacturers can produce complex components beyond the capabilities of traditional methods which include hollow structures for heat dissipation and integrated body parts. The fundamental issue involves managing element evaporation which includes zinc and aluminum volatility along with porosity that necessitates argon gas environmental protection. The WAAM process excels at manufacturing large components such as straight AZ31 magnesium alloy walls. The process displays excellent deposition efficiency alongside poor surface accuracy.

Aluminum coatings applied through cold/hot spraying techniques reduce the corrosion issues associated with magnesium alloys. Components coated with Al-12Si-3Fe alloy coatings achieve enhanced salt spray corrosion resistance and longer service life.

Future Trends and Innovation Directions

Structural and functional integrated alloys: Magnesium alloys with enhanced flame-retardant strength through rare earth elements fulfill stringent lightweight and safety standards.

Nanocomposite materials: Carbon nanotubes embedded in the magnesium matrix deliver over 20% tensile strength improvement for possible usage in high-load future components.