Feature article: PIM International, Vol.2 No. 2 June 2008, pages 63-65, 1779 words

Author: Dipl.-Ing. (Fh) Martin Wolff, Institut für Werkstoffforschung, Germany

Institut für Werkstoffforschung, Abteilung Pulvertechnologie - WTP GKSS Forschungszentrum Geesthacht GmbH, Max-Planck-Str. 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany

Introduction

Whilst PIM of magnesium remains firmly in the realms of the laboratory, work is underway to develop the necessary technologies for the production of PIM parts. Dr. Norbert Hort and Dipl.-Ing. Martin Wolff of the Institute of Materials Research at the GKSS Research Centre, Geesthacht, Germany, present the current state of research and highlight the opportunities that the PIM of magnesium will bring.

As lightweight constructional materials, magnesium alloys have been well established for many years and today are finding more and more everyday applications, particularly in the automotive and 3C (computer, consumer, communication electronics) sectors [1, 2]. In these sectors, besides strength and processing requirements, corrosion behaviour is of major importance. While magnesium alloys show a stand-alone corrosion behaviour that is comparable to some aluminium alloys or mild steels, the corrosion rate can increase drastically in a galvanic couple together with other metallic materials [3, 4]. This obvious disadvantage can be turned into an advantage when magnesium alloys are used as biocompatible and biodegradable implant materials. In medical science, magnesium alloys are very promising candidates for degradable implants [5-10]. Furthermore, powder metallurgy processing of magnesium enables the production of open porous implants, for which conventional production by joining technology is very complicated. An open porous surface stimulates bone-implant intergrowth. In fact the use of magnesium as an implant material is not new and traces back to the end of the 19th and the early years of the 20th century [11-14]. In these early years magnesium alloys were used in combination ......

Further sections of this article include:

- History of magnesium MIM
- State of the art of magnesium MIM
- Perspectives for magnesium MIM
- Conclusions

Figures and Tables:

Fig. 1 Unconditioned pure Mg-powder after heat treatment

Fig. 2 MgCa-alloy conditioned Mg powder after heat treatment

Fig. 3 Tensile-specimen-green parts made of magnesium hydride

Fig. 4 Open porous surface of an Mg-Sinter part