Magnesium Award Winners Show Auto Potential

Magnesium is putting its stake in the ground as the battleto reduce weight in cars and other transportation products heats up. That's clearfrom the 2009 winners in the InternationalMagnesium Association (IMA) Awards of Excellence competition. In one case amag part even replaced a glass-reinforced plastic, and saved weight.

There were three categories, two in design and one inprocess. The design categories are broken into cast and wrought products.

First place for design of a cast product went to OrtalDiecasting of Beit She'an, Israel for an integrated cast teeth rack, acomponent in a steering wheel system. The integrated cast magnesium teeth rackreplaces a traditional sinter steel piece.

"This successful development project, which demonstrates thepotential of magnesium alloys of high mechanical properties and highlyconsiderable weight saving, may lead to many innovative solutions in theautomobile industry and may increase the awareness for weight-saving potentialof magnesium," says Amon Wirthiem, managing director for Ortal Diecasting.

The cast design does not require insertion and riveting ofthe teeth rack, a major time savings. Since riveting was not necessary, theroof bracket can be cast with AZ91D which features superior casting propertiesand is less expensive.

Ortal Diecasting was founded in 1973 in Kibbutz Neve Ur inthe Beit She'an Valley in northern Israel and initially focused on themanufacture of zinc die-cast parts. In 1995, the company added magnesiumdie-cast parts and Ortal now die casts about 2,000 tons of magnesium per year,primarily for the automobile and aircraft markets.

The first place for wrought product design was awarded toPosco of Seoul, South Korea for a train seat pedestal cover used in the KTXexpress train. It replaces a cover made of aluminum and FRP (fiber-reinforcedplastic) materials. The magnesium components are five kilograms lighter andcost up to 10 percent less.

First place in the process category went to Chicago WhiteMetal, Bensenville, IL, Gentex Corp., Zeeland, MI, and Cast Products, Norridge, ILfor a mag rear view mirror mount. Use of in-die degating helped achievecritical structural integrity and dimensional accuracy of the part.