Deep Hole Drilling Magnesium: Lightweight Material, Unique Challenges
Why Magnesium Is Different from Aluminum If you have ever drilled aluminum at production scale, you know the common headaches: built-up edge, stringy chips that tangle around the tool, and the need for high-pressure coolant to break those chips. Magnesium is in a completely different league. Magnesium has one-third the density of aluminum and roughly half the Young’s modulus. Cutting forces are dramatically lower. The coefficient of thermal expansion is higher, which means the hole closes in on the tool faster as it cools. But the biggest difference is how it burns. ...