Magnesium coating.Magnesium coating. For years, in the weight-critical auto and aerospace industries, the challenge has been how to make reliable use of magnesium, the lightest of all structural metals. Magnesium components can be 30% lighter than aluminum, and 75% lighter than steel, without compromising strength. The metal has other attractive characteristics for manufacturers, as well; these include a low melting temperature Melting temperature may refer to:
v. cor·rod·ed, cor·rod·ing, cor·rodes v.tr. 1. To destroy a metal or alloy gradually, especially by oxidation or chemical action: acid corroding metal. easily and seriously, and the soft material is very susceptible to scratching. It can be coated, but the standard processes of anodizing anodizing Method of coating metal for corrosion resistance, electrical insulation, thermal control, abrasion resistance, sealing, improving paint adhesion, and decorative finishing. involving (typically) chromic chromic /chro·mic/ (kro´mik) of, pertaining to, or related to chromium. chromic phosphate P 32 , hydrofluoric, or phosphoric acid phosphoric acid, any one of three chemical compounds made up of phosphorus, oxygen, and hydrogen (see acids and bases). The most common, orthophosphoric acid, H3PO4, is usually simply called phosphoric acid. offer limited protection, at high environmental cost. Recently, a magnesium coating process, originally developed at Moscow State University Moscow State University, at Moscow, Russia, officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State Univ.; founded 1755 as Moscow Univ. by the Russian scientist M. V. Lomonosov, renamed Moscow State Univ. after the Russian Revolution, and renamed after its founder in 1940. has been commercially launched--with a little help from the British government--by Keronite Ltd, Cambridge, UK. The process bonds magnesium atomically, making it considerably tougher, and thus avoiding nearly all of the known disadvantages of this metal. The process uses plasma electrolytic oxidation Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO), or microarc oxidation (MAO), is an electrochemical surface treatment process for generating oxide coatings on metals. It is similar to anodizing, but it employs higher potentials, so that discharges occur. to build a microscopically thin, yet very hard, ceramic oxide coating on the magnesium, all within a completely non-toxic environment. The coating is suited for products including bicycle frames, wheelchairs, and children's pushchairs. In other applications, Keronite can be applied even to a mesh surface. Engineers are finding the coating's strength suitable for such applications as belt pulleys, engine oil pumps, pistons and other engine components. Its scratch resistance makes it an attractive alternative for portable (read: 'dingable') consumer products. The fashion world, too, is not oblivious to the advantages of strength with lightness: already a number of companies are selling premium sunglasses made from coated magnesium. Circle 100--Keronite, or connect directly to their website via the Online Reader Service Program at www.rsleads.com/310df-100 |
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