On the Direct Extrusion of Magnesium Wires from Mg-Al-Zn Series Alloys

Abstract

Wires of magnesium alloys possess a high potential, e.g., as filler materials, for joining applications but also for biodegradable applications, such as suture materials. While the typical process of producing wires is based on a wire drawing process, direct extrusion by using adjusted dies to deal with high degrees of deformation allows a one-step manufacturing of wires to some extent. In this work, the extrusion of wires with a thickness of 1 mm and even lower is shown feasible for pure magnesium and three Al-containing magnesium alloys (AZ31, AZ80, AZ91). The surface quality and the mechanical properties are improved with increasing Al content. It is shown that, despite the large difference in the degrees of deformation, the properties and their development are similar to those of extruded round bars. Wrapping tests were carried out as an exemplary more complex forming procedure, and the behavior is correlated to the microstructure and texture of the extruded wires.