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Machinability of Magnesium and Its Alloys: A Review

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Traditional Machining Processes

Part of the book series: Materials Forming, Machining and Tribology ((MFMT))

Abstract

In the last decades, the interest for magnesium has increased notably. In particular, the need for weight reduction in the automotive industry has made magnesium a suitable material to replace traditional structural materials because of its low density. But, in addition, magnesium is also finding applications in different sectors as aeronautics, electronics, medical or sports. Thus, machining of magnesium is a topic of great interest for industry and researchers. In the present work, an introduction to the main topics on magnesium machining is presented. The text covers from general topics of magnesium to more specific ones related with the machining process. In this sense, an approximation to the properties of magnesium, magnesium alloys and metal matrix composites of magnesium, and some applications are presented to give a general overview of magnesium. After that, the machining of magnesium is covered addressing general issues and more specific particularities of magnesium machining, such as the ignition risk. To conclude, a brief review of some of the main experimental investigations on magnesium machining is presented, covering drilling, milling and turning processes. In these studies, the machining process is assessed using indicators such as surface finish, temperature or tool wear.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Aveiro, Campus Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

    Diego Carou & J. Paulo Davim

  2. Department of Manufacturing Engineering, National University of Distance Education (UNED), C/Juan Del Rosal, 12, E28040, Madrid, Spain

    Eva M. Rubio

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  1. Diego Carou
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  2. Eva M. Rubio
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  3. J. Paulo Davim
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Correspondence to Diego Carou .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

    J. Paulo Davim

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Carou, D., Rubio, E.M., Davim, J.P. (2015). Machinability of Magnesium and Its Alloys: A Review. In: Davim, J. (eds) Traditional Machining Processes. Materials Forming, Machining and Tribology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-45088-8_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-45088-8_5

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