Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd. developed "CF Magnesium Die-casting Technology," a technology to manufacture thin-walled and large-size die-cast magnesium parts.
This technology enables to mass-produce 1- to 2-m-long and 2-mm-deep magnesium parts. It will come into practical use for producing rear frame parts of two-wheeled vehicles. Those parts will be used in the 2008 model "YZD-R6" (600 cc), the company's motorbike for the European market.
Yamaha Motor has adopted parts made of aluminum alloy to trim weight of vehicle bodies and to reduce environmental load until now. The company developed "CF Aluminum Die-casting Technology," which can produce thin-walled and large die-cast aluminum parts, and adopted it to develop "DiASil Cylinder" for practical use.
CF Aluminum Die-casting Technology is used to manufacture the chassis of mass-produced vehicles because it enables to manufacture thin-walled and large-size aluminum parts in high productivity and to reduce significantly the number of parts.
However, aluminum parts cannot be thin enough because of aluminum's fluidity in molten state. On the other hand, the advantage of magnesium is that it is two thirds as light as aluminum. But molten magnesium cools down and sets faster than molten aluminum, making it difficult to cast thin-walled and large items of the same quality.
Furthermore, it is difficult to use magnesium parts as vehicle body components because their corrosion resistance deteriorates when impure substances, such as iron and nickel, in the material exceed a specified level. Therefore, Yamaha Motor has limited their applications to small engine covers and the like.
The CF Magnesium Die-casting Technology was developed by improving the above-mentioned die-casting technology and applying it to the production process of magnesium parts.
More specifically, the new die-casting technology was developed by the followings: (1) the design for uniform flow and set of molten metal; (2) the process regulation of the vacuum and temperature of metal molds, and the injection speed of molten metal; and (3) the regulation of molten metal to minimize the amount of impure substances.
(2) is to fill molds with molten metal before it sets. When parts are cast, they are coated after a high erosion-resistant process. As a result, those magnesium parts have the same or more strength and corrosion resistance than aluminum parts.
Parts manufactured by this technology have enough strength to be used as vehicle body components and enough corrosion resistance to be used as exterior components. The mass of a magnesium rear frame made by this technology is about 20% lighter than that made of aluminum. The new die-casting technology can be applied to the production processes of lightweight body components for automobiles, Yamaha Motor said.
This technology enables to mass-produce 1- to 2-m-long and 2-mm-deep magnesium parts. It will come into practical use for producing rear frame parts of two-wheeled vehicles. Those parts will be used in the 2008 model "YZD-R6" (600 cc), the company's motorbike for the European market.
Yamaha Motor has adopted parts made of aluminum alloy to trim weight of vehicle bodies and to reduce environmental load until now. The company developed "CF Aluminum Die-casting Technology," which can produce thin-walled and large die-cast aluminum parts, and adopted it to develop "DiASil Cylinder" for practical use.
CF Aluminum Die-casting Technology is used to manufacture the chassis of mass-produced vehicles because it enables to manufacture thin-walled and large-size aluminum parts in high productivity and to reduce significantly the number of parts.
However, aluminum parts cannot be thin enough because of aluminum's fluidity in molten state. On the other hand, the advantage of magnesium is that it is two thirds as light as aluminum. But molten magnesium cools down and sets faster than molten aluminum, making it difficult to cast thin-walled and large items of the same quality.
Furthermore, it is difficult to use magnesium parts as vehicle body components because their corrosion resistance deteriorates when impure substances, such as iron and nickel, in the material exceed a specified level. Therefore, Yamaha Motor has limited their applications to small engine covers and the like.
The CF Magnesium Die-casting Technology was developed by improving the above-mentioned die-casting technology and applying it to the production process of magnesium parts.
More specifically, the new die-casting technology was developed by the followings: (1) the design for uniform flow and set of molten metal; (2) the process regulation of the vacuum and temperature of metal molds, and the injection speed of molten metal; and (3) the regulation of molten metal to minimize the amount of impure substances.
(2) is to fill molds with molten metal before it sets. When parts are cast, they are coated after a high erosion-resistant process. As a result, those magnesium parts have the same or more strength and corrosion resistance than aluminum parts.
Parts manufactured by this technology have enough strength to be used as vehicle body components and enough corrosion resistance to be used as exterior components. The mass of a magnesium rear frame made by this technology is about 20% lighter than that made of aluminum. The new die-casting technology can be applied to the production processes of lightweight body components for automobiles, Yamaha Motor said.
