Precision forging technologies for magnesium alloy bracket and wheel
(1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China;2. Engineering Research Center of Magnesium-base Material Processing Technology, Ministry of Education, Taiyuan 030051, China)
Abstract: Fundamental investigations on precision forging technology of magnesium alloys were studied. As-cast billet prestraining and a new concept of hollow billet were proposed in order to reduce the maximum forming load. A scheme of isothermal forming and the use of combined female dies were adopted, which can improve the die filling capacity and ensure the manufacture of high quality forgings. By means of the developed technique, AZ80 alloy wheel and AZ31 alloy bracket were produced successfully at suitable process parameters and applied in the automotive industries. The results show that the hot compression of AZ80 magnesium alloy has the peak flow stresses of pre-strained alloy with finer grain, which are lower by 20% than those of as-cast alloy under the same deformation conditions. The forming load is related to contact area and average positive stress on interface during forging process.
Key words: Mg alloy; precision forging; as-cast billet prestraining; hollow billet; isothermal forming