The research and development of thixomolding technology for magnesium alloys has only been 30 years, and the mature equipment manufacturing has only been 20 years. It has long been monopolized by foreign countries, and under the urgent requirements of safety and environmental protection today, it will completely replace traditional magnesium alloy processing technology. This process is as simple and fast as plastic injection molding. This article briefly introduces the principle and advantages of the thixomolding equipment for magnesium alloys under EMT.

1、 Principle of thixomolding equipment for magnesium alloys

The semi-solid phenomenon of metals was discovered by Professor Flemming at MIT in 1971, only 49 years ago. Based on this discovery, research and equipment development have been carried out on the thixomolding process of magnesium alloys. This process is considered one of the most promising manufacturing processes of the 21st century, as it is as simple and fast as injection molding.
The principle of the thixomolding equipment for magnesium alloys is as follows: the magnesium alloy particle raw material enters the semi-solid slurry preparation tube (material tube) by negative pressure and gravity, and is hot melted in the material tube to form a solid-liquid two-phase mixture (semi-solid slurry) under the action of screw stirring and shearing. Due to the stirring and shearing, the solid phase becomes spherical and the slurry has good fluidity. In this state, the slurry is high-speed pressed into the mold for molding, cooled and shaped, and the integrated magnesium alloy product can be obtained.

2、 Advantages of thixomolding equipment for magnesium alloys

As one of the first developers in China to develop thixomolding technology for magnesium alloys, EMT's magnesium alloy thixomolding equipment has significant advantages over traditional injection molding equipment.

Safety：Compared to die-casting technology，the forming process only uses a small amount of metal and changes completely in a closed channel，without exposure or transfer of high-temperature metal liquid，no combustion and scalding accidents.

Environmental friendly：No harmful SF6 or other smelting protective gases are used，there is no smoke evaporation，no flames，no smelting waste residue，and the working environment is clean and healthy.

High precision：With good filling controllability，it can be used to produce highly complex products (such as semi hollow parts and parts with a minimum thickness of only 0.3 mm，with a difference of 100 times between the thickest and thinnest parts on a single product)，with high precision (0.01 mm) and extremely small post-processing volume.

Energy-saving：No need to heat to complete liquefaction，compared to die casting process temperature，the hot melt temperature is 80 ℃ lower，there is no need to melt hundreds of kilograms of magnesium alloy raw materials at once，no need for insulation，energy consumption is reduced by 60%，the thermal impact on the die is reduced，and the die life is extended by 2-4 times；All processing residues can be recycled and reused. Compared to die-casting，it saves 30% of production space.

High yield：Large single machine production capacity，high efficiency (1-4 pieces per minute, can produce continuously for 24 hours)；Due to the minimal amount of raw materials used for heating，the startup and shutdown time of the equipment is reduced by 70% compared to die-casting，and the replacement of raw materials is quick.

High density：The metallographic structure is dense (comparable to forgings)，with fewer product defects，and the mechanical index can be improved by 20% compared to die-casting processes.

Stabilization：Long consumable life，reliable mechanical operation，24-hour continuous operation，maintenance cycle up to nearly 200000 times.

Simplification：The simplest forming process for complex metal parts，which includes raw materials such as magnesium alloy ingots，magnesium alloy particles，semi-solid injection molding，small amount of machining，surface treatment，coloring and spraying，and the end of the process.

Intelligence：High degree of automation，minimal labor，capable of achieving unmanned production，remote maintenance，and pre-maintenance.

Above is a brief introduction to the principle and advantages of the thixomolding equipment . It is worth noting that EMT has mastered the world's leading core technology of magnesium alloy semi-solid injection molding through more than ten years of arduous research and development. It has successively developed magnesium alloy thixomolding equipment in the 300 ton, 650 ton, 800 ton, and 1500 ton levels (the 2500 ton level has been designed and completed, and the 4000 ton level is about to be designed), breaking the long-term monopoly of foreign countries, significantly reducing the purchase and maintenance costs of magnesium alloy thixomolding equipment and the manufacturing costs of magnesium alloy products, and breaking through the biggest bottleneck of the widespread application of magnesium alloys.