The challenge
Making lighter vehicle components to save fuel
A key way to increase the fuel efficiency of vehicles is to reduce the weight of its components.
Magnesium-based cast materials should be an obvious choice, as magnesium is the lightest engineering metal, and casting is the lowest cost route to near net shape parts.
However, standard permanent mould casting processes for magnesium alloys are difficult to carry out reliably and cost-effectively. When molten, magnesium reacts to air exposure and its quality suffers as a result.
A solution for producing reliable, structural magnesium castings was needed to enable casting companies to take advantage of this lightweight metal.
Our response
Developing a permanent mould casting process
We designed, built and developed a process called T-Mag for efficiently and cost-effectively making clean low-oxide magnesium castings.
We produced a number of different casting types to demonstrate the versatility of the T-Mag process.
The technology was commercialised through the formation of spin out company T-Mag Pty Ltd, in partnership with several investors from the Australian casting industry.
Our involvement with this company continues both as a shareholder and as a provider of technical expertise.
The results
Solutions for industry
T-Mag gives industry access to a technology package for the cost-effective manufacture of magnesium castings.
The T-Mag casting facility in Adelaide, South Australia, has the capacity to produce demonstration samples or short-run production quantities of component designs. Each part can be up to 15 kilograms in weight with 500 millimetre linear dimensions, in any magnesium alloy.
T-Mag works with companies to meet their needs, providing full technical support through the commissioning and production phases.
This process is helping to reduce vehicle weight, fuel consumption and carbon emissions.