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| CSIRO | SOLVE | Issue 12 | Aug 07 | |
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ARTICLE
LIGHT METALS:
Casting a New Industry By Rebecca Thyer
A light-metals development has the potential to make production of a new class of magnesium components practical and cost-effective – and could see Australian companies leading a new wave of magnesium applications.Australia has the opportunity to lead a new manufacturing segment, which would see more magnesium – a light and strong metal – used in motor-vehicle components, boosting exports, improving fuel efficiency and reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
CSIRO-developed casting technology, which makes magnesium use competitive with aluminium and steel, is being commercialised through a new joint venture with three South Australian companies. The new company – T-Mag Pty Ltd – comprises CSIRO, aluminium and magnesium casting manufacturer Alloy Technologies International, special-purpose machinery manufacturer Flotek and SAGE Automation, a supplier of integrated industrial control and automated process systems. Together they will take T-Mag technology – Commercialisation of the technology recently received a significant boost from the Australian Government through a $1.9 million grant from the AusIndustry Commercial Ready program. Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane says T-Mag’s potential is very exciting. “The Government’s Commercial Ready program is all about helping companies turn their good ideas into commercial products,” he says. “What’s so exciting about this innovative technology is its potential for use in the car industry, both here and abroad, and the ability to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from cars.” The integrated casting technology makes permanent-mould magnesium casting cost effective for a wide range of high-performance, complex components. Essentially, it makes these castings commercial in an age when increasing oil prices and environmental concerns are forcing vehicle manufacturers to pursue further weight savings through the use of strong, lightweight magnesium alloy components for load-critical applications. Current casting technologies, used to produce 85 per cent of components made of magnesium alloys, have limitations in the manufacture of high-integrity structural components. T-Mag overcomes these limitations. T-Mag interim CEO and ATI managing director Steve Groat says his company grasped the technology’s potential immediately. “T-Mag technology makes magnesium competitive. It’s akin to what permanent mould casting did for the aluminium industry in the 1950s. This technology will give magnesium the edge.” He says the Australian light-metals development has the potential to turn traditional magnesium-processing technology on its head. T-Mag’s permanent-mould casting process requires neither high pressure nor a vacuum to fill the die. Instead, the die fills smoothly from the bottom, minimising air entrapment and oxidation, and producing quality castings that are almost free of defects. The T-Mag casting machine combines melting and casting in a single compact unit, making it easy to maintain the cover gas that protects the magnesium from oxidation, while minimising gas use. T-Mag can also incorporate sand cores, which are used to produce complex hollow features inside castings, such as the cooling water passages in engine blocks. The castings can also be heat treated and welded. Mr Groat, who has been in the industry for 20 years, is excited by the technology and what it means for Australian manufacturing. “This is all about knowledge-based exports,” he says. “Australia can’t compete with high-volume manufacturing, but if we have intellectual property, we have the edge. And the most exciting thing is that T-Mag provides an everyday application.” Because T-Mag technology provides an economical and efficient way to produce magnesium-alloy castings, it opens up new possibilities for automotive components. CMMT business development manager Sam Tartaglia says T-Mag can cast lightweight magnesium-alloy engine blocks that are two-thirds the weight of aluminium-alloy blocks, bringing greater fuel efficiencies. And where current casting technology cannot produce magnesium-alloy wheels of sufficient integrity to be safe and practical at an acceptable cost, T-Mag also makes inroads – it is now possible to produce high-integrity magnesium-alloy wheels. These prospects have aroused the interest of car manufacturers in Europe and North America, with the North American industry assessing the technology. Mr Tartaglia says this validation project will start this year and involve all the major players in that market. “It means that if T-Mag is validated, it’s validated by basically all North American players. It’s very exciting. It accelerates market penetration, bulldozing the key barriers to markets.” International companies have also been responsive. T-Mag was recently exhibited at GIFA in Germany, the ‘Olympics’ of the foundry industry, and attracted more than 100 enquiries for specific applications. “We have good relationships with a lot of suppliers and our main avenue with this new technology will be the automotive industry,” Mr Groat says. “T-Mag could make magnesium-alloy cast components cheap enough for the everyday car.” But the team will also look at approaching specialised automotive manufacturers. “Premium car-makers are continually working on power/weight ratios and it would be a great marketing tool if we got the product in there,” he says. The technology’s environmental spin-offs – beyond the ability to reduce the weight of cars and boost fuel efficiency – could also be a marketing benefit. Typically, it takes 6 to 7 kg of metal to produce a 3.5 kg casting. The unused metal cannot easily be recycled because remelting creates oxides and intermetallic compounds, and the initial melting process and remelting the scrap consume large amounts of energy. In contrast, T-Mag requires only 3.7 kg of alloy for a 3.5 kg casting, reducing waste and energy use. By making use of advanced cover-gas systems such as AMT’s AM Cover, T-Mag also reduces greenhouse-gas emissions. And the simplicity of the T-Mag machine means it has a smaller footprint. Developed through the Light Metals Flagship, T-Mag’s pilot-scale unit has successfully produced demonstration castings, including alloy wheels and blocks for a 750 cc, water-cooled motorcycle engine. Now a Mark II version is on the way. Mr Tartaglia says the pilot-scale machine makes components up to 4 kg in size, whereas the Mark II machine will make 15 kg commercial components, such as road wheels or engine blocks, at a throughput of 12 components per hour. “We are working on manufacturing and validating three products: safety-critical suspension components, wheels and a transmission housing,” he says. “But the process has potential in other areas, including aerospace and defence components.”APPLICATION CSIRO-developed casting technology that makes the use of magnesium competitive with aluminum and steel is being commercialised by a new company, T-Mag Pty Ltd. BENEFIT Cost-effective production of strong, lightweight magnesium-alloy components for load-critical applications such as in motor vehicles. For further information contact: |
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